Big Book of Crochet Stitches 4th

Edition Katharine Marsh

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 ALL THE STITCHES YOU NEED TO CREATE STUNNING PROJECTS
EW
N

BIG BOOK OF

132
PAGES
OF TUTORIALS
Edition
Digital

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FOURTH
EDITION

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 WELCOME TO

BIG BOOK OF

Crochet has boomed in recent years, offering craft

lovers a new way to make thoughtful gifts, inexpensive
accessories and homemade decorations. The big book
of crochet stitches is the perfect companion for crochet
crafters of any skill level that are looking to discover fun
and creative new stitches. Packed with all of the basic
techniques to refresh your memory, this book contains
all of the information that you need to complete an
array of stitches that will mean you can tackle your next
crochet project with confidence.
 BIG BOOK OF

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Big Book of Crochet Stitches Fourth Edition (HOB5206)
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contents 36
LINKED STITCHES
-
38
JOINING
-

10
READING CHARTED
STITCH DIAGRAMS
-
12 24
MAKING A DOUBLE
FOUNDATION CHAIN TREBLE CROCHET
- -
14 26
WORKING THE CHAIN SLIP STITCH 44
- - GRANNY SQUARES
28 -
16
CHAINLESS IDENTIFYING AND 46
FOUNDATIONS COUNTING STITCHES GRANNY STRIPES
- - -
18 30 48
DOUBLE CROCHET INCREASING CORNER TO CORNER
- - -
20 32 50
TREBLE CROCHET DECREASING HERRINGBONE
- - -
22 34 52
HALF TREBLE CROCHET POST STITCHES MIXED GRIT STITCH
- - -

6
 72 102
BROOMSTICK LACE ALPINE STITCH
- -
74 104
WATTLE STITCH WAFFLE STITCH
- -
76 106
CROSSED STITCHES BASKETWEAVE
- -
78 108
CLUSTER STITCHES TRIANGLE SPACES
- -
53 110
GRANITE STITCH 80
- PUFF STITCHES TUMBLING BLOCKS
- -
54
WAISTCOAT STITCH 82
- POPCORN STITCHES
-
56
LEMON PEEL STITCH 84
- POPCORN SQUARES
-
57
FILET STITCH 86
- POST STITCH RIB
-
58
RIPPLE STITCH 87 114
- BRAIDED CABLE STITCH BASIC EDGING
- -
60
SHELLS, FANS AND 88 116
V STITCHES CATHERINE WHEEL REVERSE DOUBLE
- - CROCHET
61 90 -
V BOBBLES HARLEQUIN 118
- - FRINGE
62 92 -
DIAMOND FANS PETAL STITCH 120
- - PICOT EDGING
64 94 -
DIAMOND OVERLAY DAISY STITCH 122
- - FLOWER MOTIFS
66 96 -
OFFSET ARCHES PRIMROSE STITCH
- -
68 98
CHAIN MESH SEDGE STITCH
- -
70 100
MINI PICOT MESH PEBBLE STITCH
- -

7
 the
essentials
Get started and learn the basics that will lay the
foundations of all of your crochet projects.

8
 10 24
READING CHARTED DOUBLE
STITCH DIAGRAMS TREBLE CROCHET
- -
12 26
MAKING A SLIP STITCH
FOUNDATION CHAIN -
-
28
14 IDENTIFYING AND
WORKING THE CHAIN COUNTING STITCHES
- -
16 30
CHAINLESS INCREASING
FOUNDATIONS -
-
32
18 DECREASING
DOUBLE CROCHET -
-
34
20 POST STITCHES
TREBLE CROCHET -
-
36
22 LINKED STITCHES
HALF TREBLE CROCHET -
-
38
JOINING
-

9
THE ESSENTIALS

reading charted
stitch diagrams
Some crocheters find these visual representations of crochet patterns
easier to follow than a written-out pattern.

Made up of symbols to represent stitches, charted stitch Variable stitch symbols

diagrams lay out a pattern in a visual way, and will look When the basic stitches are combined to make special
similar to the actual piece of crocheted fabric. The stitches – such as puffs, popcorns, bobbles and shells,
symbols are uniform and internationally recognised, so you to name just a few – the stitch diagram represents this,
will be able to follow them with ease. showing the exact combination of basic stitches that
Diagrams (sometimes also called charts) can often is used in the pattern you are following. These may be
be found accompanying written-out patterns but may different from pattern to pattern if the stitches are made
also sometimes be used instead of them, especially for in slightly different ways. Here are a few examples of how
particularly detailed patterns such as lace work and motifs. some special stitches are drawn:
To begin with it may be best to read a chart alongside a
written pattern. Even if using a diagram becomes your Symbol Stitch
preferred method of following a pattern, don’t completely
disregard written instructions, as these will include dc2tog decrease
important information about special stitches and any
repeats you may need to make.
tr3tog cluster/decrease
Standard stitch symbols
The symbols for the most commonly used stitches and
techniques are designed to look like the stitches they 5-dtr shell
represent. The treble crochet symbol is twice as tall as the
double crochet symbol, with the half treble crochet halfway
between the two. The horizontal bars on the taller stitches 4-tr bobble
represent how many yarn overs need to be made to begin
the stitch. Use the table below to see what stitches the
3-htr puff
symbols represent:

4-tr popcorn
Symbol Stitch
ch
ch-3 picot (closed)
or sl st
ch-3 picot (open)
or dc

htr

tr “Symbols of crochet charts

dtr
have been designed to
look like the stitches
magic ring
they represent”

10
 READING CHARTED STITCH DIAGRAMS

Modified stitch symbols How to read a chart

When you need to work the next stitch into a specific part Now that you have our handy reference tables to determine
of a stitch – for example in the back or front loop only or what all the different crochet symbols mean, you will need
around the back or front of the post stitch below – the stitch to know how to put them together in an actual piece of
symbol is modified to represent this. Stitches that need to crochet. The diagram below represents the stitches as you
be worked into the front or back loop only include a curved will see them from the right side of the work (as opposed
symbol below them to represent this. Stitches that need to to the wrong side), and you will notice that each stitch is
be worked around the front or back post are shown with a shown above the one that it needs to be crocheted into.
hook on the bottom. Foundation stitches show the stitch When working in rows from a stitch diagram, you almost
joined to the chain below. When stitches are crossed, the always begin with the foundation chain and then start to
stitch that needs to go behind the other is slightly more work Row 1 from right to left. When you get to Row 2 if you
faded than the one that sits to the front: are turning your work, you need to work from left to right.
All subsequent odd rows should be followed from right to
left and even rows from left to right.
Symbol Stitch When working in rounds (for example when
crocheting granny squares), start from the
FPtr central ring and follow the stitches in a
TOP TIP * counterclockwise direction. Do this for
Even rows are normally every round, unless an arrow at the start
BPtr shown in a different of the round indicates to change
colour than the odd ones
as this helps distinguish
direction. In this case, turn the work and
which stitches belong follow the pattern around clockwise.
to which row.
dc in back loop only

dc in front loop only

“When working in rounds (for example
foundation dc
when crocheting granny squares), start
crossed trs from the central ring and follow stitches
in a counterclockwise direction”

11
THE ESSENTIALS

making a foundation chain

When working in rows to make a piece of flat crocheted fabric, you will need
to create a foundation chain to work your first row of stitches into.

A SOLID FOUNDATION - Make a foundation

START WITH A SLIPKNOT YARN OVER

01 The first step is to create a slipknot on your hook. 02 Move your hook under your yarn to create a yarn over.

PULL THROUGH KEEP GOING

03 Move the hook back through the loop already on your 04 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make more chains. Hold the
hook, making sure to catch the working yarn. You have now stitches you’ve already made in your left hand close to the
made your first chain. hook for stability. Your pattern will tell you how many you need
to chain.

12
 MAKING A FOUNDATION CHAIN

DOS AND DON’TS

TOO TIGHT

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT LOOSEN UP

01 You need to keep your chains a little loose so that you 02 If you’re finding that your chains are too tight, try
can get your hook back into them when it comes to working loosening your tension or going up a hook size.
your first row.

COUNTING CHAINS
When beginning a project, the
pattern you’re following will tell
you how many chains you need
to create, either in total or as a
multiple. It’s important to create
exactly the right number, as
getting this wrong will mean you
have to unravel your work when DO NOT COUNT THE
WORKING LOOP
you find out you’ve either got
too many or not enough at the 7
end of your first row. To count 6
the chains, identify the Vs on the 5
side that’s facing you; each of 4
these is 1 chain. The V above the
3
slipknot is your first chain, but do
not count the loop on your hook
1
2
DID*YOU
– this is the working loop and KNOW?
does not count as a chain. If you When you become more
are creating a very long chain, it confident, you could try the 2
might help to mark every 10 or more advanced foundation
1
double crochet, which creates a
20 stitches with a stitch marker. foundation chain and the first
row of double crochet stitches
at the same time. For more
information, see page 16.

13
THE ESSENTIALS

working the chain

It doesn’t matter which method you use as long as you are consistent when moving
along the chain. Working under the top loop is the easiest approach for beginners, but
it doesn’t create as neat an edge as working under the back bumps. With practice you’ll
find the most comfortable method for you.

GET TO KNOW THE FOUNDATION CHAIN

TOP LOOP

BACK BUMP
BOTTOM LOOP

FRONT OF THE CHAIN BACK OF THE CHAIN

01 Looking at the front side of your chain, you will see a row 02 When you look at the back side of the chain, you will
of sideways Vs, each with a top loop and a bottom loop. see a line of bumps in between the loops. These are called the
back bumps.

