How to Single Crochet for Beginners (US Terms)

To make a US single crochet (sc), insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop. You will have two loops on the hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops. One single crochet is complete, with one loop left on the hook.

This guide uses US crochet terms. In UK terminology, the same stitch is called a double crochet (dc). The stitch itself is worked the same way; only the name changes.

What you need

• Yarn and a crochet hook that suit your pattern

• Scissors

• A yarn needle for weaving in ends, if your project requires it

A smooth, light or medium-colored yarn can make it easier to see the stitches while you learn. Use the yarn and hook specified in your pattern when starting a project.

How to make one US single crochet

A single crochet is a short stitch. In a standard row, insert the hook under the two top loops of the next stitch unless your pattern says otherwise.

1. Insert the hook. Find the next stitch. Its top usually looks like a V. Slide your hook under both strands of that V.

2. Yarn over. Bring the working yarn over the hook from back to front and catch it.

3. Pull up a loop. Draw the yarn back through the stitch. You now have two loops on the hook.

4. Yarn over again. Catch the working yarn once more.

5. Pull through both loops. Draw the yarn through the two loops on the hook. You now have one loop left on the hook and one completed single crochet.

That is the full stitch: insert, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over again, then pull through both loops. The Crochet Guild of America describes the same sequence and shows left- and right-handed illustrations.

How to single crochet into a foundation chain

A foundation chain is the row of chain stitches you make before working your first row. For a standard US single crochet row, patterns commonly have you skip the chain closest to the hook and begin in the second chain from the hook. Follow your pattern if it gives a different starting point.

For a small practice example, chain 13, then:

1. Count from the hook and insert it into the second chain.

2. Make one single crochet using the steps above.

3. Make one single crochet in each remaining chain.

You should have 12 single crochets: chains 2 through 13 each receive one stitch. The Crochet Guild of America uses this same starting-chain count. This is an arithmetic practice example, not a physically tested project pattern.

In this written example, insert under one strand of each chain link and use that placement consistently. Some patterns specify the back bump or another insertion method; follow their directions. In subsequent rows, work under both top loops unless instructed otherwise.

How to continue single crochet rows

At the end of a row, many US single crochet patterns tell you to chain 1 and turn. This chain is a turning chain: it brings the yarn up to the height needed to begin the next row.

For the standard method shown here, the turning chain does not count as a stitch. After turning, make the first single crochet in the first stitch of the previous row, close to the base of the turning chain. Continue across the row, making one single crochet in each stitch. The Crochet Guild of America’s single crochet lesson also shows a chain-1 turning row and notes that the turning chain is not counted as a stitch. Follow your pattern if it gives a different counting rule.

Tip: Place a stitch marker in the first and last stitch of a row while you are learning. The edge stitches can be easy to miss.

How to count your stitches

Count the V shapes along the top of the row. Each completed single crochet has one V. Do not count the loop on your hook. In the standard chain-1 turning setup above, do not count the turning chain as a stitch either.

If your row count changes unexpectedly, check the edges first:

• Too few stitches: You may have skipped the first or last stitch.

• Too many stitches: You may have worked into the turning chain even though your pattern does not count it, or accidentally made two stitches in one.

• Not sure where a stitch starts: Look for the V at the top of each stitch, then insert under both strands unless your pattern specifies another placement.

Troubleshooting tight or uneven stitches

• The hook is hard to pull through both loops. Your tension may be too tight. Let the working yarn feed more easily and pull the loops up onto the shaft of the hook before completing the stitch.

• The stitches vary in size. Try to bring each loop to a similar height on the hook. Keep your pinch point close to the stitch you are working.

• The fabric narrows at the edges. Check your stitch count and use markers to find the first and last stitches in each row.

• You are following UK instructions. A UK pattern’s double crochet (dc) is the same stitch as a US single crochet (sc). Do not confuse it with a US double crochet, which is a taller stitch.

In US instructions, sc means single crochet and yo means yarn over. UK patterns may call the yarn-over motion yarn over hook (yoh) or yarn round hook (yrh). The chain stitch is called a chain in both systems.

Next, compare the taller US double crochet stitch or learn how to read pattern instructions and stitch counts.

If you need to go back a step, start with the slip knot and chain stitch guides. See the full US/UK chart for other stitch names.

Sources and editorial note

Sources checked on 29 October 2026:

• Crochet Guild of America — single crochet, first row and turning
• Craft Yarn Council — chain and single crochet sequence
• King Cole — US/UK terminology

AI assisted with drafting, editing and source checking. This is a researched text guide, not a filmed demonstration or a physically tested original pattern. Count examples are checked on paper. See our editorial policy and corrections process.