Single Crochet

In this video, Mary Beth Temple explains how to single crochet. This stitch is the shortest of all the crochet stitches that have height, and one of the simplest stitches to create.

To begin, one chain is added at the beginning of the row. Mary Beth notes that a crochet pattern will tell you how many chains to work when starting a row. When working back and forth in single crochet, one chain is almost always worked before starting the row but be sure to check the pattern that you are following. The single crochet is worked as follows:

• – Bring hook under both legs of the stitch from front to back
• – Yarn over (from back to front) and pull the yarn through the stitch (2 loops on hook)
• – Yarn over (from back to front) and pull the yarn through both loops (1 loop on hook – single crochet stitch is created)

This process is repeated for each stitch across the row. As Mary Beth works each single crochet stitch, she mentions that it’s important to bring the loops of yarn away from the throat (small part of the hook) and up onto the fattest part of the hook (before the thumb grip). By doing this, a nice even gauge is achieved, and the stitches won’t be too tight.

While it is common practice to work the hook under both legs of the top of the stitch to single crochet, some patterns will call for back loop only (BLO) or front loop only (FLO). In these cases, the hook is worked under one leg of the stitch, with front and back referring to how the stitches look as they are facing you while crocheting (it does not refer to the Right Side and Wrong Side of the fabric itself). Mary Beth ends the video with taking a closer look at the structure of the single crochet stitch, noting that it does look slightly different on each side of the fabric.