How to Crochet
Learn how to crochet from scratch with one hook and a ball of yarn. Covers the basic chain, single crochet stitch, and your first simple project.
Crochet looks complicated from the outside. You see someone's hands moving quickly with a hook and yarn and it seems like they are performing some kind of fiber magic. But the reality is that crochet is built on one basic motion repeated in different combinations.
Unlike knitting, which uses two needles and requires keeping dozens of live stitches on a needle at once, crochet uses a single hook and only one active loop at a time. If you drop it, nothing unravels. If you make a mistake, you just pull the yarn and try again.
This guide covers the absolute basics: how to hold the hook, how to make a foundation chain, and how to work the single crochet stitch. With just those three skills, you can make a dishcloth, a scarf, or a simple bag. Everything else in crochet is a variation of these fundamentals.
A crochet hook in size H/8 (5mm), which is the most common beginner size, and a ball of medium-weight yarn (also called worsted weight or weight 4). Choose a light-colored, smooth yarn so you can see your stitches clearly. Avoid dark colors and fuzzy or textured yarns for your first project because they make it difficult to see where your hook should go. A skein of basic acrylic yarn from any craft store costs two to four dollars and is perfect for learning.
Hold the hook and yarn
Hold the crochet hook in your dominant hand like you would hold a pencil or a knife. The pencil grip (between thumb and forefinger with the hook resting on your middle finger) gives you the most control for beginners. The knife grip (holding the hook like a butter knife with your hand over the top) works better for some people, especially those with larger hands or wrist discomfort. Try both for five minutes and use whichever feels more natural. The yarn goes in your other hand. Drape it over your index finger, under your middle finger, over your ring finger, and hold the tail between your ring finger and pinky. This creates tension on the yarn, which keeps your stitches even. The tension hand feels awkward at first. Everyone struggles with it. Your hands will find a comfortable position after thirty minutes of practice. The important thing is that the yarn flows smoothly without being too loose or too tight. If your stitches come out uneven, the problem is almost always tension. Tight stitches mean you are gripping the yarn too hard. Loose, sloppy stitches mean the yarn is running through your fingers without enough friction. Adjust the weave around your fingers until the yarn pulls with slight resistance.
Make a slip knot to start
Make a loop with the yarn about six inches from the end, with the working yarn (the yarn connected to the ball) crossing over the tail. Reach through the loop, grab the working yarn, and pull it through to create a new loop. Put this loop on your hook and pull the tail to tighten it around the shaft of the hook. It should slide easily but not fall off. This slip knot is your first loop on the hook and the starting point for everything. It does not count as a stitch. Think of it as just getting the yarn attached to the hook so you can begin.
Chain stitch to create your foundation
With the slip knot on your hook, wrap the yarn over the hook from back to front (this is called a yarn over). Pull that wrapped yarn through the loop already on your hook. You now have one chain stitch. Repeat: yarn over, pull through the loop on your hook. Each repetition adds one chain. Your foundation chain should be loose and even. If it is too tight, you will struggle to insert your hook in the next step. Practice making a chain of 20 stitches. They should look like a braid of small V-shaped links. Count your chains by counting the V shapes, not counting the loop on your hook or the slip knot. If your chain starts twisting or curling, you are probably chaining too tightly. Relax your grip and let each chain sit loosely on the hook before pulling through the next one. A chain that lies flat is the right tension. A chain that coils into a spiral is too tight.
Good to know: If your chain is too tight, try going up one hook size just for the chain, then switch back to your regular size for the rest. A tight foundation chain makes every following row harder than it needs to be.
Single crochet into your chain
Now you will work back across your chain. Skip the first chain from your hook (this is the one right next to the loop on your hook). Insert your hook into the second chain from the hook, going under the top two loops of the V shape. Yarn over and pull through the chain. You now have two loops on your hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops on your hook. That is one single crochet stitch. You should have one loop remaining on your hook. Move to the next chain and repeat: insert hook, yarn over, pull through chain (two loops on hook), yarn over, pull through both loops (one loop on hook). Work all the way across your foundation chain. The most confusing part for beginners is knowing where to insert the hook. Each chain looks like a small V. You want to go under both legs of the V, which gives you the sturdiest stitch. Some patterns say to work into the back loop only or the front loop only, but for now, always go under both. If you have trouble seeing the V shapes, use a lighter yarn color and work in good lighting. Dark yarn on your first project is an unnecessary handicap.
