How to hold a crochet hook and yarn
Hold the crochet hook in your dominant hand, either like a pencil (between thumb and index finger, resting on the middle finger) or like a knife (hand over the top, index finger along the shaft). Hold the yarn in the other hand, draped over your index finger so it feeds with light, even tension.
Pencil grip
Pinch the flat thumb rest between your thumb and index finger and let the hook rest on your middle finger, the way you hold a pen. The hook's tip moves with small finger movements, which suits fine yarn and detailed work.
Keep the throat of the hook facing you or slightly down. When you pull a loop through, turn the throat down so the lip catches the yarn and slides out cleanly.
Knife grip
Hold the hook with your hand over the top, as you would hold a table knife, with the index finger along the shaft and the handle against your palm. The movement comes more from the wrist, which many people find steadier with thick yarn and big hooks.
Neither grip is more correct. Try both for a row and keep the one where your wrist feels relaxed.
Holding the yarn
The yarn hand does two jobs: it holds the work just below the hook, and it feeds the yarn. A common setup is to wrap the ball end once around your little finger, bring it across your palm and lay it over your index finger. Raise the index finger to make a small, taut ramp of yarn the hook can catch. Hold the work between thumb and middle finger, close to the stitch you are making.
If your stitches are tight, the yarn is being gripped too hard; let it slide. If they are loose and uneven, add the little-finger wrap. Tension evens out with practice, not with force.
Left-handed crochet
Left-handers hold the hook in the left hand and work from left to right, so everything is mirrored. Patterns and charts still work; only the direction of travel changes. Every 3D stitch on this site has a Left-handed switch that mirrors the whole scene, starting with the chain.
Next: make your first chain and row in how to crochet.
Your first minute with the hook
Before you make a single stitch, get used to the movement. Put a slip knot on the hook, hold the hook in your chosen grip and lay the yarn over your index finger. Now make the yarn-over motion ten times: move the hook under the yarn from back to front, catch it in the throat, then let it go again. Do it slowly, then a bit faster. Your yarn hand should keep the strand taut the whole time without you thinking about it.
Then pull the caught yarn through the loop on the hook, and you have made a chain. Every stitch on this site is a combination of that catch and pull.
Common grip problems
The hook keeps turning in your hand. If the throat ends up facing away from you or straight up, the loop slides off as you pull. Rest your thumb on the flat grip, which only sits one way.
Stitches are tiny and hard to work into. You are probably making the loops on the narrow throat instead of the shaft. Slide each new loop onto the wider part of the hook before the next yarn over.
Your hand tires after ten minutes. You are squeezing. Hold the hook just firmly enough to control it, and take a break every half hour at first.
Where to look while you work
Watch the stitch you are going into, not the hook. Your hands learn the hook movement quickly; finding the right loop is what takes attention at first. Good light from the side and a light-colored yarn make the loops much easier to see.
Hooks that are easier to hold
Hooks with a thick soft handle spread the pressure across your fingers, and many people with small or sore hands find them easier from the start. The shape of the head also varies: some hooks have an inline head, where the throat is cut straight into the shaft, and others are tapered, with a rounder head. Neither is better. If loops keep slipping off the hook you own, try the other shape.
Questions
- Is it wrong to hold the hook like a knife?
- No. The pencil grip and the knife grip are both standard. Use the one that lets you keep your wrist relaxed.
- How do I stop my yarn from going slack?
- Wrap the working yarn once around your little finger and over your index finger. The wrap adds just enough friction to keep it feeding evenly.
- My hand hurts after crocheting. What helps?
- Take breaks, relax your grip on both hook and yarn, and try a hook with a thicker ergonomic handle.