So how do you hold it?
I mean your yarn, of course. Specifically, how do you tension your yarn when crocheting? I’ve always done it the way my mom first taught me. I mostly control the tension between my pinky and ring finger, while my index finger positions the yarn. This leaves my thumb and middle finger free to grip the project:
I know everyone does it differently, and I was curious, so I asked some other crochet designers to show me how they do it. As expected, the results were quite varied!
Lorene of Cre8tion Crochet and MandaLynn of MandaLynn’s Crochet Treasures both hold it the same way I do:
Kati of KatiD Creations does something similar as well, but notice how the yarn goes over the top of her ring finger and under her pinky finger instead of the other way around.
Christina of Knot Sew Cute Designs does the same, but with an extra wrap around the pinky:
Elizabeth of Bella Crochet does the double wrap around the pinky too. She wrote this great post about her tension and how it changed when she started working with crochet thread.
Another variation on the double pinky wrap is what Katy of KT and the Squid does – notice how it’s wrapped around her pinky, but not around any of the other fingers at all:
Tamara of Moogly, Stacey of Busting Stitches, and Allesandra of Just Be Happy all wrap the yarn over only one finger as well, but it’s their index finger. You can see how they are gripping the yarn with their pinkies and ring fingers, but without wrapping it around those fingers first.
It’s so interesting to see all the different ways that you can hold your yarn! All that really matters in the end though, is that it’s comfortable to you and does not strain your hand over time. Do you use one of these methods? Or do you do something else completely different?
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56 Comments
trisha
I don’t even wrap the yarn. I just hold it between my 1st and second fingers and use my thumb, ring and pinky fingers to hold my work. Kind of like Moogly but without the wrap. I too, learned as a kid and have never been able to change it but I don’t have pain or anything unless I am gripping my work too tightly.
Vanesda
I do the same! I didn’t even realized some people wrapped it around their fingers.
Angie
I hold mine this exact way! I learned when I was 8 and have not been able to change it! 🙂
Kathryn
I hold mine exactly like you Trisha! I was beginning to think I might be the only one 🙂
Linda
My mother taught me to hold it the same way you do Pia. I’ve been holding it like that for 53 years :-).
Lori Bennett Kramer
Double wrap on index finger only.
alexandrea
That’s how I do it!
Catilla
Me too
Elaine
Double wrap on index finger only (triple wrap if working with thread!)
Tammy
You mean I’m not the only one that holds it this way?! I move my finger up and down to adjust the “flow” of the yarn, too.
quivermindedmama
Same here!
Kat
I have students who use this method quite successfully.
Jocelyn Carrier
I do it completely wrong and use my right hand for both hook and yarn!
Pia Thadani
oh now that I have to see! do you have a pic somewhere that you can post a link to? 🙂
Laura Gibbons
I do that too-one of my friends tells me every time she watches me crochet that
I crochet funny. Yarn loops once around my pinky and I hold it parallel to my hook in my right hand. I rarely have joint pain, and have been doing it this way for almost twenty years. I am teaching my kids a few stitches, and they are learning it the way I do it. I have never met anyone who holds their yarn the way I do.
Emma Louise Duffy
I do this as well, it’s the only way to keep my tension perfect
Sarah
Me too! I am a thrower most of the time. I can switch to the convential way, but move fast tossing.
Deborah M.
Me too. Glad I’m not the only one. Learned to knit by age 7. Taught myself to crochet and treat my hook like a knitting needle
Gemma
Ooh me too!!
Mo Green
Me too, my Gran was always convinced my crochet was back to front
becca
And me!! Learnt to knit at a very young age; taught myself to crochet – can’t ever get over the fact the hook isn’t a knitting needle!
10 Nice Nails
I hold it like Christina of Knot Sew Cute. That’s how my grandmother taught me!
Linda
Around pinky, under ring, over middle and index fingers. I hold it the same way to knit.
Norma Ellen Reid-Hunt
no double wraps,underbaby over ring, under middle and over pointer
C J
I hold it like Moogly with my project between my fingers like Busting Stitches. I cant see the bottom fingers of Busting Stitches to see if there is a wrap there. Or see how Moogly holds the project.
Paula
I wrap it multiple times around my index finger!
Nikki
Completely different… 1 wrap around my pinky, under my ring and middle fingers, over the pointer finger. And I don’t hold my pointer finger up, it’s just right there where I’m working.
Debra Anderson
I wrap the yarn around my index finger only just as my grandmother taught me. I found out later in school that it was called the Dutch or Deutch style of holding the yarn.
