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Finishing · Beginner

Hanging loops and button loops

To crochet a loop on an edge, chain the length of the loop and join the chain back to the edge with a slip stitch. A loop of about ten chains at a corner hangs a dishcloth, or any small piece, on a hook. A shorter one, fitted to a button, fastens over it. A row of single crochet (UK double crochet) worked over the chain makes the loop thicker.

How to work it

  1. Work to the corner

    Finish the last row or round of the piece, ending at the corner where the loop is to go. Do not fasten off.

  2. Chain the loop and join it

    The corner of a piece, where the last row ends. A chain of ten leaves the corner, curves round and comes back to the same corner, where a slip stitch has joined it: a loop. One loop is on the hook.

    Chain the length of the loop. Then work a slip stitch back into the piece, at the place where the chain began. The chain is now a loop.

  3. Fasten off, or go on to make it thicker

    For a plain loop, fasten off here and weave the end into the piece.

  4. Work single crochet over the chain

    The same loop made thicker. Single crochet have been worked over the chain all the way round it, each stitch closed round the chain, so the loop is now a ring of stitches. One loop is on the hook, at the corner.

    For a thicker loop, do not fasten off. Work single crochet back round the loop. Some makers work one stitch into each chain. Others pass the hook through the loop for every stitch, so that the stitches close over the chain, and work as many as it takes to cover it. Join with a slip stitch where the loop meets the piece, and fasten off.

  5. For a button, fit the loop to the button

    A small loop of chain on the edge of a piece, with a button laid inside it. The loop is only a little larger than the button: big enough to pass over it, and no bigger.

    A button loop is made the same way, but its length is set by the button. Chain just enough to pass over the button with a little stretch, and try it on the button before you join the chain. A loop that is too long lets the button slip out.

At a glance

Used for
a loop at the corner of a dishcloth, or of another piece that hangs on a hook; a loop that fastens over a button
A hanging loop
Patterns that add one chain 6 to 12 for it.
A button loop
As many chains as go round the button snugly.
Joined with
A slip stitch into the piece where the chain began.
Where
A corner, at the end of the last row or round, before the yarn is cut.

A loop can also be made of foundation single crochet in place of a plain chain, which makes it as thick as a row of stitches in one pass. Work the foundation stitches to the length of the loop and fasten the last one to the base of the first, with a slip stitch or with a few sewn stitches.

How many chains a loop needs depends on the yarn and on what the loop has to go over. Count chains as a start, then check the loop against the hook on the wall or against the button before you fasten off.

When it goes wrong

The button slips out of the loop.
The loop is too long. Make it again with fewer chains, so that it has to stretch a little to pass over the button.

Left-handed

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

Variations

Questions

How many chains make a hanging loop?
Patterns that add a hanging loop use 6 to 12 chains. Make the loop as long as it needs to be to go over the hook it will hang on.
How do I make a hanging loop thicker?
Work single crochet over the chain, all the way round the loop, or make the loop of foundation single crochet from the start.
How long is a button loop?
Just long enough to pass over the button with a little stretch. Too long, and the button slips out.
Where does the loop go on a dishcloth?
At a corner, worked at the end of the last row or round before the yarn is cut.

Where to go next

Stitches

Patterns