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Double crochet is probably my favorite of the basic crochet stitches because it’s easy for me to get into a rhythm with it and crochet pretty quickly.
It’s a great stitch for relatively quick stitching because it’s twice as tall as single crochet, and it’s a little more open than half double crochet but still provides pretty good warmth.
What is Double Crochet?
The double crochet stitch in American terms is known as treble crochet in the UK. In patterns you’ll see it referred to as DC.
It starts with a yarn over, then you go into the chain or stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through two loops, then do that again to finish the stitch.
We’ll go into double crochet step by step below but if you just need a refresher, those are the basics.
Double crochet is a versatile stitch that can be used for garments, hats, scarves, blankets and more. Double crochets are the basis of buffalo plaid crochet, granny squares and the granny stitch, so you’ll use them in lots of different ways in your stitching career.
How to Make Double Crochet Stitches
Double crochet works on any number of stitches, so to practice, you’ll want to chain a bit (mine is 15 chains), bearing in mind you need three more chains than the number of stitches you want to make. By the way, here I am using , Lion Brand Wool Ease, which is a medium weight yarn, and a size I/5.5 mm crochet hook.
Your first stitch goes into the fourth chain from the hook, shown here.
Begin by taking the yarn over your hook.
Put your hook into the fourth chain from the hook from front to back.
Yarn over. Pull up a loop. There are now three loops on the hook.
Yarn over.
Pull through two loops. There are now two loops on the hook.
Yarn over and pull through two loops again. One loop remains and one double crochet stitch has been made.
Make a stitch in the same way in every chain across.
Continuing to Stitch
Once you’ve worked one row of double crochet, you’ll want to chain 3 at the end so your edge will be as tall as the stitches you’re making.
If you’re working from a pattern it will tell you if the chain should be counted as a stitch. Here we are not counting it as a stitch so the next DC will go right into the top of the last stitch we made in the last row.
When you’re working subsequent rows you will not make a stitch in the chain.
The edges of double crochet come out a little wavy because of those chains, but if you block your crochet when the project is done (short version: wash it and stretch into shape then let dry) that can smooth those edges out. Or you can try working with stacked stitches to crochet straight sides.
Double crochet is a fun, easy stitch you’ll come back to again and again. If you already know this stitch I’d love to know how you like to use it!
