About Hook, Needle & Hoop
Hook, Needle & Hoop is a free, friendly starting point for people who have never crocheted, knitted, embroidered or mended before. We gather beginner patterns from designers around the web, sort them by craft and skill, and write step-by-step guides to get you to your first finished project.
What you’ll find here
- A directory of 60 free beginner patterns for crochet, knitting, embroidery and visible mending. (Visible mending means fixing clothes so the repair shows, on purpose.)
- Beginner guides for crochet and knitting, from buying supplies to a finished first project.
- Short “Before you start” notes for embroidery and mending, each with a word list. Full step-by-step guides for both are coming in about two weeks.
- Two patterns of our own: the Sage Moss Stitch Dishcloth (crochet) and the Two-Tone Garter Stripe Scarf (knitting). We wrote them as the next step after our guides, and each has a printable PDF.
How we choose and label patterns
Every pattern in the directory is free to read or download. Most open with one click. Some need a free account or email signup on the designer’s site, such as a free Ravelry account (Ravelry is a big free website for knitters and crocheters). The card tells you.
We pick patterns with beginners in mind. On each card we show:
- A skill level: Absolute first project, Beginner, or Advanced beginner.
- The skills it uses, like “single crochet” or “purl stitch”.
- A rough time. Times marked “est.” are our estimates, not the designer’s.
- The materials you’ll need.
Labels are our own judgement, not the designer’s, and they aren’t a guarantee. Check the skill list on a card before you start. If a link breaks or a label looks wrong, please tell us (see “Get in touch” below).
We link, we don’t host
Patterns from other designers stay on their own sites. Our cards link straight to them, and the designers keep all rights to their work. We don’t copy their instructions or photos.
If a designer asks us to remove their listing, we will. We don’t currently earn money from the links on this site.
About our pictures
The photos in our guides are real. Most pattern-card pictures are AI-generated, and each one is labelled “Illustrative image”. Photos that need a credit are credited. AI-generated pictures show the finished project or a step and aren’t photos of real projects or of the designers’ own work, so check the pattern itself for exact details. Where we don’t have a picture that fits, we show a plain craft tile instead. The drawings with arrows and labels are our own diagrams, made to match the written steps.
Videos
Some guide steps include a short video by another teacher. We credit the creator under every video.
Our words
We use US terms, with the UK term in brackets, like this: single crochet [UK: double crochet]. We explain each new word the first time it comes up.
If you sign up, you get our free printable beginner’s guide (PDF), a few welcome emails, and then two free beginner patterns a month, with beginner tips inside. You can unsubscribe from any email. See our privacy note.
Get in touch
Email: [email protected]
Write to us if:
- a pattern link is broken, or a label looks wrong,
- you spotted a mistake in a guide or pattern,
- you’re a designer and want your listing changed or removed.
We reply to emails within a few days.