Hello everyone. Welcome to Hopeful Turns. This is Vinita, and on this blog here, I upload a lot of crochet tutorials. But in this article, I’m going to do something slightly different. I’m not sharing any crochet pattern or tutorial this time, but I’ll be discussing about crochet yarns and crochet hooks. Now I have been getting a lot of question, especially in my Crochet for Beginners series about crochet yarn, how to select the yarn for a particular hook, what is the difference between ply and thickness of the yarn? So I’m hoping to address all of that question in this article. So I hope this article will be helpful, especially for beginners who are just getting started in crochet to understand more about yarn and hooks. All right, so let’s start with yarns.

Now talking about yarns, there are different types of yarn and if you have to broadly classify it, you can say there is natural yarns, synthetic yarns, and also blended yarns. Now the plant based yarns and animal based yarns will come under your natural yarn. So here I have the cotton, this is a plant based yarn. So you have linen, bamboo, all of that is like your plant based yarns. If you have to talk about animal based yarns, you have wool, silk, alpaca, all of that will come under your natural animal based yarns. Then you have synthetic yarns where acrylic yarns, rayon, all of that will come. And acrylic yarn is one of the most common yarns that we use in crochet. So that is a synthetic yarn. And I also tend to use a lot of acrylic yarns in my project.

And this is one of the most affordable yarn options out in the market. And then as I mentioned, you have blended yarns which is a mix of yarn. So if you see here, this one is an example of that. If you compare the composition here, it is 84% acrylic. It has mohair and wood. So this is an example of blended yarn. You also have Yarns which is 50% acrylic and 50% cotton. So you have different varieties of yarn. These are like the general, broader classification of yarn. Now, now, depending on the project that you are doing, you can choose your yarn. So if you are using, if you want to make something for summer or if you live in a tropical climate, I think the best choice would be your cotton yarns or bamboo yarns.

If you are making something for winter, maybe a Beanie or a cardigan, then you can go for blended yarns, you can use wool, but if you want an affordable option, you can try acrylic because some people are allergic to wool. So in that case, you can use acrylic. That will work fine for your winter projects. Then if you are planning to make something very stiff and stable, like your bags, you can use nylon yarns or a mix of yarns, 100% cotton acrylic or just cotton itself. Okay. Then you have something like this blanket yarn or Chanel yarn. This works great for your amigurumis or your soft toys. So, yeah, depending on the type of project that you use, you can choose your yarns. Okay, so that was just a very broad types of yarn or classification of yarns that I have mentioned.

Now let’s see about the properties of the yarns. Whatever type you choose, there are some properties. That’s why what we’ll be discussing next, we’ll start with ply of the yarn. All right, now coming to the topic of ply of a yarn. Here again, you have different plies of yarn available in the market. You have single ply yarn, two ply, three ply, it goes up to 10 and 12 ply yarns. Here I have laid out a few examples to demonstrate what ply of a yarn is. Now, ply of a yarn, simply put, you can say that is the number of strands of fiber that are twisted together to make a yarn. I know it feels complicated. I’ll just explain this. So if you see here, this is one yarn, okay? And I have just untwisted it.

And when you untwist this, you can see there are four strands of fiber coming out of it. So you can see that four strands of fiber are twisted together to make this one single yarn. So. So this will be your four ply. Yeah, it’s as simple as that. Now take this example. Here you have two strands of yarn twisted together to make one yarn. So this will be your two ply yarn. Here you have a three ply yarn. You have three strands. This is an example of six ply yarn. And this here is an example of eight ply yarn. So eight strands are twisted together to make this particular yarn. Now, is thickness same as ply? No, the. The best example, I’ll show you here itself. So as I said, this is a four ply yarn.

I’ll show you two, three examples of four ply yarn. So if you see here, one second. This one, if you see, this is also a four ply yarn. I have one more example with me. One second. Okay, so Here, this again is a faux ply. Now if you compare the thickness, even though all the three are four ply yarns, you can see the thick difference in thickness. So this is very thin and this is very thick, but all three of them are four ply yarns. So ply is not the measure for thickness of a yarn. Now I whatever I’m explaining it is based on US terms and terminology. It might be different in Australia and uk, I’m not very sure on that. But based on the US terminology, this four ply, these three are four ply yarn and the thickness is different.

Now we will be discussing what thickness of the yarn in the next part. And this is kind of the most important criteria when it comes to crochet patterns. So most of the crochet patterns is based on the thickness of the yarn and it is not so much as focused on ply. So let’s see what thickness of a yarn it. So I’ll just arrange my table first and then we will get on with the thickness of the yarn. So now let’s discuss about the thickness of the yarn. Now when it comes to the thickness of the yarn, there is a numbering system and it starts from size 0 and goes all the way up till size 7. Now if you have any yarn there will be a yarn label and in that there will be some number mentioned.

