Quickly learn or review the first four basic stitches of crocheting: single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, and treble crochet. Learning these fundamental stitches will have you well on your way to making a wide variety of crocheted fabrics!
Each of these tutorials begins with the starting chain already made to help keep the stitch instruction shorter. If you need a quick refresher on how to chain, please refer to this diagram from the Craft Yarn Council.
If you are brand new to crocheting, I encourage you to enroll in my Crochet Basics: From Skein to Scarf class, right here on Skillshare, for a comprehensive beginner's course that will walk you through everything you need to know to complete your first project, from finding the ends of your new skein of yarn to weaving in your ends.
Class Objective:
- Learn or review and practice the four basic crochet stitches
Suggested Materials:
- Medium or Worsted Weight yarn (4) in a light color and smooth texture makes it easier to practice stitches; Wollelfe Extrafine Merino & Silk Gradient Fingering Weight (1) yarn in Fresh, 100g (437 yards), is what I used for the Fundamentals Cowl - feel free to experient with different yarns, though!
- H, I, or J Crochet Hooks for practice with worsted weight yarn; D - G hooks for Fundamentals Cowl with Wollelfe Extrafine Merino & Silk
- Locking stitch markers
- Scissors
- Yarn or Tapestry Needle(s)
- 6 or 12 Buttons (optional) for Cowl
Resources include the written pattern for the Fundamentals Cowl, which is an excellent way to practice all four of the stitches covered in these tutorials, as well as links to Crochet Guild of America and Craft Yarn Council webpages for students needing further information and visual aid (i.e. tutorials for left-handed crocheters)
The Fundamentals Cowl is a great way to practice the four basic crochet stitches that are covered in these tutorials. Simple stitches paired with a gorgeous gradient yarn take this project from an exercise in crochet fundamentals to an artistic piece that you can be proud to wear, even as a beginner! Using four different crochet hooks with four different stitches may sound like a bit of a hassle, but it is an excellent way to test out and determine your natural tension, which will come to be more and more important as you develop crochet skills beyond the basics.
If you are just looking to learn and practice these stitches without making a specific project, you can crochet some small swatches with a worsted weight yarn and an appropriate hook before embarking on your crochet journey with another project of your choosing. And if you're having trouble picking one, I highly recommend Ravelry as an excellent resource for crocheters and knitters alike. You can search for patterns with just about any parameters you can think of! If you need some help navigating the site, my friend Karen Robinson of Round Table Yarns has made several Ravelry Tutorials, including this one about finding pattern suggestions.
Crochet! That is all. Practice any or all of the stitches that you like, either with swatches or in a project of your choosing, such as the Fundamentals Cowl (download the pdf for this pattern under the Attached Files heading located on the top right of your project page, just below the list of class videos).
