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Crochet 101

Crochet 101
Photo by Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash

A piece by Yashi Gupta

Winter is here! During this time we all just want to lay in bed and relax and that is kind of unproductive and not very rewarding. While doing this you might be scrolling away on your phone and you might be seeing some cute sweaters, scarfs, beanies, etc. Now, you won’t just go shopping because, it is too cold outside. I have an amazing solution for your problem it is Crochet!

Now, you might have a question...

What is Crochet?

I am not going to give you a textbook explanation, but you can look it up. Crochet is essentially pulling loops from other loops to create a fabric. This gives us a lot of options to customize the type of fabric we want for our project.

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Sidenote: Crochet has fewer options for the type of fabric, but you can try out Knitting for more options and you will be able to create more classic designs like cables. You can create designs like cables with Crochet, but they just don’t have the same look. Crochet is better for making toys, purses, accessories, etc. This is because it has a lot of structure. Also, Crochet is faster than knitting, but it uses more yarn.

The next step is to pick what to Crochet!

What should I crochet?

A lot of people will tell you to start out with Granny Squares or Amigurumi (Crochet or Knit toys), but I will recommend starting off with scarves or blankets. This will help you practice one or two types of stitches and will prepare you for future projects. Also, scarves and blankets don’t require a lot of counting. Meaning, you don’t have to count how many stitches you have. Making toys also requires increasing and decreasing stitches which might be complicated for beginners. So, let's stick with scarfs and blankets!

How to set up my work?

First things first to crochet you need to is to learn how to chain and start your work.

  1. Make a slip knot
    1. Find the starting end of your yarn
    2. About 4-5 cm away from the start of the yarn make a loop by turning the starting end of the yarn over.
    3. You will now have a loop and two strands of yarn; one shorter and the other longer and connected to the ball of yarn.
    4. Now, put your index and thumb finger through the hole and pull the longer strand and grab your crochet hook and put it in the loop and tighten the loop around the hook (not too much just leave enough space for the hook to move around a bit).
    5. Now you have successfully made a slip knot which is used in both knitting and crochet.
  2. Chaining
    1. Grab your hook with your dominant hand either like a knife (I prefer this method more) or a pencil.
    2. Put the hook through the slip knot and tighten it also make sure the short end of the yarn is facing you and the longer part is facing the other way (the slip knot needs to be just tight enough for the hook to move around a bit, but not too much).
    3. Now, this part will be important for the rest of your project:
      1. Wrap the yarn about 2-3 times (about 10 to 15 cm away from your hook and not too tightly just enough for it to move a bit) around your pinky finger and make sure that in the end the yarn is facing the back of your hand
      2. Bring the yarn over to your index finger (for more control wrap the yarn around your index finger and hold it between your index and middle finger), and hold the short chain of the slip knot between your index and pinky. (You learnt how to hold the yarn and control it a bit )
    4. The chaining will begin on this step!
      1. Make sure the tip of your hook is parallel to your index finger. Use your index finger to put the yarn over the hook not too tightly and a bit behind the "hook part" of the hook.
      2. Now, pull that wrapped yarn through the slip knot.
      3. Repeat this as many times you wish
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Note: The stitches will be made through the chains, so if you are making a scarf I recommend you chain the length of the scarf not the width.
This is how you should be holding the yarn and hook (the next step is also shown)
This is how you should hold the yarn and the hook and hook should look after step c(ii) and d(i)

Types of Stitches

Crochet has a wide variety of stitches, but we will only look at the 5 prominent stitches which are:

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Slip Stitch: This stitch is used to connect two panels or to make your work look neater.
  1. For this stitch you need to put your hook in the chain (the V-like formation) right next to the hook.
  2. Now, grab the working yarn by using the hook and pull the yarn through the chain.
  3. Once you have two loops on your hook, pull the second hook through the first one.
  4. Continue these steps according to your pattern
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Single Crochet: This stitch is the shortest stitch and is used quite a lot in making toys.
  1. For this stitch you need to put your hook one chain away from your hook.
    1. Chain one extra chain than the length of your project to achieve the accurate measurement for your project.
  2. Now, grab the working yarn by using the hook and pull the yarn through the chain.
  3. Once you have two loops on your hook, wrap the working yarn once on your hook and pull it through the two loops.
  4. Continue these steps according to your pattern
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Half Double Crochet: Faster than single crochet and provides more length.
  1. For this stitch you need to wrap the working yarn once around your hook
  2. Put your hook through two chaina away from your hook
    1. Chain two extra chains than the length of your project to achieve the accurate measurement for your project.
  3. Now, grab the working yarn by using the hook and pull the yarn through the chain.
  4. Once you have three loops on your hook, wrap the working yarn once on your hook and pull it through the three loops.
  5. Continue these steps according to your pattern
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Double Crochet: Used most in making clothing.
  1. For this stitch you need to wrap the working yarn once around your hook
  2. Put your hook through two chains away from your hook
    1. Chain two extra chains than the length of your project to achieve the accurate measurement for your project.
  3. Now, grab the working yarn by using the hook and pull the yarn through the chain.
  4. Once you have three loops on your hook, wrap the working yarn once on your hook and pull it through two loops.
  5. Two loops will remain, so wrap your yarn once more around the hook and pull through the two remaining loops.
  6. Continue these steps according to your pattern
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Treble Crochet: Used more in Garments and provides length to the project.
  1. For this stitch you need to wrap the working yarn twice around your hook
  2. Put your hook through three chains away from your hook
    1. Chain three extra chains than the length of your project to achieve the accurate measurement for your project.
  3. Now, grab the working yarn by using the hook and pull the yarn through the chain.
  4. Once you have four loops on your hook, wrap the working yarn once on your hook and pull it through two loops.
  5. Three loops will remain, so wrap your yarn once more around the hook and pull through the two loops.
  6. Two loops will remain, so wrap your yarn once more around the hook and pull through the two remaining loops.
  7. Continue these steps according to your pattern.
    1. If you finish the row, turn your work

You could make longer stitches by wrapping your yarn over multiple times and pulling through multiple loops till one loop remains, but your project will start to lose its structural integrity.

You can use these stitches or a combination of them to crochet almost anything that can be crocheted, but start with a scarf or a blanket which requires repeating the same stitches many times.

Also, you can use crochet to crochet tops for the summer too! So you can crochet all year long!

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