I’ll be honest- I was never taught the “proper” way on how to crochet. My mom showed me how to chain and use single crochet when I was in 5th grade and I had to figure everything else out myself (without Tutorials / Youtube!) so my methods or way of explaining things may be a bit different than others who have been taught with the proper terminology and such. Any-who, lets get started!
Materials
Yarn
Crochet Hook
Scissors
Yarn
There are so many different types of yarn to choose from. However, as a beginner, you would want to stick with simple, easy-to-work-with yarn (aka non-fuzzy or really thin yarn). I would recommend getting size 4 yarn in your favorite color. The size of the yarn should be printed on the yarn label.
Crochet Hook
There are also many different sizes of crochet hooks. Depending on what kind of project you are doing, and what type/ size yarn your are using, you will need to use the appropriate sized hook. However, as a beginner, I would recommend a size 5mm hook to go along with your size 4 yarn.
Holding Your Hook
There are many ways your can hold your hook. I feel that there should not be a “right” way of holding it, just whatever works for you. I hold my hook the same way I hold my pencil, and that is how I feel mot comfortable doing it.
However, I remember when I first started, I held my hook like this because I felt it was easiest when practicing making chains. However, after a while I found that holding the hook the same way I hold a pencil was actually much better and felt more natural. But again, you can find whatever works for you and change it up whenever you want!
Slip Knot
Making a slip knot is essential to every crochet project, it is the very first thing you create before starting to crochet. And again, there are numerous ways to make slip knots, and you can try them out and find the one that you like the best! This is just how I make mine.
To make a slip knot, you grab the end of the yarn with your index finger and thumb.
Then, you wrap the yarn lightly around your index finger and grab the other end of the yarn once it overlaps the first end.
Then, you remove the yarn that you wrapped around your finger from around your finger- still holding the overlapped yarn in place- and push the next bit of yarn through that loop, grab it, and pull it through while tugging at the original end piece.
Boom. Slip Knot.
Chain
Chaining is the next essential piece of every crochet project, for it serves as the foundation of all your stitches. That is why, it is important that you make our chains nice and even- which means it can take some practice before moving on to actually crocheting some stitches. Just know that it is okay for your to struggle a bit even at this point, I know I did. I needed to practice this for a while before I was ready to make anything! So know that it is perfectly normal if you don’t get this right away. 🙂
To crochet a chain, you put your hook through the slip knot you created, tightening the slip knot so that it fits your hook snug, but not too tight.
With your dominant hand, hold the hook however your see fit, making sure that you are also holding on to the tail of the slip knot for at least the first stitch.
Then with your other hand, wrap the yarn over your hook, then pull it through the slip knot.
Repeat these steps over and over to create a chain.
Avoid these common mistakes:
Chaining too tight. Remember, you want each chain to be snug on your hook, but not too tight. You will know your chains are too tight when you struggle to pull your hook through them.
Wrapping your yarn inconsistently. Make your you always wrap your yarn in the same direction. You can grab the yarn from on top of the hook and wrap it towards you, or you could grab the yarn from the bottom of the hook and wrap it away from you. I find that either way is fine, just as long and you stick with it and don’t switch it up. Otherwise, your chain will look something like this.
Single Crochet
After mastering the chain, the next step is learning how to go back on that chain and start making rows. Starting at the end of your chain (aka the last chain that you made) you are going to put your hook through the next chain over.
Then wrap your yarn around your hook- this is called “yarn over”
Then pull the hook, along with the yarn, through the chain, and bring it up.
You will be left with two loops on our hook. Then, you will yarn over again, and pull your hook through those two loops.
Then you will continue into the next chain, then the next, and so on until you reach the end of the row.
Once you have reached the other end of your chain, it is time to create your second row.
Whenever you reach the end of a row, you will want to make sure that you have created a single crochet up until the very last stitch of that row, do not stop a stitch before, otherwise your project will become warped and uneven. 
When you are at the end of your row, chain one, flip the project over, then go into the very first stitch (aka the last stitch you created in your previous row) and create another single crochet.
When creating single crochets on top of a previous row of single crochets, you want to go into this section of the stitch.
So put your hook through, yarn over, pull it back, yarn over, pull it through the last two loops left on your hook.
Continue throughout the row, and again, once you reach the end of every row, you will chain one, flip it over, and continue onto the next row.
Double Crochet
Another basic stitch is double crochet. It is similar to single crochet, with one extra step in the beginning that makes quite the difference.
For double crochet, you yarn over before you go into the chain/ stitch, go into the stitch, yarn over again, and pull it back though.
You will be left with three loops on your hook.
You then yarn over again, and pull your hook only though two of those loops.
You then yarn over one last time and pull your hook though the last two loops.
You repeat these steps until you reach the end of the row.
Once you reach the end of the row, you chain one, flip it over, and continue onto the next row.
Similar to single crochet, you will want to go into this part of the stitch when creating your next row of double crochet.
After a few rows, your project should look something like this.
Triple Crochet
Triple crochet can feel a bit complicated at first, but the steps are actually really simple when they are broken down.
Simliar to double crochet, you will yarn over before going into the stitch, put the hook through, yarn over again, and pull it back through.
Again, you will be left with three loops on your hook.
But this time, you are going to chain one only with the first loop.
Then you will yarn over and go through the first two loops.
Then yarn over again and go through the last two loops.
So really, the only significant difference between double crochet and triple crochet is that extra chain that you make before going though the two loops.
And this time, instead of only chaining one at the end of each row, I would recommend chaining two, since this stitch is much taller than the others, and this will help keep the ends of your rows even.
Finally, just like the other stitches, you will want to go into this part of the previous stitch when you are crocheting the next row of stitches.
Slip Stitch
Although you don’t really use a slip stitch to create full projects, it is important to know how to make one because some projects may require a couple.
To create a slip stitch, you put your hook though the chain/ stitch, yarn over, and pull it back through the stitch, as well as the one loop that was on your hook.
So it is actually one step less than a single crochet. Slip stitches are usually used simple to combine portions of projects, not necessarily to build rows. But still, very essential to know as a beginner.
Now again, these are only the basics, there is a huge world of crochet stitches and projects available to crocheters that you can dive into whenever you feel that you are ready.
Also, if you wished this tutorial was in video format, your wish has been granted because I also have a Crocheting for Beginners video that you can use for a better look at the motions of crocheting.
Remember that learning a new skill takes time and practice, and that it is okay to struggle a bit in the beginning. Just don’t quit, you will get it; and once you do, an entire world of creation will open up to you. Happy crocheting!
