March 16th, 2013 at 07:33 am » Comments (2)

I generally try very hard NOT express an opinion about the best hook(s), still, every week people keep asking. With this in mind, please let me share what works for Wheat and Why.

I like hooks ends that are tapered or what I call a Flat Taper style mostly produced in India, Japan, Germany & a few other countries. I prefer metal but understand the production issues once you get above 7.00mm as well as the issues for wood in hooks smaller than about 3.75mm

Added: 2013-Mar-17:
In answer to a few emails, The flat taper or rounded point is easier on my hands. It gives one the “point” needed to more easily enter the stitches but is less likely to split the yarn plies. Also, this rounded point/taper is not sharp enough to hurt/puncture your fingers – really a pain to get blood out of the fibers.

Hooks and the type you choose to use is a VERY personal decision Everyone wants a good value for their dollar so that is a given. After that, some look for the least expensive, some look for utility, some look for beauty and last but least some look to economic impact. You will need to decide which combination works for your circumstances.

Hooks are tools, they will be used OVER and OVER. With the exception of a set of the Pony Rosewood, I do not collect them to look pretty on my desk – Others get great enjoyment from such collections and while I often admire the artistry it is just not my thing. Last but not least I choose impact.

Beginning with 2000 New Year resolution (I only make one a year) my decision was that with very rare exceptions, there was no need in my home or business for products that did not create US Jobs. It would have been unrealistic to say only made in the USA but I do try to find those products and it is amazing how much you really don’t need if you choose that path and take care of what you have so it “lasts”.

Yes, many of the hooks, books, and yarns and other products currently available at ItsAllJustString are not made in the USA – BUT they do come to me thru US Distributors and that means US Jobs for US Citizens From Seaman/Sailors, to dock workers, to distributors, to delivery services and oh yeah, independent retailers – brick or click – who, like my family need to pay everyday bills.

It would be my hope that you would choose to support independent retailers and especially those both locally or on line who choose to support your creative passion not only with products they sell, but who share your passion with me for a particular craft and offer their assistance and expertise in your favorite discussion groups. Many, like me, are willing to help you find what you want or need even if we don’t sell it.

So,…. Personal Preference,

I have most of the “old/Made in the USA” Boye hooks, I have all sizes ever offered (including two that have been discontinued so their sizes would match the CYC standard Clover Soft Touch.

All Pony Double Ended in Both Straight and Circular and a set of standard hooks, a mix of metal and plastic to which I added one or two sizes. There is also a box with “onsies” of pretty much every other style and brand offered in the USA –

There are some sizes for the 14″ doubled end straights that we sometimes have from Boye – notably their N hook (depending on when you bought it is either a 9 or 10 mm barrel) There are brands we choose not to offer for a variety of reasons.

And yes, I did give in once to vanity – I have a set of the Pony Rosewood – don’t use them much, they are pretty to look at.

On a day to day basis, among the “stuff” in my purse is one of the Pony Sets – it pretty much covers what I need in case of a Crochet emergency, like swatch yarn at a shop or in case the proper hooks is not with the project I carried along

Repeating, because it is important, Hooks are a very personal decision. Before committing to a big investment, try different styles. Both Denise & Knitters Pride bits can be purchased to create a single unit – make a few things and see if it fits your needs.

I recommend that for standard, fixed length hooks, you get one in a size you often use and for flexible/interchangeable, same thing on size, but with a cable length not included in the standard set if possible. That way if you decide to go with the set later, you will not duplicate the cable lengths and will have an extra hook end in your favorite size.

Enjoy The Making

Wheat
Added: 2013-Mar-17:
In answer to a few emails, The flat taper or rounded point is easier on my hands. It gives one the “point” needed to more easily enter the stitches but is less likely to split the yarn plies. Also, this rounded point/taper is not sharp enough to hurt/puncture your fingers – really a pain to get blood out of the fibers.

