How to Crochet the Letter A

Add a letter to a multicolored crochet design.

Like its cousin knitting, crochet is making a popular comeback among DIY-ers, as well as those money-conscious decorators who have an eye for the handmade. Unlike knitting, crocheting only requires a single needle and thread at a time. This can make the general technique easier to acquire, but the finer points all the more elusive. Learning to include lettering on a design may seem difficult at first, but with these simple instructions you'll be signing each of your pieces in no time.

Things You'll Need

• Needle
• Yarn
• Crochet design on which you wish to include lettering

Instructions

1. Thread the yarn through the back of your crochet piece at the point where you would like the letter to begin. As a rule of thumb, it may be easiest to crochet the letter A from the bottom up, as you would in cursive. This will allow you to easily follow a single direction throughout the letter.

2. Skip one hole, and then thread the yarn back through the front along a rising diagonal line (as in an A). Be sure to thread very close to where you pulled it through initially. When you have pulled the thread through the front, have the yarn encircle the needle, so that when you pull it will create a stitch between the first and second holes. When the needle has been fully pulled through, it will create a loop of yarn between the two holes, known as an embroidery chain stitch. This first loop will serve as the basis for each step along the way.

3. Continue to thread loops through the front of the crochet piece until you have reached the desired height of your A. From here, repeat the process on the descending diagonal.

4. Insert the needle right by the final loop and pull it through the back, when you have reached the bottom of the descending diagonal. Knot the yarn on the back of the crochet piece a few times for stability, and then snip the excess yarn. At this point, you should have a well-formed, upside-down "V."

5. Begin a new thread, as you did the first. This time, situate it in the middle of either diagonal, so that it will be the horizontal line in the A.

6. Continue looping until you have connected the two diagonal lines. When they have been connected, again pass the needle to the back close to the final loop and then knot the yarn. Snip the excess thread at the end, and you have a perfectly formed A.

Resources

• Art of Crochet by Teresa: How to Make Letters on Crochet