It's Wednesday's LunchTime Lesson! Crochet is the Case!

Welcome to today's LunchTime Lesson!

If you have been following along this week, you can see we are getting our "kits" ready for sewing & knitting.
Today we will tackle what we need for getting ready to crochet!
The old argument is which is better? Knit or Crochet..........hmmm it's a tough question to answer........so that's one war I will stray away from!

Here again, as in knitting,..........you need basic supplies.

I won't bore you with a repeat of yesterday's needs, I will just add to the list!

So you have your pattern ready.........what needle size, what weight of yarn, etc.........

Crochet, like knitting, uses yarn and a needle........not a pair, but a single needle with a hook at one end and a thumb hold in the middle.

They also come in various sizes, but nowhere as many as we have in Knitting. The hooks have metric, numerial, and letters assigned to them.......and that's where we will begin.

Steel Crochet Hooks are for working with fine threads and cottons.........the hooks sizes go from US 14-00 BUT unlike what we are used to the larger the number the smaller the hook. That means that size 14 would be used to crochet something as delicate as sewing thread and 00 closer to fingering weight yarns. These are the hooks that your Grandmothers would have used to create beautiful doiles, Baptism gouwns, bedspreads, and more, including laces and edgings that have become to cherished and sort after.

Standard Crochet Hooks start In the US with B-1 metric 2.25. and they go up to size S.

in both Knit needles and Crochet hooks there is one odd ball size and that is 10.5 knitting needles and it's crochet equivilent 7 (there is no letter designation for this size). These are the only US needles that are not whole number..........IE:   B-1, C-2, D-3 etc..

Hooks also come in a variety of materials:  there are bamboo crochet hooks (very comfortable in the cold weather on the hands), metal, balene, and wood.......
One of the metal hooks is also available with ergonomic handles for comfort for those who have arthritis or other hand and arm inflictions..........definitly worth the investment!
Hooks can be found as far back at the Viking days when the men used them made from whalebone to make and repair fishing nets............

Some items that are great for your crochet kit are:
besides hooks, yarn and patterns.

Scissors, darning needles, paper and pen, row counter, stitch guide, open-ended markers, needle gauge ( the needles sizes correspond to knitting sizes and gauge is just as important to crocheting clothing as to knitting them).

Yes Knitting and Crochet have been around for a very long time!  From the Viking ships to modern day.
there is a lot to explore and learn............

I will touching on Tatting, Lace Making and more in future LunchTime Lessons!  Hope you will join us and explore something new!

If you have any suggestions------please feel free to contact me!
Hope you had a great lunch!
Tomorrow we will get our quilting bags ready to work!