How to Increase in Crochet – Tutorial and Video

Learn how to increase in crochet with this simple beginner tutorial. Follow along to crochet a triangle using single or half-double crochets.

Now that we’re on Day 24 of the Newbie Series, it’s time to learn how to crochet some other shapes! Until now, all of our patterns have been rectangular. Sure, we crocheted a coffee sleeve and a hair scrunchie in the round, but those were essentially tubular rectangles. Today, we’re going to learn how to increase in crochet and make a triangle! And if you’re thinking, “um… nobody cares about triangles.” Think again! Triangular scarves and shawls, shaping on garment patterns, part of a crocheted ripple… these are all brought to you by the humble increase.

skein of dishie cotton yarn on a white wooden background with a small triangular swatch and a hand with a hook and text "how to crochet simple increases - beginner crochet tutorial from: you should craft"

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What is an increase, you ask? Great question! After today’s lesson, you’ll be able to:

  • Describe and crochet an increase
  • Identify the increase abbreviation in patterns
  • Crochet a basic triangle

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Identifying Increases in Patterns

An increase is just two stitches crocheted into one. Pretty easy, right?!

If you’re looking at a chart, you’ll see two stitches on top of another one. If you’re reading a written pattern, you might see it written one of the following ways:

  • abbreviated as “inc”
  • written as “2 sc,” “2 dc,” or whatever the stitch is
  • something more descriptive like, “work 2 sc into the next st”

Supplies / Materials

You can practice with any hook and yarn!

For the tutorials, I used:

NOTE: My friends at WeCrochet provided the materials for the Newbie Series.

How to Increase in Crochet – Video Tutorial

hand laying on a purple triangular swatch of crochet with a red hook

How to Increase in Crochet – Photo Tutorial

To practice, let’s work up a small swatch. I used single crochets in the video tutorial, but the photo below features half-double crochets (from tomorrow’s free pattern).

ch 2

ROW 1: 2 hdc in second ch from hook (2)

ROW 2: ch 1 and turn, 2 hdc in each of the next 2 st (4)

ROW 3: ch 1 and turn, 2 hdc, hdc in next 2 st, 2 hdc (6)

ROW 4: ch 1 and turn, 2 hdc, hdc in next 4 st, 2 hdc (8)

ROW 5: ch 1 and turn, 2 hdc, hdc in next 6 st, 2 hdc (10)

If you want to keep going, continue to crochet 2 hdc in the first and last stitch of each row.

hand holding a teal triangular crochet swatch, demonstrating how to increase in crochet