So in this case it is mentioned as size 1 and a super fine weight yarn. Here is another example. This is mentioned as three light. So whenever you have a yarn label and there is some size mentioned, it refers to the thickness of the yarn. And here I have a few examples. Now as I mentioned, it starts from size 0 and goes up to size 7, size 0 being the thinnest yarn. So the size 0 is also referred to as your lace weight yarn. So this will be the thinnest. As you move forward, you have the next one as size one. This is also called as a super fine weight yarn. You it can be also referred to as a sock weight, fingering weight or even a baby weight yarn. So that is all size one.

Then you have size two yarn which is a fine weight yarn. And this is also sometimes referred to as a sock weight or a baby weight yarn. Then the next thicker yarn is a size three yarn. This is a lightweight yarn. This is also sometimes called as a DK weight. DK weight is nothing but double knit yarn. It is sometime referred to as a light worsted weight yarn. Then comes your size 4 yarn which is a medium weight yarn. This is sometimes referred to As a worsted weight or an iron weight yarn. Next one will be your size 5, which is your bulky weight yarn or a chunky weight yarn. Then comes size 6, this is a super bulky or a super chunky yarn. Roving yarn also comes under size 6.

Then there is one more size which is size 7, which is called as a jumbo yarn. I don’t have it with me. I don’t do much projects with so thick yarn. So that’s why I don’t have a sample of a jumbo with yarn. But it will be much thicker than the size 6 yarn. So these are the thickness that are available. So I just want to show this. So if you see this is your size 0, this is your size 1. So if you see this much is the difference in thickness. So if you have to refer to the thickness of the yarn, you usually say it in terms of numbers or as I mentioned, lace weight, DK weight, worsted weight, all of that. And in all of this, the most commonly used yarn is your size 4 or a worsted weight yarn.

I prefer to use a size 3, 3, 4 in my projects and for beginners also, I highly recommend using a size 4 or a worsted weight yarn. Now as you can see here, you have different thickness yarn and each yarn is suitable for a particular kind of a project. So if you have to consider the size 0, this is mainly used in doilies. Anything dainty that you want to make, you can definitely use a size 0 and also size 1. Size 1 is a super fine weight yarn. So the size 1 and size 2 yarns are mainly used for children’s clothing. These are used to make socks. Any light weight garments you can make with this, you can even make a shawl. It’s just that you’ll take a bit more time when you use thinner yarns.

Then comes your three weight yarn and your four weight yarn. Now these two are the most preferred yarns to work with. Cardigans, shaws, scarf, almost everything and anything you can make with these two weight yarns. This is the most preferred yarn and most extremely widely used yarn. I can say that. But it also depends on personal choice and preference. Then you have the thicker yarns. These are great to use to make blankets. You can even make blankets with these tools. So that’s not an issue. But if you make blankets with a thicker yarn, the project gets done faster. So you can make blankets, you can make cozy shawls and scarf. Even cardigans also work absolutely fine. Then you have thicker yarns. Now this is like a Plushie yarn. You can make your plushies, your soft toys with it.

And then you have another super sorry the size 7, which is a jumbo where you can use it for rugs like extremely heavy duty projects, you can do with that. So these are some of the uses that you can put to for the different thickness of yarn. Now let’s discuss a little bit about hook and then I will compare the hook with the yarn. All right, so let’s see some of the hooks. Now coming to hooks. Here again you have different types of hooks. You have hooks in steel, you have hooks in aluminium. These are the most commonly used hooks. Aluminum hooks, you have hooks with handle and without the handle. You have wooden hooks and also plastic hooks. These are the most commonly used types of hook. Now apart from that, there are other varieties of hook.

I don’t have an example to show you, but there are other hooks available. Available. But these are the generally used hooks out there of which the aluminum hooks are the most popular one. And I highly recommend if you are a beginner to try out with aluminum hooks you can use with or without the handle. That’s totally up to you. Now when it comes to hook, here again you have a numbering system and you also have an alphabetical system. So if you see here, these are the few hooks here I have just to show you. So here if you see you. This is a metric system. So this is 8 mm. Then you have 7 mm crochet hook. You can have 4.5 mm crochet hook. So it starts from very small size. So this is the hooks that I have.

I have a 1.1 mm crochet hook, 1.5 mm crochet hook and the needle is. The hook is really tiny. So these are to work with the size 0 or the thread yarn. We use this kind of steel hooks. Then you have these are my clover set hooks. So here in some hooks you also have Alphabet mentioned. So if you see it’s a 5mm, it is size edge. So you can use both the sizing and the metric system to indicate the hook. So this is the flower set that I have. So if you see here there you can find it in any Amazon or anywhere you can find the numbering system also. So B is for 2.25 E 3.5 like that you every hook size corresponds to a particular Alphabet. I tend to go only with the metric system.

