How to Learn Basic Stitches in Crocheting

When I was a young teenager, I first learned how to crochet from an aunt who was very talented at this art. Although I didn't keep up with it as my life grew busier (college, marriage, children, career), I found myself wanting to return to crochet later on in life.Crochet is a simple, relatively inexpensive way to create "wearable art" or home decor items.

Things You'll Need

• Crochet hooks--which come in many sizes:14 steel (0.75 and the smallest size) up to an S hook, which is 20.00 m and the largest hook.
• Yarn--ranging from wool to silk, cotton, rayon, mohair, alpaca, ribbon yarn and eyelash yarn.
• Scissors--very sharp
• Stitch markers--look for stitch markers with open coils.
• Yarn needles-the kind of needles you would use for needlepoint or tapestry work.
• Tape measure

Instructions

1. Learn these important stitch abbreviations: Slipknot (sl); Chain stitch (ch); Slip Stitch (sl); Single Crochet (sc); Half-Double Crochet (hdc); Double Crochet (dc); Triple Crochet (tc).Choose a medium-size hook, such as H-8 or I-9. This is large enough that you can maneuver the hook easily as you are learning the stitches. I found a book called "Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet, The Happy Hooker, by Debbie Stoller. (The title is for real!) She included an anatomy of a crochet hook, which I will discuss here. The "hook" part is called the point. Just next to the point is the "throat" of your hook, and this holds your stitches in place as you are working on them. The next part of the hook is the "shaft", which is wider than the throat. Ideally, you will be able to use this part of your hook to hold your stitches--this makes this part of your hook the most important part, since it determines the size of your stitches. After the shaft is the "thumb rest", which gives your thumb and forefinger a spot to rest as you are working. It makes it more comfortable for you to crochet to have that narrowed-out spot to rest your thumb and forefinger on. After the thumb rest is the "handle," which fits into your palm. I will remind you to make sure your stitches are carried on the shaft as you are making them. You can hold your crochet hook in any way that is most comfortable for you. Some people hold the hook like a knife and others hold their hook like a pen.

2. Choose a strong yarn, such as a worsted weight. Buy a light-colored yarn so you can see your stitches more easily. I find it much easier to learn new stitches with a heavier yarn. If I use a light-worsted yarn, I tend to "split" the plies (individual strands) as I am working.You will need to start with a slipknot. Make a loose knot (as if you were beginning to tie your shoes) by wrapping the end of your yarn around your first two fingers. Leave a tail hanging--about 6 to 7 inches on your palm.Put the thumb and forefinger of your right hand through your loop and get the ball end strand and pull it through the loop. You will create a loop with that strand.Take the loop off of your left hand. Pull very gently and slowly on the tail end, which will make the loop smaller. Slip the loop over your crochet hook and pull on the ball end of the yarn until the loop has closed around the hook. Don't pull it too tight--you want to have enough wiggle room so that you can move your crochet hook in and out to create your first chain stitch. You will have to get comfortable with holding your hook and yarn. This is the time to get comfortable so you can learn your stitches and your new craft more easily. Hold your hook in your right hand-if you are right-handed-like a pen or a knife, whichever is most comfortable for you. Make sure the "mouth" of the hook-the open part of the point-is facing you. Keep your thumb and forefinger comfortably on the thumb rest. I hold my hook like a knife, so I tend to let my forefinger rest on top of the loop of yarn on my hook. Close your last two fingers around the handle of your hook.Next, you will find a comfortable way to hold and feed the yarn with your left hand. I wrap the yarn loosely around my pinkie finger so that I have the yarn going under my palm toward my forefinger. I then slide my forefinger UNDER the yarn so that I can easily feed it to the point of my hook. Make sure to close your fingers around your yarn so that you can easily feed it to your hook.Hold onto the base of your slipknot. You are going to create a "chain" of stitches which will be the base or foundation for your project. Push your hook up so you've moved your slipknot to the throat of your hook. Twirl your hook from left to right (counterclockwise) so you have a working strand of yarn lying across the throat (yarn over). Turn your hook toward you and down. It will grab the yarn strand in its mouth. The "nose" (pointy part) of your hook will be pointed into the loop on the hook. Pull the strand through the loop on your hook, and you've just made your first stitch! Try to give your hook some room by pulling gently on the loop that's on your hook. Slide your hook up again so your new loop is on the shaft of your hook. Don't leave the new loop sitting in the throat of your hook because you'll make your stitches too small. It will be difficult and frustrating for you to make new stitches. Make 20 chain stitches for practice. Cut the yarn and tie off.

