Crochet guide
Making your own crochet hook
A crochet hook can be whittled from a wooden dowel, a chopstick or a straight twig. It needs a point that goes into a stitch, a notch that holds the yarn and a smooth, even shaft. The width of that shaft is the size of the hook.
On this page 7 parts
What a hook needs to work
A hook is a simple tool, and three parts of it do the work. Crochet hooks names every part.
- A point. The tip goes into the stitch. It is rounded, not sharp.
- A notch. The groove behind the tip, called the throat, catches the yarn and holds it while you pull a loop through.
- A shaft. The round, straight part behind the notch carries the loops. It has to be the same width all along and smooth, because its width sets the size of every stitch.
The handle can be any shape that suits your hand.
What to make it from
The how-tos for carving a hook start from one of three things: a wooden dowel, a wooden chopstick, or a straight piece of branch. A dowel is already round, straight and even.
Pick a piece that is close to the width of the hook you want, and a little over it. The closer it is, the less there is to carve. A hook cannot be thicker than the stick it is cut from, so a chopstick will not make the larger sizes.
Makers with a lathe also turn hooks from wood. That is a different craft and it is not covered here.
How a hook is whittled
The carving how-tos describe the same few steps. They differ on when to shape the tip, so do that when it suits you.
- Cut the stick to length. Cut it to the length you want, or a little over.
- Round the working end. Whittle the end that will carry the loops until it is round and even, and a little wider than the size you want. Turn the stick as you cut, so that it stays round.
- Shape the tip. Bring the end to a blunt, rounded point.
- Cut the notch. Make a slanting cut a short way back from the tip, about halfway through the stick. A notch that ends up too deep leaves the head thin and easy to break.
- Open the notch. Whittle the cut wider with the knife, a sliver at a time, until it has the shape of a hook.
- Sand it. The next part says how.
Take care with the knife. The how-tos themselves stop to warn about it.
How to smooth it so yarn does not catch
Every one of the how-tos sands the hook once it is shaped. Any bump or splinter that is left will catch the yarn.
- Sand the whole working end: the tip, the lip that overhangs the notch, the notch itself and the shaft.
- Get inside the notch. A flat nail file or emery board reaches under the hook, and so does sandpaper rolled into a thin tube.
- Finish with a fine abrasive. If you use sandpaper, start with a coarser sheet and end with a finer one.
Then try the hook with some yarn. The places that still drag show up quickly, and a little more sanding cures them. A wooden hook that is left bare is also said to grow smoother with use, from the hands and the yarn.
How to find its size
A crochet hook's size is the width of its shaft, in millimeters. So measure the shaft of the hook you made, across its width, at the part where the loops will sit. Then look for the nearest size on the crochet hook size chart.
A hook gauge does the same job. Crochet hook sizes explained describes one and how to use it.
Before you start a pattern with the new hook, work a small swatch and count your stitches. Crochet gauge and how to measure it shows how.
Questions people ask
What is a good thing to start from? A dowel. It is round, straight and even before you begin, so there is less to shape.
Does the handle have to be round? No. Only the working end has to be round and even. The handle can keep the shape of the stick.
Why does my yarn snag on the hook? There is a rough place left. Look inside the notch and along the lip, and sand again with something fine.
Where to go next
- No hook at all today? See what to use when you have no crochet hook.
- To compare your hook with bought ones, read crochet hooks.
- For the rest of a first kit, see what you need to start crocheting.