UNDER THE TOP LOOP

FIND THE TOP LOOP INSERT YOUR HOOK

01 For this method, hook under the top loop only. 02 Move your hook to insert it under the top loop of a V.

14
 WORKING THE CHAIN

UNDER THE TOP LOOP AND BACK BUMP

UNDER TWO INSERT YOUR HOOK

01 Hooking under both the top loop and the back bump is 02 Move your hook to insert it under the back bump and
sometimes referred to as the top two loops of the chain. top loop of a chain.

UNDER THE BACK BUMP

FIND THE BACK BUMP INSERT YOUR HOOK

01 Turn over your chain so that the back bumps are 02 Move your hook to insert it under the back bump.
facing you.

15
THE ESSENTIALS

chainless foundations
If you’ve got to grips with chains, why not try creating your
first row without making any chains first?

Creating your foundation chain and the subsequent
first row of crochet can sometimes result in the chain
becoming twisted, but this can be avoided by starting
your project with a chainless foundation instead.
This combines the foundation chain and the first row
in one row of crochet rather than the usual two. Using a
chainless foundation is a great way to create a stretchy
edging compared to a more rigid chain start. Given that you
are working the two rows at once, it does take a little longer
to create the chainless foundation than a foundation chain,
but it is easier to work your second row into the chainless
foundation than into the chain, as you don’t have to worry
about your chain becoming too tight or twisting while you
work into it.

Chainless foundation stitches form vertically so the chain part of the stitch is at
the bottom, on the left, and the tops of the stitches are formed on the right.

FOUNDATION DOUBLE CROCHET (FDC) - Create your first two rows at once

CHAIN TWO INSERT YOUR HOOK

01 02 Insert your hook into the 2nd chain your from hook, yarn
Chain 2. You will be making your first crochet into the
2nd chain from your hook. over and draw up a loop.

16
 CHAINLESS FOUNDATIONS

CREATE THE CHAIN YARN OVER

03 04 Yarn over and pull through the two loops that are on your
Now yarn over once more and pull the yarn through the
1st loop on your hook; this forms the chain stitch that you will hook. You have now created your first double crochet.
create your first double crochet into.

KEEP GOING CREATE YOUR NEXT DOUBLE CROCHET

05 06 Insert your hook under the top and back loops of the
Each following foundation double crochet is worked into
the two loops that form the chain at the bottom of the stitch you chain, yarn over and draw up the loop. Make sure it is level before
have just worked. you continue to work the stitch. If you make it too tight it will
be difficult to start your next stitch. Now repeat steps 3 and 4,
repeating until you’ve made the right number of stitches.

CREATE LONGER
CHAINLESS FOUNDATION
STITCHES
You don’t just have to create
your first row with double
crochets; you can make longer
stitches by following the same
system. To create a chainless
foundation with half treble and
treble crochets, you just have to
complete the stitch in the same
way as you usually would once
you have created the ‘chain’
that you will be working into.

17
THE ESSENTIALS
double crochet
Master the basics by learning the simplest stitch.
Double crochet is a very important stitch in crochet as
it is one of the simplest, and therefore the one that most
crocheters tend to learn to use first. Mastering this stitch
will also help you when it comes to creating taller stitches,
as most are created by just adding steps to the method for
making a double crochet.
Using only double crochets creates a very compact,
dense fabric, which makes it great for thick, warm winter
garments. It is also a very common stitch in amigurumi
1
2
FOUNDATION CHAIN
01 Make a foundation chain to the required length. If you
just want to practise, start by making about 20 chains. If you
want to make a piece exactly 20 stitches wide, chain 21.
DRAW UP A LOOP
03 Yarn over, then draw up a loop; you will now have 2
loops on your hook.
18
and toy making, as the tight weave is perfect for holding
stuffing in. You will be able to create a variety of projects
just by mastering this stitch.
If you plan to double crochet into a foundation chain,
as we will in this tutorial, then you will need to make one
more chain than the number of stitches you want to create,
as the first stitch is never worked into the first chain from
the hook. However, this will be accounted for in a pattern,
so always chain the number stated.
INSERT HOOK
02 Identify the 2nd chain from your hook and then insert
your hook here.
PULL THROUGH TWO
04 Yarn over and then draw the yarn through both loops
on the hook so you have 1 loop left on your hook. You have
completed the stitch.
 DOUBLE CROCHET

Remember to count your stitches as you go along, especially

when you’re learning. It’s easy to add in an extra stitch at the
beginning or miss one off the end, and counting how many you
have will alert you to a mistake at the earliest opportunity.

TURNING CHAIN

KEEP GOING TIME TO TURN

05 06
Continue making double crochets by inserting your Turn your work counterclockwise, so that the next
hook into each remaining chain and repeating steps 3 and 4. stitches ready to be worked into are to the left of the hook.
When you have finished the row, chain 1.

START A NEW ROW REPEAT

07 08
Identify the 1st stitch of the row (not the turning chain). Follow steps 3 and 4 to complete the stitch.
Insert your hook here.

19
THE ESSENTIALS

treble crochet
This stitch is twice the size of the single crochet,
and worked in a very similar way.

The treble crochet is a very common stitch that is
simple to create, especially once you’ve mastered the
technique of making a double crochet. It is made simply
by adding a couple of steps to the method for creating a
double crochet.
Due to its increased height, this stitch creates a much
less compact and therefore more versatile fabric than the
double crochet. It is a very common and recognisable
stitch, as seen in granny squares. When working a treble
crochet into a foundation chain, you must make two more
chains than your desired number of stitches because a
treble is usually worked into the fourth chain from the hook
when being worked into a foundation chain, and the three
unworked chains will form your first treble crochet stitch.

1
2
3
4

FOUNDATION CHAIN YARN OVER

01 Make a foundation chain to the required length. For a 02 Yarn over and insert your hook into the 4th chain from
precise number of stitches, chain that many plus 2. Find the 4th the hook.
chain from the hook.

DRAW UP A LOOP PULL THROUGH TWO

03 Yarn over, then draw up a loop; there should now be 3 04 Yarn over, then draw the yarn through 2 of the loops on
loops on your hook. your hook. There should now be 2 loops on your hook.

20
 TREBLE CROCHET

“This stitch creates a much less compact and therefore

more versatile fabric than the double crochet”

COMPLETE THE STITCH KEEP GOING

05 Yarn over and then draw the yarn through the 2 loops 06 Continue making treble crochets by making a yarn over
left on the hook. You have completed the stitch and should and then inserting your hook into each remaining chain and
now have 1 loop on your hook. repeating steps 3-5. When you have finished the row, chain 3.

2 1

TURN CONTINUE DOWN THE ROW

07 Turn your work counterclockwise ready to start the next 08 Yarn over, put your hook into the next stitch and repeat
row. The 3 chains you just made count as the 1st stitch, so your steps 3-5 to make the stitch. Continue to the end of the row,
next one will need to be made in the second stitch of the row. remembering to put the final treble into the top of the turning
chain of the row below.

21
THE ESSENTIALS
half treble crochet
It’s less common and sits between double and treble crochet
in height, but the half treble is still important.
This stitch is strange when compared to the double
crochet and treble crochet in the way that it’s made.
Instead of drawing a loop through two loops, the yarn is
instead pulled through three to create a half treble crochet.
This produces a stitch that’s about half as tall as the treble
crochet, but taller than the double crochet.
It can be quite tricky to get the hang of the first time, so a
little practice may be necessary, but the half treble crochet
produces a fairly compact fabric, similar in texture to that
2 1
3
FOUNDATION CHAIN
01 Make a foundation chain to the required length, not
forgetting to chain 1 more than the number of stitches you
desire. Identify the 3rd chain from the hook.
DRAW UP A LOOP
03 Yarn over, then draw up a loop. There should now be 3
loops on your hook.
22
created when using double crochet by itself. Mastering the
techniques used to create the double and treble crochet
will help greatly when creating the half treble crochet.
Like with working a double crochet into a foundation
chain, you will need to make one more chain than your
desired number of stitches. This is because the treble
crochet stitch will be worked into the third chain from the
hook, and the two unworked chains will form your first half
treble crochet stitch.
YARN OVER
02 Make a yarn over and then insert your hook into the 3rd
chain from the hook.
PULL THROUGH THREE
04 Yarn over, then draw the yarn through all 3 loops on your
hook. The stitch is now complete and there should be 1 loop
on your hook.
 HALF TREBLE CROCHET

KEEP GOING TURN

05 Continue making half treble crochets by making a 06 Turn your work counterclockwise ready to start the
yarn over, inserting your hook into each remaining chain and next row. The 2 chains you just made count as the 1st stitch,
repeating steps 3 and 4. When you finish the row, chain 2. so your next one will need to be made in the 2nd stitch of
the row.

START NEW ROW CONTINUE TO CROCHET

07 Yarn over and insert your hook into the 2nd stitch of 08 Repeat steps 3 and 4 to complete the stitch.
the row.

23
THE ESSENTIALS

double treble crochet

This common stitch is much taller than the treble crochet, and its size
allows it to be worked into a piece of fabric fairly quickly.

