How to Do a Single Crochet: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
Are you new to crochet and eager to learn the basics? One of the first stitches you’ll need to master is the single crochet. This fundamental stitch is essential for creating a variety of projects, including clothing, blankets, and tapestry crochet.
In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to do a single crochet step by step with photos to guide you. Let’s get started!
The single crochet (abbreviated as sc in US terms) is one of the simplest and most commonly used crochet stitches. It creates a tight, dense fabric that is perfect for making sturdy and warm items.
I use this stitch as the base for all of my botanical tapestry designs, making it the perfect stitch to begin with if you are interested in tapestry crochet!
To get started with single crochet, you’ll need the following:
Begin by creating a slip knot and placing it onto your crochet hook. Tighten it just enough so it slides easily along the hook.
Next, make a foundation chain by yarning over (yo) and pulling through the loop on the hook. Repeat this process until you have the desired number of chain stitches. For this demonstration, I have made 11 chain stitches. You will want to add 1 to the number of stitches you’d like your final piece to be across.
Skip the first chain from the hook, then insert your hook into the second chain from the hook.
Yarn over and pull the yarn through the chain stitch. You should now have two loops on your hook.
Yarn over again and pull through both loops on the hook. And there you have it! You’ve just made your first single crochet stitch!
Repeat steps 3-5 across the entire row. When you reach the end of the row, chain one and turn your work to begin a new row of single crochet stitches.
Here is how the single crochet stitch looks after 5 rows:
Mastering the single crochet stitch opens up a world of creative possibilities. Once you’re comfortable with this stitch, you can move on to more complex techniques like half-double crochet, double crochet, stacked single crochet, and decorative stitches like the puff stitch.
Now that you know how to do a single crochet, you’re well on your way to creating beautiful handmade projects! Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be ready to tackle more advanced crochet techniques. Happy crocheting!
Looking for more crochet tips and tutorials? Follow the quick links below for other beginner stitches or head straight to the full techniques page of my website!
How to Do a Half Double Crochet
Botanical Marigold Tapestry Crochet Pattern
Vintage Christmas Tree Tapestry Crochet Pattern
War is Over! Tapestry Crochet Pattern - free on my ravelry!
