Tutorial - Single crochet!

If you already crochet, you know the humble single crochet (sc)  stitch is the basis of almost everything.

There are so many variations, as you know (or will soon realize), crocheters are a creative lot.  If there is a free loop, we will stitch into it.  Backwards. Ha!  This ability to think outside the box is what creates the amazing patterns and textures you see only in crochet.

Today's crochet is not necessarily your grandma's crochet (unless of course you are one of my grandkids!)... or the groovy granny squares some of us may have worn in 1972.  Those techniques are fantastic, and we'll be learning about them but also so much more.

Now that you know how to build your foundation and how to slip stitch to join and fasten off... let the real magic of building stitches begin!

A basic tenet of crochet in US terms is that a stitch is named by the number of loops on your hook when you begin.  So, single crochet begins with a single loop.

Insert your hook under the back bump of your foundation chain

Yarn over (YO)

And pull that loop to the front of your foundation chain.  You now have two loops on your hook.

Yarn over (YO) again

And pull that loop through both loops on your hook.

Repeat for each chain along the length of your foundation. 

Chain 1 to give yourself a little turning room, and turn your piece to work the next row back down to where you started.  Here's what that looks like before and after turning.

For your remaining rows, you'll work under the top two loops of the stitch below.  See that teardrop shape?

Insert your hook under those two loops, and proceed with making your stitch.

Here's what it looks like about halfway through the row. You can see that the teardrop shaped loops in the row below point one way, and the teardrop shaped loops in the row I'm working point the other.


Learning to recognize these loops will come in handy when you have to determine the right side or wrong side of your work.

But wait, there's more!  Some patterns call for an increase, where you work two stitches into the same space.  Some decrease, where you combine two stitches into one. Some are extended, which means you add an extra chain in there for extra fullness and height. Linen or moss or granite stitch and thermal stitch are all variations of single crochet.

Well here... let me show you.

Be sure to check in later this week to learn how to turn the single crochet stitch into something handy in the kitchen (and great for gifts!) as well as something handy to have... in hand.

Til next time!