Decreasing while working with single crochet stitches is easy! Here is the link to the traditional method for making a single crochet decrease: How to Crochet: Single Crochet Decrease. The problem with the traditional method is that sometimes it leaves gaps and holes in your work. In this tutorial I will show you the “invisible decrease” method, which as the name implies is more invisible, and less noticeable.

You should not use this method all the time, as it works great in projects such as amigurumi, toys and stuffed animals, but for other projects you may want to use the traditional method for making a single crochet decrease. My rule of thumb is to always make a traditional decrease first, but if it is noticeable, then switch to an invisible decrease. I also find that making an invisible decrease takes longer than making a traditional decrease.

The invisible decrease is commonly abbreviated into the following steps: insert hook into front loops only of next 2 stitches, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through final 2 loops on hook, counts as 1 single crochet.

The following is a step by step picture tutorial to help you visualize the steps. This tutorial is for both right and left handed people. For left handed pictures, roll your mouse over the image and it will change for you.

Start with a swatch to practice on. Below I used a square of single crochet stitches.

Insert your hook into the front loop only of the next stitch.















Be sure to insert your hook from front to back as you did with the previous stitch.

Yarn over (wrap the yarn around your hook).









Pull the strand of yarn through 2 loops on your hook.









Yarn over (wrap the yarn around your hook).









Pull the strand of yarn through the final 2 loops on your hook.









Congrats! You just completed an invisible single crochet decrease! Remember, that this method may not be right for every project you work on. So experiment as you wish to see what works for you. Also, remember that decrease normally count as one single crochet when you are counting stitches and a decrease will cause your row to have one less stitch than the previous row.

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