How to Crochet for Beginners: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

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If you’ve ever wondered if you can teach yourself how to crochet…the answer is absolutely yes, you can learn to crochet! This fun and relaxing craft can be something you can teach yourself from home and build your skills over time. 

In this crochet for beginners step by step guide, we’re going to go through everything you need to know as a complete crochet beginner, from knowing what tools and materials you need, how to hold your hook and yarn, to the basic crochet stitches you need to learn to crochet in order to progress onto making crochet projects. 

After completing this crochet for beginners guide, you’ll able to create beautiful crochet items such as blankets, scarves, hats, cowls and more! There a lots of free crochet patterns available here on Bella Coco Crochet.

How to Crochet Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Holding the Crochet hook

You can hold you hook in whichever way feels natural to you. I’ll be using my right hand as that’s my dominant hand, however, for you, it could be your left hand. Here are two of the most common options but I must stress that I have seen many variations of these over time. So give both ways a go and see what comes most naturally to you. You’ll be using your dominant hand to hold your hook.

Knife Hold

As the name suggests, you’ll be holding your hook like a knife with the handle of the hook in the palm of your hand and holding the hook with your index finger and thumb.

Pencil Hold

You’ll be holding your hook like a pencil, gripping with your index finger and thumb (supporting with your middle finger).

Whichever way you choose to hold your hook, you want to be mindful of your grip, gripping too tightly can cause pain in your fingers and your wrist.

Step 2: Holding the yarn

You’ll be holding the yarn with your non-dominant hand. Again there are different ways to do this and you may find this changes for you over time. We want to ensure that you’re getting a good amount of tension on the yarn to perform our stitches. Here’s a great way to hold your yarn when you are learning to crochet.

Swatches are the small pieces of fabric made from your practice pieces.

Step 3: Slip Knot

We need to begin by making a slip knot to put on our hook.

To make a slip knot:

1. Wrap yarn around index finger from front to back, bringing the tail end to the front.
2. Loop the working end of yarn over the finger from front to back.
3. Pull the back loop over the front loop.
4. Continue to pull the back loop off your finger. Remove remaining loop off finger and insert crochet hook.

Step 4: Foundation Chain

A foundation chain forms the base of many crochet projects. This will create chains in which the following stitches will be worked into.

After you have made your slip knot, you will form you foundation chain.

1. Insert your hook into the slip knot, holding your hook and yarn as described above. Use your thumb and middle finger to hold onto the slip knot. Then, wrap the yarn around the hook from back to front, this is called a ‘yarn over’.
2. Pull the yarn through the loop on your hook. You may need to rotate your hook downwards slightly in order to stop the hook catching on the loop.
3. Your first chain has been made.
4. Continue to yarn over and pull through the loop on the hook to make a chain.

The key here is to ensure you are not pulling too tightly on your stitches, this will make it harder to work the following row into. You can experiment by using a larger hook at first if this helps. 

Now that you have your chain, let’s take a deeper look.

Front of the chain

When a foundation chain is made, it creates small V’s on the front of the chain. Each V is a chain and these are the spaces that will be worked into when working your stitches.

Back of the chain

Some patterns will call for you to work into the ‘back bumps’ of a chain, these are the ‘bumps’ that can be found not he back of the chain. Ultimately, this will give the work a neater finish. I would suggest you working into the v’s as above until you become a little more confident with starting a project. 

With this in mind, I’ll demonstrate how to work into the front of foundation chain. Depending on what stitch you will work, will depend on which chain you will begin working in first. You will be working into the centre of each V.

Video tutorial (What you need, slip knot and chaining)

Step 5: Working your stitches

UK Double Crochet Stitch (dc) | US Single Crochet Stitch (sc)

It’s time to make some stitches. We will start with the UK double crochet/US Single crochet as this is the smallest stitch of them all. You can find a video tutorial in both right-handed and then the left-hand version here and the written step-by-step with photos below.

UK Double Crochet/US Single Crochet written instructions

1. Insert your hook into the chain or stitch.
2. Yarn over the hook.
3. Pull through first loop on hook (you will have two loops on the hook) 
4. Yarn over and pull the yarn through both loops on the hook.

You can take a look at the video further down for the demonstration and a deeper look at how to correct your work, fasten off and sew in your ends. Please make sure you are using the correct video i.e left or right-handed. 

Step 6: Turning your work to make rows

Once you’ve completed your first row, it’s time to turn your work in order to go back the opposite way.

If you are right handed, you’ll be turning your work like the page of a book. If your left handed it will be the opposite way.

Beginning your next row (Turning chain)

In order to work your next stitches, you need to get to the height of the stitch you are working. This will be different for each one.

When learning to crochet, I like to teach a set amount of chains for each of these stitches, however, when you get more confident, these may change in order to make your work even neater.

This turning chain may or may not count as a stitch. If you’re working from a pattern, it will indicate whether it is or not, however, as with the chains themselves I teach a set way as a starting point. 

