Crochet is one of the most accessible craft skills you can learn — one hook, one ball of yarn, and a simple sequence of hand movements. In this complete beginner's guide we cover the KnitPro Zing hooks we stock from £2.95, which yarn suits beginners best (Stylecraft Special DK or Rico Organic Cotton), the four essential stitches from foundation chain through treble crochet, the UK/US terminology difference that confuses almost every beginner, how to read a crochet pattern, why the granny square is the best starting point, and the beginner crochet books we stock from £9.99 including You Will Be Able to Crochet by the End of This Book at £19.99.

Artgraf Graphite Putty is compressed water-soluble graphite you mould with your fingers — shape it broad for sweeping tonal areas, roll it fine for controlled marks, or dissolve it in water for fluid graphite washes with a characteristic silver shimmer when dry. Made by Viarco in Portugal since 1907, it is a genuinely unusual drawing material that suits tonal portraiture, expressive landscape work, mixed media, and any artist interested in what graphite can do beyond a pencil. £12.75 at Craft and Canvas, Hebden Bridge.

Inktense is not a watercolour pencil. It uses water-soluble ink pigments rather than watercolour — the colours intensify rather than lighten when water is added, and once fully activated and dried the marks are permanent and cannot be lifted. This makes layering with Inktense quite different from layering with watercolour, and opens up applications — including fabric painting — that watercolour pencils cannot achieve. In this complete guide we cover the Inktense Pencils (tin of 12, £23.99) and Blocks (tin of 12, £31.99), how to use both, the grating technique unique to the blocks, surfaces from watercolour paper to fabric, and how to combine Inktense with other media.