Sprite Stitch Board!

Latch hooking is a very simple craft with so many possibilities! You can turn your finished pieces into rugs, blankets, pillows, wall hangings, hot pads, coasters, or whatever your imagination can come up with! To start, you’ll want to gather the materials you’ll need:
• Latch Hook Canvas - There are two commonly used sizes of canvas, 3.75 holes per inch and 5 holes per inch. The 3.75 size is generally cheaper, easier to find, and easier to work with since the holes are bigger. Some canvas has printed blue grid lines on it to help you keep track of your progress, or you can draw the lines on blank canvas yourself with a marker if you want to.
• Pre Cut Yarn - Most store-bought latch hook yarn is 3-ply acrylic and cut to 2 ½” lengths, but you may be limited to only the colors the store carries. You can use whatever composition or color of yarn you like, and you can also cut the yarn to any length you choose with a special rug yarn cutter, or you can make your own device like this. (Craftysasha added her yarn-cutting method to the comment section!) Just remember, the longer the yarn, the more shaggy your project will be. You may want to experiment before you make a final decision.
• Latch Hook Tool - There are many different varieties of tools available, but the only real difference is what the handle is made out of. It won’t affect your finished piece, so you’ll want to pick one that fits comfortably in your hand and fits the canvas size you choose.
• Pattern - You can make your own pattern online with no download required with this website. If you already have a pattern-making program, you can use that instead. Just remember that all the colors your program picks may not be available without cutting your own yarn. You could also use graph paper and crayons/markers if you prefer.

Once you’ve decided which pattern you want to use, you’ll need to make sure you have the proper amount of materials. To determine how much canvas you’ll need, divide the dimensions of your pattern by the holes per inch in your canvas. So if your pattern is 45x45, your project will be 12”x12” on 3.75 canvas (45 divided by 3.75 holes per inch). You’ll want to cut your canvas at least an extra inch bigger on each side to leave room for finishing. If your canvas has lines printed on it, you can cut the canvas so that it will match up with the gridlines on your pattern or you can draw your own lines if it will help you follow your pattern; also, it helps to mark which side is the top and which is the bottom. After that, you’ll want to calculate how much yarn you’ll use. Most pattern-making programs will give you a count for each color, but, if you drew out your pattern on paper, you’ll need to count them yourself. You should try to have extras of each color just in case you miscounted or if you lose pieces along the way.

If all of that seems too daunting for your first project, you can buy a latch hook kit from most craft stores or online. Most kits come with everything you will need to complete your project except for the latch hook tool. If you can’t find a kit you like, I would recommend this store. He makes his own kits from patterns; in addition, he makes custom orders for patterns and latch hooking kits if you have something in particular you want! I will be using one of his beginner kits to demonstrate (with pictures!) how to actually make your project in the link below.
Herrschners has a great video showing the process if you still have questions.

Thanks for checking out my guide! I hope you found it helpful! Please let me know if there is anything I may have missed or if you have any questions. Good luck with your project!

Hi Katdun. This is a really good guide. I could have done with this when I was pregnant with my first child. I made a huge latch hook Winnie the Pooh rug whilest I was preggers cus I was really ill and couldnt do anything. She still has it in her room 5 years later!

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

I love to latch hook! It's a lot of fun to see the whole project slowly appear.

The way I use to cut my yarn is to take a board and put 2 nails in it the length that I need the yarn to be. Then I wind the yard around the 2 nails in the board until I think it may be too hard to cut, then I cut at both ends! Then you have a handful of cut yarn and can do this over and over as needed.

CraftySasha, I'm stealing your idea.

By all means, RMDC, go right ahead! That's why I put it out there, for all to use.
To be honest, my dad is the one who came up with this idea, and it is awesome. I have used it for not just latch hook, but also when needing to cut fringe for a crocheted blanket. It works for many projects!

So if you are just starting out, I would get a small 12x12 kit. These are available at most craft stores for 10-15 bucks. They don't usually come with a latch hook tool, but these are usually on the shelf nearby. I personally haven't found the wooden handled ones to be better than the plastic handled ones and will grab whichever of the dozen I have that is closest.

In the kit you will find yarn (usually in kits they are bundled into rounds with all of the colors represented in each round), printed directions with symbols for the colors on a grid, and a piece of latch hook grid. Again, in a lot of the premade kits on the shelf, they have the pattern printed on them. I usually find that it ends up being slightly off from the directions, so I use it as a guide of where to start. There should also be some basic directions on how to actually use the latch hook. Pretty quickly though, you put a piece of yarn around the hook, slide the hook under the portion of canvas you are attracting it to, put the ends of the piece of yarn in between the hook and the latch and then pull. Don't forget to pull each stitch tight and as even as you can.