For Ideas & Inspiration I have been posting almost daily on FaceBook, Please visit and you like what you see, let me know by liking the page.
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/ItsAllJustString

May 2nd, 2007 at 00:01 am » Comments (1)

This table is “current sizes” based on information provided at the manufacturer web sites and (added September 2007) for the corresponding US Knitting Needles, as shown at the yarnstandards.com resource website

You are welcome to link to this page or create your own.

Speaking of size, If Size Matters for your finished project, be sure to make a gauge swatch (I recommend TWO, one for reference and one to wash and dry as the project will be)

Shameless self promotion – my online store, ItsAllJustString.com offers all Crochet hooks offered by either Clover or Pony.

If you find any errors, be sure to let me know.

Wheat’s US-Metric Aluminum Crochet Hook Reference*

Wheat’s US-Metric Aluminum Crochet Hook Reference*
Alum Milli Meter	UK	US Yarn Std	Clover or Tulip	Clover Soft 5.3/4″	Clover Wood 6″	Pony Set Gift	Pony Pearl	Boye Alum 6″	Bates
2.00mm	_	A-0	2/o	–	–	–	–	–	–
2.25mm	1	–	3/o	B	–	–	–	B	B
2.30mm	_	B-1	3/o	–	B	–	–	–	–
2.50mm	_	–	4/o	C	–	2.50	–	–	–
2.75mm	2	–	–	–	C	–	–	C	C
3.00mm	_	C-2	5/o	D old	–	3.00	–	–	–
3.25mm	3	–	–	D new	–	–	–	D	D
3.50mm	4	D-3	6/o	E	–	3.50	–	E	E
3.75mm	5	E-4	–	F	D	–	F	F	F
4.00mm	6	F-5	7/o	G	E	4.00	G	–	G
4.25mm	_	G-6	–	–	F		–	G	–
4.50mm	7	7	7.5/o	7	G	4.50	–		–
5.00mm	8	H-8	8/o	H	H	5.00	H	H	H
5.50mm	9	I-9	9/o	I	I	5.50	I	I	I
6.00mm	10	J-10	10/o	J	J	6.00	J	J	J
6.50mm	10.5	K-10.5	–	–	–	6.50	–	K	K
7.00mm	_		–	–		7.00	K	–
7.50mm	_	–	–	–	–	7.50	–	–	–
8.00mm	11	L-11	–	–	–	8.00	–	–	L
9.00mm	13	M/N-13	–	–	–	–	M	N	–
10.00mm	15	N/P-15	–	–	–	–	–	–	N
12.75mm	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	.
15.00mm	19	P/Q	–	–	–	–	–	–	.
19.00mm	35	S	–	–	–	–	–	–	.
25.00mm	50	U/V	–	–	–	–	–	–	.
Metric mm to in Conversions prepared using utilities found at: Metric Conversions.Org Hook Photos Used With permission and thanks to US Distributors: & Clover-USA and Muench Yarns-Pony Needles last updated 2010-11-12 © Wheat Carr

Once again,

* Based on Data Current as of February 2007.
* ALWAYS MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH
* ALWAYS check/measure the diameter of your hook
– Older Hooks often do NOT have the same Diameter as those made today.
–
* If you find an error, please do comment or email with the correction.
2007-05-03: Thanks to Kim Guzman for catching the typo for the Clover H-I-J

2011-06-08: Thanks to Sarah for catching the “size N” glitch

April 8th, 2007 at 06:05 am » Comments (1)

After doing this bit of Research, it was pretty easy to see why the Craft Yarn Council did not publish any standards for Steel Hooks in its Yarn Standards.Com charts

Most Steel Hooks Look like this:

However, for those who appreciate Gentle on your hands and wrist, it is so cool that Clover will be bringing the Steel Soft Touch to the US so they can be more available (now only one supplier has them and it is in the Japanese packaging.

This will be great for those who like to do wire work as well.

Now back to the chart… It is fairly simple to see why good pattern editors (and designing authors) ALWAYS include the diameter of hooks and needles used – rather than just a “generic” letter or number.