Where to place your first stitch

Let’s look at where you’re going to place your first stitch. As mentioned in the above section, your turning chain may, or may not count as a stitch. Here’s where you can work in each situation. 

If the turning chain does not count as a stitch, you will place your first stitch in the ‘first stitch’. If it does count as a stitch, you will place your first stitch in the ‘next stitch’.

Step 7: Working row 2

Continue across this row working one UK Double Crochet (US Single Crochet) in each stitch. You will be starting in the first stitch.

Counting your stitches

Once you’re at the end of your row, it’s a good idea to count your stitches to ensure you have the same amount as row 1. You can do this by tilting your work towards you and finding the V’s.

Building your work

You can now continue to build your rows as in row 2 until you reach your desired height. You can then cut your yarn and secure (known as fasten off)

Step 8: How to fasten off

We can now go ahead and finish off your swatch, this is know as fastening off.

1. Chain 1.
2. Snip your yarn leaving a good tail end (this will help when sewing in your end).
3. Pull yarn through loop and remove hook.
4. Pull tight to secure.

Step 9: Sew in ends

The final step is to sew in a tail ends (or loose ends as some may call it). I like to use my ‘rule of 3’ method. This means were going to work back, forth and back again to ensure the tail end is full secure.

1. Thread up darning needle.
2. Weave needle in and out of stitches/fibres in one direction around 2-3 inches.
3. Weave back the opposite way catching different fibres.
4. Weave back once more catching different fibres.
5. Snip the remaining yarn.

Video tutorial (UK Double Crochet, US Single Crochet)

More Stitches

UK Half Treble Crochet Stitch (htr) | US Half Double Crochet Stitch (hdc)

1. Yarn over hook.
2. Insert your hook into the chain or stitch. 
3. Yarn over and pull through stitch (you will have three loops on the hook).
4. Yarn over and pull through all three loops on the hook.
5. Stitch completed.

Video tutorial (UK Half treble Crochet / US Hand Double Crochet)

Take a look at the videos below for the demonstration. Please make sure you are using the correct video i.e left or right handed.

UK Treble Crochet Stitch (tr) | US Double Crochet Stitch (dc)

1. Yarn over hook.
2. Insert your hook into the chain or stitch.
3. Yarn over hook.
4. Pull through stitch (you will have three loops on the hook) 
5. Yarn over hook.
6. Pull through two loops (you will have two loops on your hook) 
7. Yarn over hook.
8. Pull the yarn through both of the remaining loops on the hook.

Video tutorial (UK Treble Crochet / US Double Crochet)

Take a look at the videos below for the demonstration. Please make sure you are using the correct video i.e left or right handed.

UK Double Treble Crochet Stitch (dtr) | US Treble Crochet Stitch (tr)

1. Yarn over TWICE and insert your hook into the chain or stitch.
2. Yarn over and pull through stitch (you will have four loops on the hook)
3. Yarn over and pull through two loops on the hook (you will have three loops on the hook)
4. Yarn over and pull through two loops on the hook (you will have two loops on the hook)
5. Yarn over and pull through the remaining two loops on the hook.

Take a look at the videos below for the demonstration. Please make sure you are using the correct video i.e left or right handed.

UK Slip Stitch (ss) | US Slip Stitch (sl st)

1. Insert your hook into the chain or stitch.
2. Yarn over and pull through stitch and loop on the hook.

Ready for more techniques?

Here’s some more beginner crochet tutorials that you may find useful!

• Magic ring/Magic circle
• Tips for straight edges
• Tips for tension
• How to change colours in crochet

Ready for some stitch combinations?

Ate you ready for some more complex stitch patterns?

• Granny Stripe
• Granny Square
• Ripple Stitch
• Moss Stitch
• Block Stitch

Explore more in our Stitch library

Ready for a project?

Why not try a classic granny square? Or if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you could try the Crochet Heart Coaster! Granny squares are great for making a multiple of projects by doing them together, there are some great joining methods available such as the Slip Stitch Join or something a little bit more decorative like the Zig Zag Slip Stitch join.

Now what?

Make sure you join us in our Facebook Group where you can get help and advice from other crocheters.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up to day with my latest tutorials and tag me on Instagram @bellacococrochet so I can see your progress!

How to crochet for beginners

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Learn how to crochet step by step with this complete guide to crochet.

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Materials

• - Yarn
• - Hook

Tools

• - Scissors
• - Darning needle

Instructions

1. Create a slip knot

2. Hold you hook in your dominant hand and your yarn with your non dominant hand

3. Begin by chaining 11 (yarn over and pull though loop)

4. Row 1: Dc in the second ch from hook (missed ch does not count as a stitch) and dc across. You will have 10 stitches. Turn your work.

5. Chain 1 (does not count as a stitch)

6. Dc in first stitch and each stitch across

7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until you get to your desired size.

8. Fasten off yarn and sew in ends.

Notes

You can find full step by step instructions including photos and videos in the post above.