Slip Stitch
joining rounds, moving your hook across stitches without adding height, and edging
The slip stitch is the flattest stitch in crochet. It pulls a loop through two stitches in one motion and adds almost no height, which makes it the stitch you reach for when you need to move across existing fabric or close a round rather than build a new row.
There's no US/UK split here. Slip stitch is "sl st" in both systems.
How to work it
- Insert your hook into the stitch (or space) indicated.
- Yarn over.
- Pull the yarn through both the stitch and the loop already on your hook in one motion. That's one slip stitch, and one loop remains on your hook.
When to use it
Use a slip stitch to join a round (working into the first stitch of the round to close it), to travel across several stitches without adding height, or to create a firm, low-profile edge. It also shows up as a decorative surface stitch in slip-stitch crochet, where rows are worked entirely in slip stitches for a dense, knit-like fabric.