THE BASICS

One of the most important things to know in crochet are the basics.


How to complete a slip knot-

This is how you start most of the crochet products you will ever make, and is important to know.

  1. 1. Wrap the start of the wool around your finger in a clockwise manner, so a fragment of your finger is wrapped in a circle-like shape. Remember to leave some excess wool at the end (from the start of the string), because this is crucial for the next step. I recommend you leave around 4cm at the end.
  2. 2. Take the excess bit, and pull it through the whole, as if you were about to tie a knot, but do not pull the whole bit through. Instead, leave some excess again, it doesn’t matter how much. It should become an arch shape before becoming a knot with a hole connected on top of it. If you accidentally pull it all the way through, it should untie if you tug on it.


How to chain-

This is the biggest foundation of crocheting, and it is essential that you know how to.

  1. 1. Wrap your hook clockwise around the yarn above your slip knot, the string of wool that you are holding with your left hand.
  2. 2. From there, pull the hook down, so that the string on the hook goes through the loop on your hook.

There you go! Then repeat the process for how long you want.


How to slip stitch-

At this point, you have chained a certain amount, and need to slip stitch in order to proceed. All you need to do is 5 simple steps, and you will be right on your way!

  1. 1. Find the loop you want to slip stitch into.
  2. 2. Poke your crochet hook through the centre of the chain stitch so that you now have 2 loops on your hook.
  3. 3. Wrap your hook around the yarn above all your chains, the string of wool that you are holding with your left hand.
  4. 4. From there, pull the hook down, so that the string on the hook goes through the first loop from the top of the hook.
  5. 5. Now you again have 2 loops on your hook. Repeat what you did in step 4, but push your hook through both loops.
  6. 6. You now have 1 loop on your hook, and can proceed with what you are doing!


How to Double crochet-

There are many circumstances in crocheting in which you will need to double crochet in order to continue. This can take some practice, but it will be super easy once you do it a couple of times. Here is what you need to do:

  1. 1. Wrap your wool around the hook. 
  2. 2. Insert the hook through whatever hole/stitch you need to.
  3. 3. Wrap your wool around the hook again.
  4. 4. Pull it down through one of the loops so that you now have 3 little loops on your hook.
  5. 5. Wrap your wool around the hook.
  6. 6. Pull down through 2 of the 3 little loops, so that you now have 2 loops on your hook.
  7. 7. Wrap your wool around the hook once again.
  8. 8. Pull down through all of your 2 loops so that you have 1 loop, right where you started.

Now you can continue with what you are doing!