The Hook Set I Wish I Had Bought Sooner

I have crocheted left-handed for about thirty-five years, and for most of that time I used plain aluminum hooks. I am sixty-four, five foot one, and I work in a small armchair by the front window in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For thirty years my hooks were Susan Bates Silvalume aluminum. They did the job. But after about an hour, the base of my left thumb would get stiff, and cold weather made it worse. I figured that was just part of doing something I loved. Then in September 2025 I bought the Clover Amour set, and I wish I had bought it sooner.

The set has ten hooks, B-2.25mm through J-6.00mm. I reach for the G-4.00mm and H-5.00mm most, because baby blankets and hats live on those sizes. The hook itself is polished aluminum, and the grip is soft and warm to the touch. I am left-handed, and I use it the same way I used my old hooks, working right to left. I did not have to change my hold to make it work. Within about two weeks I noticed I could go roughly twenty minutes longer before I stopped to rest my thumb. That is not a cure for anything. It is just less stopping.

That extra twenty minutes sounds small until you are on the last long row of a baby blanket. Before, I would stop, shake out my hand, and lose my place. Now I finish the row more often than not. I still stop. I still put the work down. But the stopping comes later, and the break feels less like a rescue. For a left-handed crocheter who has spent decades making do, that is a real change in the afternoon.

I am not going to tell you the Clover set solved my hand. It did not. My thumb still gets stiff after a long session, and cold mornings are still cold. What changed is the handle. It gives my fingers something to hold that is not a thin metal shaft. I hold my hook like a pencil, and the soft grip sits better in that hold. In Michigan winter, the warm-to-touch feel is not a small thing either. A plain aluminum hook is cold when you pick it up. This one is not.

The set is also not perfect. The handles are bulkier than plain aluminum hooks, so they take up more room in a small project pouch. If I am carrying one hook to an appointment, I notice the size. If I am working at home, I do not. The set is listed at 3.3 ounces, so it is not heavy, but ten hooks with soft handles are still more to store than a handful of thin metal ones. I keep mine in the zippered case that came with my CRAFTISS bag, and that works for me.

Within about two weeks I could go roughly twenty minutes longer before I had to stop and rest my thumb. That was the whole change, and it was enough.

Here is what changed in my actual work. Baby blankets are where the set earns its place, because those are long rows and long evenings. Dishcloths are too small for the handle to matter much. Hats are somewhere in between, but I like the grip when I am working in the round and changing colors. The polished aluminum hook slides through the yarn cleanly, and I have not had it catch on a split stitch the way some coated hooks can. That is a small thing, but small things add up over a blanket.

Here is what did not change. I still have stiffness at the base of my left thumb after about an hour. I still wear my Dritz Crafters Comfort gloves for any session over about an hour, and in cold weather. The Clover hooks did not replace the gloves. They did not replace the floor lamp at my left, either, or the neck light I use after dark. The hooks are one part of a setup, not the whole setup. I think that is the honest version.

Left-handed crocheters get used to improvising. I taught myself from a library book at twenty-nine by propping it in front of a mirror, because nobody near me crocheted left-handed. Most hooks are symmetrical, so the hook itself was never the problem. The problem was the thin shaft and the way my hand had to work around it. The Clover grip gives my fingers more to hold without changing my stitch. I work right to left, mirrored, and the hook does not care. That is worth saying plainly, because a lot of left-handed tools are sold as special when they are just ordinary tools with a different label.

I also want to be clear about who this is not for. If you love a thin metal hook and you have no trouble working for an hour, you may not need this set. If you only ever use one size, buying ten hooks is more than you need. If you want a hook to fix hand pain, it will not. It is a tool, not a treatment. What it does is make the hold a little softer and give you a little more time before you stop. For me, that was enough to wish I had bought it years ago.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

I would tell you to think about where your hand gives out, not where the pattern says you should be. If you are left-handed, do not assume you need a special hook. Check the grip, check the size range, and check whether the handle fits your hand. I have small hands, and the Clover handles are bulky to me in a small pouch, but they are comfortable for a long session. That is the trade. I would also tell you to keep your old hooks. I still have my Susan Bates Silvalume hooks, and I use them for small projects where a thin hook is easier. The Clover set did not replace thirty years of habit. It added a better option for the long evenings.