Two Ways to Hold the Hook, Pick One
Okay. You've got your yarn, you've got your hook, and now we have to actually do something with them.
First thing first: there are two basic ways to hold a crochet hook, and people get strangely opinionated about which one is correct. There isn't a correct one. There's the one that works for your hand.
The Pencil Grip
This is exactly what it sounds like. You hold the hook the way you'd hold a pencil, up near the flat part, with your thumb and first two fingers doing the work. The hook points down toward your work.
This is how my mother-in-law taught me, sitting in her kitchen with a steel hook and the ugliest gold acrylic yarn you've ever seen in your life, and I held it that way for about fifteen years without questioning it. It felt normal because it was the only way I knew.
The Knife Grip
This one you hold like you're gripping a knife to cut a steak, hand over the top of the hook, palm down. The hook still points down toward your work, but your whole hand is wrapped around the handle instead of pinching it.
I switched to this one after about fifteen years of pencil grip because my wrist had started aching in a way I didn't love, and the knife grip took the strain off. I felt sort of disloyal switching, if you want to know the truth, like I was betraying my mother-in-law's method. I did it anyway. My wrist thanked me.
How to pick
Try both. Right now, before you even have yarn on the hook. Just hold it each way for a minute and see which one feels less like you're fighting it.
A few things that might tip you one way or the other:
- If you have any arthritis or your hands get tired easily, the knife grip tends to be gentler because you're not pinching as hard.
- If you already do embroidery or hold a pen a lot, the pencil grip might feel instantly familiar.
- Neither one is more "advanced." I know plenty of fast, tidy crocheters on both sides.
Once you pick, stick with it for at least a few weeks before you decide to switch. Switching partway through your first project will just make everything feel unfamiliar again, and you've got enough unfamiliar going on already.
The other hand matters too
Nobody talks about this enough. Your hook hand gets all the attention, but your other hand — the one holding the yarn and the working stitch — is doing just as much work. It's tensioning the yarn, feeding it out, holding your place. We'll get into exactly how to wrap the yarn around your fingers in the next lesson, but for now, just know that hand isn't just sitting there being decorative. It's working.
A quick word on tension in your hand, not just the yarn
New crocheters grip the hook like it owes them money. I understand the instinct, you're worried about dropping it or losing your stitch, but a death grip will make your hand cramp up fast and your stitches will come out tight and hard to work into. Loosen up. If your hand hurts after five minutes, you're holding on too hard. Take a break, shake it out, start again looser.
I had a woman in Relief Society once tell me that crochet was "so calming and mindful." I told her it's not calming, it's counting, and went right back to counting my stitches. I stand by that. It's not a spa experience. It's repetitive arithmetic that happens to be satisfying once you get the hang of it. Don't come in expecting your shoulders to drop and your breathing to slow down like you're at a yoga retreat. Come in expecting to count, mess up the count, and recount. That's the whole thing.
A note on cheap hooks
You do not need the fancy ergonomic hooks to learn this. They're genuinely nicer on older hands, mine included, and someday you might want a set. But for now, a plain aluminum hook from the craft aisle is completely fine. Learn the grip on something cheap. You can decide later if your hand wants something fancier.
Before next time
Pick your grip, whichever felt more natural when you tried both, and practice just holding the hook while you watch TV for a few nights. No yarn yet. Just get your hand used to where the hook sits. It'll feel dumb. Do it anyway.