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Crochet is a great craft to both relax and get the creative juices flowing! It can help with your mental health and self expression.
These beginner crochet tutorials are aimed at complete novices. The lessons will cover the basics such as how hold to the hook and yarn, as well as the essential crochet stitches. We’ll cover making circles, changing colours and combining the stitches. I’ll even be teaching you how to read crochet patterns!
Most of the lessons will have a practice swatch to put your new found knowledge into practice.
By the end of this beginners crochet course, you will have the skills and confidence to make hats, bags, blankets and an addiction to yarn!
For those that prefer learning by watching, at the bottom of the page is the video version of the lesson.
“If I were able to leave you with only one piece of crochet advice, it would be to always have fun. Learn the basics, but then just go crazy with your crafty self!” -Twinkie Chan
Contents
Welcome to Lesson 2 of the Beginner Crochet Series!
Today you’ll be learning the parts of the chain, what’s known as the double crochet stitch in the UK, or single crochet in the US. It’s the same stitch, but the UK and the US have different terminology.
You’ll also learn the slip stitch, how to avoid common mistakes and have a brief look at the effects of tension. I’ll go more in depth about tension in lesson three, so please be sure to watch it. At the end, there will be a small practice swatch for these stitches, which includes how to read a pattern.
Our stitches will be made into the chain, so let’s take a closer look before we begin.
From the front, the chains look like V’s. Each chain will have a stitch worked into it. The chain on the hook isn’t counted.
At the back, the chains form these back bumps.
Stitches are worked into the front of thechain from right to left.
Stitches can be made into the bottom of the V shape. The hook would go under the bump, putting two strands over the hook.
We can also work in the top of the V here, which puts one strand over the hook. I recommend working in this loop as it’s easier for beginners.
We’ll be making a row with 10 stitches, so make 10 chains. We then need to add 1 more for the height of the stitch. This is known as the turning chain. So in total you should have 11 chains.
I cover making the chain in Lesson 1.
The 1st stitch is placed in the second chain.
Go into the top of the V, so there’s one strand over the hook.
Bring the yarn over the hook.
Pull the yarn back through the chain.
Pull the hook up. There are 2 loops on the hook. Make sure the loops are at the same height.
Yarn over again.
Hold the base of the chain, and pull the yarn through both loops on the hook.
There’s 1 loop left on the hook and that’s your first stitch complete!
Push your hook into the top of the next chain.
There’s one strand of the chain over the hook.
Yarn over,
and pull the yarn back through the chain.
Pull the loop up,
yarn over again,
and pull through both loops.
There’s 1 loop left on the hook and that’s your second stitch complete!
Carry on making double (single) crochet stitches in each chain.
Count your stitches to be sure there are 10. The stitches should be a consistant size.
If you make a mistake, you can “frog” the stitches – simply pull the yarn to undo the stitch or stitches. Then place your hook back in the loop and start again.
The stitches are worked exactly the same as row 1, but now we work into stitches instead of a chain.
Chain 1 to turn your work.
Hold the end of the row and flip it to the left, like turning the page of a book.
The top of the stitches form V’s.
There are spaces between the stitches.
The first stitch goes in the first space. Make sure you don’t work into the turning chain!
Push the hook into the first space.
There are 2 strands of yarn from the stitch over the hook.
Yarn over,
pull the yarn back through the stitch,
and level with the loop on the hook. There are 2 loops on the hook.
Yarn over again,
and pull through the 2 loops on the hook.
The 1st stitch is finished.
Continue working in each stitch along the row.
The last space looks a bit different. Make sure there are 2 strands over the hook.
The finished last stitch.
Remember to count your stitches!
Repeat row 2 for any following rows.
This swatch has 10 rows and 10 stitches. The odd number rows are the back of the stitches, the even number rows are the front.
The back of the stitches have “legs” that look like upside down V’s.
At the front the “legs” are together. This part of the stitch is the “post”.
As with any learning any craft it’s easy to make mistakes – crochet is no different. Luckily its just as easy to fix them!
If a stitch is worked into the back of the chain it causes the chain to twist. This can be avoided by making sure to have the chain V’s facing you.
The edges of your work should be even.
Missing the 1st stitch of the row can cause the edge to step in.
Working into the turning chain causes the edges to flare out.
Placing a stitch marker in the first and last stitch will help avoid these issues.
