How to Crochet: Single Crochet Stitches (sc)
By Rachel Choi – 89 CommentsA Single crochet stitch is the most popular, basic and common crochet stitch. Single crochet stitches are used everywhere in the crochet world, so this is a great stitch to learn. If you are a beginner, this should be one of the first crochet stitches that you encounter. In this example of how to crochet a single crochet stitch, we will assume that you already created a foundation chain.
This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. For left handed pictures, roll your mouse over the image and it will change for you.
Let’s start with a foundation chain like this. (How to Crochet a Chain)
Insert your hook into the 2nd chain from the hook. You would now have two loops on your hook. You insert your hook into the 2nd chain and not the 1st because 1 chain is equivalent to the height of a single crochet. This way, your corner will be the same height as the rest of the row.
Yarn over (wrap the yarn over your hook).
Pull the strand of yarn through the first loops that is on your hook. You should now have two loops on your hook.
Yarn over again, and pull the strand of yarn through both loops on the hook. You should now only have one loop on the hook.
Congrats! You just made one single crochet stitch! You can continue to make single crochets across your foundation chain. To do so, just insert your hook into the next chain, yarn over, pull through one loop on hook, yarn over, pull through both loops on hook. Continue this until you reach the end of the chain.
Here is what one row of single crochets looks like!
To make another row of single crochets, make one chain. Then turn your work.
Insert your hook into the first single crochet.
Yarn over.
Pull the yarn through the first loop on your hook. You should now have 2 loops on your hook.
Yarn over.
Pull the strand of yarn through both loops on your hook.
You can continue to crochet across the row and create more rows of single crochet stitches. Here is what a few rows look like!
Was this helpful? Do you still need more help? Leave a comment to let me know!
[…] to learn how to crochet and have not learned single crochets yet, I would suggest learning how to crochet single crochets first. After that double crochets will be a piece of […]
You just answered my question! I’ve always crocheted around burp clothes but I decided this week that I wanted to crochet a hat! I found a pattern I liked and started… Umm yeah I understood right to left but how do you go left from right? You turn it over. Hahah I feel so stupid! Thanks! I really enjoy your site!
hi rachel!
feeling better!
i have a slight problem with half double crochet, could you please help me
thank you
gene
I’d love to help Gene!
Do you have a particular question? or are you looking for a nice pic tutorial for it? If you’re looking for the tutorial, I’ll be working on it 🙂
hi ,
thank you for answering so quickly, i really would like to see a pic tutorial
i always get my loops and yarn over wrong, which give me a very strange pattern
when i try to do some practice.
gene
[…] single crochet (fsc) is a stitch that can replace the foundation chains and the first row of single crochets in your work by completing them at the same […]
[…] learned the basic foundation chain, single crochet and double crochet. At the time technique and making things look perfect wasn’t a priority so […]
Hi! I have the general motion of crocheting down but I can’t figure out how to properly end/begin my rows. I keep ending up with crooked edges because I can’t make my turns properly and I’m having a hard time figuring out how to even count the stitches (where to start, etc). I would appreciate any help/insight you could offer.
Hi Heather, when you do a row of single crochets you should start by chaining 1 first. This will ensure that the beginning of your row is the same height as the rest of your row. To count the stitches, try counting the number of sideways “V” shapes that are created on the top of the row, because each time you make a stitch it will make that sideways “V” shape on the top. If you don’t know what I mean I say “V” shape, take a look at the first pic in this post: http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-in-front-back-or-both-loops/ The V is created by the front and back loop of the stitch.
Thank you for your quick reply, Rachel! The problem I’m having is knowing where to start and stop counting. In the picture you are referring to is that 6 visible stitches or 5? Do I count that furthest one over on the right? I’ve been looking in other forums and someone suggested using a stitch marker when I do my turns. I’m hoping that will solve this problem….? I’m not sure why I can’t seem to get my rows right.
There are five stitches in the pic I was referring to. And using a stitch marker is also a great idea!!
I get confused by the stitch that appears to be formed by the slip stitch. Do I crochet into that one when I come to the end of my first row? The side of my blanket is slanting inward and my stitches are decreasing. When I try to crochet into what looks like the last stitch it is tight and doesn’t look right afterwards. None of the beginner tutorials cover this.
Hi Cindy, I’m not sure why you’re ending each row of your blanket with a slip stitch, is that part of the pattern you are using? It would depend on the pattern if you are to crochet into the slip stitch or not. If you are describe the pattern you are using in further detail, maybe I can help you better 🙂
Wow, Thank you so much for the clear instructions and pictures. This is the first time my crocheting has ever come out so neat and my ends square. I really appreciate your blog!!!
