How to Work a Slip Stitch in Crochet

The slip stitch is crochet’s quiet little mover: a stitch with no height at all, used to join rounds, travel across work without showing, neaten edges, and draw fine lines of surface detail across finished fabric. It draws the leaf veins on our Thanksgiving pumpkins and wreaths, edges the angel comforters, and turns up somewhere in just about every friendly-stitch pattern in the shop.

Step by step

Insert your hook into the stitch (or space) the pattern names.
Yarn over and pull the yarn straight through the stitch *and* through the loop already on your hook, in one smooth motion. Nothing stays behind — the new loop on your hook is the whole stitch, and it adds no height at all.
That’s it. One movement, no extra loops. If you find yourself yarn-overing twice, you’re making a different stitch; the slip stitch is deliberately the smallest thing crochet does.
Keep it loose. Because the stitch has no height, a tight slip stitch drags the fabric in hard — a joined round that puckers, an edge that pulls a square into a trapezoid. Worked at the same tension as your other stitches, it should sit nearly invisible.
Joining a round: work the last stitch of the round, then slip stitch into the top of the first stitch (or the top of the starting chain, as the pattern says), and the round closes in a tidy circle. This is the joined-rounds partner to the spiral method on our How to Work in the Round page.
Travelling: when a pattern needs the yarn somewhere else mid-row, slip stitch across the stitches in between. The little chain of loops lies flat along the top and barely shows, especially in the same colour.
Surface slip stitch — the decorative one: hold the yarn *behind* the finished fabric, push the hook through from the front, catch the yarn and pull a loop up, then move along and repeat, pulling each new loop through the one on the hook. A fine chain line draws itself across the front: that’s how our maple leaves and pumpkin skins get their veins.
Edging: a round of slip stitches in the same or a contrast colour firms up a wobbly edge and gives pieces like the angel comforters a clean, finished border before the fancy edging goes on.
Never count a slip stitch as height at the start of a row or round unless the pattern explicitly says to. Keep your place-count from the real stitches, and let the slip stitch do its travelling and tidying quietly in the background.

Patterns that use it

Aussie Thanksgiving Table Decor Crochet Patterns Vol 2 | Acorn & Leaf Garland, Mini Pumpkins, Napkin Rings PDF

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Crochet Collection Vol 1 | Grooved Pumpkins in 4 Sizes & Acorns PDF

Autumn Wreath & Garland Crochet Patterns Vol 2 | Mantel Swag, Flameless Candles, Frames and Berry Bowl PDF

Angel Baby Comforters Crochet Pattern | 3 Lovey Blanket Rattle & Cuddle Cloth PDF, Embroidered Faces

Friendsgiving Coasters & Napkin Rings Crochet Vol 1 | Maple Leaf Coasters and Leaf Napkin Rings PDF

← Back to the Stitch Library

Common mistakes

Working slip stitches too tight. With no height to give the yarn anywhere to go, tight slip stitches drag the fabric in — a joined round puckers, an edge pulls out of square, and the next round’s stitches become a fight to get the hook into.
Adding an extra yarn over and finishing the stitch off like a little single crochet. A slip stitch is one motion, through the stitch and the loop on the hook in one go — anything more builds height the pattern never allowed for.
Joining a round into the slip stitch itself, or counting the joining slip stitch as a stitch. Either one nudges the seam a stitch sideways every round and quietly walks your stitch count away from the pattern’s count.

Tina’s tips

Reach for a hook one size bigger whenever a whole row or edge is slip stitch. It feels like cheating for about ten stitches, until you see how flat and easy the fabric stays.
Keep the loop on your hook a little tall and relaxed as you travel. Think of slip stitch as the yarn going for a walk rather than doing any heavy lifting, and it will lie down nearly invisible, just the way it should.