Welcome to the second part of my Crochet series! Previously, I wrote about starting out, and what is needed to begin. I also wrote about how to crochet a braid (chain). This time, I am going to teach you how to make some simple stitches, and practice them.
Before we begin, there is a VERY IMPORTANT thing I need to point out. There should always be at least one loop on your hook. You cannot do a stitch without it. If you don’t have a loop on your hook, it probably fell off.
First off, we have the most common stitch: the single crochet. Abbreviations are used very often in crochet, so I will refer to this stitch as “sc”. If you need to remember what an abbreviation means, there is a chart at the end of the article. Once you learn sc, then you will be able to learn all the other stitches.
Now, remember the braid we made in the previous article? Well, we need to make another one that’s 10 stitches long. If you need help, find “Crochet: The Beginning” in the Arts and Culture tab, or search it on the home page. Let’s get started!
1.
Insert the hook into the second to last stitch in the braid. (The one right next to your hook)
2.
Yarn over, and pull through the stitch. Leave the loop.
3.
Yarn over, and pull through both loops.
Continue these steps into the next stitch, and then again in the next, and so on. This is IMPORTANT: If you are NOT on the first row, or are crocheting in a circle, insert the hook into 2 loops in the stitch. They will be right next to each other:
Every time you reach the end of a row, do a chain stitch (1 braid stitch), turn, and start a new row. Eventually, you’ll have a perfect square that can be used as a coaster. This square is a very nice way to practice stitches.
Next, let’s learn a half double crochet (hdc). This one is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
Half Double Crochet (hdc):
1.
Yarn over.
2.
Insert the tip of your hook into the next stitch.
3.
Yarn over, and pull through the stitch.
4.
Now there should be three loops on your stitch. Yarn over again, and pull through all three.
Great! This stitch is used to make your round taller. Practice it a few times, and let’s learn a double crochet (dc).
Double Crochet (dc):
1.
Yarn over. (2 loops on hook)
2.
Insert the tip of your hook into the next stitch. (3 loops on hook)
3.
Yarn over and pull through the stitch. (3 loops on hook)
4.
Yarn over and pull through 2 loops. Leave the last one. (2 loops on hook)
5.
Yarn over and pull through both of the loops on your hook. (1 loop)
Fantastic work! The next stitch we will learn has 2 names: Treble Crochet, and Triple Crochet. The abbreviation for both is “trc”, so that is how I will refer to it.
Triple/Treble Crochet (trc):
1.
Yarn over twice.
2.
Insert tip of hook into next stitch.
3.
Yarn over, and pull through the stitch. (4 loops)
4.
Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops. (3 loops)
5.
Yarn over, and pull through 2 loops. (2 loops)
6.
Yarn over, and pull through both loops on the hook.
Yay! This stitch is very easy to master after learning a dc.
Next time, we will learn the basics of amigurumi, which is crocheting stuffed animals. You can purchase stuffing at Joanns, Michaels, Amazon, or any craft store. If you want, you can also stuff your projects with yarn scraps. Anyways, before we begin stuffies, there are 2 very important stitches to learn: increase (inc) and decrease (dec).
To increase, you simply make 2 sc in the same stitch. Decreases are a little bit harder.
Decrease:
1.
Insert hook into the front loop only(flo) of the next stitch.
2.
Insert hook into front loop only(flo) of the stitch after that.
3.
Yarn over, and pull through both of the front loops.
4.
Yarn over, and pull through both of the loops on your hook.
Make sure to practice all of these stitches, and you will become the crocheting master! Can I have an autograph before you become famous?
The Lighthouse 