Cast Iron Stew: Don't Wanna Buy a Tunisian Crochet Hook? No Worries!

See how I've got 8 loops on my hook? Those are called "working loops".

Essentially, Tunisian crochet is like a mix of knitting and crochet. So, while it uses a hook (like crochet), it's also worked from only one side and can have lots of working loops (like knitting).

If you're interested in Tunisian crochet, but you don't want to buy a special hook, I'm in the same boat. I love the Tunisian knit stitch, but I don't want to have a hook meant just for that.

But here's some good news: there's still some options for using a normal hook.

Option One: choose a skinny project. That's what I did for my headband. I was able to use a normal 5.5mm hook because the project was skinny and didn't require a bunch of working loops.

This was made with the Tunisian Knit Stitch.

But, if you want to make a larger project, there's also option two!

Option Two: use a pencil eraser. That's right - a pencil eraser. You know the kind that fits on the end of a pencil? Simply slide it over the end of an appropriately-sized crochet hook and (hooray!) you've got a stopper on the end of your normal hook.

Keep in mind that some hooks will be too small, and others too big. You might have to try it on several of your hooks before find one that works.

I've found that my Susan Bates 8mm (L-11) crochet hook works really well for this, but I'm sure there's other brands that work well, too.

After you've found the right hook, you have a lot more flexibility with your projects. That's because the working loops can push against the eraser, instead of falling off the end.