How to Single Crochet Decrease (sc2tog)

What is a single crochet decrease in crochet?

A single crochet decrease turns two stitches into one so your fabric gets narrower. Written sc2tog, short for single crochet two together, it is how you shape the top of an amigurumi head or the crown of a hat.

In US patterns it is abbreviated sc2tog. Because a US single crochet is a UK double crochet, a UK pattern writes this same decrease as dc2tog. The action is identical.

How do you work a single crochet decrease step by step?

Here is the full sequence in US terms. Take it slowly the first few times, then it becomes muscle memory.

1. Insert your hook into the next stitch and pull up a loop, without finishing the stitch. Two loops on the hook.
2. Insert your hook into the following stitch and pull up a loop. Three loops on the hook.
3. Yarn over and pull through all three loops. Two stitches have become one.
4. For amigurumi, use the invisible decrease instead: insert your hook into the front loops only of the next two stitches, then yarn over and pull through both front loops and the loop on your hook.

When do you use a single crochet decrease?

Single Crochet Decrease turns up in a lot of patterns. Here is where it earns its place:

1. Shaping the crown of a hat.
2. Closing the top of an amigurumi piece.
3. Tapering sleeves and garments.
4. Any row where a pattern tells you to reduce your stitch count.

What are the most common single crochet decrease mistakes?

A few snags catch almost everyone at first. Watch for these:

1. Forgetting the finished decrease still counts as a single stitch when you count the row.
2. Pulling the decrease too tight, which puckers the fabric.
3. Using a regular decrease where the invisible decrease would look neater on amigurumi.

How do you keep count while you work a single crochet decrease?

Counting is where clean crochet is won or lost. Patterns tell you how many stitches per row and how many rows or rounds to work, and a miscount is the usual reason a piece ends up crooked. Mark the first stitch of each round, and count your stitches at the end of every row.

Some crocheters keep a paper tally, and some use an app like Worsted to count rows, hold their place in a pattern PDF, and note the yarn they used, so a project is easy to pick back up after a break. However you track it, staying on count is what turns a good pattern into a finished piece.