Foundation single crochet

How to work it

1. Chain 2 and pull up a loop

   Start with a slip knot on the hook and chain 2. Push the hook into the second chain from the hook, which is the first chain you made. Take the yarn over the hook and pull up a loop. There are two loops on the hook.

2. Make the chain at the foot

   Take the yarn over the hook and draw it through the first loop on the hook only. There are still two loops on the hook. That one pull made a chain stitch, and it is the foot of the stitch you are making.

3. Finish the single crochet

   Take the yarn over the hook and draw it through both loops. One loop is left on the hook. That is one foundation single crochet: a chain at its foot and a single crochet standing on the chain.

4. Find the chain at the foot

   

   Look at the stitch you just made. The loop on the hook is at its top. The chain you made in step 2 is at the other end of it, on the far edge of the strip from the hook. Seen from the edge it is two strands that lie side by side like a V. The next stitch starts there.

5. Start the next stitch in that chain

   

   Push the hook under both strands of that chain. Take the yarn over and pull up a loop: two loops on the hook. Take the yarn over and draw it through one loop to make the new chain. Take the yarn over and draw it through both loops to finish the single crochet.

6. Repeat to the width you need

   

   Work step 5 again for every further stitch, each time into the chain at the foot of the stitch before. Make one foundation single crochet for each stitch the first row needs. Then turn and work the second row into the tops of the stitches, as on any row of single crochet.

At a glance

Also called

fsc, chainless foundation, chainless foundation single crochet

Used for

starting a piece without working into a long chain; a starting edge that gives as much as the rows above it, for cuffs and necklines; starting when you do not yet know how many stitches you need: stop when it is wide enough

Abbreviation

fsc

In UK terms

foundation double crochet (fdc)

Starts with

Chain 2

Each stitch is

One chain and one single 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

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. Look for the V at the bottom of that stitch, on the edge away from the loop on the hook, and push the hook under both strands of it.

My strip has no chain along the bottom.

The pull through one loop was left out. After you pull up the loop, the yarn goes over the hook and through one loop first. Only then does it go through both.

My row came out too short.

Add more. Work further foundation stitches onto the end of the row, one at a time, until it is wide enough.

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 half double crochet. The same chain at the foot, with a half double crochet on it. Use it when the first row of the pattern is half double crochet.
• Foundation double crochet. The same chain at the foot, with a double crochet on it. Use it when the first row of the pattern is double crochet.

Patterns that use it

8 × 8 in · Beginner

Simple solid dishcloth