[…] single crochet stitches (exsc) are very similar to single crochet stitches, but as the name suggests, they are extended to be slightly […]
[…] shape of the item you are crocheting. There are different decrease for different stitches, such as single crochet, double crochet and treble crochet. This tutorial contains instructions for decreasing single […]
[…] after I saw one of my friends doing it. She taught me the basics, like the foundation chain, single crochet and double crochet (thanks mom!). According to her, I was really bad at making my chains. But now […]
After a row of sc is completed on the starting chain and you want to do another row of sc, precisely where on the sc row do you insert the crochet hook? Is it under the 2 loops on the top of the sc??
Thanks,
Lilly
Hi Lilly, yes it is under the 2 loops of the sc. Take a look at this tutorial: Crochet in Front, Back or Both Loops.
That’s awesome! Thanks so very much for your help. I’ll use your website throughout my crochet learning experience.
Lilly
Hi Rachel! I have already found your website very helpful. I was wondering what a stitch marker was, and how to insert it? I have been in the process of making a beanie – my first crocheting project, and it is turning out quite alright (yay!), but I have trouble when I get to the end of the row – I don’t know if I’ve actually finished the row, as the beanie is always getting larger. Also, as I start a new row, sometimes I change the stitch from single to double or double to shell stitch. When I do this, it looks awkward as it changes from one stitch to the other. (not a smooth progression) Could you please help me there? Thank you.
Hi, here is a post about stitch markers that I think will help you out: All about stitch markers in crochet
I find that when I crochet, my crochet work seems to get shorter and shorter, like it’s shrinking. What can I do to avoid that?
Thanks,
Lilly
Hi Lilly, here are some tips that I think can help you out: 7 tips to establish consistency in crochet
When I start a new row (ie on my beanie), how many chains should I do at the start of the new row of stitches? Like; if I want to change from single stitching to shell, how many chains do I do? Is there a rule for it all?
Thérèse, it depends on the pattern. But normally you would do the height of the stitches you are working on. Such as 1 ch for a sc, 2 ch for a hdc, 3 ch for a dc, and 4 ch for a tr.
Hello, great instructions and pictures!
I need help, I have been learning to crochet, and what i’m supposed to be making is a pot holder, so it should be square, but it ends up being this strange rounded off shape and getting smaller, like I have decreased in stitches, what do you think I am doing wrong?
Also, the tail from the slipknot, one person told me “cut it off” (this seems right to me since I knit, and that is exactly what I do when i’m knitting.) another told me to gradually weave it into whatever I am making (but this seems to work better!), so I really am confused about it, which is correct?
Actually, I found your “7 tips for consistency in crochet” and I think you probably are going to tell me to read that, and I think that page was very helpful and possibly the counting part is my problem, so forget that part of my comment, I just need help with what to do with the tail from the slipknot, thanks!
Hi Bridgette, you should weave the tail of the slip knot into your work.
Hi
I am just starting out as I want to try to make some amiguruni for my kiddies but even though I taught myself to knit last month this just doesn’t seem to work out for me! I can make the chain easily but when I try to make the 1st row of single crochet stitches my row goes all twirly! By the time I have finnished the row it bends in a circle shape!
I have ordered a book from Amazon and am hoping it may help but any advice would be great thanks.x
Hi Emma, it’s okay if it curls after you do the first row (sometimes it’s natural for it to do that). Try and go on to the second and third row. If you do a few rows, sometimes it straightens itself out.
This is the best website for a refresher. Just short of a video, but the step by step brought it all back. I made a scarf tonight!
[…] reverse single crochet stitch, also known as the crab stitch, is made by doing single crochet stitches. With one major difference: the stitches are done in the opposite direction. So […]
[…] patterns usually utilize single crochet and/or double crochet stitches and are pretty straight forward. The Simple Cell Phone Case is a […]
when ever i try to do it,every stich at the end of each row/beginning,it gets smaller and smaller as if i’m droping a stich on the end.
i have no idea what i’m doing wrong. i’m i really dropping a stich? help please!!!
Hi Bella, if the side of your work is shorter than the rest of the row, make sure you are making 1 chain before you make your first single crochet stitch on the row. This will ensure that the beginning of the row is the same height as the rest of the row.
thank you Rachel! i’ll try that! thanks for your speedy response!
