How to Single Crochet Decrease? A Quick Revise to SC Dec & Invisible SC Dec

In crochet, you simply can’t move on without learning the basics. And when it comes to the fundamentals, let’s not forget the term, ‘Single Crochet Decrease’. 

Ask us the right question and we will devise a proper answer. Today, our question is, how to single crochet decrease? You are here! That means, you already know a little bit about Single Crochet Decrease. 

It’s up to us now to help you get the board idea. Today, we will explore how to single crochet decrease and why you must never skip it. Let’s begin! 

Highlights: 

• Crochet has been with us for ages. The techniques we know today, including Single Crochet Decrease, have their origin in Europe during the 1800s.
• Single Crochet Decrease with its nickname, SC Dec, is also known as single crochet two-together (sc2tog) as it essentially combines two stitches into one.
• It is just not for decreasing stitches. Instead, it is a primary form of amigurumi – the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting stuffed toys. 
• You can easily create a gradient effect with alternate colors in SC Dec. 
• Unlike regular single crochet, the SC Dec won’t have a genuine V shape on top. Rather, it would differ slightly. 
• Tension is the most important thing in crochet. Too tight, and your fabric may pucker; too loose, and you might end up with holes. 

What is Single Crochet Decrease? 

Crochet is a fun and creative hobby to learn if you are patient enough. Once you have mastered crochet basics, you will often need to increase or decrease the stitches.

Crochet increase means adding stitches, in contrast, crochet decrease will reduce the number of stitches. The single crochet decrease will reduce the number of stitches by one. 

For instance, let’s say one row from your crochet involves 15 stitches. When you single crochet decrease it, you will have 14 stitches in a row. 

There are multiple ways to single crochet decrease. But the most common one involves joining two stitches together so they become one, by crocheting. 

And today, we will stick to it.  

How to Single Crochet Decrease? 

You will need, 

Crochet Hook: Select a hook that’s ideal with the nature of your yarn. You should generally select between 0.5 mm to 0.9 mm.  

A Sample Project: You should practice a single crochet decrease on a sample project. This way, you will have options to err before jumping into large projects. 

Scissors: Get a pair of scissors to trim the leftovers and cut the extra yarn. 

Yarn (Optional): If you are working on a sample project, you may not need additional yarn. But when you start from scratch, you will need the yarns. Go for the soft ones such as the Soft Swiss Worstened Yarn. 

You only need to complete a few simple steps with us. Let’s start.

Here it begins, 

• Insert the crochet hook into the first stitch where you want to decrease. 
• Yarn over and create a loop from back to front. Pull the yarn through the stitch and you’ll have two loops on the hook. 
• Instead of completing the stitch as you normally would with a single crochet, you’ll move directly to the next stitch.
• Insert the hook into the next stitch and yarn over again to create another loop. 
• Pull the yarn through the second stitch. Now, you will have three loops on the crochet hook. 
• At last, yarn over once more and pull through all three loops on your hook.

You have now successfully mastered the trick behind how to single crochet decrease. In the end, you will only have one loop left to work with. 

Explanation: 

So, how does the single crochet decrease work? Just following the steps blindly won’t be enough to become a master of crochet. You should also learn the logic behind to act more creatively. 

When you crochet the two stitches together, they become one and we all know that. But what we don’t know is, that you work part by part in a single crochet decrease. 

First, you work with the first stitch of the first single crochet stitch (since we are working on the single crochet stitch). Second, you jump to the second stitch of the single crochet and yarn over again. 

Last, you deliver a combined blow and put all three loops on the hook. This way, you will join the two stitches together and ultimately decrease the number of stitches. 

Single Crochet Decrease: Variation

We know the single crochet decrease by SC Dec or sc2tog. However, although less common, the single crochet decrease also has a variation, and it’s called the invisible single crochet decrease. 

It is a nifty technique and leaves no hard trace of any obvious gap or bumps behind, as you may notice with a standard single crochet decrease. 

The invisible single crochet decrease is especially applicable to the Japanese form of art – amigurumi. 

It delivers a smooth output without any proof of stitches behind it. Here’s how you are doing this,  

• Grab the hook into the first loop of the first stitch. This will leave you with two loops. 
• Again, place the hook into the first loop of the second stitch. Ideally, you will have three loops on the hook now. 
• YO (Yarn over) and pull through the hook’s first two loops. This will leave you with two loops on the hook. 
• YO again and this time, you will pull through both of the loops on the hook. You will now have only one loop on the hook. 

You now have the invisible single crochet decrease with no leftovers or traces. This is your time to celebrate! 

Final Words 

In our article, we have through the details of two different methods to create a single crochet decrease all at once. Take it slowly but practice hard. 

We hope our article helped you to easily learn how to single crochet decrease and wait a bit! We will come back with more. Let us know in the comment section about your progress. 

Also, share our article with your friends and help us grow! It will inspire us to write useful articles on crafts and threads! Till then, happy sewing.