Big Hook, Little Hook, What Begins With Hook?

Please tell me someone got the joke there.

Anyway, to answer the question: Crochet begins with hook.

If you don't have a crochet hook, you're pretty much screwed. It's impossible to form those stitches at any speed without one. So, you definitely need a hook.

That raises an important question: how do you choose one?

How To Read Yarn Labels

When you go to a craft store (and it's a good idea to do so until you're very comfortable with yarn. Buying on the Internet is tricky since you can't feel it or see the true, real-life color), you will see many balls of yarn. These balls are called skeins ("skeynz"), and they will generally have paper labels. These labels are covered in a secret code of symbols, abbreviations, and who-knows-what.

Learning what the symbols and abbreviations mean is very important to choosing your yarn. Here is an explanation of what to look for on a label.