Lesson 1.9: Single Crochet

Now we're ready to turn those foundation chains into actual crochet fabric! 🎉

The single crochet is one of the most important basic crochet stitches. You'll find it in blankets, amigurumi, hats, bags, clothing, borders, and countless other projects.

If you can make a chain and a single crochet, you've already learned the foundation of a huge amount of crochet.

What You'll Learn

By the end of this lesson, you'll know:

What a single crochet is.
How to work into a foundation chain.
Where to insert your hook.
How to complete a single crochet.
How to turn your work.
How to count your stitches.
How to recognize the top of a single crochet.
How to avoid common beginner mistakes.

What Is a Single Crochet?

A single crochet, abbreviated SC, is one of the basic crochet stitches.

The basic movement is:

Insert → Yarn Over → Pull Up a Loop → Yarn Over → Pull Through 2

It creates a fairly short, dense stitch that produces a sturdy fabric.

Before You Start

For practice, gather:

🧶 #4 Medium/Worsted yarn

🪝 5.0 mm or 5.5 mm crochet hook

Start with a foundation chain of about 11 chains.

Why 11?

Because for this exercise, we'll work 10 single crochet stitches across the chain.

Step 1: Insert Your Hook

Look at your foundation chain.

For your first row of single crochet, insert your hook into the second chain from your hook.

Why the second chain?

The loop currently on your hook doesn't count as a chain stitch.

So skip the first chain directly below your hook and insert your hook into the next one.

Step 2: Yarn Over

Once your hook is inserted into the chain:

Yarn over (YO).

Bring the working yarn over your hook.

Step 3: Pull Up a Loop

Pull the yarn back through the chain.

You should now have two loops on your hook.

This is an important checkpoint:

2 loops = you're ready for the next step.

Step 4: Yarn Over Again

Yarn over one more time.

You'll now have the yarn sitting on your hook with your two existing loops.

Step 5: Pull Through Both Loops

Pull the yarn through both loops on your hook.

🎉 You've made one single crochet!

You should now have one loop remaining on your hook.

The Single Crochet Formula

Here's the whole stitch in a simple sequence:

Insert → YO → Pull Up Loop → YO → Pull Through 2

Or remember it as:

IN → OVER → UP → OVER → THROUGH

Once this movement becomes familiar, single crochet will become much easier.

Continue Across the Row

Repeat the same process in each chain:

Insert hook.
Yarn over.
Pull up a loop.
Yarn over.
Pull through both loops.

Continue until you reach the end of your foundation chain.

If you started with 11 chains, you should have 10 single crochet stitches.

How to Turn Your Work

When you reach the end of your row, it's time to turn.

Step 1

Make 1 chain.

This is called a turning chain.

Step 2

Turn your crochet piece around so you can work back across the row.

Step 3

Now you'll work your next row of single crochet into the stitches you just made.

Here's a video I made a while back showing single crochet

Where Do You Insert Your Hook?

This is one of the most important things to learn.

When you look at the top of a crochet stitch, you'll see something that looks like a little V.

That V has:

A front loop
A back loop

For standard single crochet, you'll normally insert your hook under both loops of the V.

Think:

V = two loops

Your hook goes underneath both loops unless your pattern tells you otherwise.

Counting Single Crochet Stitches

Counting stitches is an important skill.

After completing your row, look along the top edge of your crochet.

Each stitch looks like a little V.

Count the Vs.

If you started with 11 chains and followed the instructions above, you should have:

10 single crochet stitches

If you have 9 or 11, don't panic!

Simply go back and find where a stitch was accidentally skipped or added.

Common Beginner Mistakes

❌ Skipping the First Stitch

Remember to work into the second chain from the hook when starting your first row.

❌ Working Into the Wrong Part of the Stitch

When working subsequent rows, make sure you're inserting your hook under the correct loops.

For standard single crochet, that's usually both loops of the V.

❌ Losing a Stitch at the End

The last stitch can be easy to miss.

Before turning your work, count your stitches.

❌ Making Your Stitches Too Tight

If you can barely insert your hook into the stitches, your tension may be too tight.

Try relaxing your yarn hand.

❌ Adding Extra Stitches

Sometimes beginners accidentally crochet into the turning chain when they shouldn't.

Keep track of your first and last actual stitches.

Practice Exercise 🧶

Let's make a little practice swatch.

Row 1

Chain 11.

Single crochet into the second chain from the hook.

Continue across.

You should have:

10 SC

Row 2

Chain 1 and turn.

Single crochet across.

You should still have:

10 SC

Row 3

Chain 1 and turn.

Single crochet across again.

Continue until you have around 5–10 rows.

Look at Your Fabric

Now take a moment to look at what you've made.

You should see rows of small, fairly compact stitches.

That's your first piece of crochet fabric! 🎉

And this simple stitch can eventually become:

Blankets
Hats
Bags
Amigurumi
Clothing
Coasters
Borders
And much more

⭐ Beginner Tip

Don't worry if your first few rows don't look perfectly straight.

Your edges may wiggle.

Your stitches may be different sizes.

You might accidentally skip a stitch.

That's completely normal when you're learning.

The goal at this stage isn't perfection—it's learning to recognize the movement and understand where your hook goes.

Lesson Summary

Today you learned:

✔ What single crochet means (SC).

✔ How to insert your hook.

✔ How to yarn over and pull up a loop.

✔ How to complete the stitch.

✔ How to work across a foundation chain.

✔ How to turn your work.

✔ How to recognize the V-shaped top of a stitch.

✔ How to count your stitches.

✔ How to avoid common beginner mistakes.

Homework

Make a small single crochet practice swatch.

Try to make:

10 stitches × 10 rows

As you work, practice counting each row.

Then look at your finished piece and see if you can identify:

The individual stitches
The rows
The turning chains
The top Vs of the stitches

This little swatch is going to become a very useful reference as we move into the next stitches.

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