Single Crochet Stitch Made Easy, With Video and a Cheat Sheet

Updated: 9 November 2026 by Sylwia (MyCrochetory)

The single crochet stitch is the first stitch that turns a chain into actual fabric. Hook in, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops. Four little moves, and you’ve made one.

Most amigurumi, baskets and bag bottoms are worked in it from start to finish. It’s also the stitch many patterns use around an edge to tidy it up.

Below are my video, a photo for every step, increases, decreases, rounds and four textured variations. If you’d rather have it on paper, the free printable Single Crochet Card is further down.

In my own designs, single crochet does a lot of quiet work in ribbing, hems and cuffs on crochet hats, cowls and garments. It’s also the base of intarsia crochet and mosaic crochet.

New to crochet? My Free Crochet Tutorials for Beginners guide has 20+ step by step tutorials in one place.

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Single crochet stitch in 4 steps

The short version, for a quick reminder in the middle of a project.

1. Insert your hook into the stitch.
2. Yarn over and pull up a loop. You have 2 loops on the hook.
3. Yarn over again.
4. Pull through both loops on the hook.

When you finish, one loop stays on the hook, and that loop is already the start of your next stitch. The photos and the video below show exactly where the hook goes each time.

What you need to practice

To start, you only need a hook, yarn and scissors. The Expanded Bright Crochet Hook Set has wide, easy-grip handles that are nice for beginners, and the size is easy to see on every hook.

Want a comfier grip for longer sessions? Ergonomic Furls crochet hooks are sold one size at a time, so you can pick just the size you need.

For practice, grab a smooth yarn in a light color and medium weight. Dark or fuzzy yarn hides the little V on top of each stitch, and that V tells you where the hook goes next.

What is the single crochet stitch?

The single crochet stitch is the shortest basic stitch after the slip stitch. In patterns it’s written as sc, and in stitch charts it’s a tiny plus sign or an x.

Now look at the top of a row and you’ll see a line of little V’s. Each V is one stitch. It’s also your map for the next row, because that’s exactly where the hook goes.

The stitches are packed tight, so the fabric comes out dense and firm, with small bumps on both sides. It barely stretches. Whatever you make with it keeps its shape.

Single crochet stitch video tutorial

The video shows the single crochet stitch, an increase and two decreases, the invisible decrease included.

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How to single crochet step by step

Here’s the single crochet stitch in photos, one per step, starting from a plain chain.

First row of single crochet

Step 1. Make a chain of any length. If chains are still new to you, my How to Crochet a Chain tutorial shows the whole thing.

Step 2. Insert your hook into the 2nd chain from the hook. The loop on your hook doesn’t count as a chain.

Step 3. Yarn over, which means bringing the yarn over the hook from back to front.

Step 4. Pull the yarn back through the chain. Now you have 2 loops on the hook.

Step 5. Yarn over once more.

Step 6. Pull through both loops on the hook. That’s one single crochet, with one loop left on your hook.

Step 7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 in each chain to the end of the row.

Second row of single crochet

Step 1. Turn your work and chain 1. This ch1 only brings the yarn up to the right height, so it doesn’t count as a stitch.

Step 2. Insert the hook under both loops of the first stitch, the V right next to the chain. Yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through both loops.

Step 3. Work across the row, right into the very last stitch. That one sits low at the edge and is easy to miss when you’re new.

Step 4. For every new row, turn and ch1 again. For neater sides on single crochet I use the High Loop Start, and you’ll find it in my How to Crochet Straight Edges tutorial.

How to fasten off

To finish, cut the yarn, leaving a tail of a few inches. Pull it through the loop on your hook, tug it tight and weave it in with a tapestry needle.

Usually I start a new row with a standing single crochet. It begins the row with a fresh strand of yarn and no slip knot on the hook, and it’s the standing stitch I use most. The steps are in my standing stitches tutorial, and for joins in the middle of a row see How to Join Yarn Ends.

How to count single crochet stitches

To count single crochet stitches, count the V’s along the top of the row. Skip the turning chain, start at the first real stitch and move one V at a time.

While you’re learning, count after every row. If the number is off, you only have to undo one row.

Single crochet vs half double crochet and double crochet

Single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet differ in height, and the height comes from yarn overs. Half double crochet adds one yarn over before you insert the hook.

Double crochet also starts with a yarn over but finishes in two pulls, so it’s about twice as tall as single crochet. That’s why patterns usually turn with ch1 for sc, ch2 for hdc and ch3 for dc.

Taller stitches mean faster rows and softer, drapier fabric. Single crochet gives the firmest fabric of the three, and you’ll find my steps for the other two in How to Half Double Crochet and How to Double Crochet.