Turn your work and start the next row
When you reach the end of the row, chain one (this is called a turning chain and gives you height for the next row). Turn your work 180 degrees so the other side faces you. Now you will single crochet back across the top of the stitches you just made. Insert your hook under both loops of the first stitch (it looks like a V on top of the previous row). Yarn over, pull through (two loops on hook), yarn over, pull through both (one loop on hook). Repeat across the row. At the end, chain one, turn, and do it again. This back-and-forth motion is how you build a flat piece of crochet fabric.
Count your stitches to keep edges straight
Count your stitches at the end of every row for the first several rows. You should have the same number of stitches in each row. If you have fewer, you probably missed the last stitch of the row (it can be hard to see). If you have more, you probably accidentally crocheted into the turning chain or made two stitches in one spot. Uneven stitch counts cause your piece to grow or shrink on one side, creating a triangle instead of a rectangle. If your count is off, pull out the row (just pull the yarn gently and the stitches undo) and redo it. This is much easier in crochet than knitting because there is only one active loop. Use a stitch marker (a small clip or even a safety pin) in the first stitch of each row. This makes the first and last stitches easy to identify, which is where most mistakes happen. Move the marker up to the new first stitch every row. Cheap plastic stitch markers cost a few dollars for a pack of twenty and save hours of frustration from miscounting. A bobby pin or a scrap of contrasting yarn looped through the stitch works just as well if you do not have markers.
Fasten off when you are done
When your piece is the size you want, cut the yarn leaving about a six-inch tail. Yarn over and pull the tail all the way through the last loop on your hook. Pull it tight. This secures the end so your work does not unravel. Thread the tail onto a yarn needle (a large blunt needle) and weave it back and forth through several stitches on the wrong side of your work. This hides the tail and locks it in place. Trim any excess. Do the same with the tail at the beginning of your work from the slip knot. Weave in at least two inches of tail in one direction, then reverse and weave another inch back the other way. This zigzag pattern locks the tail so it will not work its way out during washing or use. If your project will be washed frequently (like a dishcloth), weave in extra length for durability. Do not knot the tail against the fabric because knots create lumps that show on the right side.
You now know the foundation chain and single crochet, which is genuinely all you need to make your first project. A dishcloth is the traditional first project: chain 25, single crochet across, turn, and repeat for about 30 rows. It takes an evening and gives you something useful at the end. From here, the next skills to learn are double crochet (a taller stitch that works up faster), increasing and decreasing (adding or removing stitches to change shape), and working in the round (making circles instead of rectangles). But there is no rush. Master the single crochet first, make a few flat rectangles, and expand when you are ready.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Crochet uses a single hook and builds one stitch at a time. Only one loop is active at any moment. Knitting uses two needles and keeps an entire row of live stitches on the needles simultaneously. Crochet fabric tends to be thicker and sturdier. Knitting produces a thinner, more drapey fabric. Crochet is generally easier to learn, easier to fix mistakes, and better for three-dimensional projects like stuffed animals and amigurumi figures. Knitting is better for garments that need to stretch and drape, like sweaters and socks. Crochet also uses roughly 30% more yarn than knitting for the same area of finished fabric because of its thicker, denser construction.
The most common cause is missing the first or last stitch of each row. The turning chain at the beginning and the last stitch at the end of each row are hard to identify when you are new. Count your stitches after every row until it becomes second nature. Mark the first and last stitch of each row with a stitch marker or a small piece of contrasting yarn so you can see them clearly. Uneven tension can also cause wavy edges. If some rows are tighter than others, the fabric curls or ripples at the sides.
A dishcloth or washcloth is the ideal first project. It is a flat rectangle that uses only single crochet, it is small enough to finish in one or two evenings, and it is something you can actually use. Chain 25 and single crochet rows until the piece is roughly square. Use cotton yarn for a dishcloth since it absorbs water well. After that, try a scarf (same technique, just longer) or a simple tote bag.
In crochet, fixing a mistake is simple: pull the yarn to undo stitches (called frogging) until you reach the mistake, then redo from there. Because there is only one active loop, nothing unravels further than where you stopped. If you notice a mistake several rows back, you can choose to live with it (most mistakes are invisible in the finished piece) or frog back to fix it. Crochet is very forgiving in this way.
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