While the other stitches you have learned create quite
close, compact stitches, the double treble crochet creates
very tall stitches that make a loose, stretchy fabric. For this
reason, it is most often found in lace work.
The stitch is created by making two yarn overs before
inserting the hook into the stitch or chain below, and this
can make it quite fiddly to work with. It’s important to check
that you have the correct number of loops on your hook
after you’ve drawn up the first loop as it’s very easy for the
second yarn over to slip off the hook before you insert it into
your fabric. However, this is a valuable stitch because when
compared to the double crochet, which works up rather
slowly, it’s very easy to create a large piece of fabric quickly
with the double treble crochet.
When it comes to creating a foundation chain to work
your double treble crochets into, you need to remember
to make three more chains than the desired number of
stitches, as the first stitch will be worked into the fifth chain
from the hook, with the four chains making the first double
treble crochet.

2 1
4 3
5

FOUNDATION CHAIN
01 Make a foundation chain to the required length, making
sure to chain 3 more than the number of stitches you need.
Identify the 5th chain from the hook.

TWO YARN OVERS

YARN OVER TWICE DRAW UP A LOOP

02 Make 2 yarn overs and then insert your hook into the 5th 03 Yarn over and draw up a loop; there should be 4 loops on
chain from the hook. your hook.

24
 DOUBLE TREBLE CROCHET

PULL THROUGH TWO AND AGAIN…

04 Yarn over, then draw the yarn through 2 of the loops on 05 Yarn over, then draw the yarn through 2 of the loops on
your hook. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. your hook again. There should now be 2 loops on your hook.

2 1

…AND ONCE MORE COMPLETE THE ROW

06 Yarn over, then draw the yarn through the 2 loops on your 07 Repeat steps 2-6 into each remaining chain to finish the row.
hook. There should now be 1 loop on your hook. When you reach the end of the row, chain 4 and turn your work
clockwise. The ch-4 counts as the 1st stitch, so you will need to
make the next into the 2nd stitch from the end.

CARRY ON
08 Yarn over twice, insert
the hook into the 2nd stitch
from the end of the row and
repeat steps 3-6 to complete.

25
THE ESSENTIALS

slip stitch
While rarely used on its own to create a pattern, this versatile stitch is really handy for
joining stitches and moving the position of the hook and yarn without adding height.

FOUNDATION CHAIN INTO CHAIN

01 Make a foundation chain to the required length. For a 02 Insert your hook into the 2nd chain from the hook and
precise number of stitches, chain that many plus an extra 1. yarn over.
Identify the 2nd chain from your hook.

DRAW UP A LOOP PULL THROUGH

03 Pull your hook back through the chain; there should be 2 04 Avoiding the urge to yarn over, continue to pull the yarn
loops on your hook. through the 2nd loop on the hook – you have completed the
stitch and should have 1 loop on your hook. Repeat steps 2-4 to
finish the row.

26
 SLIP STITCH

WORKING YARN

TURN CLOCKWISE WHICH STITCH?

05 There will be very few instances in which you need to 06 There’s no turning chain with a slip stitch, so you will need
crochet more than 1 row of slip stitches. However, if you do, to make your 1st stitch into the 1st stitch of the row.
begin by turning the yarn clockwise when you reach the end of
the row, so the working yarn is towards the back.

FRONT OR BACK CONTINUE

07 08 Repeat steps 3 and 4 to make the slip stitch.
Your pattern should specify whether to make your next
stitch in the front or back loop of the stitch, as slip stitch is rarely
worked under both loops. Insert your hook under the loop
specified in your pattern.

27
THE ESSENTIALS

identifying and
counting stitches
All crocheted fabric is made up of different kinds of stitches, but learning what those
stitches look like on their own is essential to creating your own work.

With the guides in this book you will already have
discovered how to create a foundation chain, as well
as different kinds of stitches like double, treble and
half treble crochet. While it’s important to know how to
create these stitches, it’s also necessary to know what
those stitches look like in your work so that you know how
to count and build upon them. It can be daunting at first
to look at what you’ve crocheted and to try to count the
stitches you have just made, but if you follow these simple
steps you’ll see just what your fabric is made of.

IDENTIFYING STITCHES

BACK LOOP

POST

FRONT LOOP

Each stitch is made up of a post (which differs in height The Vs are the stitches most commonly worked into. If you
depending on the stitch worked) and a V (which consists of turn your work at the end of a row, the Vs that you work into
a front loop and a back loop). The V sits slightly to the right will be pointing to the left. Insert your hook underneath the V
of the post. that is slightly to the left of the post.

If you do not turn your

work at the end of each
row (for example if you’re
working in the round), then
the Vs that you will be working
into will point to the right. In
this instance, insert your hook
underneath the V that is sat
slightly to the right of the post.

28
 COUNTING & IDENTIFYING STITCHES

IDENTIFYING
STITCHES
There are two ways to 14
count stitches: either
13
12 11 10 3 2 1
9 7 6 5 4
by counting the Vs 8
14
along the top of the 13
work or by counting 12 11 5 4 3 2 1
10 9 8 7 6
the posts. If you count
the Vs, make sure you
never count the loop
that is on your hook.
When counting
TURNING CHAIN
either Vs or posts,
you must take careful
consideration when
you come to the
turning chain. If it is
counted as a stitch
in your pattern, then
count it, but if not,
leave it out.

COUNTING ROWS

1 ROW 2 ROWS 1 ROW

When using double crochet in rows and When using double crochet and working
turning your work, what looks like one in the round, the stitches are more
distinct post is actually made up of two distinct as you’re only seeing the front
rows, as you’re seeing the front and the of the stitch in every round. As a result,
back of the stitch. This makes it easier to this makes them much easier to count in
Counting the posts is the easiest way to count them in twos. single rounds.
count how many rows you’ve crocheted.
When working with tall stitches, such as
those made by a treble crochet, these will
be easy to identify and count no matter
how you’re working with them. However,
when working with shorter stitches, such “Counting the posts is the
as those made by a double crochet, the
stitches can look different depending on
easiest way to count how many
whether you’re turning your work or not. rows you’ve crocheted”

29
THE ESSENTIALS

increasing
To increase the number of stitches in a row, simply
crochet two or more into the same stitch.

Increasing is a very useful technique in crochet and
one that’s incredibly easy to execute. It’s essential when
working in the round to create something flat, as the extra
stitches add width; without increasing, you would just build
upwards, not outwards. This technique also comes in handy
when shaping items – such as amigurumi – as it can be
combined with decreases to make the shapes you need for
heads, limbs and more.
To increase the number of stitches in your round or row,
simply crochet two or more stitches into one stitch of the
row below. For example, if you have just crocheted a round
of eight stitches, then crochet two of each stitch into each
stitch below – your next round will have 16 stitches at the
end. In patterns, increasing is written as the number of
stitches to be made into the stitch below. For example, ‘2 tr
in next st’.

TOP*TIP
Making lots of increases
in one place will make bulges.
If you just want to make the
piece larger without distorting
the fabric, spread your increases
out across the length of
the round or row.

30
 INCREASING

ADDING STITCHES

TREBLE CROCHET INTO THE SAME STITCH

01 Make 1 treble crochet in the next stitch. 02 Make another treble crochet in the same stitch. You have
increased your stitch count by 1.

INCREASING AT THE START OF A ROW

CHAIN THREE AND TURN
01 As the turning chain normally
counts as a stitch (except in double
crochet), increasing at the start of a row
is slightly different.
INTO THE FIRST STITCH
02 Where you would normally make
your 1st stitch into the 2nd stitch from
the hook, to increase, insert your hook
into the 1st stitch at the base of the
chain and make the stitch.
TWO STITCHES
03 The stitch you’ve just made and
the turning chain count as 2 stitches,
and you have made an increase.

31
THE ESSENTIALS
decreasing
Often worked in conjunction with increases when shaping crochet,
decrease stitches reduce the number of stitches in a row.
While the easiest way to reduce the number of stitches in
a row is to simply skip stitches, this creates a hole, which
is not always the desired effect. To avoid this, decrease
stitches work multiple stitches together, thereby eliminating
stitches while also filling in the gap.
Decrease stitches are named after the number and type
of stitches being crocheted together. For example, ‘dc2tog’
DOUBLE CROCHET TWO STITCHES TOGETHER (DC2TOG)
INSERT HOOK
01
Insert your hook into the next stitch, as if to make a double
crochet. Draw up a loop.
32
means that two double crochet stitches will be combined
into one. When the number in the middle increases, this
means even more stitches will be crocheted into one. While
decreases have many different names and forms, the basic
formula is the same: make all the stitches up to the final
step so that they are all on the hook, then complete all the
stitches together.
INSERT HOOK AGAIN
02 Without completing the stitch, insert your hook into the
next stitch as if to make another double crochet. Draw up a loop.
You should now have 3 loops on your hook.
THROUGH THREE
03 Yarn over and draw the
loop through all 3 loops on
your hook. Having worked into
2 stitches, but only created 1,
you have decreased by 1.
 DECREASING

TREBLE CROCHET THREE STITCHES TOGETHER (TR3TOG)

INSERT HOOK INSERT HOOK AGAIN

01
Yarn over and insert your hook into the next stitch, as if
to make a treble crochet. Draw up a loop, yarn over and draw
through 2 loops on the hook. There should now be 2 loops on
your hook.
02 Without completing the stitch, yarn over and insert your
hook into the next stitch. Draw up a loop, yarn over and draw
through 2 loops on the hook. There should now be 2 loops on
your hook.

AND AGAIN PULL THROUGH FOUR

03 04 Yarn over and draw the yarn through all 4 loops on the
Repeat step 2 into the next stitch. There should now be 4
loops on your hook, for 3 incomplete treble crochet stitches. hook to complete the decrease. Having worked into 3 stitches,
but only created 1, you have decreased your stitch count by 2.

