What is Crochet?

In the early 18th century, materials made out of lace were very expensive than that of crochet products. People from certain community in parts of Europe used crochet products for establishing their social status. They chose the crochet products and other lace materials due to the expensive price tag attached to them.

It is a wide spread belief that crocheting and knitting evolved from countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. The traditional clothing patterns followed by people from these countries have in fact formed the basis for linking the origin of crochet with these countries.

In many of the western parts of Europe, village people for their main livelihood practiced crocheting during the early period. Wealthy people for establishing their affluence readily bought the crochet products thus produced. Later on, crocheting and knitting has started to become an art and people started developing very good crochet crafts and designs.

A variety of yarns and threads are available for making crochet an interesting hobby. There are different textures and colors and you may choose them depending upon your taste, preference and affordability. To name few, you may find baby/fingering, worsted weight, chunky, sport/baby, and the bulky types of yarns, which are commonly used in crocheting and knitting.

The qualities of yarns are also multivarious, and you can decide on the quality based on the labels affixed over the yarn packaging. As different types of yarns are linked to the different types of crochet products, you can go in for the desired yarn quality based on your product or project and based on your knowledge about the amount of skein, care instructions, gauge, and the fiber content of the yarns.

Besides the basic requirement of yarns in any crochet product, you also need to have certain other tools and let us see few of them now:

Knitting Needles

Knitting needles play a vital role in crocheting. They are normally made up of aluminum, wooden and plastic materials and are available in various sizes ranging from 2 millimeters to 15 millimeters. The needles have a knob and pointed edge and come in pairs. The design is so thoughtfully made so as to help you to keep the needles in the unfinished crochet product itself with ease.

Crochet Hooks

They are meant for catching the loops of thread used in crocheting. Hooks are also used to draw the stitches made from loosening and sliding of chain stitches. Similar to needles, hooks are also made from aluminum, plastic, and wooden materials. The wooden crochet hooks are very popular because you can find them easier on your fingers and least expensive in its price.

Pattern Diagram

Pattern Diagram forms a basis for creating any crochet product. You are free to use the pattern diagram as a guide for following the instructions and for making out the outline of the design. You may find the patterns either easy or difficult depending upon your expertise, and as a beginner, you can try out few of the basic and simple designs initially. You will understand the intricacies of crocheting when you practice with simple patterns of crochet products.

Instruction Books and Magazines

You may also need to use few books on crochet designs for your successful crocheting experience. You can find instructional diagrams and designs and choose your pick depending upon your choice such as crochet hat, crochet pillow, crochet scarf, crochet bag, and other items.

Besides the above mentioned tools, you may also have to use certain special needles made out of stainless steel if you choose to work on laces and doilies. These special steel hooks come in various sizes when compared to the wooden hooks.

Basically crochet products are made for their aesthetic appeal and many of such designs can be made in crocheting. Crochet is also taken up as a hobby by many women folk who has spare time at their disposal and it still continue to be the favourite pastime for many people.