Crochet guide
Finger crochet
Finger crochet is ordinary crochet with your index finger in place of the hook. The stitches are the same ones, made in the same order, and thick yarn makes them easier to handle. A slip knot, a chain and rows of the basic stitches can all be made with the hands alone.
On this page 9 parts
What finger crochet is
Finger crochet is the same craft as crochet with a hook. Your index finger does the hook's job. It holds the loop, goes into the stitch and brings the yarn back through. Your other hand holds the working yarn, as it does in ordinary crochet.
Use the index finger of the hand that would hold the hook.
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets where it differs.
The yarn it suits
Any weight of yarn can be used, but the heavy ones are easier. The loops are made around a finger, so they are large, and thick yarn is easier to handle at that size. Fine yarn suits finger crochet less.
Bulky and super bulky yarn are the usual choices. Yarn weights for crochet explains the names.
The slip knot
Make a slip knot in the usual way, then slide its loop onto your index finger. Do not pull it tight. Leave the loop a little larger than the finger, so that there is room to bring the yarn through it.
The chain
Each chain is made by pulling the working yarn through the loop on your finger. There are two ways to get hold of the yarn.
- With the fingertip. Lay the working yarn across the top of your finger. Hook the fingertip over that strand and draw it back through the loop.
- With the thumb. Reach your thumb through the loop, grip the working yarn against the finger and pull it through.
Either way, a new loop now sits on your finger. That is one chain made. Repeat for each chain. The chain stitch page shows the same stitch made with a hook.
Single crochet with the fingers
A single crochet (UK double crochet) is made exactly as it is with a hook. Only the tool changes.
- Skip the chain nearest your finger. Put the finger into the next chain.
- Yarn over, and pull the strand back through the chain. There are two loops on your finger.
- Yarn over again, and pull the strand through both loops. One loop is left, and the stitch is done.
Work one stitch in each chain to the end. Then chain 1, turn the work, and make a stitch in every stitch of the row below. See single crochet and the turning chain.
Taller stitches follow the same rule. A double crochet (UK treble crochet) is the standard stitch with the finger where the hook would be.
Keeping the loops even
- Expect uneven chains at first. Finger crochet is straightforward, but it needs a little getting used to.
- Match each loop to the one before. Your finger sets the size of the loop. A loop a little larger than the finger is the usual guide.
- Hold the yarn in your other hand. How to hold the crochet hook and yarn shows the usual ways to hold the working yarn.
What is made this way
Scarves, cowls and blankets are the usual things made this way.
Finger crochet is also a way to go on when the yarn is to hand and the hook is not. What to use when you have no crochet hook covers the other stand-ins.
Children can learn it too. How to teach someone to crochet suggests teaching the chain with a finger first.
From fingers to a hook
The moves carry over. With a hook, the slip knot, the yarn over and the pull through are the same, and the hook takes the finger's place. People who teach finger crochet say it is easier than it sounds.
Where to go next
- How to crochet teaches the first stitches with a hook, step by step.
- Types of crochet names the other kinds of crochet and what sets each apart.
- What to use when you have no crochet hook says when it is better to wait for a hook.