Single Crochet Stitch Tutorial

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A single crochet is one of the most basic stitches in crochet, and it is often one of the first learned. This is due not only to its simplicity, but to the massive foundation learning this stitch will provide for your crocheting skills. This single crochet tutorial will teach you not only how to complete the stitch but also what to expect in a pattern when learning new stitches that build on the foundation laid here.  Whether you are a seasoned hooker 😉 or a novice, this single crochet tutorial is a great resource for everyone!

Single Crochet Stitches As Building Blocks

The single crochet is an extremely versatile stitch. More than that, the single crochet is a necessary stitch for anyone who wishes to pursue crochet. Producing a single crochet is essential for just about any pattern you wish to complete. Learning other stitches can in some cases require a working knowledge of the single crochet.

Some patterns will use the single crochet as a foundational stitch upon which to build a more intricate pattern. Other patterns use the single crochet as a primary stitch to create an evenly textured field for a project. Amigurumi is a crochet style, mostly used for making stuffed animals and toys, which uses single crochets almost exclusively.

BUT before you can get into all of that fancier stuff, you need to have a solid grasp on the basics. After all basics are the building blocks of any good craft or hobby. If you don’t know how to do those, how are you to know how to do any of the more advanced types of stitches?

Learn New, More Intricate Stitches!

As I said before, the single crochet is a foundation stitch. It is frequently used to create beautifully intricate designs when used in combination with other stitches.

Learning to use those patterns and read the language of crochet can be a little confusing at first, so included in this single crochet tutorial is not only a detailed instruction of exactly what to do to complete the stitch, but also the same instruction, written as if you were reading a pattern in the language of crochet.

I hope you find this informative, as a new hooker it can seem complicated to read a pattern and really understand what it says. This tutorial will help you learn the language of crochet a little faster so you can get to creating part!

Once you’ve mastered the single crochet, give the half double crochet stitch and the double crochet stitch a try. They are also basic crochet stitches found in many beginner patterns!

The chain stitch is also an essential crochet skill to learn. I give a lot of valuable information in my tutorial. Even a seasoned crocheter will probably learn a thing or two 😉

A Few Notes

This single crochet tutorial is designed for right-handed crocheters. As a terribly mono-dexterous person I will unfortunately never be able to create a tutorial for you lefties. In time, I may be able to persuade my left handed husband to learn crochet, but I’m not holding my breath. lol

I also wanted to take a moment to share this gem with you…

This image is a reference guide for hooks and what to expect from each yarn of a certain weight regarding how many stitches will fit and how much yardage is typically found in a ball of a certain size (keep in mind that yarn balls come in many sizes not just the two illustrated here)

What You Need To Get Started!

The very first things you need are obviously some yarn, a crochet hook, and a scissor.

If you’d like to learn more about crochet hooks, check out my hooks 101 tutorial for more information.

For the purposes of this tutorial you can use any size or color yarn that you like. I recommend using worsted weight yarn yarn in a light color (not white). This will also provide maximum visibility for your stitches. It’s easier to see your work in orange than black.

A yarn like this one from Lion Brand is perfect for beginners. Choose a lighter color but NOT WHITE if you are just starting out! (Bright colors are easier to see than darker ones, but white isn’t an easy one to see either…)

Use a crochet hook size of H8 or I9 for learning stitches, those sizes provide large enough stitches  to see your work. I like the shape of a Susan Bates crochet hooks.

Tutorial

Step 1) Join yarn to hook and crochet desired number of chain stitches. I usually start with 11 when practicing because it is enough to get on a roll, but not so much that I lose track.

A pattern will usually start by telling you to chain a certain number or even to complete foundation chain single crochet stitches!! (Don’t be nervous you will be doing those in no time! For now just keep going)

Step 2) Insert hook into 2nd chain from the hook (where green arrow in below picture is pointing). The chain that is skipped will act as the single crochet on the end of your row.

In some cases the pattern will tell you whether you should count this chain as a stitch, or complete another as the end stitch. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will ignore that chain. Keep in mind that you will have 10 single crochet stitches at the end because the 11th chain we did is not being worked back into.

Step 3) Using the yarn in your left hand, pull the yarn over the hook. In pattern language, this is called a “Yarn Over” and it is frequently abbreviated as YO.

Step 4)  Use the hook to pull the loop created by the yarn over through the stitch you just inserted your hook into. (You will have 2 loops on your hook at this point). In a pattern this step would be stated as “pull up a loop”.

Step 5)  Pull the yarn over the hook and pull up a loop through the two loops on your hook. You should have 1 loop on your hook, and you have just completed a single crochet! Congratulations!

Getting to The Next Row

Once you get to the end of the row you are working and there are no more stitches left to be worked, chain 1 and flip your project around. The hook should stay in your hook hand, but you will be looking at the other side of the swatch. 

The chain 1 is to raise your first stitch up to the height of the stitches you are working in the next row. In this case, I am assuming you are working a single crochet only swatch. When the first stitch of the next row to be worked is a single crochet, you chain 1. A half double crochet and a double crochet would get 2 chains. A treble crochet would get 3 chains to be the proper height.

The Single Crochet in Pattern

When written in a pattern, a single crochet is abbreviated as SC. And like any fun crochet stitch, there are many variations for the single crochet. Check the stitch abbreviations, notes, and any stitch directions provided in the pattern you are working. The designer should provide any additional information you need to know for their pattern.

The single crochet can of course also be included in a stitch diagram, which is a super fast and easy way to read any crochet pattern. Stitch diagrams can open a whole world of patterns that happen to be in another written language, because the symbols are universal. There are two stitch symbols for the single crochet, and they are used interchangeably, with no difference between them except personal preference on the part of the designer.

I prefer to use the one that looks like a lower case “t” 🙂

Continue to Practice!

Practice working single crochets and soon you will be doing them without even looking! Once you have a firm grasp on this, give some other single crochet variations a try! The single crochet increase and decrease are two versions of this stitch that are common and helpful.

I hope you got a lot out of this single crochet tutorial. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on how I did creating it…

What are some of your favorite patterns involving a single crochet stitch? Please let me know in the comments below!