Basic Crochet Stitches You Need To Know

This installment of Crochet 101 will teach you all the basic crochet stitches necessary to make anything your heart desires. Since learning to crochet, I’ve created scarves, hats, clothes, stuffed animals, and more! Once you have these basic crochet stitches in your back pocket, anything is possible.

This post contains written instructions and how-to videos that will teach you the fundamentals to get started.

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Getting Started: Slip Knot

The first thing you’ll learn is how to start a project by creating a slip knot. The video below demonstrates how it’s done: 

How to Hold the Yarn and Needle

Now that the slip knot is done, I will review how to hold your yarn and needle to make crocheting as easy and comfortable as possible. Crocheting hand cramps are real!

Since my right hand is holding the crochet needle, I keep the working yarn coiled around my left index finger like so:

It is also important to keep an even tension on the yarn as you crochet. If you pull the yarn too tightly, you will have trouble pushing your needle through holes that have become too small due to the tension. On the other hand, if you do not have enough tension on the yarn, there may be uneven gaps in your project, or your project may come out crooked. This will start to feel natural with practice.

Chaining & Yarning Over

It’s time to pick up your needle to make chains.  Chains are the foundation of your project. The larger the project, the more chains are required.

Chains will be abbreviated as ch in most patterns (for an in-depth guide for how to read patterns, check out my post here). For example, if a project requires 50 chains, the pattern will read “Ch 50.”

{RELATED: How To Read Crochet Patterns For Beginners}

Fundamental to making chains and most stitches is yarning over (yo in patterns). Every time you maneuver the hook to grab the yarn, you are yarning over! Watch the video below to learn how to yarn over and chain. 

Single Crochet

The first basic crochet stitch we’ll learn is called single crochet. It is abbreviated as sc in patterns and is frequently encountered in projects. 

To single crochet, insert your hook into the stitch, yarn over, and pull through one loop. You should now have two loops on your hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops.

Double Crochet

The next basic crochet stitch is double crochet (dc in patterns). 

To double crochet, yarn over before inserting your needle into the stitch. Insert the needle into the stitch, yarn over, and pull through one loop. You should now have 3 loops on your hook. Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops. You should now have 2 loops on your hook. Yarn over, and pull through both loops to complete the double crochet stitch.

You can probably guess the name of the next stitch. 

Half Double Crochet

Were you looking for triple crochet? Half double crochet will appear as hdc in patterns. 

To half double crochet, yarn over before inserting your needle into the stitch. Insert the needle into the stitch, yarn over, and pull through one loop. You should now have 3 loops on your hook. Yarn over, and pull through all 3 loops to complete the half double crochet stitch.

Slip Stitch

Some patterns will ask you to slip stitch (sl st in patterns) to complete a round or project. See below: 

Slip stitch is simple. Insert the hook into the stitch, yarn over, and pull through all loops.

There you have it! This post was all about the basic stitches you need to get started on your crocheting journey. Check out my posts on crochet essentials and how to read crochet patterns for more information. Happy crocheting!