How to Double Crochet Two Together
This tutorial shows you how to dc2tog, linking two double crochet stitches together into one. This tutorial is specific to double crochet but it will also give you a basic understanding not only of clusters but also of decreasing in other stitches (such as sc2tog and hdc2tog as well as more complex stitches such as fpdc2tog). Learning the concept with a basic stitch as simple as double crochet offers a great foundation for learning decreasing and crochet clusters for all basic stitches. In the photo here, you will see that we have created a starting chain and we have added some standard double crochet stitches. We have also done the first yarn over, which will be discussed in the next step, but as long as you know how to double crochet, this should all feel very familiar. Now, if you were just completing the double crochet then at this stage you would do another yarn over and pull through the loops on the hook, right? But we’re not going to do that; this is where we begin the differences that make it a dc2tog stitch, rather than 2 dc stitches that are simply side-by-side. So, yarn over and insert the hook into the next stitch. Basically, you want to pretend that you’re creating another double crochet, even though you haven’t quite finished working the first one. Just ignore the loops already on your crochet hook and proceed as normal with the first steps of this second double crochet stitch. You can use what you’ve learned here to decrease other crochet stitches as well. You can sc2tog, for example, by starting a single crochet, starting a second single crochet next to it, and then finishing them together. If you were to create a 3 dc cluster, it would mean linking three side-by-side stitches; this is also known as dc3tog, which makes sense since what you are doing is double crocheting three stitches together into one. You can make crochet clusters of various sizes. A cluster of just two stitches is most common for a decrease,which is something that you do for shaping items, including garments and accessories. Clusters of more stitches are used as a texture design detail. You may find several sets of these clusters in a row, depending on your pattern. This photo shows a row featuring (from right to left) 4 dc stitches, 2 side-by-side clusters of dc2tog and then 2 dc. The finger are pointing at the two double crochet clusters. Remember to pay attention to the details in any crochet pattern, because even though this is the classic way to dc2tog, occasionally pattern designers have their own instructions.
