Crochet First-Stitches Series: Linked First Stitches

Crochet Linked First-Stitches

The Steps To Making A Linked First-dc:
Pull loop on hook up to slightly taller than a normal loop, ch 1, insert hook in first chain from hook, yo and draw up a loop (2 loops on hook), insert hook into first st, yo and draw up a loop (3 loops on hook), [yo and draw through 2 loops on hook] 2 times.

As we showed in last week's Stacked First-Stitches tutorial, wonky edges are easily banished to the far corners of the multi-verse with the wave of a magic wand. What??? You DON'T think your hook is a magic wand?!? Yeah… you know it is. And we're going to show you one more spell for banishing wonky edges that even the students of a certain magical school would be envious of (see how we didn't violate any intellectual property laws or infringe on Ms. Rowling's work?).

Remember that first-stitches are what we use to replace those awful "chain 2 and count as first double crochet of row" instructions. ACK… oh, the wonkiness!! In our series, we're covering the four types of first-stitches and this week, we're talking about Linked First-Stitches.

Now, we did say that all four of the first-stitch techniques have their use and that you should use them where fit best as determined by your practice swatch you make before starting a project. That said… linked first-stitches is the technique we go to more often that the others when it comes to making a neat, clean, tidy border on your crochet fabric. Not only does it look FAB when left as a raw edge, but is is SOOOOO easy to work into when sewing seams or picking up stitches for an edging or an accent band of stitches. In addition, linked first-stitches work WAY better than other first-stitch techniques when it comes to taller stitches… more on that at the end of this tutorial.

So, without further ado, here is the step-by-step tutorial for making the Linked First-Double Crochet stitch.

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Linked First-Double Crochet, Step 1

Step 1
First, you're going to pull up the loop on your hook so it is slightly taller than a normal loop. This is the loop that is on your hook before you even chain up… THEN chain 1.

If you look at the photo, you will see the taller loop under the loop on the hook after making the chain one.

NOTE: You will need to play with the size of the taller loop so it blends in with the other stitches. If you don't get it right the first time… no worries… try it again. You'll develop and eye for it just like you have other crochet stitches.

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Linked First-Double Crochet, Step 2

Step 2
Now, working from front to back, insert your hook into the bottom bump of the first chain from the hook (the taller loop you made in the previous step).

This is the same action you use for inserting your hook into the bump of a foundation chain if you use that method to start your crochet fabrics. If you've come this far on the path to improving your crochet skillz… you'll have no problem with this! Even if you don't succeed the first time, just keep at it for a little bit. This is a brand new technique and you will develop a muscle memory for it just like you did when you first started making crochet stitches.

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Linked First-Double Crochet, Step 3

Step 3
Yarn over and draw up a loop… you'll have 2 loops on your hook now.

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Linked First-Double Crochet, Step 4

Step 4
Next, insert your hook into the first stitch of the row then yarn over and draw up a loop so you have 3 loops on your hook as shown in the photo.

NOTE: It is easy to get confused about where the "first stitch of the row" is. Just keep in mind that the first stitch of this new row is the last stitch you made of the previous row.

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Linked First-Double Crochet, Step 5

Step 5
Finally, you will finish just like a regular double crochet stitch: Yarn over and draw through 2 loops on your hook, and yarn over and draw through 2 loops on your hook again.

This photo shows the finished Linked First-Double Crochet stitch. Note how neat and clean the outside edge is.

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Finished Linked First-Treble Crochet Stitch

​Bonus:
Here is what a finished Linked First-Treble looks like!

The real strength of this version of a first-stitch is that is works just as beautifully for taller stitches. The even and poker straight edges remain the same for treble, double treble, triple treble, or the legendary quintuple-back-over-flipty-do. Okay… we made that last one up. But ANY height of first stitch is more stable using this technique!! All you need to do is do one more chain up for every yarn over you would normally make. For example, we did one chain up for a double crochet stitch because we yarn over once before making a dc. To make a Linked First-Treble Crochet stitch, you would chain up two times and insert your hook into the bottom bump of each of the chains just like you did in Step 3 of this tutorial.

Remember: The higher the stitch, the more chains you make, matching the number of yarn overs you would make for that stitch. One you have made the correct number of chains, insert your hook into each chain one at a time and yarn over and draw up a loop. When you are finished, you will have the correct number of loops on your hook to complete the stitch.

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So there you have it! One of our FAVORITE crochet techniques that can be applied to any project where the instructions call for you to make a certain number of chains to count as the first stitch of the row. ACK! No more wonky edges!!

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