I ncrease/Decrease

To create ‘shapes’ in your crochet work, you may at times need to increase or decrease the number of stitches in the row that you are working on.

Decreasing

Regardless of the actual stitch you are using, the basic technique for decreasing remains the same – you will crochet two or more stitches together to reduce them down to one stitch.

Here we wanted to work three treble stitches together (tr3tog). Work a treble stitch into each of three stitches as normal, but leave the last loop of each on the hook. You will be left with three loops on the hook. Yarn over hook (yrh), and pull through all three stitches. You will then be left with 1 loop on your hook.

Increasing

To increase your row by a stitch, you will work two or three stitches into same stitch. Here we have crocheted two stitches into the same stitch. Work one stitch as normal. Insert your hook into the stitch you have just worked and do a second stitch. You have now increased your row by one stitch.