Hooked on Needles

Monday, September 8, 2008

Learn to Crochet -- Single Crochet Video Tutorial

Time for another How To Crochet video, and this time it is on the very simple Single Crochet stitch. Single crochet is the shortest of the basic crochet stitches and produces a very firm crocheted fabric. It can be used all by itself to make quick and easy crocheted items such as scarves, blankets and pillows. Or it can be used in conjunction with other stitches to form interesting patterns and stitches.

The Woven Stitch is one example of a stitch that uses Single Crochet together with Chain Stitch to make the pattern stitch. I have used the Woven Stitch to make these full size afghans and baby blankets as well as many others.

Single Crochet can be stitched in several different ways depending on the effect you want to achieve. For a very flat fabric, you would stitch through both loops of the stitch below and this is shown in the video. To create a ridge effect, as seen in the Mitered Square Baby Blanket, you just pick up the back loop of the stitch below. This is also shown in the video. You can also just pick up the front loop of the stitch which will create the same type of ridge effect, but it will be on the other side of the fabric.

An important tip for keeping your crochet stitches loose is this: Always slide your loops of yarn all the way up to the fat round part of your hook when forming stitches. Don't form your stitches right down at the base of the hook or they will end up too tight to get the hook through on the next row. If you follow this advice, your stitches will be soft and loose and consistent throughout your project.

Now on to the video. I hope you find it helpful.



To practice this stitch and make something useful at the same time, pick up a ball of Lily's Sugar 'n Cream crochet cotton like what I used for my Itty Bitty Anything Bag, and crochet a simple dish cloth. Work a chain stitch base of about 40 stitches, then work rows of single crochet until the piece is square. Cut your yarn leaving about a 5 inch tail, pull it through the last loop and weave it in to the stitches of the last row. Weave in the beginning tail the same way. Now besides having a nice new dishcloth to use, you should also be quite proficient in the simple and versatile Single Crochet stitch!

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