Tension refers to how tight or loose your stitches are and plays a huge role in how your crochet turns out.
It’s important to develop good tension habits from the start to avoid your work looking like these examples.
I go more in depth about tension & gauge in the next lesson.
Slipstitches are the smallest of all stitches. They are used throughout crochet to join rounds or create decorative stitches.
Push the hook into the stitch.
Yarn over,
Pull the yarn back through the stitch,
and straight through the loop on the hook.
The finished slipstitch.
Slipstitches do not have any height.
Crochet patterns will have a page with all the necessary information on it, like which materials you need and the gauge.
If there is a notes section, it’s important to read it as it often contains need to know information.
The pattern calls for a 4mm hook and uses an acrylic double knit yarn. It will use about 4g of yarn.
The swatch is nearly 3.5 inches in height and 4 inches in width. The gauge is 5 rows by 4 stitches per inch as you can see here. We’ll talk more about gauge in the next lesson.
There should also be a stitch and abbreviation page to make sure you understand which stitches to use and the abbreviations used in the pattern.
Some designers will include both UK and US terms in their pattern. I’ll be using UK terms for this tutorial, but I’ll make a note of the US terms too.
Patterns can include written, photo and chart instructions or any combination of these instruction types. We’ll be following along with all three of these today.
Written and photo instructions are self-explanatory. They usually have a key with the abbreviations, and the instructions are split into rows
Crochet patterns will have a page with all the necessary information on it, like which materials you need and the gauge.
If there is a notes section, it’s important to read it as it often contains need to know information.
The pattern calls for a 4mm hook and uses an acrylic double knit yarn. It will use about 4g of yarn.
The swatch is nearly 3.5 inches in height and 4 inches in width. The gauge is 5 rows by 4 stitches per inch. We’ll talk more about gauge in the next lesson.
There should also be a stitch and abbreviation page to make sure you understand which stitches to use and the abbreviations used in the pattern.
Some designers will include both UK and US terms in their pattern. I’ll be using UK terms for this tutorial, but I’ll make a note of the US terms too.
Patterns can include written, photo and chart instructions or any combination of these instruction types. We’ll be following along with all three of these today.
Written and photo instructions are self-explanatory. They usually have a key with the abbreviations, and the instructions are split into rows
To dip your toes into crochet patterns, I’ll start with a very simple swatch of double crochet stitches. These are single crochet stitches in US terminology.
I’ll show you written, photo and chart forms. If you want to watch a live demo, the video tutorial covers the swatch at around 12 minutes in.
You can download the pattern here.
Chart instructions use symbols to represent a stitch. The chains on the side represent the turning chain.
The stitch count is along the bottom and top. The row count is up the sides.
Charts are read from right to left for one row, then left to right for the next, alternating as you move up.
This is the swatch we’ll be making. It has 14 rows and 14 stitches.
These are the chart symbols and abbreviations in both UK and US terminolgy.
I’ll be using UK terminolgy for this tutorial, US terminolgy will be in brackets.
Step 1 – Both the written and photo instructions state chain 15 and make a Dc(Sc) in the second chain from the hook.
This tells us that there is a turning chain of one, and there should be 14 stitches.
This is clearer to see on the chart.
This is how it looks in practise
Step 2 – The next part of row 1 instructs us to work 13 Dc(Sc), so we work 1 stitch in each of the remaining chains. This gives us a stitch total of 14.
The chart is read from the right.
For row 2, we make 1 turning chain, flip the row like a book, and work 1 Dc(Sc) in each stitch. The stitch count should be 14.
The chart is read from the left.
The completed row.
Simply repeat row 2 for 12 rows The stitch count should be 14 each row.
Alternate the reading direction of the chart each row.
The finished swatch!
Remember to count your stitches at the end of each row, and you shouldn’t have any problems 🙂
Welcome!
My name’s Katie and I’m a crochet addict!
I learnt to crochet about 20 years ago whilst living in Ireland. I soon had a street stall selling my crochet hats and bags, eventually progressing to organising craft fairs.
I returned to street selling for a few years to fund my travels around Latin America, before settling down and becoming a mum to two cool kids.
I love working with colour and creating vibrant, detailed crochet and wanted to translate that into patterns.
Free Crochet Scarf Pattern – Wagon Wheel
Crochet Ear Warmer Pattern
Crochet Short Scarf Pattern
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