33
THE ESSENTIALS

post stitches
Add texture to your work by using post stitches, which can be worked
both in front of and behind the previous row.

Post stitches can be used to add texture to your work and,
when worked in the correct pattern, they can create a
distinctive ribbing effect. You can find a good example of
this with the post stitch rib on page 86.
Usually post stitches are worked around treble crochets or
bigger stitches, as double crochets aren’t really tall enough
to get your hook around. However, they can be done
quite easily if that is what you want to do, so just follow this
guide to find out how. It sees you insert your hook around
the stitch rather than into the top V to create your next
stitch. You can work by inserting your hook from front to
back or from back to front, which creates a different visual
depending on which side of the piece of crochet you’re
looking at.

FRONT POST STITCH - INSERT YOUR HOOK FROM FRONT TO BACK

FRONT TO BACK TO FRONT

01
To work a front post treble crochet
you need to yarn over then insert your
hook into the gap between the posts of
the row below from front to back, around DRAW UP A LOOP
the post next on the row and come
02 Yarn over and draw up a loop by
through the other side back to the front of pulling the working yarn back through to COMPLETE YOUR STITCH
your work. the right side of your crochet.
03 Now complete your stitch as usual.

34
 POST STITCHES

TOP*TIP
BACK POST STITCH - INSERT YOUR HOOK FROM BACK TO FRONT Post stitches can also
be referred to as raised
stitches or relief stitches,
so look out for these
BEFORE AFTER phrases when you are
looking at patterns.

BACK TO FRONT TO BACK

01
As the opposite to the front post stitch, you will take your
hook to the back of your work, yarn over, and then insert your
hook into the gap between posts coming from the back to the
front, around the post and out of the back.

YARN OVER AND LOOP COMPLETE YOUR STITCH

02 03
Yarn over and draw up a loop back to where you started Now complete your stitch as normal.
the stitch.

35
THE ESSENTIALS

linked stitches
Close up the loose-looking stitches with this
simple technique.

Tall crochet stitches can end up looking quite loose,
especially when the gaps between them are quite big.
You can fix this by using linked stitches to close up the
gaps, and it helps create a solid fabric and produces a nice
texture across them as well. You can apply linked stitches to
anything taller than a double crochet by replacing the first
yarn over(s) at the start of the stitch with a loop that links it
to the previous stitch. It should be noted that you won’t be
counting the turning chain when you use this technique.
Here we have used a linked treble crochet. It can be a little
fiddly, but once you get the hang of it, like most crochet
techniques, it’s easy!

“It can be a little fiddly, but once

you get the hang of it”

LINKED STITCHES - CLOSE GAPPY STITCHES

DO A TREBLE
02 Now work the remainder of the stitch as a standard treble
stitch. Yarn over, draw through 2 loops, yarn over, draw through
2 loops. You have now completed your 1st linked stitch. You
will notice there is a horizontal bar halfway up the stitch – this is
where your next stitch will link to.

FOUNDATION CHAIN
01
Make a foundation chain for the number of stitches
required in your pattern, then do an extra 2 chains. Insert your
hook into the 2nd chain from the hook, yarn over and draw up a
loop. Insert your hook into the next chain, yarn over and draw up TOP TO BOTTOM
a loop. You will have 3 loops on your hook.
03 Insert your hook into the horizontal bar from top to bottom.

36
 LINKED STITCHES

DRAW UP A LOOP COMPLETE THE TREBLE

03 04 Now continue with the treble crochet. Yarn over, draw up
Yarn over, draw up a loop (this replaces the yarn over at
the start of a standard treble crochet). Insert your hook into the a loop, (yarn over, and draw through two loops) twice. Repeat
next chain. steps 3-5 until the end of the row.

THE BARS FORM

A LINE ACROSS
THE FRONT OF
EACH ROW

CHAIN 2 CARRY ALONG THE ROW

05
To start a new row, chain 2 and turn your work. Insert the
hook into the 2nd chain from the hook, yarn over and draw up a
loop. Insert your hook into the 1st stitch (at the base of the chain),
and repeat step 5 to complete the linked treble crochet.
06 For each additional linked treble crochet, draw up a loop
from the horizontal bar of the previous linked treble crochet.
Insert your hook into the next stitch, as you would any other
stitch. Now complete as you have done throughout the rest of
the tutorial.

USE THESE
HORIZONTAL
BARS TO MAKE LINK BIGGER STITCHES
LINKED TREBLE You can use this technique to
STITCHES
link taller stitches; simply yarn
over at the beginning of the
stitch with a linked loop, and
complete the stitch as usual.
To link a double treble
stitch, draw up a loop in the
horizontal bar one- and two-
thirds down the previous stitch
(or the second and third chains
of a chain three turning chain)
to begin the stitch.

37
GETTING STARTED

Joining
Finish projects that need joining together with
these simple techniques.

When making larger garments such as bags and items
of clothing, a pattern can direct you to join pieces of
crochet together. This is simple enough when it is simply
attaching a motif, but when you are seaming together
two separate parts of crochet, the process can
become a touch more complicated, especially if you
discover that the number of stitches do not correspond
with each other.
When joining pieces you do so stitch by stitch to give a
clean finish. Joining a piece worked in rows can be a little
more complicated because of the difficulty of working into
the row edges. If the number of stitches per row doesn’t
correspond then you may have to work more than one
joining stitch into each V or row space. It is best when
joining pieces of different sizes to place stitch markers along
the pieces, holding them together every 5cm (2in) or so.
This way you will be able to keep your stitches spaced
more evenly.
Before you join your crochet, it is best to block your
project’s pieces first (if it’s required). Otherwise you could
experience a rippling effect later if you were to block
them afterwards.

“Before you join your crochet, it is best to block

your project’s pieces first (if it’s required)”

WHIP STITCH - JOIN YOUR WORK SIMPLY

HOLD ‘WRONG SIDES’

01 TOGETHER
Hold two pieces together with the wrong
sides facing each other (the side of the
pattern not meant to face the world). Pass
your needle through the V stitches on
both pieces from front to back and pull
the yarn through.
BACK TO THE FRONT
02 Instead of doing your next stitch
from back to front, simply draw your
needle back to the front and repeat Step
01, inserting your needle from front to
back. Repeat this until complete.
03 THE FINISHED LOOK
Using a whip stitch will leave a
visible line on both sides of the piece. This
won’t be quite as obvious when you are
using the same colour.

38
 JOINING

TOP*TIP
MATTRESS STITCH - MAKE YOUR JOIN MORE SECURE Make sure you tie off
your seaming yarn
securely as if this comes
undone the entire seam
can unravel and you do
not want that!

LAY THEM DOWN THROUGH STITCH

01 Lay your pieces side-by-side with the right sides facing 02 Insert your needle down through the first stitch of piece
you. Leaving a tail of 15cm (6in), insert your needle through the one and up through to the second stitch.
first edge stitch of the first piece and then down through the
edge of the second.

SAME TO PIECE TWO REPEAT

03 Now repeat the same process on piece two. 04 Keep going up the edges of your two pieces. A loose
‘ladder’ will start to form. Stop when you have done about 2.5cm

PULL TOGETHER KEEP GOING

05 Now pull gently on the yarn so that the rungs of your
ladder draw the two sides together. Be careful not to pull too
tightly as this will make the crocheted pieces buckle.
06 Repeat until you have reached the end, pulling the yarn
to draw the edges together every 2.5cm (1in) or so. Notice how
the seam is almost invisible. We’ve used a contrasting colour
to make it obvious, but when it is the same colour you’ll barely
know it’s there!

39
GETTING
THE NEXTSTARTED
STEP

SLIP STITCH - CROCHET YOUR PIECES TOGETHER

SLIP STITCH (SL ST) KEEP GOING

01 Insert your hook through the first stitch on both pieces of 02 Now keep going, ensuring you match up the stitches as
crochet. Complete your slip stitch (or double crochet) along you go.
the edge.

SLIP STITCH DOUBLE CROCHET

03 A slip stitch seam is strong, and will be almost invisible from 04 Using a double crochet will give a more pronounced edge,
the other side of the work. Be mindful that slip stitches do not but this can be used to your advantage if you want a decorative
allow for any give, so making them too tight will pucker the fabric. seam. It is also stretchier than a slip stitch join.
Keep your tension loose but secure.

40
 JOINING

FLAT SLIP-STITCHED SEAM - MAKE A FLAT AND SYMMETRICAL JOIN

TOP TO BOTTOM NOW TO THE LEFT

01 Insert your hook from top to bottom through the back loop 02 Do the same on your left piece, then yarn over (yo) and pull
only on the right-hand piece of fabric. through both loops on the hook. Repeat until you reach the end.

