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How do you hold your hook?


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I hold my hook like a pencil, and I have also been told that I don't hold my yarn the right way. I really don't care....lol. It works for me, and my crochet items look good, I've had no complaints. But....I've always been weird:lol so it's no suprise to me. Hey....to each their own, right?!

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I hold my hook in the knife position also, but I keep it where my fingers reach my hand in that knuckle groove. I hold the yarn over my left index and under all the rest. I keep tension with my pinkie - I bend my pinkie and keep the yarn between the top and where the pinkie connects to the hand. My left hand does most of the moving. :hook

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i have been crocheting since i was 7 too .. but dont know what its called.. the way i hold my hook.. a kind of knifey.. chopsticky.. way LOL.. maybe i should take a picture

.. i don t hold my yarn in a conventional way either..

 

i say more power to holding it the way it gets it done best for you .. i dont think there is a right or wrong..

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What I would like to know is how you hold your thread with your left hand.

I hold the yarn flat against my palm with my pinky and ring finger. I curl my middle finger and rest the yarn in the first knuckle from fingertip for tension with the yarn resting along the bottom of my index finger for yarn overs (I ususally don't pick up the yarn with my hook, but use my hand.) and across the top of my index finger to pull a loop through the stitch. I use my index finger and thumb to hold the work.

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Knife-wielding crocheter here! It's fascinating to read about all the different ways we've adapted to holding our hooks - and our yarns (thanks Aggie May for asking that. You beat me to it!). In a thread topic some weeks ago, I mentioned the issue of the "right and wrong" way of holding the hook, as an aside to the thread's discussion (which was a bit of a debate on whether to knot or not when joining). I (and, apparently, many other folks from the reviews at amazon.com) took exception to the stern "instruction" in the book "Crocheting in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti that the only "proper" way to hold the hook was the pencil method. It absolutely does not work for me. I say whatever gets the job done efficiently and comfortably for you is the "right" way to hold it!

 

Same thing with the yarn. I've seen instructions for holding the yarn that just seem unnecessarily elaborate, and when I've tried to arrange it like that in my hand (wrapping over and under different fingers), I get very little crocheting done! I hold my yarn draped back over my left index finger and running down the palm of my hand, with the pinky and ring fingers anchoring it against the palm, I rarely hold the index finger up, though, as I keep a short line to my work and use the same finger and my thumb to hold the work-in-progress, which is where I control the stitch tension as needed.

 

But I am experimenting a bit with my current project, which is a laceweight shawl. This yarn is so light (and I'm using an over-sized hook for it to begin with) that I am finding it needs a bit more pull on the yarn to keep it taut enough to control the size of the loops as I work. So I am trying to run the yarn over my pinky so it lays against my fingers instead of my palm. It's taking me awhile to get used to this method, though, and I'm finding myself having to stop periodically to readjust my hold as I go along...

 

For me, the most important thing about the way I hold my yarn is does it flow smoothly through my fingers as I work? I find it very frustrating to crochet when my yarn hangs up at any point along the way from the supply to the hook, it really slows me down - and I'm slow enough already! :P And I also want a method of holding that doesn't take constant adjustments, which also stop me from producing stitches.

 

Oops - gotta go! I sure can gab, and now I'm running late(as usual)...

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Another one that holds her hook like a knife! My grandmother taught me to crochet 32 years ago and I've never looked back. A very good friend of mine holds her's like the pencil and we just giggle when we watch each other crochet. Neither of us can stitch the opposite way and wonder how each one does it! :lol

 

I don't think there is a right or wrong way for holding your hook or your yarn. If it works for you, then just do it!:hook

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My mom attempted to teach me how to crochet when I was younger but I just turned all the stitches into some forms of bullion stitches, which works but isn't quite right so my mom gave up. I picked it up later and taught myself the correct way, but the book I used didn't say anything about how to hold a hook so I held it the way that felt the best, the knife way.

