How to Double Crochet (dc) and Avoid Gappy Edges

Double crochet (dc) is about twice the height of single crochet, so it grows fast and makes a softer, more open fabric with nice drape. It's the stitch in classic granny squares, shells, V-stitches and countless blankets.

1. 1.Yarn over.
2. 2.Insert the hook into the stitch.
3. 3.Yarn over and pull up a loop. You now have 3 loops on the hook.
4. 4.Yarn over and pull through 2 loops. Two loops remain.
5. 5.Yarn over and pull through the last 2 loops. One loop remains, and the double crochet is done.

The rhythm is: "over, in, pull up; over through two, over through two." Pulling through two loops at a time is what gives double crochet its height and its little "waist" in the middle.

Work your first double crochet into the 4th chain from the hook. The three chains you skipped act as your first stitch.

For practice, chain 18. Work a dc in the 4th chain from the hook and in each chain across. Counting the skipped chains as one stitch, you'll have 16 stitches: 15 double crochets plus the skipped chains. That's the traditional way most patterns count it.

At the end of each row, chain 3 and turn. In most patterns this ch-3 counts as the first double crochet of the new row. That has two consequences:

1. 1.Skip the first stitch. The ch-3 is already sitting on top of it. Work your first real dc into the second stitch.
2. 2.Work the last stitch into the top of the turning chain from the row below, usually the 3rd chain of that ch-3.

That second step is the one people miss. The top of a turning chain doesn't look like a normal stitch, so it's easy to stop one stitch early. Lose one stitch per row and a rectangle becomes a triangle surprisingly fast.

A ch-3 is thinner than a real double crochet, so many people get a little gap or a loose loop at the beginning of each row. A few fixes, all common:

• Chain 2 instead of 3 if your tension is loose. It still counts as the first stitch, just a slimmer one.
• Stacked single crochet: work a single crochet into the first stitch, then a second single crochet into the left leg of that one. It sits at nearly dc height and looks much more like a real stitch.
• Chainless starting double crochet: pull the loop on your hook up to dc height, hold it, and work a dc around it. There are good video tutorials if you search for "chainless starting double crochet."

Whichever you choose, use it on every row and keep counting it as the first stitch.

In granny squares you'll mostly work double crochets into chain spaces rather than into stitches. A pattern might say (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp for a corner. That means work all of it into the gap made by the chain-2 below, not into the chains themselves.

When working in rounds, you usually chain 3 at the start of the round (counting as a dc) and join with a slip stitch to the top of that ch-3 at the end. Our granny square calculator shows how many squares and rounds you need for a given blanket size.

• Stitches look short and lumpy: you may be pulling the first loop up too low. Let it come up to the height of the stitches around it.
• Fabric is too holey: your tension may be loose for this yarn. Try a hook half a millimeter smaller.
• Rows grow wider: you're probably working into the first stitch as well as using the ch-3 as a stitch. Skip the first stitch.
• Rows shrink: you're missing the top of the turning chain at the end of rows.