The love affair we have with crochet starts simply with an unpretentious piece of bent metal, molded plastic or carved wood: the hook. This modest and usually inexpensive device is on equal par with the myriad of yarns that captures our hearts and hands. The origins of modern crochet are debatable and a timeline can't be defined before the 16th century, but the hook as the integral tool is indisputable.

The word "crochet" is an old French word meaning "small hook." Hooks, new and old, vary by material, color, length, diameter and purpose. The most common are standard, steel, Tunisian and jumbo hooks. The use of one hook or another is dictated by the type of stitching (for example, standard or Tunisian), the fiber content, the yarn weight and the crocheter's personal preference.

Read the entire article in our August issue!