All my mosaic patterns start with the same two options: either you chain all your stitches (plus 2) and then single crochet all the way back down the chain, or you do a row of foundation single crochet (FSC). The joy of FSC is it’s essentially saving you a row of tedious crocheting as, if you’re anything like me, you find crocheting back into a chain one of the least enjoyable aspects of our craft!

Instead with FSC, you create both the chain stitch and the single crochet stitch all in one go, thereby negating the need for crocheting back on yourself. Here you’ll find a step-by-step tutorial on how to do the FSC both in video and written/pictorial format.

First create a slip knot (fig. 1) and insert your hook into it as you would to start a chain, then chain 2 (fig. 2). You are then going to work into the second chain from the hook, i.e. the first chain you created (fig. 3).

Now to create your first foundation single crochet, you need to yarn over (fig. 4) and pull through. This creates the ‘chain stitch’ you would have if you’d used the tradition chain and single crochet method. You then yarn over again (fig. 5), pull through 1 loop, then yarn over again (fig.6) and pull through both loops on your hook.

You have now created your first foundation stitch( fig. 7). The way I remember and keep count is you need to do 3 yarn overs and pull through’s for each stitch.

The next stitch you work into the 2 loops of the chain stitch you created for the first stitch (fig. 8). Then you follow the same process; 3 times yarn over and pull through (fig. 9).

Continue in this manner until you have the desired amount of stitches. You’ll then have a piece where you can see the single crochet loops on the top (fig. 10) and the chain stitches on the bottom (fig. 11). Sometimes the piece can curl slightly on the bottom (fig. 12) but if you give it a tug it will straighten out.

If you prefer to learn with a video, here you go:

Foundation Single Crochet

Gerritses Crochet