How to increase in single crochet

To increase in single crochet, work 2 sc into the same stitch. The row gets one stitch wider right there.

Patterns write it as sc inc or 2 sc in next st, and both mean the same thing. Increases are how flat circles and amigurumi heads grow, round after round.

How to decrease in single crochet

A single crochet decrease turns 2 stitches into 1, and patterns call it sc2tog or sc dec. There are two ways to do it.

Regular decrease (sc2tog)

Insert the hook into the next stitch and pull up a loop. Do the same in the stitch after it, so you have 3 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 3.

Invisible decrease

The regular decrease can leave a small bump or gap, and on amigurumi it shows. For the invisible decrease, insert the hook into the front loops only of the next 2 stitches, yarn over and pull through both front loops, then yarn over and pull through the 2 loops on the hook.

I show it in 4 basic stitches in my How to Crochet an Invisible Decrease tutorial.

How to single crochet in the round

Single crochet in the round is the exact same stitch, you just go around and around instead of turning. The only new part is how each round starts and ends.

Most rounds start from a magic ring, and my Magic Ring tutorial shows 3 ways to make one. Then How to Crochet a Circle shows how a flat circle grows without curling.

Joined rounds

At the end of the round, slip stitch into the first sc and ch1. Work the first sc of the new round into the same stitch as the join.

You’ll get a small seam running up the piece. Some people like it, because it shows exactly where each round begins.

Spiral rounds

In spiral rounds you don’t join at all, you just keep crocheting into the next stitch. Amigurumi is usually made this way, because there’s no seam.

Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of every round and move it up as you go. Without it, counting rounds turns into guessing.

Single crochet stitch variations for texture

Move the hook just a little and plain single crochet turns into ridges, lines, zigzags or fabric that looks knitted. Same basic motion every time.

Back loop only (BLO)

Insert the hook under the back loop only instead of both loops. You get stretchy ridges, which is why BLO single crochet shows up in hat brims, cuffs and ribbing.

My favorite ribbing is sideways BLO single crochet, added at the end and joined to the edge with slip stitches as I go. No sewing, and the whole method is in my How to Crochet Ribbing post.

Front loop only (FLO)

Here the hook goes under the front loop only. The back loops you skip make horizontal lines across the fabric, and the texture comes out a bit more open.

Herringbone stitch

The herringbone stitch is single crochet with one extra step. You first catch the left leg of the stitch you just made, then work into the next stitch, so every stitch leans and the fabric gets a diagonal pattern.

All the steps are in my How to Crochet the Herringbone Stitch tutorial.

Crochet knit stitch

The crochet knit stitch, also called the waistcoat stitch, puts the hook through the middle of the stitch below, between its two legs. The fabric looks a lot like knitting and comes out thicker than regular single crochet.

Here’s my waistcoat stitch tutorial if you’d like to try it.

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More beginner crochet stitch tutorials

Want to keep going? These tutorials cover what comes before single crochet and the stitches that come after it.

• How to Make a Slip Knot is the knot that goes on your hook before the very first chain.
• How to Crochet a Chain shows the foundation chain your first row of single crochet starts from.
• How to Slip Stitch covers the flat stitch for joining rounds, with a video.
• How to Half Double Crochet is the next stitch up, one yarn over taller.
• How to Double Crochet walks you through the classic tall stitch.
• How to Treble Crochet is the tallest of the basic stitches, also with a video.
• Foundation Single Crochet makes the chain and the first row of sc in one go.
• How to Single Crochet 2 Rows at Once works two rows of single crochet in one pass.

Single crochet stitch FAQ

Is single crochet the same as double crochet in UK terms?

Yes. US single crochet (sc) is called double crochet (dc) in UK patterns, so check which terms a pattern uses before you start.

What hook and yarn should I use to learn single crochet?

Use a smooth medium weight yarn in a light color and the hook size from the yarn label. For worsted weight yarn that’s usually around 5 mm.

Why does my single crochet get narrower or wider every row?

Narrower rows usually mean the last stitch of the row was skipped. Wider rows usually mean the turning chain was worked as if it were a stitch, so start in the first real V instead.

Why are my single crochet stitches so tight?

You’re probably holding the yarn too firmly. Loosen your grip so the yarn slides through your fingers, or go up one hook size.

Why does my single crochet look twisted?

Check where the hook goes. For regular single crochet it goes under both loops of the V, from front to back, and going through the side of the stitch twists it.

What is the difference between single crochet and a slip stitch?

A slip stitch has no height, because you pull the yarn through the stitch and the loop on the hook in one move. Single crochet pulls up a loop first and finishes with a second yarn over, and my slip stitch tutorial shows both side by side.

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