Hook help?

[Jessie Pie]

IDK if this is the right category for this but when I'm crocheting for awhile my pinkies start cramping up. Do other people experience this? Is there a way to help with this?

[magiccrochetfan]

hi, welcome to the ville!

 

when I crochet, my pinky fingers do very little, so I don't think i have ever had a cramp in them.  

 

How do you hold the yarn and hook?  What type/brand of hook, and yarn, are you using?  

 

also, your title is "hook help", did you have a question about hooks?  

[Jessie Pie]

Didn't know what else to call it. Maybe i do hold my hook wrong.

[magiccrochetfan]

Well, if the way you are holding the hook or yarn is causing you pain, thenit could be the wrong way for you.  Other than that, it's all individual preference really , so no way is really wrong.  

 

this page shows 3 popular holds https://books.google.com/books?id=POlTdxr4C2EC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=crochet+%22chopstick+hold%22&source=bl&ots=pOESTCztH8&sig=P3OXgC1Bm7lD66sqAVclbEOMpIw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAwIi-oY_NAhUMQFIKHaB4CTwQ6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=crochet%20%22chopstick%20hold%22&f=false

Is any of those the way you hold the hook?  

[Tampa Doll]

First off there is no right or wrong way to hold a hook.  It is what you are comfortable with.  There are usually 2 ways.  One is like a pencil and the other is like a fork?  Any way one covers the hook and the other is explainable. 

 

You made need an ego hook or one with a wood handle.

 

Welcome to the ville and hope I could help a little.

[Granny Square]

If you hold your hook in a knife/overhand way per the above link, there are hook handles that are supposed to help  (I don't hold my hook this way so this is second-hand advice)

 

If you hold your hook like a pencil, padded handles help a little bit.  You can also buy pads that slip over existing hooks.  There's also some you-tube 'hacks' for making these from pencil grips, I haven't tried that yet.  For tiny doily thread work, I have a set of steel hook tips that fit into a larger handle, which helps.

 

Sometimes...you just have to listen to you body and give it a rest.  The older I get, the more I have to ration my crochet time in one sitting...sigh.  

[Jessie Pie]

This is how I hold it

[Tampa Doll]

Yeah that is like a knife.  That is what I was trying to say.  Check out the links, they should help.

 

I hold mine like a pencil.

[Granny Square]

Looks like overhand, with a real death grip with you little and ring finger, no wonder they're numb.  Maybe that first thing I linked would help you, those fingers would be more open around the wide end, instead of clenched around a skinny hook.

 

I'm trying to think what would work without sliding off, to test this by wrapping something around the end of your hook to make it a lot fatter but not much heavier - just to see if it feels better for a short stretch, before you go out and buy that handle.

 

I've seen some folks recommend forming polymer clay around the handle for comfort.