Welcome to the wonderful world of crochet! It’s fantastic you’ve decided to learn how to crochet. This craft is incredibly accessible and enjoyable, because once you grasp the fundamentals, you can create almost anything you imagine. The initial steps are simple: familiarize yourself with holding the hook and yarn, create a slip knot, and crochet a chain. In this guide, we will walk you through these essential techniques, along with learning the foundational single crochet stitch.
Like many beginners, you might find yourself watching numerous online tutorials to ensure you’re doing it correctly, especially if you aim for perfection right away. Remember, practice is key! Creating sample squares is an excellent way to get comfortable with holding your hook and yarn and understanding your tension. Don’t worry about making too many squares; you can always join them together to make a cozy blanket later on!
This tutorial provides a written guide on how to hold your crochet hook and yarn, make a slip knot, crochet a chain, execute a single crochet, and finally, how to finish off your work and weave in the ends.
Getting Started: Essential Supplies
The most important things you’ll need to begin are yarn, a crochet hook in the recommended size for your yarn, scissors, and a yarn needle.
When you’re just starting out, it’s best to use thicker yarn and the hook size suggested on the yarn label.
But how do you decipher yarn labels when you’re shopping? Yarn labels include a number indicating the yarn’s weight or thickness. This sizing number typically looks like this:
This label indicates the yarn weight. For beginners, look for yarn labeled size 4 or higher.
The yarn label usually recommends a hook size. For size 4 yarn, a 5.5mm or I-9 hook is generally recommended.
Mastering the Crochet Hook Hold
There’s no single “correct” way to hold a crochet hook; comfort is key, and everyone finds their own preferred method.
However, two common grips are the knife hold and the pencil hold.
Knife Hold
Pencil Hold
Many crocheters, including myself, find the knife hold more comfortable. Experiment with both to see which feels most natural for you!
Creating a Slip Knot: The First Step
Before we discuss yarn holding techniques, let’s learn how to make a slip knot and place it on your hook.
The slip knot is the standard way to begin most crochet projects. It’s so fundamental that patterns often assume you know how to make one and won’t explicitly instruct you. (For projects like amigurumi toys, patterns might start with a “magic circle,” but we’ll cover that in a future tutorial.)
Here’s how to make a slip knot:
- Unwind about 3 inches of yarn. Hold the yarn with three fingers, extending your index finger like you’re making a finger gun! 🙂
- Wrap the yarn around your index finger once, keeping the short end in front.
- Wrap the yarn around your finger a second time, creating two loops around your finger.
- Grasp both yarn ends—the short tail and the long tail (connected to the yarn ball, also called the working yarn)—with your thumb and middle finger.
- Pull the back loop over the front loop, but don’t pull it off your finger completely yet.
- Now, pull the back loop completely off your finger and tighten the knot. Ensure it’s not too tight, as you want the slip knot to be adjustable on your hook.
Ta-da! You’ve created your first slip knot!
Insert your hook into the slip knot and gently pull the working yarn to tighten it. Make sure the tail end of the yarn is facing towards the hook.
Holding Your Yarn for Crochet
We’ve covered hook holding and slip knots—next, let’s explore how to hold your yarn. Exciting, right? 🙂
The way you hold your yarn directly impacts your crochet tension, determining how tight or loose your stitches will be. Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, your yarn hand needs to be relaxed, guiding the yarn smoothly—neither too tight nor too loose.
Again, this is a matter of personal preference, but here’s how I typically hold my yarn:
- With the slip knot on your hook and the hook in your dominant hand, position the yarn between your middle and index finger of your non-dominant hand.
- Wrap the yarn around your pinky finger, bring it back up to the front of your index finger, and then wrap it around to the back again.
Ultimately, you should hold your yarn in a way that allows it to flow easily through your hand as you crochet, maintaining consistent tension and comfort.
Crocheting a Chain: The Foundation Row
You’ve already come so far! Making your first crochet chain might feel a little awkward initially, but with practice, it will become second nature.
With your slip knot on the hook, secure the slip knot with your thumb and middle finger, close to the hook.