“It is best when joining pieces of

different sizes to place stitch markers
along the pieces, holding them together
every 5cm (2in) or so”

Each of the stitches used here has another

name, so it is best to be aware of these just in
case the pattern you are using calls them by
another name:
• Whip stitch: overcast stitch
FLAT SLIP-STITCHED SEAM • Mattress stitch: ladder stitch
03 This seam produces a flat row of chain-looking stitches. It’s
a neat finish and adds a nice little detail to your seams. • Slip stitch: double crochet seam

41
 going
further
Master all of these stitches and take your
projects to the next level

42
 44 64 88
GRANNY SQUARES DIAMOND OVERLAY CATHERINE WHEEL
- - -
46 66 90
GRANNY STRIPES OFFSET ARCHES HARLEQUIN
- - -
48 68 92
CORNER TO CORNER CHAIN MESH PETAL STITCH
- - -
50 70 94
HERRINGBONE MINI PICOT MESH DAISY STITCH
- - -
52 72 96
MIXED GRIT STITCH BROOMSTICK LACE PRIMROSE STITCH
- - -
53 74 98
GRANITE STITCH WATTLE STITCH SEDGE STITCH
- - -
54 76 100
WAISTCOAT STITCH CROSSED STITCHES PEBBLE STITCH
- - -
56 78 102
LEMON PEEL STITCH CLUSTER STITCHES ALPINE STITCH
- - -
57 80 104
FILET STITCH PUFF STITCHES WAFFLE STITCH
- - -
58 82 106
RIPPLE STITCH POPCORN STITCHES BASKETWEAVE
- - -
60 84 108
SHELLS, FANS AND POPCORN SQUARES TRIANGLE SPACES
V STITCHES - -
-
86 110
61 POST STITCH RIB TUMBLING BLOCKS
V BOBBLES - -
-
87
62 BRAIDED CABLE STITCH
DIAMOND FANS -
-

43
GOING FURTHER

granny squares
Create the most recognisable crochet pattern in the world.

FOUNDATION & ROUND 1 ROUND 2

01
Make a magic ring (or chain 4 and join with a sl st into a
ring). Chain 3 (counts as a treble crochet here and throughout).
Work 2 treble crochets and 1 chain into the ring, then 3 treble
crochets and 1 chain 3 times. Pull your magic ring closed gently.
Join with a slip stitch into the stop of the ch-3 and fasten off.
02 Fasten on with your next yarn into any chain space.
Chain 3, then work 2 treble crochets, 1 chain and 3 more treble
crochets into the next chain space, then chain 1. Work 3 treble
crochets, 1 chain, another 3 trebles and another chain into each
of the remaining chain spaces.Join with slip stitch.

TOP*TIP
Create as many granny squares
as you want and join them
together with a stitch of your
choice (see page 38). It makes
a brilliant blanket and it is an
absolute classic!

ROUND 3 ALL FUTURE ROUNDS

03 04 For all further rounds, fasten on at any edge chain space.
Fasten on with next yarn at any edge ch-sp. Chain 3, then
work 2 treble crochets in the same space. Chain 1, *work 3 Chain 3 and work 2 treble crochets into the same space, then
trebles, 1 chain, 3 trebles and another chain in next corner chain chain 1. Make 3 trebles and 1 chain once in each edge space and
space. Work 3 treble crochets into the next edge chain space, twice in each corner space. Join with a slip stitch.
then chain 1. Repeat from * twice more, then work 3 trebles,
1 chain, 3 more trebles and another chain into the last corner
chain space. Join with slip stitch and fasten off.

