Crochet Tools I Wish I Could Just Order

I keep a small list on my phone. Not a shopping list exactly, more like a maybe list.

Things I see other crocheters talk about, things I read about, things I think would help my hands after a long day of hooking. And then I look at the shipping cost to Israel and I close the tab.

That is the honest truth of running a crochet business from here.

So much of what gets recommended online just assumes you can click and it shows up in two days.

For me it is often a very different number, if it comes at all.

So I thought, why not just be honest about it.

Here is my list. Not things I have tried and loved, because I have not tried most of them.

Things I wish I could just order, and the real reasons why, some of it from my own hands, some of it from years working in rehabilitation before crochet was my full time work.

Ergonomic Hooks With a Softer Grip

I still use a plain metal hook most days, no cushion, no grip.

It works, but by the end of a long project my hand knows it.

From what I understand about hand mechanics, a wider, softer handle spreads the pressure across your palm instead of concentrating it at one small point where you pinch the hook.

That small change can matter a lot over a two hour crochet session, especially as our joints get less forgiving with age.

You have a full set HERE

A Hook Grip You Can Add to Any Hook

If a whole new set of hooks feels like too much, there are soft grips that just slide onto the hook you already own.

Same idea as above, less commitment. I like that this would let me keep the hooks I already have instead of starting over.

These are essentials

A Lamp That Actually Points Where I Need It

This one is not about my hands, it is about my eyes.

Evening crochet under a regular room light means squinting at dark yarn, and I know I am not the only one.

A proper task lamp, the kind that clips or angles right over your work, makes a real difference for close up stitches, especially with darker colors or smaller hooks.

I think this one

Locking Stitch Markers That Actually Lock

I have a small dish of stitch markers that are really just bent paperclips at this point. They fall out.

They get lost in the couch.

A proper locking marker stays where you put it, which sounds small until you are forty rows into a pattern and cannot remember where you started your increases.

This kind of thing gets even more important on a pattern with a lot of stitch counting, like the Spike Stitch Beanie one lost marker there and you’re starting the round over.

Like these ones

A Yarn Bowl, or Honestly Just a Bowl With a Slot

My yarn rolls off my lap constantly, across the floor, under the couch, once memorably into the dog’s water.

A yarn bowl keeps the ball still and feeds the working yarn through a little slot or swirl cut into the side. It is such a simple idea and I do not know why I have not solved this some other way yet.

It’s an even bigger problem with a big skein of chunky yarn, like the one I used for the V-Stitch Skirt — that much yarn rolling around is a lot to keep track of.

Maybe a simple one

A Basic Manual Row Counter

Not an app, just a small clicker you press after every row.

I have started counting on my fingers, in my head, on a scrap of paper that then disappears.

A five dollar clicker solves a problem I recreate for myself every single week.

Especially useful on something like the Crochet Laptop Sleeve, where getting the rows right is what makes the sizing actually work.

Definitly this one

Why I Am Sharing a Wish List Instead of Reviews

I thought about not writing this post at all, since I cannot tell you these changed my life the way some blogs do. But I would rather be honest with you about where I actually am than pretend. If you are somewhere these ship easily, maybe this list saves you some searching. And if any of you have tried these, I would really love to hear what actually helped.

Sandra’s Tip: if shipping is hard for you too, even one small thing on this list, tried locally or found secondhand, is worth more than a long wish list that never becomes real. Start with whichever one bothers you the most.

And if you found this helpful, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tutorials, tools, and creative crochet inspiration.

A quiet place to keep crocheting

If projects like this one are your kind of calm, you might love the V-Stitch Club.

It is my little corner of the internet for women who crochet for the joy and the quiet of it, with new patterns, gentle company, and the steady rhythm of always having something beautiful on the hook.

Be Part of The Tribe!

Come share your finished Ridgeline Beanie in my free Facebook group. Join Crochet & Stories with Sandra Stitches.

Xoxo, Sandra