2.5, 3.55 mm, like that works easier for me. I find alphabets a bit confusing. So either way you can follow it. Either you can follow the Alphabet or the metric system. And as I said, it starts with maybe 0.8. I think I have one starting with this is 0.6 mm crochet hook. So this is the smallest hook I have at hand. I don’t know whether it goes even smaller than that. And then from there you have 2, 2.5, 3, 3.54, 4.55, 5.56, 6.57. You have 7, 8 and 9. Okay, so these are the thicker hooks. Then you have plastic hooks for 10 mm. So if you go beyond 9, so from 10 12, I think there is 15 also. So those kinds of hooks are generally made with plastic because you are doing heavier projects.

So plastic helps to give less load to your hand. So that is the idea of using a plastic hook for higher sizes. All right, so this as general guidelines about hooks. Now I’ll try to explain it with the example of yarn and hooks. All right, now let’s talk about hooks and yarns together. Which hook will go with which particular yarn? Now here again I have arranged from size 0 to size 6 the yarns here. And if you see Here the size 0, the recommended hook size is 1.4 mm to 1.6 mm steel hooks. So the most preferred hook that I use is a 1.5mm crochet hook for the size 0. For the size 1 that is your super fine weight yarn, the recommended hook size is anywhere between 2.5mm to 3.5mm. So I prefer to use a size b or a 2.25mm crochet hook.

Now you don’t have to buy all of this. All this information will be available in your on your yarn label itself. So if you see this is 100% cotton yarn. It is mentioned one super fine weight yarn. And the recommended hook size for this, if you see here, this is a recommended hook size for knitting which is 3 mm. And this is the crochet hook symbol. So for this particular yarn, recommended hook size is 3 mm crochet hook. So so for usually for a super fine weight or a fingering weight Yarn, anywhere between 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm hook is recommended. And if you see this is another one, this is a light weight 3 yarn. The recommended hook size here it is written as 4.5 mm crochet hook. So this is for your guidance. You don’t have to remember anything.

You can just refer to the yarn label. So I’ll just quickly go through this. So the next one here is your weight two or a fine weight yarn Recommended hook size is anywhere between 3-4 mm. Some people go up till 4.5 mm crochet hook. I prefer to use a 3 mm crochet hook with a fine weight or a weight to yarn. Next comes your weight 3. This is a DK weight yarn. 4-5mm is the preferred hook size. You can use size G4 or 4.5. The next one is the most common one. It is a medium worsted weight yarn. The recommended hook size is 5 to 6.5 mm crochet hook. So depending on the project, you can use either 5, 5.5 or 6. You can go up to 6.5 mm crochet hook. The next one is your bulky weight yarn.

The recommended hook size for this is 6.5 to 9. So you can use 6, 7, 8, 6.5, 7, 8 or 9 for this yarn size. The next one is your super bulky weight yarn. You can use anywhere from 9mm to 15mm crochet hook. The last one, as I said, will be your jumbo yarn. And the recommended hook size for that is 15mm crochet hook. Okay, so that is one with regard to yarn and hook sizes. So these are general recommendation. You do not have to stick like absolutely strictly to this metric itself. You can change your hook size. So I’ll show you a few examples of it. So let’s consider the sample here. Now, both the yarns, the green and the yellow, has been worked with a DK weight or a weight 3 yarn.

And if you see this green, this has been made with a 4mm crochet hook, the recommended hook size. And if you see the stitches here, these are quite even, there are no gaps. But if you consider this one, the yellow one, this has been made with a larger hook size. I have gone with a 5.5mm crochet hook. And if you see this, the stitches are a bit big, it is quite loose and you can see small gaps when compared to your green yarn. So there is nothing wrong with changing the hook size other than your recommended hook size. It depends on the project. So if you’re making something for summer and you want very loose, drapey, airy garment, you can use a larger hook size.

If you are making something for winter where you want your stitches to be really tight and your garment to trap all the heat, then you can go with the recommended hook size or even go a hook size smaller than the recommended one. So the recommendation for the hook size is optional. It’s just a recommendation. You don’t have to. You don’t have to stick with it. This is just a recommendation. You can play around with the hook sizes. Okay. And then again, one more case that you can play around with the hook sizes is when it comes to tension. So this, if you see this, stitches are quite evenly spaced. So this is like you can say the perfect tension. If you are a beginner and it need not be a beginner.