Help! My work is twisting big time! I make my foundation chain just fine, but my second and third rows of sc seem to be much looser than the foundaion chain. Such that my work begins to look like a big twisty corkscrew! I count the stitches, but they seem correct.
I have reworked this piece of yarn once before, and the first time it worked fine and straight (I had to pull it out because i realised I did not make the last YO on a SC – duh!!). So, should I just cut it and start with a fresh, non crinkled segment of yarn?
Hi Kristina, it’s common for the foundation chain to be tight, so often times folks will use a larger crochet hook to make the chains looser, then go back to the smaller hook when working the rest of the stitches. You can try that and see if it helps a little. Also, depending on what you’re making you can continue on with a few more rows and it may straighten out as you go.
Thanks a bundle! That worked much, much better.
On a different note, I am experiencing a big setback – more trouble with the basics, particularly with finding the exact point at which I need to insert the hook for the next stitch. So tried some stitches to test myself (CH, turn, SC in back loops of each, turn, SC in both loops), this time I did it on thread instead of somewhat fuzzy yarn to see the stitch more clearly. Interestingly enough, I could do that test pattern on thread much more easily than I could on yarn. With yarn, if I keep working on the back loops only, I think I’m fine; but when I go to work both loops I get really confused and don’t know where to start again.
Do you have any suggestions to make finding the insertion point easier when working with yarn? I’m already using my largest hook right now (K). I feel like I’m just stabbing at a nearby loop and hoping it is correct (I’ve pulled a project apart at least a dozen times in the past three days trying to get this right…I’m so frustrated.) 🙁
Hi Kristina, if you’re using fuzzy yarn then it’s almost impossible to see the stitches in it. Try using regular yarn instead. If you would like some tips on using your fuzzy yarn, check out this post: http://www.crochetspot.com/how-to-crochet-with-eyelash-yarn/
WOW, that really IS fuzzy – nowhere near what I have been using (Red Heart Super Saver, but reworked about a dozen times, so it has become a little “frazzled” (?)). lol! 🙂
That fun stuff looks so cozy…. in time!
[…] stitches for a whole different look. For example the ‘Little Wings’ V-Stitch calls for single crochets, but if you replaced all the single crochets with half double crochets or double crochets you would […]
[…] places in your work? Yes, we use the same old stitches we’re so familiar with — single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, and so forth. The only difference is that we insert the hook […]
Rachel, I love your site. By far the best for the basics especially. I have a question…for the life of me, I can’t sc through both loops! What do I do? I always go through the back loop, but I’d love to get a different look. I know that I crochet pretty tight, so would that be the problem? Any tips for the right amount of tension? (because I think that I crochet much looser than I did at first, but people still tell me it’s super tight.) Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah, check out this post for some tips: http://www.crochetspot.com/7-tips-to-establish-consistency-in-crochet/
Especially look at tip number 2, 3 and 5. If you can’t get your hook in, then the stitches are probably too tight.
[…] can create different rows with different size stitches. The only stitch that you need to know is single crochet, can you believe it? For this tutorial, I used my favorite crochet thread in size 3 with a size C […]
[…] You just need to know the single crochet stitch. Here is a refresher on that stitch, see the single crochet tutorial. Use this stitch to make an interesting scarf, a pretty table runner, or even a poncho. […]
hellooo, u hv the best site in the world,,,, im a beginner in crochet and right now practicing, the SC…but im so confused how to count? u said “Insert your hook into the 2nd chain from the hook”
i dont understang wich chain…is it possible for u to mark on the picture with a red arrow mark…then it will be much easier for people like me who are starting at the zero…pls help me….the problem i see i dont see any chain on the hook, u said from the hook, so u mean the first clear chain that i see is the second stitch?….please help me with the double crochet too…
Hi Nasi, since I don’t have a marked picture on hand right now, I’ll try to explain the best I can! When you look at your chain, you’ll see a series chains that look like sideways v’s. Each “v” is a chain. So if you start by counting on the side of the chain where your hook is, look for the first “v” then look for the second “v”. The second “v” is the second chain from your hook.
Hi, my friend and I have been learning to crochet and we’ve both run into the same problem. By the time we finish the 2nd row, the size of the entire swatch and the amount of stitches have decreased by half. I thought that it might sort its self out if I just continued on, yet by the time I finished the 3rd row, the swatch was half as big as when I finished the 2nd row! The biggest worry is that everything LOOKS okay, the size and amount of stitches are just decreasing with each row. We were wondering if we are dropping stitches or if we are skipping too many when we do the single crochet stitch. Please help and thanks a lot 🙂
Hi Amy, sounds like you’re skipping stitches. There should be the same number of stitches on each row (unless you’re decreasing on purpose). Make sure you count the number of stitches after you finish each row. If there’s less stitches you know you skipped something, so you can go back and redo the row.