I always prefer to base my Steel hook references and suggestions on metric measurements because all “brands” are made outside the US, in countries that base their engineering on M
etric standards, not Imperial.

If you would like details on Clover’s Soft Touch Steel hooks, including the thread sizes they recommend for each of their hooks, please visit our on-line retail shop ItsAllJustString.com

In a perfect world, these manufacturers will someday agree on “Size/Measurements” but probably not anytime soon.

Wheat’s US-Metric Steel Crochet Hook Reference* Updated: 2008-09-14 © 2000-2008 WheatCarr
R o w 0	Col 1 Steel MM	Col 2 Clover	Col 3 Clover SoftTouch	Col 4 Pony	Col 5 Boye	Col 6 Bates	Col 7 Inox	Col 8 tulip Skacel	R o w
1	0.40mm	–	–	–	–	–	No 16	No 24	1
2	0.45mm	–	–	–	–	–	–	No 23	2
3	0.50mm	–	No 14	–	–	–	No 15	No 14	3
4	0.55mm	–	–	–	–	–	–	No 13	4
5	0.60mm	No 12	No 12	No 14	–	–	No 14	No 12	5
6	0.70mm	–	–	No 13	–	–	–	No 11	6
7	0.75mm	No 10	No 10	No 12	No 14	–	No 13	No 10	7
8	0.85mm	–	–	no-name	No 13	–	–	No 9	8
9	0.90mm	No 8	No 8	no-name	–	No 14	–	No 8	9
10	0.95mm	–	–	–	–	No 13	–	No 7	10
11	1.00mm	No 6	No 6	no-name	No 12	No 12	No 12	No 6	11
12	1.05mm	–	–	–	–	No 11	–	–	12
13	1.10mm	–	–	–	No 11	–	–	No 5	13
14	1.15mm	–	–	–	–	No 10	–		14
15	1.25mm	No 4	No 4	No 8	–	No 9	No 10	No 4	15
16	1.30mm	–	–	–	No 10	–	–	No 3	16
17	1.40mm	–	–	–	No 9	No 8	–	–	17
18	1.50mm	No 2	No 2	No 7	No 8	No 7	No 8	No 2	18
19	1.60mm	–	–	–	–	No 6	–	No 1	19
20	1.65mm	–	–	–	No 7	–	–	–	20
21	1.70mm	–	–	–	–	No 5	–	–	21
22	1.75mm	No 0	No 0	No 4	–	No 4	No 6	No 0	22
23	1.80mm	–	–	–	No 6	–	–	–	23
24	1.90mm	–	–	–	No 5	–	–	–	24
25	2.00mm	–	A-0	–	–	–	No 4	2/0	25
26	2.20mm	–	–	–	–	–	No 16	3/0	26
27	2.25mm	–	–	2/o	–	–	–	–	27
28	2.30mm	–	B-1	–	–	B	–	–	28
29	2.50mm	–	–	3/o	–	–	–	4/0	29
R o w	Col 1 Steel MM	Col 2 Clover	Col 3 Clover SoftTouch	Col 4 Pony	Col 5 Boye	Col 6 Bates	Col 7 Inox	Col 8 Tulip	R o w
* Based on Data Current as of February 2007,   updated to add photos on 2007-May-02   updated to add Tulip on 2007-May-24   updated to add on 2008-Sep-14 * ALWAYS MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH * ALWAYS check/measure the diameter of your hook – Older Hooks often do NOT have the same Diameter as those made today. – * If you find an error, please do email me with the correction.

Incidentally, you can often find reasonably price templates intended for measuring screw sizes at your favorite Hardware store, (mine is ACE then Sears Tool department, since they are independently owned and the people at the ones nearest to me don’t ever laugh when I explain how I plan to use “stuff” – okay they do shake their head a lot, but they always understand what I want, if not why) As soon as I can find it, I will post a picture of my favorite one.

COMMERCIAL: If you want to add Clover Soft Touch Steel hooks to your collection, you can find them at: ItsAllJustString my on-line shop