44

granny triangles
Drop a corner and add an extra stitch to each
cluster to create a triangle.
FOUNDATION & ROUND 1
01 Make a magic ring (or chain 4 and join with a slip stitch into
a ring). Chain 3 (counts as a treble here and throughout). Work
3 trebles, 2 chains (4 trebles, 2 chains) into the ring 2 times. Pull
your magic ring closed gently. Join with a slip stitch into the top
of the ch-3 and fasten off.
ROUND 3
03 Fasten on with next yarn at any edge chain space. Chain
3 and work 3 trebles into the same space. Chain 1, *then work 4
trebles, 2 chains, 4 treble and 2 more chains into the next corner
space. Work 4 trebles in next edge chain space and chain 1.
Repeat from * once more, then work 4 trebles, 2 chains, 4 more
trebles and another 2 chains in the last corner chain space. Join
with slip stitch and fasten off.
45
GRANNY SQUARES & TRIANGLES
DID*YOU
KNOW?
It’s slightly harder to make a straight
blanket out of triangles, but you can make
up hexagons out of six triangles and then
join each hexagon1together with two
triangles. You can use a connecting stitch
of your choice, simply refer to page 38 for
joining guidance. Remember, this won’t
give you a straight edge –
but who needs a straight
edge, really?
ROUND 2
02 Fasten on with your next yarn into any chain space. Chain
3, then work 3 trebles, 2 chains and 4 more trebles into the same
space. Chain 1, then work *4 trebles, 2 chains, 4 trebles and 2
more chains into the next chain space. Repeat from *, then join
with a slip stitch and fasten off.
ALL FUTURE ROUNDS
04 Fasten on at any edge chain space. Chain 3, then work 3
trebles crochets into the same space and chain 2. Make 4 trebles
and 2 chains once in each edge space and twice in each corner
space. Join with a slip stitch.
Another random document with
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Peterboro, N. Y., and many others, and received many letters in
return. When he was not writing letters, he was writing and revising a
constitution which he meant to put in operation by the men who
should go with him in the mountains. He said that to avoid anarchy
and confusion, there should be a regularly constituted government,
to which each man who came with him should be sworn to honor
and support. I have a copy of this constitution in Captain Brown’s
own handwriting, as prepared by himself at my house.
He called his friends from Chatham (Canada) to come together
that he might lay his constitution before them, for their approval and
adoption. His whole time and thought were given to this subject. It
was the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, till I
confess it began to be something of a bore to me. Once in a while he
would say he could, with a few resolute men, capture Harper’s Ferry,
and supply himself with arms belonging to the government at that
place, but he never announced his intention to do so. It was
however, very evidently passing in his mind as a thing he might do. I
paid but little attention to such remarks, though I never doubted that
he thought just what he said. Soon after his coming to me, he asked
me to get for him two smoothly planed boards, upon which he could
illustrate, with a pair of dividers, by a drawing, the plan of fortification
which he meant to adopt in the mountains.
These forts were to be so arranged as to connect one with the
other, by secret passages, so that if one was carried, another could
easily be fallen back upon, and be the means of dealing death to the
enemy at the very moment when he might think himself victorious. I
was less interested in these drawings than my children were, but
they showed that the old man had an eye to the means as well as to
the end, and was giving his best thought to the work he was about to
take in hand.
It was his intention to begin this work in ’58 instead of ’59. Why
he did not will appear from the following circumstances.
While in Kansas, he made the acquaintance of one Colonel
Forbes, an Englishman, who had figured somewhat in revolutionary
movements in Europe, and, as it turned out, had become an
adventurer—a soldier of fortune in this country. This Forbes
professed to be an expert in military matters, and easily fastened
upon John Brown, and, becoming master of his scheme of liberation,
professed great interest in it, and offered his services to him in the
preparation of his men for the work before them. After remaining with
Brown a short time, he came to me in Rochester, with a letter from
him, asking me to receive and assist him. I was not favorably
impressed with Colonel Forbes at first, but I “conquered my
prejudice,” took him to a hotel and paid his board while he remained.
Just before leaving, he spoke of his family in Europe as in destitute
circumstances, and of his desire to send them some money. I gave
him a little—I forget how much—and through Miss Assing, a German
lady, deeply interested in the John Brown scheme, he was
introduced to several of my German friends in New York. But he
soon wore them out by his endless begging; and when he could
make no more money by professing to advance the John Brown
project, he threatened to expose it, and all connected with it. I think I
was the first to be informed of his tactics, and I promptly
communicated them to Captain Brown. Through my friend Miss
Assing, I found that Forbes had told of Brown’s designs to Horace
Greeley, and to the government officials at Washington, of which I
informed Captain Brown, and this led to the postponement of the
enterprise another year. It was hoped that by this delay, the story of
Forbes would be discredited, and this calculation was correct, for
nobody believed the scoundrel, though in this he told the truth.
While at my house, John Brown made the acquaintance of a
colored man who called himself by different names—sometimes
“Emperor,” at other times, “Shields Green.” He was a fugitive slave,
who had made his escape from Charleston, South Carolina, a State
from which a slave found it no easy matter to run away. But Shields
Green was not one to shrink from hardships or dangers. He was a
man of few words, and his speech was singularly broken; but his
courage and self-respect made him quite a dignified character. John
Brown saw at once what “stuff” Green “was made of,” and confided
to him his plans and purposes. Green easily believed in Brown, and
promised to go with him whenever he should be ready to move.
About three weeks before the raid on Harper’s Ferry, John Brown
wrote to me, informing me that a beginning in his work would soon
be made, and that before going forward he wanted to see me, and
appointed an old stone quarry near Chambersburg, Penn., as our
place of meeting. Mr. Kagi, his secretary, would be there, and they
wished me to bring any money I could command, and Shields Green
along with me. In the same letter, he said that his “mining tools” and
stores were then at Chambersburg, and that he would be there to
remove them. I obeyed the old man’s summons. Taking Shields, we
passed through New York city, where we called upon Rev. James
Glocester and his wife, and told them where and for what we were
going, and that our old friend needed money. Mrs. Glocester gave
me ten dollars, and asked me to hand the same to John Brown, with
her best wishes.
When I reached Chambersburg, a good deal of surprise was
expressed (for I was instantly recognized) that I should come there
unannounced, and I was pressed to make a speech to them, with
which invitation I readily complied. Meanwhile, I called upon Mr.
Henry Watson, a simple-minded and warm-hearted man, to whom
Capt. Brown had imparted the secret of my visit, to show me the
road to the appointed rendezvous. Watson was very busy in his
barber’s shop, but he dropped all and put me on the right track. I
approached the old quarry very cautiously, for John Brown was
generally well armed, and regarded strangers with suspicion. He was
there under the ban of the government, and heavy rewards were
offered for his arrest, for offenses said to have been committed in
Kansas. He was passing under the name of John Smith. As I came
near, he regarded me rather suspiciously, but soon recognized me,
and received me cordially. He had in his hand when I met him, a
fishing-tackle, with which he had apparently been fishing in a stream
hard by; but I saw no fish, and did not suppose that he cared much
for his “fisherman’s luck.” The fishing was simply a disguise, and was
certainly a good one. He looked every way like a man of the
neighborhood, and as much at home as any of the farmers around
there. His hat was old, and storm-beaten, and his clothing was about
the color of the stone quarry itself—his then present dwelling-place.
 His face wore an anxious expression, and he was much worn by
thought and exposure. I felt that I was on a dangerous mission, and
was as little desirous of discovery as himself, though no reward had
been offered for me.
We—Mr. Kagi, Captain Brown, Shields Green, and myself, sat
down among the rocks and talked over the enterprise which was
about to be undertaken. The taking of Harper’s Ferry, of which
Captain Brown had merely hinted before, was now declared as his
settled purpose, and he wanted to know what I thought of it. I at once
opposed the measure with all the arguments at my command. To
me, such a measure would be fatal to running off slaves (as was the
original plan), and fatal to all engaged in doing so. It would be an
attack upon the federal government, and would array the whole
country against us. Captain Brown did most of the talking on the
other side of the question. He did not at all object to rousing the
nation; it seemed to him that something startling was just what the
nation needed. He had completely renounced his old plan, and
thought that the capture of Harper’s Ferry would serve as notice to
the slaves that their friends had come, and as a trumpet to rally them
to his standard. He described the place as to its means of defense,
and how impossible it would be to dislodge him if once in
possession. Of course I was no match for him in such matters, but I
told him, and these were my words, that all his arguments, and all
his descriptions of the place, convinced me that he was going into a
perfect steel-trap, and that once in he would never get out alive; that
he would be surrounded at once and escape would be impossible.
He was not to be shaken by anything I could say, but treated my
views respectfully, replying that even if surrounded he would find
means for cutting his way out; but that would not be forced upon him;
he should have a number of the best citizens of the neighborhood as
his prisoners at the start, and that holding them as hostages, he
should be able if worse came to worse, to dictate terms of egress
from the town. I looked at him with some astonishment, that he could
rest upon a reed so weak and broken, and told him that Virginia
would blow him and his hostages sky-high, rather than that he
should hold Harper’s Ferry an hour. Our talk was long and earnest;
we spent the most of Saturday and a part of Sunday in this debate—
Brown for Harper’s Ferry, and I against it; he for striking a blow which
should instantly rouse the country, and I for the policy of gradually
and unaccountably drawing off the slaves to the mountains, as at
first suggested and proposed by him. When I found that he had fully
made up his mind and could not be dissuaded, I turned to Shields
Green and told him he heard what Captain Brown had said; his old
plan was changed, and that I should return home, and if he wished
to go with me he could do so. Captain Brown urged us both to go
with him, but I could not do so, and could but feel that he was about
to rivet the fetters more firmly than ever on the limbs of the enslaved.
In parting he put his arms around me in a manner more than friendly,
and said: “Come with me, Douglass, I will defend you with my life. I
want you for a special purpose. When I strike the bees will begin to
swarm, and I shall want you to help hive them.” But my discretion or
my cowardice made me proof against the dear old man’s eloquence
—perhaps it was something of both which determined my course.
When about to leave I asked Green what he had decided to do, and
was surprised by his coolly saying in his broken way, “I b’leve I’ll go
wid de ole man.” Here we separated; they to go to Harper’s Ferry, I
to Rochester. There has been some difference of opinion as to the
propriety of my course in thus leaving my friend. Some have thought
that I ought to have gone with him, but I have no reproaches for
myself at this point, and since I have been assailed only by colored
men who kept even farther from this brave and heroic man than I
did, I shall not trouble myself much about their criticisms. They
compliment me in assuming that I should perform greater deeds than
themselves.
Such then was my connection with John Brown, and it may be
asked if this is all, why should I have objected to being sent to
Virginia to be tried for the offence charged. The explanation is not
difficult. I knew if my enemies could not prove me guilty of the
offence of being with John Brown they could prove that I was
Frederick Douglass; they could prove that I was in correspondence
and conspiracy with Brown against slavery; they could prove that I
brought Shields Green, one of the bravest of his soldiers, all the way
from Rochester to him at Chambersburg; they could prove that I
brought money to aid him, and in what was then the state of the
public mind I could not hope to make a jury of Virginia believe I did
not go the whole length which he went, or that I was not one of his
supporters, and I knew that all Virginia, were I once in her clutches,
would say “let him be hanged.” Before I had left Canada for England
Jeremiah Anderson, one of Brown’s men, who was present and took
part in the raid, but escaped by the mountains, joined me, and he
told me that he and Shields Green were sent out on special duty as
soon as the capture of the arsenal, etc., was effected. Their business
was to bring in the slaves from the surrounding country, and hence
they were on the outside when Brown was surrounded. I said to him,
“Why then did not Shields come with you?” “Well,” he said, “I told
him to come; that we could do nothing more, but he simply said he
must go down to de ole man.” Anderson further told me that Captain
Brown was careful to keep his plans from his men, and that there
was much opposition among them when they found what were the
precise movements determined upon; but they were an oath-bound
company and like good soldiers were agreed to follow their captain
wherever he might lead.
On the 12th of November, 1859, I took passage from Quebec on
board the steamer Scotia, Captain Thompson, of the Allan line. My
going to England was not at first suggested by my connection with
John Brown, but the fact that I was now in danger of arrest on the
ground of complicity with him, made what I had intended a pleasure
a necessity, for though in Canada, and under British law, it was not
impossible that I might be kidnapped and taken to Virginia. England
had given me shelter and protection when the slavehounds were on
my track fourteen years before, and her gates were still open to me
now that I was pursued in the name of Virginia justice. I could but
feel that I was going into exile, perhaps for life. Slavery seemed to be
at the very top of its power; the national government with all its
powers and appliances were in its hands, and it bade fair to wield
them for many years to come. Nobody could then see that in the
short space of four years this power would be broken and the slave
system destroyed. So I started on my voyage with feelings far from
cheerful. No one who has not himself been compelled to leave his
home and country and go into permanent banishment, can well
imagine the state of mind and heart which such a condition brings.
The voyage out was by the north passage, and at this season, as
usual, it was cold, dark, and stormy. Before quitting the coast of
Labrador, we had four degrees below zero. Although I had crossed
the Atlantic twice before, I had not experienced such unfriendly
weather as during the most of this voyage. Our great ship was
dashed about upon the surface of the sea, as though she had been
the smallest “dugout.” It seemed to tax all the seamanship of our
captain to keep her in manageable condition; but after battling with
the waves on an angry ocean during fourteen long days, I gratefully
found myself upon the soil of Great Britain, beyond the reach of
Buchanan’s power and Virginia’s prisons. On reaching Liverpool, I
learned that England was nearly as much alive to what had
happened at Harper’s Ferry as the United States, and I was
immediately called upon in different parts of the country to speak on
the subject of slavery, and especially to give some account of the
men who had thus flung away their lives in a desperate attempt to
free the slaves. My own relation to the affair was a subject of much
interest, as was the fact of my presence there being in some sense
to elude the demands of Governor Wise, who having learned that I
was not in Michigan, but was on a British steamer bound for
England, publicly declared that “could he overtake that vessel, he
would take me from her deck at any cost.”
While in England, and wishing to visit France, I wrote to Mr.
George M. Dallas, the American minister at the British court, to
obtain a passport. The attempt upon the life of Napoleon III about
that time, and the suspicion that the conspiracy against him had
been hatched in England, made the French government very strict in
the enforcement of its passport system. I might possibly have been
permitted to visit that country without a certificate of my citizenship,
but wishing to leave nothing to chance, I applied to the only
competent authority; but true to the traditions of the Democratic party
—true to the slaveholding policy of his country—true to the decision
of the United States supreme court, and true, perhaps, to the petty
meanness of his own nature, Mr. George M. Dallas, the Democratic
American minister, refused to grant me a passport, on the ground
that I was not a citizen of the United States. I did not beg or
remonstrate with this dignitary further, but simply addressed a note
to the French minister at London, asking for a permit to visit France,
and that paper came without delay. I mention this, not to belittle the
civilization of my native country, but as a part of the story of my life. I
could have borne this denial with more serenity, could I have
foreseen what has since happened, but, under the circumstances, it
was a galling disappointment.
I had at this time been about six months out of the United States.
My time had been chiefly occupied in speaking on slavery, and other
subjects, in different parts of England and Scotland, meeting and
enjoying the while the society of many of the kind friends whose
acquaintance I had made during my visit to those countries fourteen
years before. Much of the excitement caused by the Harper’s Ferry