Justine
I actually wrap the yarn around my thumb and then hook it on my index finger. Works well for me. 🙂
Leslie Robertson
I wrap my pinky and go over next two fingers. I use thumb and index to hold work.
Connie
I hold it over my index finger, under the middle, over the ring finger. Works for me!
AuntieAmb
I wrap around my wrist, hand and pointer finger. It’s really hard to describe. I’d share a picture if I could.
Jessica Tucker
That sounds a lot more like what I do! The yarn always starts wrapped twice around my palm, but one wrap often moves to my wrist. Then my index finger moves up and down with each YO.
Chelle
I actually hold my work with the index / thumb and hold the working yarn with my middle finger, and have been for 25 years. Didn’t even realize I was doing it “wrong” until a couple of weeks ago.
Jacqueline Collings
You are not doing it wrong. I hold my yarn just like you. That is how I was taught and I even have a crochet book showing this method of holding the yarn. I suppose though it is whatever feels best for the individual.
Patricia B
I’ve tried many different ways. I always go back to twice around my index finger then hold it with my pinky. I fell I have better control over the yarn or thread. Don’t know why, just do!! lol
Katherine
Apparently, I hold my yard incorrectly. I use my index finger and thumb to hold my work and guide the yarn. I let yarn glide through the rest of the fingers which are cupped lightly around the yarn.
RIO
I don’t hold my yarn like any of the above picture. I have a “unique” way of holding my yarn, never have seen anyone else use my method, but, it’s what is most comfortable for me and it workds for me..
Sheri
my grandma held hers like you do but I never could do that when I was little & learning so I held it between my 1st 2 fingers for years but now I do a single wrap over my index finger and don’t hold onto it anywhere else 🙂
Teresa Verhoog
I couldn’t have answered this, so I started crocheting to see, index finger only. Why? Not a clue, maybe from watching my grandmothers! I learned in home ec as a teen, but never did much until I turned 50
Sharon
Why dont you show any left handers@?
Pia Thadani
Because when I asked for photos from the group Of designers I was talking to, none of the lefties sent one 🙁
Oksana Alekseenko
I hold the yarn/thread exactly like in the last pic of Just Be Happy. i crochet tight. Never had fingers or arms tired, but I always sit on the sofa in the way with elbows put on the sofa, half-lying on the sofa position 😉
Lorrie
I hold it like Busting Stitches.
Carrie Sawyer
I hold between my index and middle figners, no wrapping. I hold the project with the other fingers. I’ve never seen anyone else hold like this, and have tried other methods but only this one works for me. Happy crocheting!
anacarmen51@yahoo.com.br
I hold it between my thumb and index, do not wrap.
Martie
I was taught to wrap around pinky and over the back of the fingers, index finger usually out, holding my project with middle finger and thumb. I’d attach a picture if I could.
I’ve been working with #10 thread this week and found wrapping twice around the middle finger and then the index finger works better for that fine size.
Michelle
I guess i do mine different … closest picture choice is Moogly’s photo. Differance is i wrap my yarn 2X over my index finger this give me a nice tension i like
susan funk
double wrap on the index finger
Dawn Hinnenkamp
I wrap over pinky under middle two fingers and over index. I teach newbys occasionally and when teaching a lefty I switch to left handed and hold the yarn the same way. (Couldn’t figure out any other way to help guide their hands when they didn’t understand, so I had to learn myself. What a confusing time for both of us until I got the hang of it.) But I encourage all I have helped to do whatever is most comfortable.
Noemi
I didn’t see it in any of the pictures, and skimming through the comments I didn’t find if anyone else does it like me. I am a rightie so I hold the yarn in my left hand with the yarn in front of my pinky and then through the back of my ring, middle, and index fingers. I can close my pinky towards the palm of my hand for a bit more tension. If I’m working with thread, then I have wrapped the thread around my pinky once but then its over my next three fingers still.
DarleneKoske
I hold it like a smoker holds a cig ….between my index and middle finger of my right hand..no wrapping any where.
Hayley HP
I love this! I always wondered… never been completely satisfied with the technique taught by my mom and grandmother. Can’t wait to try some of these!
Susan
I double wrap around my pinky go under my ring finger and double wrap around my middle finger and use my index finger to guide it. Complicated, I know.
Samantha
I hold mine exactly like Knot Sew Cute. How my Nana taught me 30 years ago. Didn’t really pick it up then, but just a year ago, I started again. The yarn and hook muscle memory came back instantly. Funny how that works.
Dee
I am a lefty. I also don’t wrap, I hold yarn between my index and middle finger. It has always worked for me…..53 years!