How to Crochet

There are a few basic skills you will want to figure out before you start to crochet-

Holding the yarn in one hand while...
Holding the crochet hook in the other.

Once you figure out how to hold the yarn in one hand and the crochet hook in the other hand, you will find the stitches listed below to be much easier to learn.

Generally, start crocheting by making a slip knot. Make a loop, roll over, pull the yarn through the loop, pull tight. This loop can be loosened or tightened by pulling on the loop to make it bigger, or pulling on the end to make it smaller. You will generally want to keep the loop slightly larger than the size of the head on your crochet hook.

Crochet Stitches with abbreviations and instructions

Chain (ch)

Start with a loop on the hook. Wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through the loop. When you are looking at a pattern, you might see "ch 3" so you would wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through the loop 3 times. You can count how many ch you have done by counting the loops along one side.

Slip Stitch (sl st)

Start with a loop on the hook. Stick the hook into a loop made from a previous stitch, wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through all loops on hook. You will typically use a "sl st" to connect a few chains to form a ring, end rounds, and form picots (little bumps).

Single Crochet (sc)

Start with a loop on the hook. Stick the hook into a loop made from a previous stitch, wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through the first loop. Wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull through both loops.

Sometimes a pattern will have you sc through fabric to create an edging. Generally, you use the Sharp Crochet Hook to sc through the fabric, leaving 1/4" from the edge and 1/4" spacing in between stitches unless otherwise noted. The Sharp Crochet Hook glides through fabric much easier than normal crochet hooks. There is no need to prepoke holes or hemstitch first. You can crochet in just one easy step.

Half Double Crochet (hdc)

Start with a loop on the hook. Wrap yarn around the hook. Stick the hook through a loop made from a previous stitch, wrap the yarn around the hook, and pull through the first loop, wrap yarn around the hook and pull through all the loops on the hook.

Double Crochet (dc)

Triple Crochet (tc)

Start with a loop on the hook. Wrap yarn around the hook twice. Stick the hook through a loop made from a previous stitch, wrap the yarn around the hook, and pull through the first loop, wrap yarn around the hook and pull through two loops. Wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through two loops, wrap the yarn around and pull through all the loops on the hook.

Once you know how to do these basic stitches, you can learn how to put these stitches together to make something fabulous!

Other helpful abbreviations to know when learning to crochet:

Skip (sk)

This stitch is the easiest to learn, because you don't do anything! Just pass over it. Sometimes you will sk a stitch because you did several stitches in a previous stitch.

Stitch (st)

A stitch could be a ch, sl st, sc, hdc, dc, tr, etc.

Round/Row (R)

This is how many rounds or rows you have done.

Usually R1 (round 1) is the "base layer" and uses the Sharp Crochet Hook to crochet through the fabric. Once the base layer is complete, for R2 you can switch over to a size 3 crochet hook if you are using size 3 crochet thread, or a larger hook if you are using yarn.

Repeat (*)

Sometimes the pattern will repeat itself. Usually an "*" is used to mark the beginning and end of where you should repeat. An example: *ch 2, dc, sk 2* Repeat.

Drop loop (dl)

This might seem odd, but you can make a pretty cool pattern by dl, wrapping the loop around an existing stitch, and the picking it back up on the hook again.

Front loop

When making a stitch, poke the hook through the front loop.

Both loops

When making a stitch, poke the hook through both the front and the back loop. It looks like a V. Count these loops as "one loop."

Back loop

When making a stitch, poke the hook through the back loop.

Crochet Gauge:

Crochet gauge is a way to measure if you are making your stitches the right size (according to the pattern you are using). There are three things that can affect your crochet gauge.

Crochet hook size- the larger your hook, the larger your stitches will be.
Yarn- There are many types of yarn you can choose from. If you choose a thicker yarn, your stitches will be larger. If you choose a thinner yarn, your stitches will be thinner.
Tension- Tension is how tight you make your stitches. If you tend to pull the yarn taught and keep a small loop on your hook, your stitches will be smaller. If you tend to keep a loose tension and keep a large loop on your hook, your stitches will be larger.

Most patterns will specify the hook size and yarn type to make the pattern the right size. If you find that you keep a taught tension, you can compensate by going one or two crochet hook sizes larger. If you find you keep a loose tension, you can compensate by going one or two hook sizes smaller.

Here is an example of a pattern's gauge specification:

GAUGE: 18 sts = 4" (10 cm); 22 rounds = 4" (10 cm) in sc. CHECK YOUR GAUGE. Use any size hook to obtain the gauge.

To check your gauge, you would crochet a sample and see if it matches up with the size specified.

To finish your crochet project:

When your project is finished, you are ready to tie off and cut. To do this, you should tie off the yarn, leave a 4" space and cut. Weave the end into existing stitches. I like to use my crochet hook, but some people like to use a darning needle.

Practice your crochet skills with our free patterns!

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