insurrection had subsided, both at home and abroad, and I should
have now gratified a long-cherished desire to visit France, and
availed myself, for that purpose, of the permit so promptly and civilly
given by the French minister, had not news reached me from home
of the death of my beloved daughter Annie, the light and life of my
house. Deeply distressed by this bereavement, and acting upon the
impulse of the moment, regardless of the peril, I at once resolved to
return home, and took the first outgoing steamer for Portland, Maine.
After a rough passage of seventeen days, I reached home by way of
Canada, and remained in my house nearly a month before the
knowledge got abroad that I was again in this country. Great
changes had now taken place in the public mind touching the John
Brown raid. Virginia had satisfied her thirst for blood. She had
executed all the raiders who had fallen into her hands. She had not
given Captain Brown the benefit of a reasonable doubt, but hurried
him to the scaffold in panic-stricken haste. She had made herself
ridiculous by her fright, and despisable by her fury. Emerson’s
prediction that Brown’s gallows would become like the cross, was
already being fulfilled. The old hero, in the trial hour, had behaved so
grandly that men regarded him not as a murderer, but as a martyr.
All over the North men were singing the John Brown song. His body
was in the dust, but his soul was marching on. His defeat was
already assuming the form and pressure of victory, and his death
was giving new life and power to the principles of justice and liberty.
He had spoken great words in the face of death and the champions
of slavery. He had quailed before neither. What he had lost by the
sword, he had more than gained by the truth. Had he wavered, had
he retreated or apologized, the case had been different. He did not
even ask that the cup of death might pass from him. To his own soul
he was right, and neither “principalities nor powers, life nor death,
things present or things to come,” could shake his dauntless spirit, or
move him from his ground. He may not have stooped on his way to
the gallows to kiss a little colored child, as it is reported he did, but
the act would have been in keeping with the tender heart, as well as
with the heroic spirit of the man. Those who looked for confession
heard only the voice of rebuke and warning.
Early after the insurrection at Harper’s Ferry, an investigating
committee was appointed by Congress, and a “drag net” was spread
all over the country, in the hope of inculpating many distinguished
persons. They had imprisoned Thaddeus Hyatt, who denied their
right to interrogate him, and had called many witnesses before them,
as if the judicial power of the nation had been confided to their
committee, and not to the supreme court of the United States. But
Captain Brown implicated nobody. Upon his own head he invited all
the bolts of slaveholding vengeance. He said that he, and he alone,
was responsible for all that had happened. He had many friends, but
no instigators. In all their efforts, this committee signally failed, and
soon after my arrival home, they gave up the search, and asked to
be discharged, not having half fulfilled the duty for which they were
appointed.
I have never been able to account satisfactorily for the sudden
abandonment of this investigation on any other ground than that the
men engaged in it expected soon to be in rebellion themselves, and
that not a rebellion for liberty like that of John Brown, but a rebellion
for slavery, and that they saw that by using their senatorial power in
search of rebels they might be whetting a knife for their own throats.
At any rate the country was soon relieved of the congressional drag-
net and was now engaged in the heat and turmoil of a presidential
canvass—a canvass which had no parallel, involving as it did the
question of peace or war, the integrity or the dismemberment of the
Republic; and I may add, the maintenance or destruction of slavery.
In some of the southern States the people were already organizing
and arming to be ready for an apprehended contest, and with this
work on their hands they had no time to spare to those they had
wished to convict as instigators of the raid, however desirous they
might have been to do so under other circumstances, for they had
parted with none of their hate. As showing their feeling toward me I
may state that a colored man appeared about this time in Knoxville,
Tenn., and was beset by a furious crowd with knives and bludgeons,
because he was supposed to be Fred. Douglass. But, however
perilous it would have been for me to have shown myself in any
southern State, there was no especial danger for me at the North.
Though disappointed in my tour on the Continent, and called
home by one of the saddest events that can afflict the domestic
circle, my presence here was fortunate, since it enabled me to
participate in the most important and memorable presidential
canvass ever witnessed in the United States, and to labor for the
election of a man who in the order of events was destined to do a
greater service to his country and to mankind, than any man who
had gone before him in the presidential office. It is something to
couple one’s name with great occasions, and it was a great thing to
me to be permitted to bear some humble part in this, the greatest
that had thus far come to the American people. It was a great thing
to achieve American independence when we numbered three
millions, but it was a greater thing to save this country from
dismemberment and ruin when it numbered thirty millions. He alone
of all our Presidents was to have the opportunity to destroy slavery,
and to lift into manhood millions of his countrymen hitherto held as
chattels and numbered with the beasts of the field.
The presidential canvass of 1860 was three sided, and each side
had its distinctive doctrine as to the question of slavery and slavery
extension. We had three candidates in the field. Stephen A. Douglas
was the standard bearer of what may be called the western faction of
the old divided democratic party, and John C. Breckenridge was the
standard-bearer of the southern or slaveholding faction of that party.
Abraham Lincoln represented the then young, growing, and united
republican party. The lines between these parties and candidates
were about as distinctly and clearly drawn as political lines are
capable of being drawn. The name of Douglas stood for territorial
sovereignty, or in other words, for the right of the people of a territory
to admit or exclude, to establish or abolish, slavery, as to them might
seem best. The doctrine of Breckenridge was that slaveholders were
entitled to carry their slaves into any territory of the United States
and to hold them there, with or without the consent of the people of
the territory; that the Constitution of its own force carried slavery and
protected it into any territory open for settlement in the United States.
To both these parties, factions, and doctrines, Abraham Lincoln and
the republican party stood opposed. They held that the Federal
Government had the right and the power to exclude slavery from the
territories of the United States, and that that right and power ought to
be exercised to the extent of confining slavery inside the slave
States, with a view to its ultimate extinction. The position of Mr.
Douglas gave him a splendid pretext for the display of a species of
oratory of which he was a distinguished master. He alone of the
three candidates took the stump, as the preacher of popular
sovereignty, called in derision at the time “Squatter” Sovereignty.
This doctrine, if not the times, gave him a chance to play fast and
loose, and blow hot and cold, as occasion might require. In the
South and among slaveholders he could say, “My great principle of
popular sovereignty does not and was not intended by me to prevent
the extension of slavery; on the contrary it gives you the right to take
your slaves into the territories and secure legislation legalizing
slavery; it denies to the Federal Government all right of interference
against you, and hence is eminently favorable to your interests.”
When among people known to be indifferent he could say, “I do not
care whether slavery is voted up or voted down in the territory,” but
when addressing the known opponents of the extension of slavery,
he could say that the people of the territories were in no danger of
having slavery forced upon them since they could keep it out by
adverse legislation. Had he made these representations before
railroads, electric wires, phonography, and newspapers had become
the powerful auxiliaries they have done Mr. Douglas might have
gained many votes, but they were of little avail now. The South was
too sagacious to leave slavery to the chance of defeat in a fair vote
by the people of a territory. Of all property none could less afford to
take such a risk, for no property can require more strongly favoring
conditions for its existence. Not only the intelligence of the slave, but
the instincts of humanity, must be barred by positive law, hence
Breckenridge and his friends erected the flinty walls of the
Constitution and the Supreme Court for the protection of slavery at
the outset. Against both Douglas and Breckenridge Abraham Lincoln
proposed his grand historic doctrine of the power and duty of the
National Government to prevent the spread and perpetuity of
slavery. Into this contest I threw myself, with firmer faith and more
ardent hope than ever before, and what I could do by pen or voice
was done with a will. The most remarkable and memorable feature
of this canvass, was that it was prosecuted under the portentous
shadow of a threat: leading public men of the South had with the
vehemence of fiery purpose, given it out in advance that in case of
their failure to elect their candidate (Mr. John C. Breckenridge) they
would proceed to take the slaveholding States out of the Union, and
that in no event whatever would they submit to the rule of Abraham
Lincoln. To many of the peace-loving friends of the Union, this was a
fearful announcement, and it doubtless cost the Republican
candidates many votes. To many others, however, it was deemed a
mere bravado—sound and fury signifying nothing. With a third class
its effect was very different. They were tired of the rule-or-ruin
intimidation adopted by the South, and felt then, if never before, that
they had quailed before it too often and too long. It came as an insult
and a challenge in one, and imperatively called upon them for
independence, self-assertion, and resentment. Had Southern men
puzzled their brains to find the most effective means to array against
slavery and slaveholding manners the solid opposition of the North,
they could not have hit upon any expedient better suited to that end,
than was this threat. It was not only unfair, but insolent, and more
like an address to cowardly slaves than to independent freemen; it
had in it the meanness of the horse-jockey, who, on entering a race,
proposes, if beaten, to run off with the stakes. In all my speeches
made during this canvass, I did not fail to take advantage of this
southern bluster and bullying.
 As I have said, this southern threat lost many votes, but it gained
more than would cover the lost. It frightened the timid, but stimulated
the brave; and the result was—the triumphant election of Abraham
Lincoln.
Then came the question, what will the South do about it? Will
she eat her bold words, and submit to the verdict of the people, or
proceed to the execution of the programme she had marked out for
herself prior to the election? The inquiry was an anxious one, and
the blood of the North stood still, waiting for the response. It had not
to wait long, for the trumpet of war was soon sounded, and the tramp
of armed men was heard in that region. During all the winter of 1860
notes of preparation for a tremendous conflict came to us from that
quarter on every wind. Still the warning was not taken. Few of the
North could really believe that this insolent display of arms would
end in anything more substantial than dust and smoke.
The shameful and shocking course of President Buchanan and
his Cabinet towards this rising rebellion against the government
which each and all of them had solemnly sworn to “support, defend,
and maintain”—that the treasury was emptied, that the army was
scattered, that our ships of war were sent out of the way, that our
forts and arsenals in the South were weakened and crippled,—
purposely left an easy prey to the prospective insurgents,—that one
after another the States were allowed to secede, that these rebel
measures were largely encouraged by the doctrine of Mr. Buchanan,
that he found no power in the constitution to coerce a State, are all
matters of history, and need only the briefest mention here.
To arrest this tide of secession and revolution, which was
sweeping over the South, the southern papers, which still had some
dread of the consequences likely to ensue from the course marked
out before the election, proposed as a means for promoting
conciliation and satisfaction, that “each northern State, through her
legislature, or in convention assembled, should repeal all laws
passed for the injury of the constitutional rights of the South
(meaning thereby all laws passed for the protection of personal
liberty); that they should pass laws for the easy and prompt
execution of the fugitive slave law; that they should pass other laws
imposing penalties on all malefactors who should hereafter assist or
encourage the escape of fugitive slaves; also, laws declaring and
protecting the right of slaveholders to travel and sojourn in Northern
States, accompanied by their slaves; also, that they should instruct
their representatives and senators in Congress to repeal the law
prohibiting the sale of slaves in the District of Columbia, and pass
laws sufficient for the full protection of slave property in the
Territories of the Union.”
It may indeed be well regretted that there was a class of men in
the North willing to patch up a peace with this rampant spirit of
disunion by compliance with these offensive, scandalous, and
humiliating terms, and to do so without any guarantee that the South
would then be pacified; rather with the certainty, learned by past
experience, that it would by no means promote this end. I confess to
a feeling allied to satisfaction at the prospect of a conflict between
the North and the South. Standing outside the pale of American
humanity, denied citizenship, unable to call the land of my birth my
country, and adjudged by the supreme court of the United States to
have no rights which white men were bound to respect, and longing
for the end of the bondage of my people, I was ready for any political
upheaval which should bring about a change in the existing condition
of things. Whether the war of words would or would not end in blows
was for a time a matter of doubt; and when it became certain that the
South was wholly in earnest, and meant at all hazards to execute its
threats of disruption, a visible change in the sentiment of the North
was apparent.
The reaction from the glorious assertion of freedom and
independence on the part of the North in the triumphant election of
Abraham Lincoln, was a painful and humiliating development of its
weakness. It seemed as if all that had been gained in the canvass
was about to be surrendered to the vanquished: that the South,
though beaten at the polls, were to be victorious and have every
thing its own way in the final result. During all the intervening
months, from November to the ensuing March, the drift of northern
sentiment was towards compromise. To smooth the way for this,
most of the northern legislatures repealed their personal liberty bills,
as they were supposed to embarrass the surrender of fugitive slaves
to their claimants. The feeling everywhere seemed to be that
something must be done to convince the South that the election of
Mr. Lincoln meant no harm to slavery or the slave power, and that
the North was sound on the question of the right of the master to
hold and hunt his slave as long as he pleased, and that even the
right to hold slaves in the Territories should be submitted to the
supreme court, which would probably decide in favor of the most
extravagant demands of the slave States. The northern press took
on a more conservative tone towards the slavery propagandists, and
a corresponding tone of bitterness towards anti-slavery men and
measures. It came to be a no uncommon thing to hear men
denouncing South Carolina and Massachusetts in the same breath,
and in the same measure of disapproval. The old pro-slavery spirit
which, in 1835, mobbed anti-slavery prayer-meetings, and dragged
William Lloyd Garrison through the streets of Boston with a halter
about his neck, was revived. From Massachusetts to Missouri, anti-
slavery meetings were ruthlessly assailed and broken up. With
others, I was roughly handled by a mob in Tremont Temple, Boston,
headed by one of the wealthiest men of that city. The talk was that
the blood of some abolitionist must be shed to appease the wrath of
the offended South, and to restore peaceful relations between the
two sections of the country. A howling mob followed Wendell Phillips
for three days whenever he appeared on the pavements of his native
city, because of his ability and prominence in the propagation of anti-
slavery opinions.
 Portrait of William Lloyd Garrison.
While this humiliating reaction was going on at the North, various
devices were suggested and pressed at Washington, to bring about
peace and reconciliation. Committees were appointed to listen to
southern grievances, and, if possible, devise means of redress for
such as might be alleged. Some of these peace propositions would
have been shocking to the last degree to the moral sense of the
North, had not fear for the safety of the Union overwhelmed all moral
conviction. Such men as William H. Seward, Charles Francis Adams,
Henry B. Anthony, Joshua R. Giddings, and others—men whose
courage had been equal to all other emergencies—bent before this
southern storm, and were ready to purchase peace at any price.
Those who had stimulated the courage of the North before the
election, and had shouted “Who’s afraid?” were now shaking in their
shoes with apprehension and dread. One was for passing laws in the
northern States for the better protection of slave hunters, and for the
greater efficiency of the fugitive slave bill. Another was for enacting
laws to punish the invasion of the slave States, and others were for
so altering the constitution of the United States that the federal
government should never abolish slavery while any one State should
B
object to such a measure. Everything that could be demanded by
insatiable pride and selfishness on the part of the slaveholding
South, or could be surrendered by abject fear and servility on the
part of the North, had able and eloquent advocates.

