How to add new yarn to single crochet

Occasionally, in a pattern, you’ll read the instruction ‘attach with a sc’. What does this mean? I’ll tell you!

This technique is used to attach a new yarn to an existing crocheted work. It’s used in the doll patterns to attach a piece of clothing like a dress or a sleeve. You might also use it to attach a foot to a slug, prickles to a hedgehog, a mane to a lion, and more.

Here’s how to do it. Begin with a slipknot on your hook:

Now, just pretend this loop is any ol’ loop! Insert your hook into the indicated stitch on your crocheted fabric:

A standing crochet stitch allows you to join a new yarn or a new color invisibly.  The technique is easy as pie, even for beginners. Once you see it, you’ll never go back to “join with slip stitch, chain” again!

Read on for more information and how to work standing single crochet, standing double crochet, and standing half double crochet. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the video tutorials.

Sponsored LinksWhat is a standing crochet stitch?

A standing crochet stitch is just a term for any stitch that has started “in the air” rather than from a previous stitch. You simply begin with a slip knot on the hook, then make the stitch called for in the pattern.

You can use standing stitches anytime you would otherwise join the yarn with a slip stitch, then do a turning chain or build-up chain to reach the level of the current (or new) row of stitches.

Why “standing”?

While the technique itself has been around for a long time, a lot of crocheters don’t know about it. In patterns, the instructions would be “Join (yarn) with sc in first st,”, or “Join (yarn) with dc in first st.” They were just telling you to do this standing stitch technique.

When I was writing Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, my research didn’t turn up a a generally accepted term for the technique, so I called them standing stitches because they stand on their own without relying on a turning or build-up chain to connect them to the piece in progress.

I think that, by labeling the technique and having it become commonly used, we can help spread the information to crocheters everywhere.

Standing Single Crochet

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A Crochet Hook

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