By CraftingStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by HappyBerry Crochet.
Every crochet project starts with a slip knot. It is the first loop that goes on your hook, and it is the one that lets you tighten the whole thing down afterwards by pulling the tail.
Jane from HappyBerry Crochet teaches it as lesson one of her absolute-beginner series, and her method is the one worth learning. You wrap the yarn over two fingers, cross it, and let the hook do the work. No fiddling with a loop you made in mid-air.
It takes about thirty seconds once your hands know it. Give it a few tries before you move on, because you will make a slip knot at the start of every project from here.
Smooth light yarn shows the two strands of the cross, which is the part you need to see while you learn.
The eight steps above take it slowly. The short version is three moves: wrap the yarn around two fingers so it crosses the tail, slide the hook under the near strand of that cross and catch the far one, then pull that strand back underneath and tug the tail to close the wraps into a knot. Once you have done a hundred you will tie one with no hook at all.
A crochet slip knot anchors the yarn to the hook so there is something to pull the first chain through. It is adjustable, which is why this knot and not a fixed one: pull the tail at the end and it releases instead of leaving a lump.
It is not a stitch. Patterns rarely say so, and it is where a lot of first rows go wrong. Chain 20 means tie the slip knot, then make 20 chains on top of it. Count the knot as one and every row after runs a stitch short. The live loop on the hook is never counted either.
Two strands hang out of the bottom of the knot. The tail is the short cut end. The working yarn runs back to the ball.
Pull the tail and the knot closes up. Pull the working yarn and the loop shrinks, sliding the knot up under the hook. That is the order the steps use: tail first to set the knot, working yarn second to size the loop. Pull them the wrong way round before the knot has closed and the wraps slide back out of each other.
A knitting cast-on opens with a slip knot too, and it is the same knot. Same wrap, same cross, same pull. It goes on a needle rather than a hook, and there it does count as the first stitch of the cast-on row. See how to cast on knitting for what follows it.
Take the loop off your hook and pull the yarn. A real slip knot pops straight open. That is the whole point of it: it holds while you work, then releases when you want it to. If yours locks up instead, the hook went under the wrong strand of the cross.
Too tight to work into. Stop pulling the working yarn once the loop sits snug on the shaft. If it will not slide along the shaft it is too tight and the first chain will fight you. Ease it open by pulling the loop itself.
It keeps popping undone. The hook caught both strands of the cross. One goes under the hook, the other gets pulled through it.
You are working in the round. Amigurumi and most circular pieces skip this start and use a magic ring, which pulls the centre closed. A slip knot joined into a chain ring leaves a hole you can see through.
With the slip knot on your hook you are ready to chain, the foundation row for almost every pattern. See how to crochet a foundation chain next, then how to single crochet for the first stitch. Starting from nothing, how to crochet for beginners puts the sequence in order.
8 steps · about 12 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
DK or light worsted yarn in weight 3 with a 4mm (G) hook is the easiest pairing to learn on. The yarn is thick enough to see what your hands are doing and thin enough to move smoothly. Pick a light colour if you can. Dark yarn hides the loops just when you need to see them.
Tip
Avoid fuzzy or novelty yarn for your first attempts. It snags on the hook and hides the shape of the knot.
Lay the tail end of the yarn across your four fingers with the short end in front, and hold it there with your thumb. The tail is the loose end coming off the ball. Leave yourself about six inches of it so there is something to pull on later.
Take the yarn still attached to the ball and wrap it once around your top two fingers. Keep the wrap loose. You want to be able to slide a hook underneath it without fighting the tension.
Turn your hand over and cross the working yarn over the tail so you can see a clear X. Pinch the crossing point between two fingers to hold it. This X is the whole knot. If you let it collapse into a tangle of small crossings you will lose track of which strand is which.
Tip
Spread the X out before you go any further. A big obvious cross makes the next two steps easy.
Bring your hook in and slide it underneath the first strand of the cross, the one lying closest to you. The hook goes under one strand only at this stage. The second strand stays sitting over the top where you can reach it.
Twist the hook down, catch the strand running over the top, and draw it back underneath the first one. You now have a loop of the working yarn sitting on your hook with the tail still wrapped around your fingers.
Hold the loop against the hook with your thumb so it cannot slide off, then let everything else go and slide your fingers free. Pull the tail end and watch the loose wraps collapse into a small neat knot underneath your hook.
Tip
If the loop falls off the hook, do not start over. Push the hook back through the open loop and carry on.
Pull the working yarn, the strand going back to the ball, to slide the knot up to the hook. Aim for a loop that moves freely along the shaft without falling off. Too tight and you will not get the hook through it on the first chain. Too loose and your starting edge ends up floppy.
Tip
Test it by sliding the loop up and down the hook once. That is the tension you want for every stitch that follows.
Keep going
How to Crochet - A Beginner's First Row
How to Make a Slip Knot for Crochet
Clover
Clover Amour Crochet Hook Set (10 sizes)
Soft, easy-grip handles that warm to the touch and a full size range in one case. The set most crocheters upgrade to and never look back.
Lion Brand
Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton Yarn
Mercerized cotton with crisp stitch definition and a subtle sheen. Machine washable, and the go-to for amigurumi, bags, and dishcloths.
Clover
Clover Locking Stitch Markers (20-pack)
Lock onto stitches so they never slip while you mark rounds, increases, and repeats. A dollar-store fix that actually holds.
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Test your knowledge
5 questions covering what you just read. No signup, no score saved, and you can stop after this one.
Question 1 of 5
What job does the slip knot do in crochet?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.What job does the slip knot do in crochet?
Answer: It is the first loop that goes on your hook
Every crochet project opens by putting a slip knot on the hook.
2.How do you check that you really made a slip knot?
Answer: Slide it off the hook and pull the yarn to see it open
A real slip knot pops straight open when you pull the yarn.
3.Which strand do you pull to cinch the loop down?
Answer: The tail
Pulling the tail is what tightens the slip knot onto the hook.
4.Your knot locks up instead of releasing. What went wrong?
Answer: The hook went under the wrong strand of the cross
Catching the wrong strand of the cross makes a fixed knot, not a slip knot.
5.What comes right after the slip knot in almost every pattern?
Answer: A foundation chain
The chain is the foundation row nearly every pattern builds on.
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