Foundation Double Crochet Stitch (fdc) – Photo & Video Tutorial

Foundation double crochet (fdc) is my absolute favorite way to start a new project that begins with a simple double crochet row. The fdc stitch replaces your usual starting chain PLUS the first double crochet row – you are essentially working the chain and the first row at the same time!

It takes a little bit of concentration to get the hang of the foundation double crochet stitch, but once you have it, you’ll never go back. Promise 😉

What is the Foundation Double Crochet?

Foundation Double Crochet (US) or Foundation Treble Crochet (UK) offers an alternative way to start a new crochet project.

Usually, you might see the first row of a pattern written something like this:

• Ch 12, dc in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across. [10]

Now, replace that with a foundation double crochet:

• Fdc 10. [10]

Much more compact isn’t it!?

Why use the foundation double crochet stitch?

You can read more about the benefits of chainless foundation rows and why you might want to use them here: Intro to Chainless Foundation Crochet Stitches.

For double crochet stitches in particular, I still have a hard time figuring out what my starting chain should be! I know that the first 3 chs will count as one st, but it still surprises me that I often have to draw out my starting ch and stitches, just to make sure I have the stitch count correct!

However, if I use fdc to create my first row, I can count as I go, and there are no pesky chains to contend with 🙂

When can I use a foundation double crochet row?

You can use this stitch on any project that starts with a row of double crochet. That’s it! The only thing you will need to take note of is the number of stitches in the first row – this is the number of fdc stitches that you will need to work.

So, in the example above, the “Ch 12” followed by a row of “dc” gave you 10 sts (the ch-3 of the starting ch is count as 1 st).

But if you were to replace this with a fdc row, you would not work 12 fdc – you would need to work 10 fdc to achieve the same stitch count.

Foundation Double Crochet (fdc) – Video Tutorial

Foundation Double Crochet (fdc) – Photo Tutorial

Foundation Double Crochet (fdc) Tutorial

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Print

Instructions

1. Chain 3. Yarn over and insert hook into third chain from the hook.
2. Pull up a loop. [3 loops on hook]
3. Yarn over and pull through first loop only i.e. ch 1. This gives you the "chain" in the foundation row. [still 3 loops on hook]
4. Yarn over and pull through 2 loops. Yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops. First fdc (US) / ftc (UK) made.
5. Yarn over, insert hook into the "chain" that you made in Step 3.
6. Pull up a loop. Yarn over again and pull through the first loop only i.e. ch 1. This gives you the next "chain" in the row. [3 loops on hook]
7. [Yarn over and pull through 2 loops] twice to complete the fdc (US) / ftc (UK). If you rotate your work to the side, you will see the extra “chains” made before each treble.
8. Repeat Steps 5, 6 and 7 until your desired foundation row length is reached.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial!

I love seeing all of your projects; be sure to tag me on Instagram (you can find me here: @nedandmimi), and use #nedandmimi to show off your foundation double crochet stitches 🙂

Happy crocheting!

Sarah