How to Hold Your Crochet Hook and Yarn: Tips on Tension
One of the most common struggles for beginners is how to hold your crochet hook and yarn when you’re crocheting. There’s no question why this is tough for a lot of people. It’s hard! It takes a lot of practice to get this down in order to crochet comfortably and the same goes for your tension. This is the part where many people give up. What they don’t realize is that it just takes a lot of practice and patience.
Last week I sent out a survey to my email list asking their opinion on what they wanted to learn or what they were currently struggling with. Remember, I’m here for you! I want to help you learn this beautiful craft the easiest way possible! If you’re struggling with something, let me know in the comments. I won’t bite!
When I was going through the survey, one of the top struggles was how to hold your crochet hook and yarn. So this is for you! Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the survey so that I can better help you to Learn to Crochet the Easy Way!
When it comes to holding both your crochet hook and yarn, there really isn’t a “right” way. It’s all personal preference. However, I also know when you’re first starting out you really have no idea where to start. There are many, many different ways to hold your crochet hook and yarn. In the end you will find what works best for you. Today I’ll show you a few of the most common ways, including the way I hold each of them when I crochet. Use these photos as reference to get started, but as I said, the more you crochet you’ll find your own way!
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How to Hold your Crochet Hook When Crocheting
First and foremost, do not be afraid to hold it your own way. The other day someone told me that another crocheter told her she was holding her yarn the wrong way. This comment really upset her so again I will say, there is no wrong way to hold your crochet hook! If you can hold your hook with your feet and crochet that way, do it. You’re going to hear this a lot in this post: hold your hook however you feel the most comfortable.
The two most popular ways to hold your crochet hook is like a pencil or a knife. I hold mine like a knife for the most part. The photos below will show you from left to right, pencil and then knife.
In order for you to find what position is best, I suggest you try them all! Pick one to start with and just start chaining. By chaining you’ll get the same crochet motion without having to do much work. Now try the next way.
Whichever feels the most comfortable, continue chaining that way and adjust your hand as needed. The more you chain, the less tense you will feel and the more comfortable you will feel with both your hook and the tension of your yarn.
Once you’re in a pretty comfortable spot, pull out all but 11 of your chains and start single crocheting row after row to really get a good handle on your crochet hook and the tension of your yarn. Before you start that though, let’s talk about how to hold your yarn.
How to Hold Your Yarn When Crocheting
I’m not gonna lie, it took quite a bit of practice for me to get this down. I learned how to crochet through YouTube and after spending hours trying to mimic what they were doing, I still never felt completely comfortable.
I ended up saying, Screw it, I’m just going to crochet something simple and find my own way. The way I landed on is similar to one of the most popular methods, but it’s a little bit different.
You know why? Because that is what works for me! You do you and focus on your comfortability.
First, I’ll show you the most common way I see crocheters holding their yarn.
Wrap the yarn once around your pinky, bring the yarn under your ring and middle finger and over the top of your pointer finger.
You’ll notice in all of these photos that they have one thing in common: the end of the yarn you will be working with is always draped over your pointer finger.
The way you choose to hold your yarn will directly affect your tension which in turn affects the look of your stitches. If you have your yarn wrapped around your pinky and you start chaining, but you feel that it’s difficult to pull your yarn through your fingers comfortably, try a different way.
Below you’ll see a few examples of how I’ve seen other crocheters hold their yarn.What you really want when it comes to holding your yarn, is to make sure that it glides smoothly while you’re crocheting. No tugging, no getting tangled in yarn, no loosey goosey, no finger stress!
Also remember that these photos are to be used as a reference. If you use one of these photos to guide you, but you feel inclined to wrap your yarn around *this* finger instead of *that one*, then do it! Find your comfortability.
If you need further tips on tips on tension how to hold your yarn if you’re a loose or tight crocheter, read this article.
How I Do Things
The photos below show how I choose to hold my crochet hook and yarn. I hold my yarn loosely between my pointer and middle fingers while the rest of the yarn is loose. For me, the yarn glides easier that way.
In order for me to create the best tension for myself, I lightly hold the yarn between my knuckles so that it’s not just lying there. The way I hold my project makes it so that the yarn doesn’t get it my way.
Some people will say the way I hold them is wrong, but as I’ve said a hundred times already, there is no wrong way. This is what works for me and I encourage you to find your way. As long as you can finish a project comfortably, then you’re on the right track!
This is something that you are really going to have to work on. That is why I suggest single crocheting row after row in order to make sure you find the most comfortable position for you. Let’s say you chain or single crochet for miles, your tension and the way you hold your hook and yarn will adjust along the way.
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Learning how to hold your crochet hook and yarn is not something that’s going to come easily at first, but I promise you will get there. Remember, holding your crochet hook like a pencil or a knife is more of a guideline, rather than a rule. The same goes for how you hold your yarn.
Once you find your tension, you will find the most comfortable way to release the tension of your yarn.
I REALLY hope this tutorial on how to hold your crochet hook and yarn cleared things up for you! If you have any questions at all, leave them below!
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In this group we talk about all things crochet, dive deeper into tutorials, and share tons of laughs! Plus, there’s a video tutorial for every picture tutorial. If you join the group and have any questions about this post or would like me to go over something I didn’t cover, feel free to leave a question on the wall or send me a message!
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