My craft bag was “borrowed” from my Mum, who had it for years before I got it from her. I keep a whole host of things in it to do with crafting, so I thought I would give you a peek inside my bag, along with a guide to the essentials you need to start crochet.
I use my cloth “Home Bird” bag that I got from Sarah Millican’s show for the yarn I want to keep close to hand, and I also have the remains of my Attic24 kit in its original bag too. My next project is to make a bag for Georgie with these colours.
In my main bag I have:
- A striped dress for Lydia that needs mending
- A felt owl decoration my sister gave me to make at Christmas
- An anchor bag kit my Mum brought home from work I will get around to making soon
- Some 100% cotton yarn I use to make cloths etc with
- Crochet hooks in two cases (the pink spotty wrap case & a zip case)
- Knitting needles I got free on a magazine (I am going to attempt it soon!)
- Needle case
- Hedgehog pin cushion
- Pot of buttons
- A cloth that hasn’t made it to the kitchen yet!
- Retractable tape measure (the dog)
- A couple of reference books – Crochet Unravelled and Patons First Steps in Crochet
- Zipped pouch containing:
- Some spare ribbon I got on gifts etc.
- A pair of Fiskars needlework scissors
- White cotton thread
- A tape measure
- Stitch markers
- Pebble case containing “knitters” needles
I have two sets of hooks; the cheap ‘n’ cheerful aluminium hooks I started off with (that Lydia is trying to steal), and a set of KnitPro Waves hooks that my Mum bought for me, which I absolutely love using.
Some of this stuff is nothing to do with crochet, and some of it is nice but not vital.
So, what do you actually need to start crocheting?
The beauty of crochet is that you don’t actually need much. Sure, there are things that are nice to have, but to start off, you only really need a hook, some yarn, a pair of scissors, and some instructions.
Here’s whats in my crochet “starter kit” for beginners:
- Hooks – aluminium, cheep & cheerful. This set goes all the way from 2mm up to 10mm, but you can get 2mm – 8mm sets a little bit cheaper if you don’t think you’re going to be using the larger hooks. I like to be prepared.
- Cotton yarn – this is great for beginners. It’s easy to work with and stays in fairly good shape when you take your work apart a few times and remake it. Plus, you can practise the different stitches in squares and end up with cloths to use in the kitchen!
- Scissors – I’ve just bought some needlework scissors from Fiskars but any sharp pair of scissors will do the trick, and you can get cheaper needlework scissors if you want a small pair to slip in your bag.
- Knitters needles – you’ll need these for finishing your work. I love this pebble set that my Mum got me, the case is really handy.
- Tape measure – useful for checking sizing, tension etc. For some reason I both have a tape and a retractable one in my bag and I use both of them equally.
- Crochet Unravelled – this paperback book has guides for all different stitches, for both left-handed and right-handed crocheters. There is also a selection of patterns for beginners, including the basic granny square. I love this book, it makes it really easy to understand what to do for the different stitches, and it is slim & small enough to live in your bag alongside your hooks. If you don’t want to get a book, you can always stick to looking on youtube, there are loads of tutorials.
This lot comes to less than £25 on Amazon (at the time of publishing – and slightly more if you go for the Fishers scissors). That is not a lot to start a whole new hobby, and that pack of cotton yarn will keep you going for a while!
What you need
What is nice to have
Affiliate Amazon links included for your convenience.
I love this post. I have wanted to start crochet for a while but didn’t know what I’d need, great guide! x
Ooh this is quite a timely post for me as I was thinking about starting to crochet – thank you x
I’ve tried and I bought a hungry caterpillar kit but haven’t got very far. I need to try again x