Foundation Double Crochet (Fdc) Tutorial

Hello fellow stitchers!

Does working stitches into a foundation chain drive you bonkers, especially when it is a solid row of basic double crochet? Same! What if I told you that there was a way to avoid the foundation chain AND work your first row at the same time? Because, there is, friend, there is. ::Mind. Blown.::

I, personally, HATE working into a foundation chain. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but when you’re working a solid row of single, double, or half-double crochet stitches as your first row, you’ll be happy to know that there’s another option! Foundation stitches!

Foundation Double Crochet Tutorial

Foundation stitches are an awesome alternative to the traditional foundation chains. This multi-tasking stitch combines your foundation chain and first row of single, double, or half-double crochet stitches in one stitch. It also has a lot more stretch to it than a foundation chain, perfect for garments or when no matter what you do, your traditional foundation chain pulls the end of your work too tightly.

For this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make the Foundation Double Crochet (Fdc) variation, so let’s get going!

Want to see the other foundation stitches? I got you, boo! Click until your heart is content! Foundation Single Crochet | Foundation Half-Double Crochet

I’ve filmed a quick tutorial video for you, if you prefer to see this in action, otherwise, step-by-step photos will follow.

Step 1
Start with a slip knot, then chain 2. This ch-2 will act as the ch-2 you normally see at the beginning of rows of double crochet, it’s what gives you the height for the stitches, and in the case of the Fdc, it acts as an anchor for your first stitch.

Step 2
Next, turn your work so that you are looking at the back bumps of your chains.  Wrap your yarn over (yo) the hook, then insert your hook into the very first chain you made, and pull up a loop.

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Step 3
Chain 1 – This creates the bottom chain of your Fsc.

Step 4
Next, yarn over and complete a double crochet as usual.

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Step 5
For your second and subsequent Fdc stitches, you will work into the ‘V’ created on the bottom of your ch-1 from Step 3.

Yo, insert your hook under the bottom “V” of the ch-1 from the previous Fdc, pull up a loop, and repeat Steps 3 and 4.

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You did it! Just repeat Step 5 for as many stitches as your pattern requires, then it is business as usual!

What do you think? Is this going to be your go-to now instead of the foundation chain?

The process behind the Foundation Double Crochet can be applied to single crochet, half-double crochet, or even treble or double-treble crochet. But in case you want to see how to work those as well, I’ve created tutorials for the Foundation Single Crochet (Fsc) and Foundation Half-Double Crochet (Fhdc) for you!

And if you want to use your newly acquired stitch in a pattern, enter “Fdc” in the search bar and ta-da! Free patterns you can use the Fdc in!

Happy stitching!

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