Basic Stitch Definitions from Slip Knot to Treble

Every crochet pattern, no matter how ornate it looks, reduces to a short list of moves: a knot, a chain, and a handful of stitches built from the same two actions, yarning over and drawing through loops. This page walks through each of those stitches exactly as the original Crochet 1-2-3 magazine defined them in its Basics section, and it points you to where a beginner can practice them on a real project today.

Where these definitions come from

Crochet 1-2-3 was a craft magazine published between 2012 and 2014 by Valu-Publishing and sold at Walmart and in most major craft chains. Its Basics section carried a glossary of stitch definitions written in standard pattern shorthand, the same shorthand you still meet in almost any American pattern. The definitions below come from that archived glossary, and they remain accurate descriptions of how the stitches are worked in current practice. The magazine itself is no longer publishing, but the vocabulary it taught has not changed.

What is a slip knot and why does every project start with one?

The slip knot is the anchor that lets you put yarn onto the hook at all. Leaving a long tail, you wrap the yarn into a loop, take the tail behind the loop, center the strand, insert the hook under the center strand, and draw up on it gently. Pulling both ends of the yarn tightens the loop on the hook. The reason for the long tail is practical: that loose end later gets woven in to secure the start of your work, and a stubby tail makes that job harder.

Chains and the foundation chain

A chain stitch, abbreviated ch, is one yarn over drawn through the loop on the hook, leaving one loop behind. String enough of them together and you have a foundation chain: begin with a slip knot, then repeat the chain motion for the number of chains your pattern calls for. The foundation chain is the base row every other row is worked into, so an even, relaxed chain makes everything that follows easier. A chain worked too tightly is the classic reason a first row puckers.

How short is the shortest stitch?

The slip stitch, sl st, is the shortest stitch in crochet. You insert the hook in the indicated stitch, yarn over, and draw the loop through both the stitch and the loop on the hook in one motion, finishing with a single loop on the hook. It barely adds height, which is exactly why patterns use it for joining rounds, moving yarn across a row without adding bulk, or closing a ring.

The single crochet, sc, sits just above it. You insert the hook in the indicated stitch, yarn over, draw up a loop so that two loops sit on the hook, then yarn over and draw through both loops. One loop remains. Dense and firm, single crochet is the stitch of choice for solid fabric, and it is the stitch the Craft Yarn Council uses for its own beginner teaching block. Following the Craft Yarn Council step by step instructions, a new crocheter works a foundation chain of 29 stitches, single crochets across, and builds row after row until the piece measures a 7 inch by 9 inch block. The Council suggests that block can then be joined with others into an afghan for Warm Up America, the charity that collects handmade sections from makers and assembles them into blankets for people in need. The same page notes that with these basics a crocheter can go on to make a scarf, hat, pillow, bag, or any number of projects.

The taller stitches and what changes between them

Half double crochet, hdc, starts with a yarn over before the hook even enters the fabric. You insert the hook, yarn over, draw up a loop to get three loops on the hook, then yarn over once more and draw through all three loops at once. That single closing motion is what separates it from the next stitch up.

Double crochet, dc, begins the same way with a yarn over, but closes in stages: after drawing up a loop to three loops on the hook, you yarn over and draw through two loops, then yarn over and draw through the remaining two. Treble crochet, tr, adds one more yarn over at the start, so the hook carries four loops after drawing up, and you work off the loops two at a time, three draws in all. Each extra yarn over and each extra closing step adds height, which is why patterns mix these stitches to shape fabric, open up lace, or speed through a large blanket. A written guide to the half double crochet is available at the half double crochet guide.

Shaping stitches: the decreases

The glossary also defined three decreases, the stitches that remove width from a piece. Single crochet two together, sc2tog, means drawing up a loop in each of two stitches so three loops sit on the hook, then yarning over and drawing through all three. Half double crochet two together, hdc2tog, repeats the full hdc setup in two stitches and closes all five loops at once. Double crochet two together, dc2tog, works a double crochet in two stitches but stops before the final closing step of each, then finishes the last three loops together. Hats, toy shapes, and sleeve caps all lean on these decreases, and any pattern marked for beginners in the free patterns archive will spell them out in this same shorthand.

From one stitch to a finished piece

Knowing a definition is not the same as feeling it in your hands, and the fastest bridge between the two is a small, repetitive project. The Council's 7 by 9 block is built for exactly that: worsted-weight yarn in any color, a size G hook, a big-eye yarn needle, and small scissors are the whole supply list. At the end of the piece you cut the yarn leaving a 6 inch end, draw the hook straight up to pull the yarn through the last loop, then thread that end into the needle and weave it back and forth through the stitches to secure it. That finishing move is identical whether the piece is a practice block or an intricate afghan square, which is why it belongs in the first lessons.

One habit from the Council's page is worth keeping from your very first row: measure as you go. The beginner instructions tell you to check the width after one row of single crochet, and to adjust the number of starting chains if the piece comes out too wide or too narrow. The archived magazine covered the same discipline in its gauge guidance, which you can revisit through gauge and gauge swatches and the wider Basics shelf. A gauge habit formed on a charity block carries straight into every pattern you attempt afterward.