3. After you've made your foundation of chain stitches, you need to move your work up with new stitches so your project will grow. Single crochet is the most basic stitch in crochet. Insert your hook under both strands of the "V" in the second stitch away from your hook. This is why you need to make your chain stitches loose--so you can get your hook into them. Also, do NOT count the stitch that's on your hook--ever. Turn your hook so the point is aimed to your left side. Use your thumb and middle finger to help slide your hook into that second 'V" away from your hook. Twirl your hook counterclockwise around the yarn on your left forefinger (working yarn) so that you have a strand lying across the throat of your hook. Turn your hook so that it catches the yarn and pull the loop through. You should now have two loops on your hook. Push your hook back up through those two loops and twirl your hook again around your working strand-like you just did. Let your hook grab the working strand and pull that strand through both loops on your hook. You've just made your first single crochet! Keep doing this with the "V's" of each chain stitch (you will make one single crochet into each chain). Never make a stitch into your slipknot. If your single crochet starts a new row, crochet one stitch for your turning chain and continue from the point where your slip your hook into the second "V" from your hook. The difference here is that you will slip your hook into the second "V" in the previous row of stitches.

4. The slip stitch (sl) is used to finish a crocheted edge or to move from one spot to another nearby without creating any additional height. (Your stitches, from single crochet up to triple crochet, will get progressively taller).To make this stitch, you keep one stitch on your hook. Slip your hook into the stitch that you want to connect your current stitch to and twirl your hook around your working yarn. Pull that loop through both stitches, and you've just completed a slip stitch.

5. You now move into a half-double crochet (hdc). This stitch has a few identity problems. It starts out like a double crochet, which I will instruct you on in the next step. However, it wants to stay shorter than the double crochet and winds up finishing like a single crochet stitch.Crochet 2 stitches. This will be your "turning chain". Twirl your hook counterclockwise around your working yarn and slide your hook into the third chain away from your hook. Wind your hook around your yarn again. Pull a strand through. You should have 3 stitches on your hook. Twirl your hook again and grab your working strand with your hook. Pull that loop through all 3 of those loops. You've just completed a half-double crochet!If you are starting your hdc from your foundation of chain stitches, twirl your hook around your working yarn so the yarn is lying across the throat of your hook. Now, slide your hook into the third chain away from your hook (the third "V" away from your hook). Twirl your hook around your working yarn again. You should have 3 loops on your hook. Twirl your hook again and grab the working strand of yarn with your hook. Pull that loop through all 3 loops on your hook. You've just created an hdc from a foundation of chain stitches! Continue to the end of your row of stitches. Again, do not crochet into the turning chain of your previous row. If you are going to begin hdc at the beginning of a new row, stitch 2 chain stitches (turning chain) and proceed from the point where you twirl your hook around the working strand of yarn 1 time and continue until you have finished an hdc stitch.

6. With the double crochet, you will begin to wrap your yarn around your hook. This is what helps to create the height in your stitches. It takes a little longer to create each stitch, but your work will grow faster because of that additional height.If you are starting to double crochet (dc) from your foundation chain of stitches, twirl your hook around your working strand of yarn so you have a strand lying across the throat of your hook. Next, slip your hook into the fourth chain away from your hook. Now, twirl your hook around your working yarn again. Pull up a loop. Just like with your hdc, you now have 3 loops on your hook. Twirl your hook so your working strand lies across your hook and pull that loop through 2 of the loops on your hook (you will have two loops remaining on your hook). Twirl your hook around your working yarn again and pull up a loop. Pull that loop through both of the loops remaining on your hook. You've just make a double crochet stitch!. Continue across your foundation chain until you get to the end, but do not crochet into the turning chain of your previous row. If you are going to begin double crochet at the beginning of a new row, stitch 3 chain stitches (your turning chain) and proceed from the point where you twirl your hook around your working strand of yarn until you have completed your double crochet.

