Tulip vs Clover Crochet Hook

Many people have been wondering about this question. Which is better? Tulip or Clover? From my point of view, I’ve used both brands and I love both of them very much.

My first hook was a 2.5mm Clover Soft Touch which I purchased a decade ago. Over the years, my rubber grip came off (the new hooks are made differently now), but the hook is still in a super good working condition. I also own my mum’s full metal Tulip crochet hooks which she doesn’t use any more. They are of various sizes between 0.75-1.9mm. What I realised was that the older folks in Singapore used to own Tulip hooks before the trend died off. Similarly, these old Tulip hooks have stood the test of time. They neither rust nor break.

The greatest difference between those 2 is the same as comparing Apple to Windows. Once you’re used to a certain brand, it becomes difficult for you to change. For me, I took some time to switch over to Tulip. The hardest to get used to is that even though both hooks are labelled 2.5mm, the size of the head, throat and shank differ slightly (refer to the image below).

1 The head of Clover is slightly thicker than Tulip, causing the stitch to be stretched slightly bigger. If I want to make very tight stitches, Tulip will be able to do the job fitting into the tight stitches and not expanding them.

2 The bowl of Tulip is deeper than Clover, making it easy to grab hold of the stitch swiftly without worrying that it might slip off.

3 The shank of Tulip increases gently from the head to the body, whereas it is much steeper for Clover. Therefore I’m able to maintain the size of the stitches to be fairly small.

4 Clover has a wider grip than Tulip. It allows my thumb to rest comfortably with a bigger base. But both hooks give you great comfort so there’s nothing much to complain about it. These are integral when I’m making amigurumi since achieving tight stitches is the aim.

That’s what gotten me switched over to Tulip throughout a period of time and admiring the beauty of its kind. Don’t get me wrong as I still love my first ever Clover hook as it has sentimental value plus it is a really well-made hook.

And perhaps the secondary decision might be the colour! Haha.

There are hooks that you should get and hooks that you SHOULD NEVER get. Do not place the importance of pricing higher than the quality.

The primary aim of a crochet hook is no doubt giving the user the ability and efficiency to crochet a piece without struggle or pain. Comfort is always the most important factor. Do you know that some hooks are made with tardy metal while some are rather soft and easily bent?

Crochet Hooks Found at an Aussie Craft Store

While I was studying in Australia and I couldn’t find my trusty Clover hook. I decided to head down to the nearest craft shop to purchase a hook. The only hooks that you can find at the store was a full metal hook in grey. There weren’t many choices and thus I decided on getting anything that’s available. While crocheting for only a matter of minutes, my fingers started aching as there wasn’t a soft grip for me to hold onto. The worst that happened was that the hook started bending. Perhaps I wasn’t really familiar with this hook and applied too much pressure causing it to bend. I thought maybe it was a user problem.

Several months later, I helped a friend get the same hook as she was interested to learn crochet too. She experienced the exact same thing as I had. Sore fingers and bent hook. Although she was pretty addicted and we spent the whole afternoon crocheting away, but the unpleasantness was there.

Made-in-China Crochet Hooks

On another occasion, I was testing out a hook that was ordered directly from China. While trying to pull the hook out of a stitch as it was stuck, I ended up pulling the hook out of its plastic holder. It was a total disappointment as it was a brand new hook. It was then that I realised that good hooks have the metal part extended all the way to the end of the handle, whereas low quality hooks are only half the length.

Daiso Crochet Hooks

I have also tried Daiso’s colourful crochet hooks. They’re really lovely I shall say. How many of you are fans of Daiso? $2 for a hook is really affordable. However the flaw is that if you have sweaty palms, the grip will discolour very quickly. The hook is still quite pleasant to use. It has a comfortable grip. However, there’s a case of bending too. The metal within the handle isn’t very firm. If you’re someone who hold the hook very tightly, you’ll soon have bent hooks. Some of my friends also noticed that the shank might not be smooth thus you should select the hooks wisely.

Bamboo / Wooden Crochet Hooks

I really like looking at wooden hooks. They’re very pretty and looks artistic, especially those that are made of red wood and are shapey! However the one I owned has a very long lip and deep bowl and I wasn’t very used to this distance to hook the yarn out. I had to put in extra effort to crochet. But then again, this is just a different kind of hook and hooks made by different manufacturers differ one from the other. You may still want to consider owning 1 that is pretty!

Which type of hooks are you more attracted to? Please drop your comment below to share about your favourite crochet hook!

Mata ne~