Double crochet, aka dc, is one of the most popular crochet stitches you’ll probably ever find. It’s a great stitch that works up very quickly. The afghan pictured was made with almost all double crochet, and in 90 percent of the patterns I have started using (since I’m actually trying to do that versus wing it lately), you will inevitably be required to do at least some double crochet.

While it’s not a very difficult stitch to learn, it does have some quirks. For example, when you turn and start a new row, you are normally asked to do three chain stitches before starting more double crochet. These three chains are supposed to substitute for one double crochet. Personally, I always thought this was weird and I admit to not always doing it depending on what I’m making, but no one could every tell me why there was this three chain rule kind of thing until I saw a wonderful double crochet tutorial over at Crochetme.com:

This is the “turning chain” which serves the function of raising the hook to the height of the stitches you’ll be making. Since double crochet is a fairly tall stitch, most patterns say to “count the turning chain as the first stitch of the row.” This is because that turning chain takes up about as much space as a double crochet. Since we’re counting it as the first stitch, we work the first actual double crochet into the second stitch of the row, not the first. (If we work it into the first stitch, the edge will bulge out and look wonky.)

Okay, that makes sense to me. I don’t know if I will still follow this rule all the time from now on, but at least I know why the rule exists. Yes, I’m one of those annoying people who have to know “why,” but honestly, the why helps me understand the how, which is why I ask questions like this.

Even if you have mastered this stitch, I recommend looking at the Crochetme tutorial because it has wonderful close-up images, and you will probably learn something you didn’t know before.