B
See History of American Conflict, Vol. II, by
Horace Greeley.

Happily for the cause of human freedom, and for the final unity of
the American nation, the South was mad, and would listen to no
concessions. They would neither accept the terms offered, nor offer
others to be accepted. They had made up their minds that under a
given contingency they would secede from the Union and thus
dismember the Republic. That contingency had happened, and they
should execute their threat. Mr. Ireson of Georgia, expressed the
ruling sentiment of his section when he told the northern
peacemakers that if the people of the South were given a blank
sheet of paper upon which to write their own terms on which they
would remain in the Union, they would not stay. They had come to
hate everything which had the prefix “Free”—free soil, free states,
free territories, free schools, free speech, and freedom generally,
and they would have no more such prefixes. This haughty and
unreasonable and unreasoning attitude of the imperious South
saved the slave and saved the nation. Had the South accepted our
concessions and remained in the Union the slave power would in all
probability have continued to rule; the north would have become
utterly demoralized; the hands on the dial-plate of American
civilization would have been reversed, and the slave would have
been dragging his hateful chains to-day wherever the American flag
floats to the breeze. Those who may wish to see to what depths of
humility and self-abasement a noble people can be brought under
the sentiment of fear, will find no chapter of history more instructive
than that which treats of the events in official circles in Washington
during the space between the months of November, 1859, and
March, 1860.
 CHAPTER XI.
SECESSION AND WAR

Recruiting of the 54th and 55th Colored Regiments—Visit to President Lincoln

and Secretary Stanton—Promised a Commission as Adjutant General to
General Thomas—Disappointment.

THE cowardly and disgraceful reaction, from a courageous and

manly assertion of right principles, as described in the foregoing
pages, continued surprisingly long after secession and war were
commenced. The patience and forbearance of the loyal people of the
North were amazing. Speaking of this feature of the situation in
Corinthian Hall, Rochester, at the time, I said:

“We (the people of the North) are a charitable people, and in

the excess of this feeling we were disposed to put the very best
construction upon the strange behavior of our southern brethren.
We hoped that all would yet go well. We thought that South
Carolina might secede; it was entirely like her to do so. She had
talked extravagantly about going out of the Union, and it was
natural that she should do something extravagant and startling if
for nothing else, to save a show of consistency. Georgia too, we
thought might possibly secede. But strangely enough we thought
and felt quite sure that these twin rebellious States would stand
alone and unsupported in their infamy and their impotency; that
they would soon tire of their isolation, repent of their folly and
come back to their places in the Union. Traitors withdrew from
the Cabinet, from the House of Representatives, and from the
Senate, and hastened to their several States to ‘fire the southern
heart,’ and to fan the hot flames of treason at home. Still we
doubted if anything serious would come of it. We treated it as a
bubble on the wave—a nine days’ wonder. Calm and thoughtful
men ourselves, we relied upon the sober second thought of the
southern people. Even the capture of a fort, a shot at one of our
ships—an insult to the national flag—caused only a momentary
feeling of indignation and resentment. We could not but believe
that there existed at the South a latent and powerful Union
sentiment which would assert itself at last. Though loyal soldiers
had been fired upon in the streets of Baltimore; though loyal
blood had stained the pavements of that beautiful city, and the
national government was warned to send no troops through
Baltimore to the defense of the National Capital, we could not be
made to believe that the border States would plunge madly into
the bloody vortex of rebellion.
“But this confidence, patience, and forbearance could not
last forever. These blissful illusions of hope were in a measure
dispelled when the batteries of Charleston harbor were opened
upon the starving garrison at Fort Sumpter. For the moment the
northern lamb was transformed into a lion, and his roar was
terrible. But he only showed his teeth, and clearly had no wish to
use them. We preferred to fight with dollars and not daggers.
‘The fewer battles the better,’ was the hopeful motto at
Washington. ‘Peace in sixty days,’ was held out by the astute
Secretary of State. In fact, there was at the North no disposition
to fight; no spirit of hate; no comprehension of the stupendous
character and dimensions of the rebellion, and no proper
appreciation of its inherent wickedness. Treason had shot its
poisonous roots deeper, and had spread its death-dealing
branches further than any northern calculation had covered.
Thus while rebels were waging a barbarous war, marshaling
savage Indians to join them in the slaughter; while rifled cannon
balls were battering down the walls of our forts, and the iron-clad
hand of monarchical power was being invoked to assist in the
destruction of our government and the dismemberment of our
country; while a tremendous rebel ram was sinking our fleet and
threatening the cities of our coast, we were still dreaming of
peace. This infatuation, this blindness to the significance of
passing events, can only be accounted for by the rapid passage