Starting · Easy
Foundation double crochet
A chainless foundation in double crochet (UK treble) makes the starting chain and the first row at the same time. Each foundation double crochet, written fdc, is one chain with one stitch standing on it. Begin with 3 chains, and start every stitch after the first in the chain at the foot of the one before.
How to work it
Find the chain at the foot
The loop on the hook is at the top of the stitch you just made. The chain from step 2 is at its other end, on the far edge of the strip from the hook. It shows as two strands side by side, like a V.
Yarn over, and start the next stitch in that chain
Take the yarn over the hook first. Then push the hook under both strands of that chain, take the yarn over and pull up a loop: three loops on the hook. Take the yarn over and draw it through one loop to make the new chain. Then take the yarn over and draw it through two loops, twice.
Repeat to the width you need
Work step 5 again for every further stitch. Make as many foundation double crochet as the first row has stitches, then go on with the second row of the pattern as it is written.
At a glance
- Also called
- fdc, chainless foundation double crochet
- Used for
- starting a piece whose first row is double crochet, without working into a long chain; a starting edge that stretches with the fabric, for cuffs and necklines; starting when you do not yet know how many stitches you need
- Abbreviation
- fdc
- In UK terms
- foundation treble crochet (ftr)
- Starts with
- Chain 3
- Each stitch is
- One chain and one double crochet, made together
- Next stitch goes into
- The chain at the foot of the stitch before, under both strands
- How many to make
- One for each stitch of the first row
The plan is the one foundation single crochet (UK double crochet) uses, with a taller stitch on top. The new moves are the ones every double crochet has: a yarn over before the hook goes in, and two pulls through two loops at the end. A half double crochet (UK half treble) can stand on the chain in the same way.
A row made this way has the chain row and the first row of the pattern in it. You count finished stitches, not small chains, and after the first stitch you never have to work back into a chain. Because each chain is made at the size of the stitch above it, the edge is not tighter than the fabric, and it stretches more than a chained edge does.
When it goes wrong
- I cannot see where the next stitch goes.
- It goes into the chain at the foot of the stitch you just finished, not into its top. Find the V at the bottom of that stitch and push the hook under both of its strands.
- I lose track of the loops.
- Three after you pull up the loop, still three after the pull through one loop that makes the chain, then two, then one.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- Foundation single crochet. The same chain at the foot, with a single crochet on it and no yarn over at the start. It begins with 2 chains.
- Foundation half double crochet. The same chain at the foot, with a half double crochet on it.
Patterns that use it
Questions
- What does fdc mean in crochet?
- Foundation double crochet: a stitch that makes one chain and one double crochet together, so that a row of them takes the place of the starting chain and the first row.
- Is foundation double crochet the same in UK patterns?
- No. In United Kingdom terms this stitch is the foundation treble, written ftr. A United Kingdom pattern that says foundation double crochet means the shorter stitch, which United States patterns call foundation single crochet.
- How many foundation double crochet do I make?
- As many as the first row of the pattern has stitches. Then work row 2 as written.
- Which patterns can start this way?
- Any pattern whose first row is double crochet worked into a chain. The foundation row takes the place of both.