Double Crochet Decrease: Video/Written Tutorial
Crocheting is a craft that allows for endless creativity, and mastering different stitches like double crochet decrease can significantly enhance your projects.
When it comes to shaping pieces like hats, sleeves, or amigurumi, knowing how to decrease is vital. A double crochet decrease effectively narrows the fabric, removing stitches to taper your work as needed.
When you’re ready to tackle this technique, you’ll find that it’s essentially about combining two stitches into one. It may sound a bit tricky at first, but once you get into the rhythm, it’s as straightforward as any basic stitch.
Getting comfortable with this method opens up a whole new world of patterns and designs, bringing you one step closer to crafting more complex and tailored pieces.
Double Crochet Decrease
Video Tutorial: Double Crochet Decrease
Mastering the double crochet decrease (dc dec) helps you shape your crochet projects effectively. This technique is essential for creating contours, such as in hats, sleeves, and amigurumi toys.
Preparation Steps
Before diving into the double crochet decrease, make sure your yarn and crochet hook are ready. You’ll be working the decrease over two stitches that will merge into one, so here’s how you prep:
- Identify the point in your pattern where a decrease is needed.
- Make sure you have at least two double crochet stitches ready to be worked together.
Executing the Stitch
Now, let’s break down the dc dec step by step:
- Yarn over your crochet hook.
- Insert hook into the first stitch.
- Yarn over again and pull through, you’ll have three loops on the hook.
- Yarn over and draw through two loops. Two loops remain on the hook.
- Yarn over again and insert the hook into the next stitch.
- Yarn over and pull through. Four loops are now on the hook.
- Yarn over and draw through two loops. Three loops are left.
- Lastly, yarn over and pull through all three loops on the hook. You’ve completed one double crochet decrease!
Decrease Variations
While the standard dc dec reduces the number of stitches by merging two together, variations exist:
- Multiple Stitches Dec: Instead of decreasing over two, you can decrease across three or more stitches.
- Clustered Dec: This involves partially working several double crochet stitches and then joining them together in the last step.
Remember, each variation affects the fabric differently, so choose your decrease method based on your pattern’s needs.
Video Tutorial
Here is our team’s favorite double crochet decrease video. This will help you see the stitch being done.
Double Crochet Decrease Stitch
When you incorporate double crochet decreases into your crochet projects, it directly affects the shape of your crochet fabric. This technique is critical for tailoring the piece to fit specific designs or contours.
Understanding Pattern Instructions
To effectively add double crochet decreases to your project, you need to understand the pattern instructions. Patterns usually specify when and how often to decrease. They might state something like “dc2tog (double crochet two together) every 4th stitch” or simply “decrease at the beginning and end of the row.”
- US Terms: Be aware that the terminology might differ if you’re following US terms as opposed to UK terms.
- Video Tutorial: If you’re a visual learner, look up a tutorial video for a visual step-by-step guide.
Decrease Placement and Count
Properly placing your decreases is essential for maintaining the intended shape of your project.
- End of the Row:Commonly, you’ll perform decreases at the end of the row, which may involve adjusting the turning chain to avoid adding extra height.
- At the beginning of a row, you’ll often skip the first stitch or adjust the initial stitch count to create a decrease.
- Last Stitch: Make sure to double-check if the pattern requires decreasing in the last stitch, as this impacts the final stitch count.
- Stitch Count: Keeping an accurate stitch count is crucial, or your fabric might not come out as it should. Use stitch markers if you find it helpful.
In many free crochet patterns and amigurumi patterns, decreases are employed to shape the figure. And in various crochet projects, like garments, controlling the stitch count through decreases helps in achieving tailored results.
Remember to check whether the pattern suggests different ways of decreasing, as some may give a more subtle sloping effect than others.
Crochet Patterns
Now that you understand double crochet decrease, you can practice it on a few of our patterns. From bag to blankets, we add new patterns weekly. Make sure you are on our email list to get the latest patterns delivered to your inbox.
Amigurumi Crochet
Download Amigurumi Crochet Patterns
These cute creations, dolls and bees are super fun to make. We have free amigurumi patterns while some are paid but have a PDF available.
Crochet Blanket Patterns
Download Crochet Blanket Patterns
Whether you are making a baby blanket or a warm blanket for a cold winter night here are our favorite crochet blanket patterns reviewed by our team with tons of notes.
Crochet Stitches
