Floss Field.
SearchSaved
All crafts

Working in rows · Intermediate

Chainless starting double crochet

A chainless starting double crochet (UK treble), csdc for short, begins a row of double crochet with no turning chain. The loop on the hook is pulled up to the height of the stitch, wound once round the hook, and worked off like a double crochet. It stands in place of the chain 3, leaves no gap at the edge, and looks like the stitches beside it.

How to work it

  1. Turn without a chain

    Work to the end of the row and turn. Do not chain.

  2. Pull the loop up

    The work has been turned, and no chain has been made. The loop on the hook has been pulled up tall: it rises from the top of the stitch at the edge to the hook, as high above the row as the double crochet of the row below are tall.

    Pull the loop on the hook up until it is as tall as a double crochet. The stitches of the row below show the height to aim for.

  3. Hold the loop

    Press a finger on the stretched loop where it lies on the hook, so that it cannot slip or shrink. Keep it there through the next two steps.

  4. Wind the loop round the hook

    Take the hook once round the stretched loop, the way you would yarn over, so that the loop itself is wound round the hook. This wrap does the work of the yarn over that begins a double crochet.

  5. Yarn over and pull through

    Yarn over with the yarn from the ball and pull it through the wrap. Two loops are on the hook: the one just made, and the upper end of the stretched loop, still under your finger.

  6. Finish the stitch

    The chainless starting stitch is finished. It stands at the edge of the new row, on the first stitch of the row below, with one slanting strand across its post like any double crochet, and no chain beside it. One loop is on the hook.

    Yarn over again and pull through both loops, letting go of the stretched loop as the yarn comes through. The stitch is finished, and it counts as the first double crochet of the row.

  7. Work the row

    Work the next double crochet into the next stitch, as you would after a turning chain that counts as a stitch. On the way back, the last stitch of the following row goes into the top of the chainless stitch.

At a glance

Used for
starting a row of double crochet without the gap a turning chain leaves at the edge; starting a round of double crochet in the same way, after the round before is joined
Abbreviation
csdc
Stands in place of
The turning chain at the start of a row of double crochet.
Counts as a stitch
Yes: the first double crochet of the row.
Yarn
The same yarn as the row before. A first stitch made with new yarn is a standing stitch.

A turning chain is thinner than a double crochet, and it tends to leave a gap between itself and the next stitch. The chainless stitch is as thick as the stitches beside it, so the edge has no gap.

It is not a standing stitch, though the two do the same job. A standing double crochet starts with new yarn, to bring in a new color or to begin again somewhere else. The chainless starting stitch goes on with the yarn already on the hook.

There is a second way to start a tall row with no chain: two single crochet (UK double crochet) worked one on top of the other, called the stacked single crochet. It is set out further down this page, with the other ways to start a row.

The height takes practice. The loop pulled up in step 2 sets the height of the whole stitch. If the finished stitch is too tall or too loose, pull the loop up less; if it is too short or too tight, pull it up more.

When it goes wrong

The loop slips or shrinks before the stitch is finished.
Keep a finger pressed on the stretched loop, where it lies on the hook, from the moment it is pulled up. Let go only as the last yarn over comes through.
My starting stitch is taller or shorter than the rest of the row.
Change how far you pull the loop up at the start. The stitches of the row below are the measure.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Variations

  • Stacked single crochet. The other common way to start a tall row with no chain. Work a single crochet into the first stitch, with no chain before it. Then put the hook under the strand at the side of that stitch, the left side when you work right-handed, and make a second single crochet there. The two stand one on the other, as tall as a double crochet, and the double crochet of the row begin in the second stitch.
  • Standing double crochet. A first stitch made with new yarn, for a new color or a new place to start.
  • Turning chain. The usual start of a row: chains that stand for the first stitch.

Questions

Does a chainless starting double crochet count as a stitch?
Yes. It is the first double crochet of the row, in place of a turning chain that counts.
Can I use it in rounds?
Yes. Join the round before, then pull up the loop and make the stitch in the same way.
What does csdc mean?
Chainless starting double crochet.
Is it the same as a standing double crochet?
No. A standing double crochet is made with new yarn. The chainless starting stitch is made with the loop already on the hook, at the start of the next row in the same yarn.

Where to go next

Stitches