- To make a chain, bring the yarn over your hook from back to front (this is called a “yarn over” or YO), and catch the yarn with your hook. Pull the hooked yarn through the loop on your hook (the slip knot).
That’s it—your first chain stitch! Yay! Repeat this yarn over and pull through step until you have 21 chains. Remember, the loop currently on your hook does not count as a chain stitch. Your chain should look something like this:
For your chain, remember that consistent practice is essential. Your chain should be loose enough that you can see small spaces through the stitches. If it’s too tight, you’ll struggle to insert your hook into the chains in the next row. If you find your tension is still too tight, try using a larger hook size, which will naturally create looser chains.
Examining Your Chain Stitches
Let’s take a closer look at your chain…
The image below illustrates how to count your chain stitches. In the next section, you’ll be working into these stitches.
Still feeling unsure? 🙂
I’ve created a helpful YouTube tutorial that visually demonstrates everything we’ve just covered in a quick 8-minute video! Click here to watch!
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The Single Crochet Stitch
Okay, now let’s learn the single crochet stitch!
Click here for a detailed YouTube Video Tutorial on the single crochet! 🙂
Observe how I hold my chain between my middle finger and thumb in the video; as you work down your chain, reposition your fingers to maintain control and even tension.
- Skip the first chain stitch from the hook and insert your hook into the center of the second chain stitch.
- Yarn over (YO), bringing the yarn over your hook from back to front, and pull it through the chain stitch and up onto your hook. You should now have two loops on your hook.
- Yarn over again (YO), and pull the yarn through both loops on your hook. One loop will remain on your hook. You’ve just completed your first single crochet stitch!
- Continue to make 19 more single crochet stitches down the rest of the chain. Your row of single crochet stitches should look similar to this, and you should have a total of 20 single crochet stitches.
Starting the Next Row:
- To begin crocheting back across your row, you need to make a chain 1 (yarn over, pull through the loop on your hook). This chain 1 is called the turning chain. The turning chain helps ensure the edges of your work stay straight.
- Turn your work in the same direction each time you start a new row. Consistency in turning direction helps maintain even stitch appearance.
- To continue working down the row, insert your hook into the very first single crochet stitch you made in the previous row. Look closely; it’s the stitch right next to your chain 1.
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As shown in the picture, the stitch looks like a “V”. Insert your hook under both the front and back loops of this “V”.
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Yarn over and pull through the stitch; you’ll have two loops on your hook.
- Yarn over again and pull through both loops on your hook. You’ve completed a single crochet stitch in the second row!
And that’s it! You can now crochet! If you’re using this square as a practice piece, you can also learn to weave in the ends. Below, I’ll show you how to finish off your work and weave in the yarn ends.
Finishing Off and Weaving in Yarn Ends
Cutting the yarn is a satisfying step, second only to seeing your finished crochet project!
Crochet patterns often use “FO” or “Finish Off,” which means to cut your yarn and secure the last loop. Here are step-by-step photos for finishing off and weaving in the ends—it’s really quite simple!
At the end of your last row, yarn over as if you were making a chain 1.
Pull the loop out about an inch.
Keeping the loop on your hook, lay down your project and measure about 2 inches of working yarn. Cut the yarn at the 2-inch mark.
Now, use your hook to pull the yarn tail completely through the loop, tightening the knot.
Weaving in the Ends
To weave in the ends, thread the yarn tail through the eye of your yarn needle.
Pull enough yarn through so you have a good length to hold onto.
I usually go through the back of the first stitch to reach the bottom row.
Insert the needle through the top of the stitch downwards, being careful not to go all the way through to the other side of your work.
Pull the needle through gently, not too tightly, to avoid distorting your crochet.
Weave the needle back into the bottom row where your yarn tail emerged.
Pull the needle through again, keeping the tension relaxed.
Remove the needle and cut the yarn tail close to your work. If a tiny piece peeks out, gently stretch the row until it disappears.
And that’s all there is to it! 🙂
Now you can continue practicing the single crochet stitch by making more squares for a blanket or throw.
In conclusion, I genuinely enjoyed creating this tutorial for you! Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and be sure to follow me on my social media platforms! Also, subscribe to the newsletter to receive the latest tutorials and, best of all, free patterns!
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