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Lesson 4: Single Crochet

Abbreviations:

US – sc
UK – dc (double crochet)

Single crochet is one of the most used stitches in amigurumi due to how short the stitch is it keeps the stuffing from showing through the finished piece. All of my patterns use it as a base. It’s the first real stitch you learn. Once you learn this you’re well on your way to making just about anything you want.

Now take a look at the side and notice the abbreviations. In the UK this stitch is called double crochet. This is why it’s very important to check and see what terms the pattern uses. They should specifically say in the beginning if they are using US terms or UK terms.

The Single Crochet

Before we start learning single crochet we need to have a chain for our foundation. So first, make a chain 6 stitches long. Remember, don’t count the loop on your hook.

Insert your hook into the 2nd chain from the hook.

1. Yarn over and pull through the chain. You now have 2 loops on your hook.

2. Yarn over, pull through both loops on your hook. Congrats! You just made your first single crochet and you should have 1 loop on your hook. Don’t worry, it’s not supposed to look pretty.

Repeat steps 1-2 in the next chain from the stitch.  Continue until the end of your chain. You should have 5 single crochet stitches.

Let’s look at each of your stitches in your finished row. Identify each one. Recognize the V in front of each stitch as well as the V up top. Let’s discuss the top of the stitch. The top of the stitch has 2 loops that create a V. The front loop, and the back loop. Often times a crochet pattern may have you stitch in the front loop or back loop only for a row. So instead of going through both as we normally do, you’ll only insert your hook in the front or back loop. We’ll go into more detail during the pattern lesson, but for now, I just want you to be able to identify the front and back loop of your stitches.

Now that you have your first row of stitches done you’re going to make one chain stitch. Then turn your work around, your hook should be on the right side again. Insert your hook into the first single crochet (not the chain stitch), yarn over, pull through. 2 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through both loops. There’s your first single crochet on the new row. Continue making single crochets until the end of the row. You should have 5 stitches again.

Make sure you’re counting your stitches each row. It’s very common to accidentally miss the last stitch since it’s much rounder than the others. This is why identifying stitches is very important. Don’t rush through without studying what a single crochet looks like.

Some Observations

You may have noticed that I asked you to make 6 chain stitches, but only 5 single crochet stitches. How? Why? You’ll start to notice with each stitch we learn they start to get “taller”/ bigger. When we start with a chain it’s very flat. In order to gain that height that we need to make our stitches taller and even we have to sacrifice some of the chain to do that. This height is also why we start a new row with a chain stitch! This is so we can have an even row.

This will become more evident in the later lessons. For now, just have that in the back of your mind.

It’s important to understand the inner workings of stitches. It’s easier to fix any mistakes you make if you know why things work the way they do and how the yarn builds on itself to create the shapes they do. Knowledge is power! 🙂

Homework

Homework

Practice the single crochet stitch!

Make a piece that is 8 single crochets long. So you’ll need to start with 9 chain stitches. Are you noticing a trend yet? Your chain stitches are always one longer than your single crochet stitches for the row.

Make 10 rows. Repeat as necessary. Seriously, stay on this step until it becomes second nature.

Quiz

You’ve just finished your first row of single crochet stitches. How many chain stitches do you create before you turn to start on your next row?

A – 2

B – 3

C – 1

D – None

If I wanted to have a row of 10 single crochet stitches, how many chain stitches should I make?

A – 10

B – 9

C – 11

How many single crochet stitches are in the row below?

C!

We need a single chain stitch to create the height we need for an even row of single crochet stitches.

C!

For single crochet, you just need 1 additional chain stitch.

16!