7. This is the tallest of the regular stitches--triple crochet (tc). To begin from your foundation chain of stitches, twirl your hook around your working strand of yarn 2 times. Slip your hook into the fifth foundation chain away from your hook. Twirl your hook around the working strand again and pull a loop through. You should now have 4 loops on your hook. Twirl your hook around your working yarn again, pull a loop up and pull that loop through 2 of the loops on your hook. You should now have 3 loops left on your hook. Twirl your hook again, pull up a loop and pull that loop through 2 of those loops on your hook. Now, you have 2 loops left on your hook. Twirl your hook again, pull up a loop and pull that loop through those last two loops. You've just completed a triple crochet stitch! Continue to the end of your row. Remember -- never crochet into the turning chain. If you are going to triple crochet from the beginning of a new row, stitch 4 chain stitches (turning chain), then continue from the point where you twirl your hook twice around your working strand of yarn to the end of your first triple crochet.

8. Checking the gauge of your work is of the highest importance. You want your creations to be the right size, whether it's an afghan or a sweater for a baby. Simply put, gauge is the number of stitches and rows that YOU have made in a specific space. We usually measure 2 inches of the work you've done. You will crochet what is called a "swatch" of test fabric, then measure with a measuring tape. If you crochet more loosely, your swatch will have fewer stitches and rows; if you crochet more tightly, you will have more rows and stitches. It's easy to correct gauge--simply move to a larger or smaller hook.Crochet a test swatch 4 inches by 4 inches. Lay your swatch flat on a hard surface and hold your measuring tape against it. Count the number of stitches in a 2 inch wide section across and write that number down. Now, lay your measuring tape so you are counting the number of rows in a 2 inch section. Write that number down. Caution: do this in the center of your fabric because your stitches will be more even there. Now, double your two numbers and this will give you the gauge for the stitches and rows in a 4 inch swatch. If your gauge is off, (if you have fewer stitches than what your pattern called for, use a smaller hook and crochet another swatch. You should now have enough stitches in this swatch, which means you should stick with the new hook size. If you have too many stitches, grab a hook a size larger and crochet another swatch. You should now have the correct number of stitches called for in your pattern--stick with the larger hook for your project.(Each crocheter works differently. Some crochet more loosely and some crochet more tightly. There is nothing wrong with this. However, this is why checking for proper gauge is so important. Knowing how to adjust for the correct gauge is also important. When you make a project from a published set of instructions, you are working on something created by someone else. That person will have designed something which has the gauge that they built in to the project. The instructions are also copyrighted, so do not make several copies of the instructions and hand them out. That is a violation of federal copyright law.)

Tips & Warnings

• Here's a simple way of knowing how many stitches you need for turning chains for each stitch:

• Single crochet=1 stitch for the turning chain;

• Half-double crochet=2 stitches for the turning chain;

• Double crochet=3 stitches for the turning chain;

• Triple crochet=4 stitches for the turning chain.

• There are even taller and more involved stitches in crochet, but they are not used very often These are the Double-Triple crochet (dtr) and the Triple-Triple crochet (ttr).

• You don't ever make stitches into your turning chains. The purpose of these chains is to give your new row of stitches height and to allow you to turn your work at the beginning of a new row.

• When you start a new project it is extremely important that you crochet a swatch to check your gauge. If you do not do this, and you are making something like a tank top, you could wind up with something that looks beautiful, but is too small or too big because you made your stitches too small or too big.

• I showed you how to check for the correct gauge. If you are working from a pattern, it is very important that you take this step and check with a test swatch so that you can make the necessary adjustments early in your project. I would hate to get almost all the way through something that I am making as a gift only to find out that it's too small or too big.

• If you are making something original, check the gauge any way. If you decide you want to make your project again, you will have the right gauge noted down so that your second project looks just like your first.