In this fourth post in my learn to crochet series, I’d like to talk about how to make a slip knot. A slip knot is the foundation to crocheting a chain. And a chain is the most common foundation for most crochet projects. Want to learn to crochet an afghan? How about my super fabulous crocheted dish cloths? Or a baby blanket? Or some fancy crocheted edging on a towel? All of these projects began with a slip stitch, followed my a row of chain stitches.
In construction terms, I guess if the chain is the foundation, we could say the slip knot is the cornerstone. So, today, we’re gonna learn all about the cornerstone of crochet!
To bring you up to speed, so far in this learn to crochet series, I’ve shared:
- Lesson 1: Crochet Terms and Abbreviations with a free printable cheat sheet.
- Lesson 2: Basic crochet supplies you’ll need to get started crocheting.
- Lesson 3: How to hold a crochet hook.
- Lesson 4: How to make a slip knot.
Materials Used in this Tutorial
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Before we begin, you’ll want to make sure you have the following supplies on hand so you can follow along in this how to make a slip knot tutorial:
- Yarn – Any yarn will do, but I’ve found the easiest to work with, especially for beginners, is worsted weight yarns like Wool-Ease. You may also want to choose a light color as it is harder to see your stitches with dark yarns. At least for learning, you’ll want to choose a light colored yarn.
- Crochet Hook – If you’re just starting out, it may be easier for you to learn to crochet using a larger hook. I recommend learning with a size H (5.0mm) crochet hook, like this ergonomic hook from Clover. This hook is large enough that you can see the individual stitches.
You can purchase yarn and crochet hooks at your local craft store or online from Amazon, Craftsy, Yarnspirations or even Etsy, to mention a few.
How to Make a Slip Knot
- Starting about 6″ from the tail end of the yarn, grasp the yarn between your thumb and forefinger of your non-dominant hand.
- Form a loop or circle by wrapping the tail end over the front of the yarn you have grasped between your thumb and forefinger, grasping the formed loop. Make sure the tail end of the yarn is hanging behind your loop (and not the ball or skein end of the yarn).
- Insert the tip or point end of the crochet hook through the front of the loop.
- Grab a hold of the tail end of the yarn with your crochet hook and gently pull yarn through the loop. Do not pull the yarn all the way through. You want to just pull the yarn through so that you keep a loop on your hook.
- You will now tighten the slip knot by grasping the tail end of your yarn between your thumb and forefinger, while still holding your crochet hook in the same hand, and grasping the ball end of your yarn with your other hand and gently pulling to tighten against the shank of the crochet hook. You don’t want it too tight. The yarn should slide across the shank of the hook. Also, make sure the loop is on the shank part of your hook and not the throat (narrow part) or thumb grip.
The written description on how to make a slip knot can make it seem a little complicated, but it’s really not! I found this really nice slip knot illustration on Annie’s Craft Store‘s website.
To make learning how to make a slip knot even easier, I’ve created this short video tutorial:
Alright, that was great! See, easy, right?! The best possible way for you to become comfortable with making slip knots for crocheting is to practice making slip knots. Just keep practicing it over and over until it feels natural.
Since you’ve armed yourself with your crochet terms printable cheat sheet, have your basic crochet supplies purchased, have learned how to hold a crochet hook and how to make a slip knot, you’re ready to move on to learn how to hold crochet yarn, then it’s on to learning how to crochet a chain. See, I told you that you’d be crocheting up a storm in no time!
By the way, if you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’ll be glad to try to answer and assist you in your crochet journey!
Happy crocheting…
