Shopping for someone who crochets is hard when you don’t crochet yourself. They already own hooks and more yarn than they can use, and from the outside you can’t tell what’s missing. The gifts that work best fix a small problem they run into often, like losing count of their stitches or not being able to see them in dark yarn.
The Counting Crochet Hook Set is our own, so it’s the first pick below. We don’t sell anything else on this list.
What to get someone who crochets
For Christmas or a birthday, a tool is a safer choice than yarn. Yarn comes in many weights and fibers, and crocheters pick it to suit each project, so it’s easy to get wrong. If you’d like to give yarn anyway, a gift card to their local yarn shop lets them choose.
Look at what they use now for clues. Hooks kept loose in a jar or a mug mean a set with a case would get used. A notebook full of tally marks means they count by hand.
Gifts for crocheters who have everything
Our pick: the Counting Crochet Hook Set
The LineaCraft Counting Crochet Hook Set is one handle with 18 interchangeable hook tips. Twelve metal tips run from 2.0 to 8.0 mm, and six clear tips from 9.0 to 14.0 mm are for chunky yarn, so the set works with yarn from very fine to bulky. It comes in a zippered sage case with a wrench for tightening the tips, a USB charging cable and a printed manual, and the case makes it look like a gift before you wrap it.
The handle also keeps count. They press S after each stitch and R at the end of each row, and a small screen shows both numbers. The buttons sit under the fingertip, so they can keep crocheting while they count. The counts stay saved when the hook is switched off, so a project put away mid-row picks up exactly where it stopped.
The third button, L, turns on an LED that shines through the six clear tips and lights up the loop they’re working into, so dark yarn is easier to see in the evening. Only those chunky sizes, 9.0 to 14.0 mm, light up; the 12 metal tips don’t. The light has two brightness settings and lasts about 7 to 8 hours per charge. Charging takes about 15 minutes over USB, and the hook switches itself off when it’s idle.
For dark yarn in regular sizes, a single light-up hook that runs on a coin battery does the job for less. The counter works with every tip, so the set makes the most sense for someone who crochets often and keeps losing count.
A yarn bowl
A yarn bowl is a heavy bowl with a curled slot for the yarn to run through. The ball stays in the bowl while they work, so it can’t roll across the floor or get chased by the cat.
A ball winder and swift
Hand-dyed yarn often comes as a hank, a big loose loop that has to be wound into a ball before anyone can crochet with it. A swift holds the hank open while the winder turns it into a neat, flat-topped ball called a cake. Winding a hank by hand over the back of a chair takes much longer.
Blocking mats and pins
Blocking means wetting a finished piece and pinning it flat so it dries in shape. Foam mats that fit together like puzzle pieces and a box of rust-proof pins make it easy, especially for squares and shawls.
A project bag
A bag with a loop or a hole for the yarn, and pockets for hooks and markers, keeps one project together so it can travel without tangling.
A pattern or a class
If you know a designer whose work they like, buy one of their patterns. A class in a technique they haven’t tried yet, like tapestry crochet, is a gift that doesn’t take up any shelf space.
Stocking stuffers for crocheters
Small tools go missing all the time, so spares make good stocking stuffers:
- Locking stitch markers, little clips that mark a spot in the work, such as where a row starts
- Tapestry needles, blunt needles with a big eye for weaving in the yarn ends
- Small yarn snips
- A soft tape measure
Best gifts for new crocheters
Someone who has just learned needs a few hook sizes and smooth yarn in a light color. Dark yarn makes stitches harder to see, so it’s better left until later. Losing count is one of the most common beginner mistakes, and the hook set‘s counter takes care of it. With 18 sizes, it’s also a set they won’t outgrow as they learn new techniques.
A beginner class, or a book of basic stitches with clear photos, goes well with it. If they embroider too, our gift guide for hand embroiderers covers that side.
Questions about gifts for crocheters
What do you get a crocheter who has everything?
Something that fixes a small problem they run into often, like losing count of stitches or yarn rolling away. A hook set with a built-in stitch counter helps with the first, and a yarn bowl with the second.
What should I get someone who crochets for Christmas?
Pick a tool over yarn unless you know exactly what they like. The LineaCraft Counting Crochet Hook Set comes in a zippered case that looks like a gift before you wrap it.
What are unique gifts for crocheters?
Tools that do something new, like a hook with a built-in stitch and row counter and a light, or a class in a technique they haven’t tried yet, such as tapestry crochet.
What’s a good gift for a new crocheter?
Hooks in several sizes and a way to keep count. The LineaCraft Counting Crochet Hook Set has 18 sizes from 2.0 to 14.0 mm and a handle that counts stitches and rows.
Does the LineaCraft hook set count stitches automatically?
No. You press the S button after each stitch and the R button at the end of each row, and a small screen shows both counts. The counts stay saved when the hook switches off, and holding a button for one second takes one away if you miscount.
Does the LineaCraft hook set work for left-handed crocheters?
Yes. Its S (stitch) and R (row) buttons are placed symmetrically.
How long does the battery last on the LineaCraft hook set?
About 7 to 8 hours of continuous light per charge, and weeks for the counter alone. It charges with the included USB cable in about 15 minutes.