 

My friend who is learning on her own/me teaching her when she gets stuck, holds it like a pencil. But that way is just painful looking to me and I would confuse her when i showed her things holding the needle differently from I, so I told her to at least try it the other way and see which is better. Now she holds it both ways. I have to admit its been hard teaching her not only because she was confused by how I held my needle but she's left handed (I'm a righty) as well!

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It drives me CRAZY when a book says there is one "correct" way to do something! I learned a lot from "Knitting In Plain English" from Maggie Righetti, and would've thought she'd have been the last person to tell the reader that there is only one way to do something. Too bad Elizabeth Zimmermann didn't crochet. (Elizabeth Zimmermann was the self-titled ''Highly-opinionated knitter" who wrote what many knitters consider to be a knitting bible, "Knitting Without Tears")

 

Lol...I don't hold my thread the conventional way-its cats-cradled around my fingers, because otherwise, I would never have enough tension to stitch...just b****:lol

but I do hold my yarn more or less like the books show.

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I can crochet while holding my hook like both a knife and a pencil, but I can go a lot faster with the knife position.

 

When I hold my yarn, I stick my index finger out, wrap the yarn around it twice, just like chickpea67.

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I'm really self taught and never gave any thought as to how I hold my hook. I hold it knife style. Though I have been experimenting with other holds, due to carpal tunnel.

 

But is there really a right way?

 

Mary

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:cat I hold my hook in the knife position. That is the way I was taught by my aunt way to many years ago to think about. Did try the pencil hold and it wasn't to bad, could do it. Just every time I quit thinking about what I doing and just started crocheting I would revert to the knife hold. What's the saying about old dogs?:dog

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My mom taught me to crochet and she held the hook like a pencil, so do I, it's more comfortable for me. I only use the knife method if I'm using a long hook.

 

As for yarn, the way my mom taught me was start by putting the yarn between the pinky and ring finger, wrap around the pinky, then go back under the ring finger and over the middle and index fingers. I hold my index finger up to control tension and hold my work with my thumb and middle finger.

 

I too think there are as many styles of holding yarn and hook as there are hookers and no way is the 'right' or 'wrong' way, it's just whatever works for you.

 

I had a friend who held hers like a knife and simply held the yarn against her left palm and she crocheted beautifully.

 

:frog

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I use the knife hold. Most books now show both methods as being correct. According to crochet history books I have read, the knife hold was the original way taught in the schools in Europe. When crochet was brought to America and the "society" ladies started learning the art, they changed to the pencil hold because it looked more feminine. Most "experts" agree you can get more speed up with the knife hold, although I've seen some pretty fast crocheters use the pencil hold.

 

Susan Rae

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As for yarn, the way my mom taught me was start by putting the yarn between the pinky and ring finger, wrap around the pinky, then go back under the ring finger and over the middle and index fingers. I hold my index finger up to control tension and hold my work with my thumb and middle finger.

 

LOL - it takes me quite some time to weave that yarn in and out between my fingers like that - and then the yarn won't budge when I start crocheting! As I tug on it, it just tightens up around the fingers and cuts off circulation!

 

I too think there are as many styles of holding yarn and hook as there are hookers and no way is the 'right' or 'wrong' way, it's just whatever works for you.

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

I had a friend who held hers like a knife and simply held the yarn against her left palm and she crocheted beautifully.

 

:frog

 

Which is very encouraging to me, since that's the way I hold both, too! So far it's been working very well for me, so I s'pose if it ain't broke, don't fix it, eh? :hook

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What I think is really cool about crochet is the fact that it is flexible enough to allow us our individuality when engaging in it, right down to these little technical details! That's why I love this craft so! :manyheart:manyheart:manyheart

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I'm new here and just read this and had to laugh, I've been asking the same ?, myself.

 

I've always held the hook with my hand on top like you do. For me... it works. Over the years I've had a few people tell me it's wrong and I just laugh and say, "Well, I've always done it this way and as long as my projects come out right, I figure it must be right for me."

 

If I had to learn to hold the hook differently at this point in time, I'd go nuts trying! "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" (a wise person once said) :D

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