Clover Amour vs. Tulip Etimo Crochet Hook Sets: The Definitive Japanese Hook Showdown (2026)

Walk into any serious crochet guild, amigurumi studio, or r/crochet discussion thread and ask which hooks are the best in the world, and the debate immediately narrows down to two Japanese powerhouses: the Clover Amour crochet hook set (B00B2CCA6W, searched over 5,000 times per month) and the Tulip Etimo crochet hook set (B00BL8ZVUY).

Both sets are engineered in Japan to microscopic tolerances. Both eliminate the metallic squeak and hand cramps of cheap department-store hooks. Yet despite looking similar at a glance, Clover Amour and Tulip Etimo feel noticeably different in your fingers—from the pointiness of the hook tip and the texture of the aluminum coating down to the exact millimeter sizes included in the 10-piece box.

Inside Double Crochet's complete crochet kits buying hub, we put the Clover 3672 Amour Set (B00B2CCA6W) and the Tulip Etimo Rose Set (B00BL8ZVUY) through a head-to-head engineering breakdown so you can choose the exact set built for your grip style, yarn preference, and budget.

Head-to-Head Specification Matrix: Clover Amour vs. Tulip Etimo Rose

1. Hook Tip & Throat Geometry: The Biggest Difference When Stitching

Look closely at the macro comparison above and you will see why amigurumi makers and blanket makers split their votes between these two sets:

Clover Amour (B00B2CCA6W): The Forgiving Hybrid Nose

Clover engineered the Amour head with a smoothly rounded dome tip paired with a deep, generous throat cut straight enough to hold multiple yarn loops without slipping. Because the tip nose is slightly blunter than Tulip's, you can crochet at high speed with loosely twisted 4-ply acrylic, wool, or bamboo blends without ever piercing through the yarn strand.

Tulip Etimo Rose (B00BL8ZVUY): The Precision Piercing Tip

Tulip gave the Etimo line a noticeably pointier, wedge-shaped semi-inline tip and a slightly narrower neck. When you are working tight single crochet (sc) or invisible decreases (invdec) in #2 Sport or #3 DK mercerized cotton for amigurumi—where your stitches are packed like stiff denim—Tulip's pointed nose wedges under the front loop with half the downward wrist force required by a rounded hook.

2. Millimeter Size Lineup: US Standard Sizes vs. Japanese Metric Steps

This is a critical specification that almost every competitor blog misses! Although both boxes contain 10 hooks topping out at 6.0mm, they do not contain the same sizes below 3.5mm:

• Why Clover Amour 3672 (B00B2CCA6W) Matches US Patterns Better (3.25mm & 3.75mm):

Clover follows the Craft Yarn Council's US letter system (B-1 through J-10). That means you get D-3 (3.25mm) and F-5 (3.75mm)—two sizes constantly called for in American sweater, shawl, and baby blanket patterns. However, Clover skips 2.5mm and 3.0mm in this set!

• Why Tulip Etimo Rose (B00BL8ZVUY) Wins for European & Amigurumi Patterns (2.0mm, 2.5mm & 3.0mm):

Tulip follows international metric steps: you get 2.0mm, 2.2mm, 2.5mm, and 3.0mm—the exact sizes required for fine cotton amigurumi (like Círculo B08V1825V5 and DMC B0F3HJK9GH kits)—while skipping 3.25mm and 3.75mm. (You can cross-reference every US letter and metric size in our complete crochet hook size and material guide.)

3. Handle Ergonomics: Knife Grip vs. Pencil Grip

Both sets use medical-grade thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) handles that warm quickly to your body temperature and never turn sticky over years of use. However, their handle dimensions favor different hand holds:

1. Choose Clover Amour (B00B2CCA6W) for Knife Grip & Larger Hands:

Clover's handle is roughly 4mm longer (14.0cm total length vs. Tulip's 13.6cm) and swells into a slightly plumper, more rounded belly toward the back of the handle. If you hold your hook overhand like a dinner knife, the tail of the Clover handle fills the center of your palm instead of poking painfully into the heel of your hand. Plus, each size has its own bright color (e.g., purple 4.0mm, blue 5.0mm), so you can grab the right hook from a project basket without squinting at numbers.

1. Choose Tulip Etimo Rose (B00BL8ZVUY) for Pencil Grip & Travel Organization:

Tulip's thumb flat is sculpted slightly deeper and closer to the metal shaft, making it feel Effortlessly balanced when pinched between thumb and forefinger like a pencil. And if you love cohesive aesthetics, the graduated blush-to-rose pink handles stored inside the included tasseled clutch case—alongside Tulip's razor-sharp gold embroidery scissors—make it the most gift-worthy luxury set on the market. (We also feature it in our comparison of the crochet gift set.)

4. Counterfeit Alert: How to Verify Authentic Clover & Tulip Hooks

Because Clover Amour and Tulip Etimo are high-value Japanese imports, third-party knockoffs occasionally surface online. When your box arrives, run this 60-Second Authenticity Check:

• Check the Handle Stamp on Clover Amour: Genuine Clover Amour hooks have the words CLOVER JAPAN and the size (G/6 4.0mm) deeply molded into the rubber on opposite sides of the flat thumb rest. If the size numbers are printed in black or white ink on a smooth rubber tube, it is a generic knockoff—return it immediately.
• Inspect Under the Hook Lip: Run a cotton ball or scrap of tissue paper under the inner throat of the hook. Authentic Clover and Tulip hooks are machine-polished to a flaw-free satin finish that will never snag a single cotton fiber.
• What About Sizes Larger Than 6.0mm? If you need 7.0mm to 12.0mm hooks for chunky blankets, remember that Clover's large sizes (K-10.5 and up) are made of heavy solid ABS plastic rather than brushed aluminum; most makers prefer pairing their 10-piece Clover or Tulip set with the featherweight Prym Ergonomics Large Hook Set (B08TX4Y672) covered in our comparison of the crochet hooks set.

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