The 3 Most Common and Easiest Crochet Stitches

Ainsley Olvey

Crocheting can be a fun and enjoyable hobby.

Ainsley Olvey, Columnist
March 1, 2021

Crocheting dates back to the 11th century CE and is a very common method of cloth crafting ever since. Crochet uses two hooks to interlock loops of yarn and thread. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make three  common and easy beginner crochet stitches.
For this crochet project, I’m using scissors, yarn, and a G hook (which is 4.0 mm).

Chain Stitch

This stitch is definitely the most common stitch. It is mostly used for when you’re making squares for things like placemats and dish rags.

  1. Tie a double knot in the yarn but insert your hook in the loop so it doesn’t close all the way.
  2. Put the string over your middle finger and pointer finger, then loop it around your pointer finger so the string is easy to manage.
  3. Take the string in the middle of your two fingers and cross it over the hook.
  4. Pull the string that is on your hook below the loop further down your hook.
  5. Keep doing this until you have 7 stitches.

Single Stitch

The single stitch is also used for the same things as the chain stitch and functions like an add-on to help it grow.

  1. Go two to the left from the one you just did. Remember to do this on the upper row.
  2. Slip your hook in, and slip your working string on the hook just like for the chain. Slip it through the first loop but NOT the second. Pull that through.
  3. You should still have two loops on the hook. Now the top one will go through the bottom one.
  4. Keep doing that for each chain. Remember to skip a chain over on every other one.

Slip Stitch

You will see this stitch a lot when doing Amigurumi (crocheting stuffed animals). It is in the form of a circle along with the chain stitch. 

  1. Tie a knot and put your hook through it.
  2. Make 5 chain stitches.
  3. Go to the very last chain stitch and put your hook through.
  4. Slip your working string around the hook.
  5. Instead of pulling the string on the hook two times, slip the string around the hook in both at the same time.

Crochet is a very common technique to make many crafts, from stuffed animals to dish rags. Although it is a very good skill to have, learning to crochet takes months of practice, so don’t get too frustrated if you can’t get it right the first couple of times.