— Jones Luck Blog Posts
Crochet patterns contain many difficult-to-understand terms and abbreviations. This post will explain most abbreviations and how to do basic stitches.
Original pattern by Faith Jones
When I started to crochet I would get so confused watching YouTube videos. Even when a YouTube video was titled beginner or easy they still included language that I wasn’t familiar with. Such as yarn over and double crochet. I want this post to be so that people can return to and use it as a key when reading patterns that include complicated wordage or if you are just learning to crochet.
- Slip knot- The beginning tie on a hook –
- Start with the Yarn: Take your yarn and leave a tail of about 6 inches.
- Create a Loop: Make a loop with the yarn by placing the tail over the working yarn (the yarn connected to the skein) making an x shape.
- Insert the Tail: Take the middle of the yarn’s tail and pull it through the loop you created.
- Tighten the Knot: Gently pull on both the working yarn and the tail to tighten the knot. This is your slip knot!
- Place on Hook: Slide the slip knot onto your crochet hook, making sure it’s snug but able to slide.
- Yarn Over- Hold the hook with the slip knot. Wrap the working yarn (the yarn attached to your skein) over the hook from back to front.
- CH- Chain
- Yarn Over
- Pull Through: Using the hook, pull the yarn through the slip knot. You now have one chain stitch.
- Repeat: To create more chain stitches, repeat the yarn over and pull through. Each time you yarn over and pull through, you add another chain stitch.
- MC- Magic Circle (You may also see it referred to as MR: Magic Ring)
- Create the Loop: Hold the yarn so that the working yarn is in front of the tail. Wrap the working yarn around your fingers to form a loop, crossing it over itself.
- Insert the Hook: Insert your hook through the loop, grabbing the working yarn. Twist and pull through.
- Yarn Over: (wrap the yarn over the hook) and pull it through the loop on your fingers. You now have a loop on your hook.
- Crochet into the Ring: Now you can crochet your desired stitches (like single crochet, double crochet, etc.) into the ring. Make sure to crochet the required number of stitches.
- SC- single crochet
- Create a MC
- Insert the Hook: Skip the first chain from the hook (the second chain from the hook is where you’ll work). Insert your hook into the next chain.
- Yarn Over
- Pull Through: Pull the yarn through the chain. You should now have two loops on your hook.
- Yarn Over Again: Wrap the yarn over the hook once more.
- Pull Through Both Loops: Pull the yarn through both loops on the hook. This completes one single crochet stitch.
- HDC- Half Double Crochet
- Yarn Over
- Insert Hook: Insert your hook into the stitch where you want to create the HDC.
- Yarn Over Again: Yarn over again and pull through the stitch. Your hook should now have three loops.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through: Yarn over once more and pull through all three loops on your hook.
- DC- Double Crochet- A double crochet is just like the HDC but with one more yarn over.
- Yarn Over
- Insert Hook
- Yarn Over Again: Yarn over and pull through the stitch. You should have three loops on your hook.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Two Loops: Yarn over again and pull through the first two loops on your hook. You should now have two loops remaining.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Remaining Two Loops: Finally, yarn over once more and pull through the last two loops on your hook.
- TR- Triple Crochet (or Treble Crochet)
- Yarn Over Twice (Wrap your working yarn around your hook twice leaving a total of 3 loops on your hook)
- Insert Hook
- Yarn Over and Pull Through: Yarn over and pull through the first stitch. There should be 3 loops on your hook.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Two Loops: Yarn over and pull through the first two loops. You’ll have three loops remaining on your hook.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Last Two More Loops: Yarn over again and pull through the last two loops.
- DTR- Double Triple Crochet or Double Treble
- Yarn Over 3: wrapping the yarn around your hook three times.
- Insert Hook: Insert your hook into the stitch where you want to make the DTR.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through 1 Loop: Yarn over and pull through the stitch. You should have five loops on your hook.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Two Loops: Yarn over and pull through the first two loops. You’ll have four loops remaining.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Two More Loops: Yarn over again and pull through the next two loops. You should now have three loops left on your hook.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Two More Loops: Yarn over and pull through the next two loops. You’ll have two loops remaining.
- Yarn Over and Pull Through Last Two Loops: Finally, yarn over one last time and pull through the last two loops on your hook.
