How to Hold Your Fingers for Crochet

Coordinating both hands when crocheting takes a little practice.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to get the hang of when learning to crochet is how to hold the yarn correctly to keep your tension even. Unlike knitting, with crochet you only work with one hand, while the other simply holds the yarn. It can take quite a bit of practice to learn how to hold the yarn without gripping it too tightly or letting it fall too loose. The most important thing to remember is to keep your hands as relaxed as possible.

Things You'll Need

• Crochet hook
• Yarn

Instructions

1. Grab the hook between your thumb and first two fingers of your dominant hand as if you were holding a knife. For finer work such as lace, grip the hook like a pencil instead.

2. Make a slipknot in the free end of the yarn, leaving a tail of 2 to 4 inches, and place it on your crochet hook.

3. Hold the ball end of the yarn in your non-dominant hand. Hold it to your palm with your middle, third and pinkie fingers and pass the free end (attached to the hook) around the outside of your index finger.

4. Hold the yarn tail out of the way with your thumb and middle finger if needed.

References

• Next Stitch: Get a Grip! How to Hold a Crochet Hook And Yarn
• DMC USA: Holding the Crochet Hook
• Knit Simple Magazine: Learn to Crochet -- First Steps