Thanks so much! That really helped and I think we have it sorted out now 🙂
When you say begin with a fsc of 85 Does that mean start with a chain first then a row of sc?
Hi Marcia, here’s a tutorial on the fsc: How to Crochet: Foundation Single Crochet (fsc)
Fsc is a technique to replace doing the first chain and the first row of single crochet.
Thanks Rachel for clear instructions 🙂
I’m trying to make a cuff which flares at the end, I have done a row of chain then 3 single crochet rows and it is starting to curve even though I am not trying to flare it yet.
Any advice?
Asprin, your beginning chain may be tight (this is common), try crocheting it with one hook larger than what would be used for the rest of the stitches. You also may be adding stitches by accident. Double check your stitch count.
I taught myself to knit by using a couple books (and supplemented it with the internet for fancier stitches), but I was never able to teach myself to crochet with books because none of them showed a picture like you have at the top: where your yarn hand also hangs onto the tail of your chain to help with pulling the hook through the yarn loop. Dumb, I know, but it makes it so much easier to see that extra little bit of info missed in the pics and drawings in the books I have. I look forward to using more of your tutorials on this great site. Thanks!!!
I have a row of single crochet on a chain and when I am doing my second row I am finding that it is curling around the chain (I can pull it straight though), is this a problem that is solvable by blocking?
Asprin, yes it sounds like a problem that blocking can fix. Give it a try 🙂
Thanks, I still have about 35 rows to go on this side of the chain and about 40 on the other side of the chain – I’m making a big triangle which will end up being a hood (hopefully).
Hi, this was very helpful and helped me out a lot. Now I am trying out the granny square and I was just wondering if you knew about it because after I formed my little circle then did the dc 3 times around it a set of 4, it says i should have 4 holes from when I chained 2 times in between sets, but I’ve tried this over 5 times and I always end up with only 3, do you know what I could be doing wrong?
Hi Brandi, here’s a picture tutorial that might help you: How to Crochet: Granny Squares (Step-by-Step)
Could you please advise whether you are using American or British crochet terms. I know single crochet is different in different patterns. I’m making your wrist warmers pattern which begins with single crochet. I’m presuming you are using American terms, from the explantion here, but just thought I’d check as there is no indication on your website where you are based. A big thank you for your patterns and help.
Hi Susan, yes we are using American terms.
Thanks. You made this so easy for me. I have always wanted to crochet and thanks to you I can. I am a 72 year old retired granny. Watch out kids, here come sweaters and blankets!!!!
Thank you for clearing up the matter of slip stitch and single crochet. I can’t tell you how many people are doing this wrong. Gladly, I’m not one of them, but now I have proof. Thanks Again.
Wish I’d of found this site years ago – so much easier to follow than videos of books and being a leftie made it more so when I taught myself back to the mid sixties as everything was for right-handed people…. Just taught a friend how to crochet and am going to send her a link to this site 😀
Thank you for creating this site.
I am trying to crochet a scarf with half double crochet but my scarf is leaning/tilting. I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, it can really be one of many things that is causing your piece to tilt. Here’s an article with some tips that may help you: 7 Tips to Establish Consistency in Crochet
Thank you Rachel I have been trying to find something like this!!
Hi
Please help, can u tell me if when doing the safari animals u do sc in both loops or front or back. I have always just normally gone in front but wondering if this is correct now.
Thank you carol
Hi Carol, the safari animals are worked going through both loops. Traditionally, you crochet in both loops unless otherwise indicated in the pattern.
Hi i do a continuous single crochet throughout my piece but the further i get (and i count), the piece gets smaller and the single crochet gets lesser, i run out of loops to which i can stitch the single crochet and i dont understand why. 🙁
Hello!
When you count do you get the same amount of stitches each time? You should get the same amount in order to obtain the same size row after row. You may also want to look at your gauge. Make sure your tension isn’t changing as you crochet. Here are more tips here: 7 Tips to Establish Consistency in Crochet
Hey
I was working on this single crochet to make an infinity scarf. And each time a do a row it shrinks. Like I did my chain a bit below my hips and after my 3rd row it reached a lot higher.! Why is this happening.?
Jasleen.
Hello,
Sounds like you are accidentally skipping stitches as you crochet. After you are done each row you can double check your work by counting all the stitches you made. The number of stitches should be the same on each row.