Foundation Single Crochet

Hi guys, I'm Mary Beth Temple, and I am here today to talk to you about the foundation single crochet. The foundation single crochet is also known as a chainless single crochet, and that's sort of a misnomer. There is a chain in there, but it's not a situation where you make a chain and then go back and work a foundation row. It eliminates that starting chain. You might want to use it in a situation where you need a lot of elasticity at the beginning of your project. It's also a terrific trick to have in your bag of tricks when you are bridging a gap. Using that foundation stich technique bridges that very nicely and doesn't give you any kind of pulling in or unfortunate tension. So let's take a closer look at the foundation single crochet. Now I've heard people refer to this as the chainless foundation instead of foundation single crochet, and that's sort of a misnomer, because there are chains in here. You're just not doing a chain first and stitching second. You're essentially creating the chain in which the stitch will sit and the stitch at the same time. So, no matter how many foundation single crochets you want to do in a row, you're going to begin with chain two. So there's one... Two. Now, I'm going to single crochet in the second chain from hook, and as you may know, if you've watched any of my other videos, I like to work in the back, or the bump, of the chain. I think it's easier, particularly for this technique, but you can work in the front or V if you prefer. But here is my single crochet in the second chain from hook. So now I have my first single crochet. So the next thing I'm going to do is insert my hook under that stitch that I just made, yarn over, and bring it up. Now I have two loops on my hook. Now I'm going to chain one. So I'm going to yarn over and pull it through just that one loop. Still have two loops on my hook. So I want you to look, 'cause this is, essentially, replacing the foundation chain. This is where that chain is gonna be. And then I'm gonna yarn over and draw through two, which finishes my single. So this is what we look like so far. There's the single crochet I put in the second chain from hook. There's the single crochet that I just made. So I'm now going to go back to the bottom, and I'm going to look for both legs, one, two, that are under the stitch that I just made. Get a little closer if I can without getting too blurry. One, two. So I'm going to insert my hook under those two loops. Yarn over and draw up a loop, making sure it gets up onto the fat part of the hook. I don't want it to be too tight. Now I have one, two loops. I'm gonna chain one. Still have two loops, one, two. Yarn over, draw through two to finish the single. There's the next single, there's that third one. Now, after these first couple are in, it is so much easier to see. So once again, go to the bottom, get that hook under those two legs. You see what I mean with the two legs? It is far easier to see at this point. It is a little fiddly to get the first couple done, but now they're just sitting right there waiting for you. It's super easy. Yarn over and draw it up. Two loops on your hook, chain one, still two loops on your hook. Yarn over and draw through two. Go to the next guy, under those two legs. Yarn over, draw up a loop, chain one. Yarn over, draw through two, which finishes your single. Back to the bottom, under those two legs. Yarn over, draw up a loop, chain one. Yarn over, draw through two, finish that single. Let's do that one more time. Under both legs of that chain that is underneath. Yarn over, draw up the loop. Two loops on your hook, chain one, which is yarn over and draw through just that one loop, and then finish your single by yarning over and drawing through two. So let's take a look at this. Here's my row of single crochets. I've already lost count how many I made. Let's see, it looks like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Here is why we like to use the foundation single crochet. There are a lot of reasons. One is, if I am joining two pieces, if I am bridging a gap for whatever reason, for whatever interesting project I might be doing, if I have some pieces over here and I have some stitches over here and I want to get from here to here, you can foundation single crochet across without worrying about which direction your stitches is going, to make sure that you're not, say, chaining across, and then you'd have to single crochet back or complete it on a subsequent row. That's a little tedious. Other reasons we like it. See how this looks on the top? This is the top of your stitch. Here's your little Vs, they're super easy to work into, whether you have another row to do, or if you're putting on an edging, or if you're doing seaming. With the foundation single crochet, you get the same thing on the bottom. You have those two little legs that you can go into, whether you're seaming or putting on an edge or joining pieces, it's a really nice way to work. It's not lumpy, like sometimes going into a foundation chain can be. You may also notice it's a little more elastic, by which I mean stretchy, than using a regular foundation chain, so it prevents having issues where you are tighter at the bottom than the top of a piece, which happens frequently, particularly for new crocheters that tend to start out a little tight and relax as they go. Now, is single crochet the only stitch you can use in the foundation technique? No it is not. You could do foundation half doubles, you could do foundation doubles, you can do foundation anything you want to do. But this is the foundation single crochet, and once you get the hang of this, it's a super easy technique to use in other projects and with other stitches. Now, just to make things even more interesting. now that you have learned the technical parameters of the foundation single crochet, you could also do a foundation half double, you could do a foundation double, you can do any number of stitches in the foundation style now that you know how to use that foundation single crochet. So once again, I'm Mary Beth Temple. Thank you for your kind attention. I look forward to seeing you again right around here real soon. Bye bye!