If you are someone who crochets very tightly or if you have a tight tension, you can always go one or two hook sizes above than the recommended one so that your stitches even out. If you are someone who crochets loose, if you have a looser tension, you have more gaps, then you can always switch to smaller hook sizes than the recommended one so that you have an even tension. So that is one another way to play around with the hook sizes. There are projects when we tend to use where we tend to use smaller hook sizes, especially in amigurumi. I have two examples of amigurumi. So if you see here, the stitches are really tight.

So whatever is the hook size, especially when you do amigurumi or bags where you don’t want the stuffing to show, or if you want the bag or basket to be really stable, you can always use smaller hook size than the recommended one. So for amigurumis we always go with a smaller hook size because we don’t want the stuffing to show out. So that is another case when we don’t use the recommended hook size. Now let’s see what difference does it make with different hook sizes and yarn for the end product. So let’s consider one more example. So here I have got different weight yarns and each of them has been made with their own recommended hook size.

So here I have a size one, this is size three, I have a size four, size five and size six yarn and all of them in each of it I have put 10 chain stitches. So all the yarns I have put 10 chain stitches and I’ve used the recommended hook size. And if you see the height, the length that each of them has attained is quite different. So if you are using a larger hook size, the amount of stitches that you can put even though will be same, but the length it will reach is quite different. So if you consider say a weight one with a weight four yarn, even though both have been 10 stitches, but weight four is much longer when compared to a weight one yarn.

So if you are trying to finish a project quite quickly, you can, if you say you are making a shawl, you can make with a weight to yarn or with a weight 4 yarn. But if you go for a weight for yarn, the time requirement will be much lesser and also the effort, but then the way the shawl feels will be quite different also. So depending on what kind of yarn, depending on what kind of drape that you are looking for or what kind of feed you’re looking for, you can also play around with the yarn and the hook sizes. I will show this with the example of one amigurumi that I have made. So here I have made this cat here. This I think has been made with a weight one or two yarn.

And here I have made the exact same cat with a Chanel yarn. So you can see the difference in height. So I do have a tutorial for this on my channel. I’ll put the link in the description box. So I just wanted to show you how much of a difference the yarn weight and the hook size will make to the pattern. So here again there is one more. This is my octopus pattern. So I have used a different hook size and yarn weight for both of them and the difference in height is considerable. The pattern is the same. So yeah, you can definitely play around with the yarn weight and the hook size. Now finally, I just want to talk about the yarn and the hooks that I would recommend for a beginner. All right.

Now for the beginners here, I will highly recommend that you go for a weight for medium worsted weight yarn. And with that you can either use a stitch size H5mm crochet hook or you can even go for size I 5.5mm crochet hook. You can even use a weight 3 or a DK weight yarn. But my preference will be always to use a weight for yarn. This is a yarn that is neither too thick nor too thin. It is also called a medium weight yarn. So if you see here the stitches also, this is just right. It is not too small or not too big. I think it is perfect especially for bigness. And if you are a beginner, I will highly suggest that you use a very light color yarn.

Don’t go for a dark color yarn like a navy blue and definitely not a black. It will be very difficult for you to see the stitches. Please try to. Okay. In case, if you don’t have a weight for yarn, whatever yarn that you have, try to go with the recommended hook size. Otherwise the frustration will be too much. You will get your tension wrong or there might be gaps or it will be too difficult to pull out the yarn. So if you have, say if you are working with a weight 3 yarn. The recommended hook size is 4 and 5 mm. And if you for that, if you use 2.5 or even a 3, it will be very difficult to pull the yarn out. If you are using a bigger hook size then you have big gaps, which is also quite frustrating.

So try to use the recommended hook size for the yarn that you use and use a light color yarn. And try not to use a textured yarn. A plain, solid color yarn is absolutely great choice for beginners. You also have this kind of variegated yarn. This is also not something that will that I will recommend for a beginner because the colors tend to change quite quickly. And as a beginner, if you have a solid color, you can concentrate on the pattern. All right, so these are my small suggestions and recommendation for a beginner. And with that I think I’m winding this up. I hope this was helpful. I know it was a big article, bit technical and I hope I have tried to answer most of your question. If you still have questions, please put that in the comment box.

I will try my best to answer that. And if at all I have made any mistakes, please do correct me in the comment box as well so that other people who are watching this can also read through the comments and they will get the correct information. So yeah, that’s it for today’s tutorial. Now if you are a beginner and you are looking for a structured way to learn crochet, I do have a Crochet for Beginners series on my channel. There is a playlist. If you go through it, I think you will be able to do crochet. And you can start with small, very small, simple crochet projects and then build up from there. Okay, so yeah, that’s it for today’s tutorial. If you liked it, please do not forget to press on the like button.

And if you’re new to my channel, please do consider subscribing. That’s it for today’s tutorial. See you in another article. Until then, bye. Thank you for.