Ultimate Shopping Guide for the Beginner in Crochet

What to buy when you begin crochet at the very beginning? Every beginner crocheter needs supplies, and some may not be so apparent. There are several things that are necessities of course, like yarn and a crochet hook. But there are other useful items I would recommend to those starting off with crocheting.

If you have been reading my blog pretty regularly, you know that I love crochet. And since I’m a teacher, I love sharing my knowledge of this calming craft with you, and writing tutorials to help you learn how to crochet. I love the idea that my articles on crochet may inspire others to take up the hobby and add this to their own self care.

Must Haves on Your Shopping List

Crochet Hooks

You can’t crochet without them! When I first started crocheting, I used Susan Bates crochet hooks, and they are great for beginners. They are not too pricy, and you can find them at Michaels. However, over time I decided to try out hooks made by Clover because I noticed a lot of really great crochet bloggers using them and let me tell you, they are a game changer. They totally changed the way I hold my yarn, they are less likely to result in tendonitis or achy hands from crocheting and are far easier to work with than any other hooks I’ve tried. They changed my technique and made crocheting far easier. So I highly recommend these hooks.

Yarn

Now, there are a lot of places you can pick up yarn from. Michaels, other online sites. For beginners, I recommend starting with a worsted weight yarn because it’s not too thin, but not super thick either, allowing you to get used to creating the stitches and see what they look like easily. Lionbrand has some nice, inexpensive yarns you can start out with and are of a fairly nice quality as well. You also don’t want to start crocheting with yarn that has too much texture to it as that will make it harder to see your stitches and also affect tension.

Related Post: Where to Buy Quality Yarn Online

Nice to Haves for Beginner Crocheters

Strictly speaking, the next items I am recommending are merely that, recommendations. You do not need these items to begin to learn crochet. However, they will make learning crochet a lot easier which is why I’m recommending them.

Stitch Dictionary

Once you have mastered the basic crochet stitches, it’s time to start learning how to combine them to create various stitch patterns. This will allow you to create open weave pieces, textured fabrics and add character to your crocheted pieces. I like to have physical books to refer to in my own collection even though you can find a lot of crochet stitch patterns online. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a book to look at instead of zooming back and forth between websites. Plus, it’s fun to flip through and an easy resource to refer to when dreaming up your own crochet patterns.

You can also get these as Kindle ebooks!!

Stitches Markers

Stitch markers can come in handy, but they are not necessary. In my view, they come in handy when you are working on a complicated pattern, such as a sweater, but if you are making simpler pieces such as scarves, stitch markers are generally not needed. And, strictly speaking anything could be used as a stitch marker such as a bobby pin or safety pin. But, I do recommend getting stitch markers as they serve a specific function and you won’t be having to get up and hunt for bobby pins in the middle of your crochet time.

Tote Bag

If you take up crochet, you’ll soon find you’ll need a place to store your project. While there are some one hour projects, most will take you several days (or longer) to complete. I use a lot of different totes and storage containers for all of my yarn and projects, and I have found that having a few specifically designed for your fibre craft pieces is useful. So crochet totes and bags are useful as they can house your yarn, hooks and other notions (such as stitch markers) in side pockets.

Yarn Needles

Once you start working with multiple skeins (balls) of yarn, or begin projects with various colours, you are going to need to weave in ends, and that means you’ll need yarn needles. I prefer the metal ones personally, but you can use the plastic ones as well. I suppose this boils down to personal preference, but when working with worsted weight or thinner yarn, the metal needles are all you will need and easier to grip. Plastic needles might be needed when working with thicker, textured yarn as they tend to make the eye larger.

Crochet Case

Over time, you’ll find yourself purchasing more crochet hooks if you didn’t buy a package of them initially, and that’s because there are different hook sizes. When crocheting with thread or thin yarn, you use a smaller, thinner hook than when you are working with thick, chunky yarn. Different yarn thicknesses and projects call for different sized hooks, and that means you will soon have a collection of hooks and likely, no where to put them. Trust me, it’s easy to look track of hooks. So having a crochet case is a great idea so you can keep those hooks safe and organized.

In Conclusion

I hope you find some of these items useful! I certainly have acquired all of them over the years and wish I had known about some earlier in my crafting life, but c’est la vie. Keeping your crochet organized will make crocheting easier, more enjoyable and reduce clutter so I highly recommend thinking about how you will store your yarn, projects and crocheting hooks and notions. And, if you are looking for easy beginner patterns, I have some in my Ravelry store.

What to buy to begin crochet–are you going to consider some of these items? Share your thoughts in the comments and be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for upcoming crochet exclusives!