With amigurumi, a question often asked is “What hook do I need with this yarn?”, so today I will answer this question :). Using the wrong hook size will not only make your stuffing come out, but can also make crocheting more difficult.

Lots of times, your yarn will already give an estimate of which to use. As you can see, most yarn I use, states you have to use a 2.5-3.5mm hook (want US/UK sizes? Here is a conversion chart!). With amigurumi, most people use a hook around 0,5-1mm smaller than what’s stated on the yarn.

Here is an example of how a circle looks when I use a 3.0 or a 2.5 a 2.0 hook with the same yarn (look here for a crochet hook conversion table from metric to US or UK). I placed them against a light, so you can clearly see the difference.

As you can see, using a 3.0 hook will give you lots of holes. This will result in visible stuffing or even stuffing coming out. Both the 2.5 and 2.0 look better.  When using a hook that’s too small, you have to use a lot of pressure, which will cramp your hands :(. That’s why I like to use the largest possible hook that doesn’t result in large holes: in this case a 2.5mm.

If you use yarn for the first time, I recommend making circles like this to make sure you’re using the right hook. All you need to do is crochet in the round for 3 rows (or just make the first few rounds from the pattern you want to make). If you find out you did not use the right hook, you can always unravel and start again with a different hook. It only takes a few minutes and is way better than finishing a project and realizing it is full with holes!

And if you use a certain hook size (which doesn’t give you holes) , but everyone else uses another size – don’t worry, not all hooks are the same! Here are two hooks that are 2.5mm and two that are 2.0mm. But as you can see, not all 2.0mm hooks are the same size 🙂