Slip Stitch in Crochet: Joining, Moving and Making Fabric

How to slip stitch

1. Step 1: Insert the hook into the stitch.
2. Step 2: Yarn over.
3. Step 3: Pull the yarn through the stitch and through the loop on the hook, in one smooth motion. One slip stitch made.

The four jobs a slip stitch does

• Joining rounds: "Sl st to the first st" closes a round — in granny squares, hats and coasters.
• Moving without height: "Sl st to the corner space" walks your hook to a new starting point, as in our spider web.
• Edging and seaming: a slip-stitch seam is flat and nearly invisible — used to seam our pumpkin.
• Surface embroidery: slip stitching on top of finished fabric draws lines — names on stockings, leaf veins, faces.

Slip-stitch fabric

Worked row after row into the back loops, slip stitch makes a dense, stretchy fabric with a knit-like rib. It's slow, but beautiful for hat brims and cuffs. The key is a larger hook — two sizes up — because slip stitches tighten as you go.

Why are my slip stitches so tight?

• Pull the loop up to the full width of the hook shaft before pulling through.
• Use a bigger hook for slip-stitch rows only.
• Don't yank the yarn after each stitch — let the hook set the size.

Common questions

Does a slip stitch count as a stitch?

When you join a round, no — the slip stitch isn't counted. In slip-stitch fabric or edgings where the pattern says "sl st in each st", each one counts.

What is the difference between a slip stitch and a single crochet?

A single crochet pulls up a loop, then pulls through two loops separately (two steps). A slip stitch pulls through the stitch and the loop in one step, so it has almost no height.

What is an invisible join?

An alternative to slip-stitch joining: cut the yarn, pull it through the last stitch, thread it under the first stitch of the round and back into the last. It hides the join completely.

Tiny stitch, big job. Where do you use slip stitches most? 🧶