How To Crochet (the basics)

I’m not. Oh, no, not by any means. I’m just the type of person who loves a challenge, loves to create things, and loves to share the knowledge I gain. I’ve been knitting since I was seven and crocheting since I was 18. I’m the fifth-known generation in my family to knit and we only know that many generations because of our own family’s oral history. If it involves yarn or fiber, I probably know how to do it.

Crochet, pronounced “crow-shay”, is a handicraft that uses string (often called yarn or thread) and a tool called a hook, to create a series of interconnected knots to create fabric. Fancy, huh? In simpler terms, crocheting involves a hook, some yarn, and a bunch of loops and knots. If you’re really inventive or desperate, you don’t even need a hook, you can just use your fingers, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Fun fact!: There’s no such thing as machine crocheted items! Because of the complexity, crochet cannot be replicated by machines which makes anything you crochet even more special!

So glad you asked! Knitting is like the cousin to crocheting. Knitting uses yarn and between two and five needles (generally) to create a fabric made from interconnected loops and no knots. VERY similar, although to the trained eye, the final product does look different. It’s kinda like how basketball and netball are REALLY similar to the untrained observer but there are inherent differences in how the games are played. Then there’s Tunisian crochet, but again, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

“Wait, terminology in the beginning and not in a glossary at the back?” I hear you asking. Yes. Because I’ve found that it’s easiest for you, dear reader, to take the information I give you and go find alternative sources if I give you the proper terminology up front. When I first started crocheting, I wasn’t taught any of the proper words so learning how to read patterns later was difficult. Also, as with most things I say, everything is large, sweeping generalizations. Not every hook is aluminum or bamboo, just the most common ones you’re going to find at a rummage sale or Michael’s, for example. If you happened upon this and say, “WELL NOW, TECHNICALLY SILK YARN ISN’T PLIED SO THEREFORE NOT ALL YARN IS PLIED,” I’m gonna find you, and I’m gonna bonk you on the head with a large plastic tee ball bat.

Nothing can be simple when the whole world is involved and same goes for crocheting terms. There are two different terms for a lot of simple stitches. The pattern author will usually state at the beginning of the pattern whether they’re using US or UK/AUS terminology. Sometimes they don’t though! That will become a situation where you, dear reader, will have to use your gained knowledge and critical thinking skills to troubleshoot the pattern!

Helpful Tip!: Look at the measurements for the gauge swatch. If it’s in imperial, it’s probably US. If it’s metric, it’s probably UK. This is not a steadfast rule as there are some in the UK who use imperial when measuring garments and Canadians are just wildcards, but it can be a helpful clue as you’re figuring it out!

If you are working on a project and find out halfway through that the pattern was written in UK when you thought it was written in US terms, don’t fret! The worst that will happen is that you have to start over, which, while a bummer, isn’t that bad. What it will mean is that your project may be shorter or longer than the pattern author intended, heck, you may not even notice there’s a problem at all and you may end up with a perfectly wonderful item that you’re proud of!

Hook - It’s your handy-dandy tool to help you make those knots! They can be made from various materials, although the most common materials today are aluminum and bamboo. Yet again, we have another situation where the US and the rest of the world have different measuring systems. For crochet hooks, the standard sizes that you, dear reader, will probably use when first dipping their toes into this cozy world, are sizes US E to K, where E is the smallest of the set and K is the largest. In other parts of the world, these sizes are measured by the diameter of the hook in millimeters. This again, again, will probably be noted at the beginning of the pattern, what size hook is preferred for the project. You can most certainly find larger and smaller hooks than the sizes I listed above, these are just the most common for most standard projects. This is just an introduction, after all.

Yarn - Ooh yarn. Yarn is seriously like, half of the reason I got into crafting. There are SO many options. But first, what is yarn? Yarn is fiber that is spun into plies then those plies are spun into yarn. If you know how to make rope, same concept! For the average crochet hobbyist, the yarn you will normally use is going to be made from acrylic or cotton. There are also a wide range of animal fiber that you can use. You can find wool, angora, alpaca, llama (which is different from alpaca) or, if you’re willing to shovel out big bucks, more exotic fibers like qiviut or buffalo. And then plant fibers are fun and exciting as well, if that your jam! Yarn is an important part of any project and not just because you kinda need it to make the ding-dang darn thing in the first place but also it can determine the overall success of your project! I know, it’s a lot of pressure, but don’t worry, you got this.

Helpful Tips!: If you’re making something for the average person who doesn’t have time to hand wash homemade items, stick with acrylic or cotton. Cotton is great if you want a super loose, flowy sweater or a fun beach bag or a nice summer blanket but not a great hat or anything that needs to keep its shape. Acrylic makes great hats, scarves, sweaters, socks, heck, just about anything if you try hard enough. Acrylic is my go-to when I make baby blankets because they’re very stain resistant and easy to throw in the washer and dryer without having to take special care of it. Acrylic also has the benefit of coming in literally every color possible where natural fibers don’t always have that ability.

Yarn over (YO) - Yarn overs are when you wrap the yarn around your hook. Yarn OVER the hook. Don’t worry. In a hobby where things can be weirdly complex, it’s understandable to not know exactly what terms mean.

