Hello guys! And welcome to Chapter 2 of the Crocheting for Dummies 101 miniseries. A while ago, in Chapter 1, we discussed the basic materials and utensils needed to crochet.
At USF, I am in charge of Crochet Club’s mentoring program, with myself teaching 3 different mentees. All of them found themselves at different skill levels, with one not knowing how to crochet at all, another being intermediate level, and the last only knowing how to chain. Crocheting is hard! But not impossible! And with my experience, I know I can help!!
In this chapter I will offer advice on the progression in which you should learn the most beginner stitches. There are many more stitches than these, but for beginners, these are the best to learn first.
- Slip Knot (Sk)
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This is as basic as crochet can get. First, grab your yarn and place it straight on a flat surface. Loop the yarn on top, forming something that resembles a cursive ‘d.’ Hold the intersection and pinch it. Twist the round part of the ‘d’ on top of the straight line, and pull the straight part of the yarn through the circle.
- Chain (Ch)
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Now after making your slip knot, you should have a little loop. Here is where your hoop becomes necessary. First, insert your hook in the loop. In crochet terms, you will “yarn over,” meaning you loop the yarn onto the hook. By this step there should be two loops on your hook. Grab the loop you just made with your hook, and pull it through the initial loop. BOOM! Now you have a chain! Continue doing this up to 11 to have good practice making rows.
- Turning Over and Row Change
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After making your 11th chain, you will turn your work, meaning, flip the side you were working on to the other. This signifies the beginning of a new row, or in this case, the foundation row. Always add one extra chain to begin a new row. This helps add height and give your work form.
- Single Crochet (Sc)
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Now, after turning your work and chaining one, you will begin with single crochet stitches. Begin by inserting your hook in the first “v”. If this is the first stitch in a row, skip the first “v” and go to the second one. Insert your hook, and pull the yarn through. Like for chains, yarn over. You should have three loops on the hook. Now, pull the last loop through the other 2 loops, and BAM! Single crochet stitch! AT this point you should be back to having one loop on the hook. Continue this process until you are at the last “v”.
Tips:
- As always, try to maintain good tension on the working strand of yarn. This is important to have neat work and clear stitches. Everyone crochets differently, so finding your hand position may take a bit and that’s okay! Consider purchasing a tension ring for extra help!
- Count your stitches! Everytime you begin a new row, place a stitch marker to mark where your row began. This makes it easy to have even and symmetrical rows.
- Don’t be scared to mess up. The best part about crochet is that you can undo your work quicker than you can make it.
- Lastly, practice! Make sure to get these stitches down before continuing into more difficult stitches.
Next chapter coming soon! :D