Chain - (ch) the simplest stitch in crochet and the foundation for almost every pattern out there. To make a chain, you will make a slip knot out of your working yarn, slip it on the crochet hook. Then, take the yarn that is attached to the ball of yarn, and wrap the yarn around the hook from the back of the hook to the front. Finally, you take the hook with the yarn wrapped around it, and pull the hook and yarn through your slip knot. You’ve made one chain stitch! Congratulations! Baby blankets usually need about 150ish to start out. To make a second stitch, you will repeat the steps:

• Wrap the yarn from back to front, once, around the hook

• Pull the hook through the loop

• Repeat

Each little “bump” is a chain stitch. If you want to practice holding a hook and yarn and figuring out how best to get tension for your yarn, go ahead and make a whole line of chains! You can just make a chain that’s 35,783,925,281,938,137 stitches long if you want! No one is stopping you! What do you do with a chain when you’re done with it? Well, if you want a simple project to start out, why not make a series of 12 ft long chains and then braid them all together? Make a super chunky scarf! Or, rip it all out! Just take your hook out of the most recently completed stitch and pull on the yarn and wind it back up! That’s one of the joys of crocheting and knitting, in my opinion. You can just undo your mistakes and there’s no record of it. The yarn doesn’t remember, the hook doesn’t remember, only you do. And now you know what not to do next time! At the end of it, a blanket is just the coziest lesson we can learn.

Okay, now we’re gonna start getting spicy. You ready?

Single crochet stitch - (sc) ALSO KNOWN AS A DOUBLE CROCHET IN UK TERMS - This is where we actually start having some fun. A single crochet is when you take your hook, insert it into the stitch below, wrap the yarn around the hook, then pull the yarn through the stitch. You will have two loops on your hook right now. Wrap the yarn around your hook again. You will now have three loops on your hook. Take your most recently made loop and hook and pull it through the other two loops. You’ve done one single crochet.

Helpful Hint!: Crochet and knitting are both thought to originate in what is now the Middle East. One of the largest indications, aside from extant materials, is the construction. The rows are worked from right to left, much like how Arabic and other languages in the Middle East and Asia are read. It may feel counterintuitive at first if you’re from the Western World, but the beginning of the row on a flat piece will be on the right and the end of it will be on the left!

When you are “creating a stitch,” you are connecting to the right and below. You’re creating a new connection between those two stitches, the one to the right and the one below. Neat, huh?

Half-double crochet stitch (hdc) - ALSO KNOWN AS A HALF TREBLE CROCHET IN UK/AUS TERMS - A half-double crochet is when you wrap the yarn around the hook PRIOR to inserting it into the stitch below. Then, after you’ve inserted the hook in the stitch below, wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull it through. You will have 3 loops on your hook. Wrap the yarn around your hook again (4 loops) then pull the most recently made loop through all of the other 3 loops on your hook. This is one half-double crochet stitch.

Double crochet stitch (dc) - ALSO KNOWN AS TREBLE CROCHET IN UK/AUS TERMS - How ya doin’? You feelin’ okay? You doin’ well? Haven’t scared you off yet, have I? Good. Go ahead and stretch your hands real quick if you haven’t recently.

A double crochet stitch is one of the most common stitches in crocheting. It’s the second thing I learned after a chain stitch. To do a double crochet, you will do something VERY similar to what you just did in a half-double crochet with a slight difference. You will yarn over the hook prior to inserting your hook into the stitch below. Then after you’ve inserted the hook into the stitch below, wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull it through. You will have 3 loops on your hook. Wrap the yarn around your hook again (4 loops). Everything up to this point is exactly the same as a half-double crochet. EXACTLY. Now here is where it’s different. Take your hook and pull your most recently made loop through the next two loops. You now have two loops on your hook. Wrap your yarn around your hook again (3 loops) and then pull the most recently made loop through the other two loops. You’ve done one double crochet stitch.

Treble crochet stitch (tr) - ALSO KNOWN AS DOUBLE TREBLE CROCHET IN UK/AUS TERMS

If you can handle a double crochet, you TOTALLY got a treble crochet. To make a treble crochet stitch, you will wrap your yarn TWICE prior to inserting it into the stitch below, yarn over the hook and pull through (4 loops) and yarn over again for a total of 5 loops. I know, it’s getting crazy, isn’t it?

Next, take the most recently created loop and pull it through the two loops next to it for a total of 3 loops remaining. Yarn over and pull that new loop through two loops (2 loops). Yarn over and pull through the last loop. You’ve done one treble crochet stitch. Wack-a-doo, huh?

From there, you can pretty much make anything. I know. It seems a little strange to have an entire craft that’s centuries old be boiled down to a couple of stitches but yep, that’s the truth! There are some specialty stitches out there, but this is a beginner’s guide and I want it to be easy for everyone to use and understand and I don’t want to scare people off of a new hobby. Besides, honestly, you can do pretty much anything with just the above stitches. Patterns may have specific stitches but a good pattern not only has the stitch name and abbreviation but also how to do it, even if a brief description of it.

Patterns: Patterns are like recipes for how to make something. And much like recipes, sometimes they’re very detailed and descriptive giving you exact measurements and directions and other times, they’re like the family recipe for tomato sauce that no one has written down and has measurements like, “salt it until you think it’s good enough.” Patterns themselves have basic components as well; materials needed, terminology used in the pattern, the pattern itself. Materials needed will be the type of yarn, sometimes as specific as brand and colorway, and hook size. This is also where the gauge for the pattern will be listed if the final size needs to be specific, like a garment. Terminology will be a basic glossary for the terms and abbreviations used in the pattern. As I’m sure you can imagine, writing out “chain four stitches and then three treble crochet stitches through the back loop only” would get very long winded and because women were the ones who wrote patterns, and women don’t have time for that and standardized the language we use now, there are standard abbreviations for stitches as I listed above. This section will also be where the pattern author will add any additional stitches that might be not as common or unique to that pattern with a brief description of the stitch. And then the body of the pattern will have your step by step instructions for how to make your project. If you can follow instructions and have a can-do attitude, you can totally crochet!

I think that’s it? Wow! Crazy! You didn’t even have to learn that many new words! Go you!

Well? Any questions? I’ve tried my best to make this as simple as possible but if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at knitthrough@gmail.com