I love a classic chevron pattern, and it works up beautifully for so many crochet projects! There are many ways to crochet a chevron pattern, but in this tutorial, I will focus on the single crochet method. I will be using US crochet terms (abbreviated in most cases).
First I want to explain how you go about planning your chevrons. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are going to look at a chevron scarf project, but this method will work for other projects as well. The very first thing you need to do is decide your color scheme….The beautiful thing about the chevron pattern is you can use multiple colors or even just one color. Once you pick your colors, you need to decide how big you want your project to be – this will help you know how many peaks/valleys you’ll need to plan out. For the scarf, I am not making it too wide, but still wide enough that you can just toss it around your neck comfortably.
For me, drawing out my plan helps me quite a bit. Some people can just whip it up in their head, but for me, drawing it helps me minimize mistakes on the first two rows…and especially in a larger pattern, I don’t want to have to go all the way back to the beginning to fix it 🙂 So the next thing I do is I grab my paper and pen and draw my chevrons. Once I see it laid out, I decide how many stitches I want between my peaks and valleys. You will need equal amount of stitches between each peak and valley. . 
For the scarf, I used 3 stitches. In the peak, you will crochet 3 single crochet (sc) in one stitch. In the valleys, you will use 3 stitches to sc2tog (single crochet 2 together), skipping the middle stitch (don’t worry, I’ll show you how later).I draw all of this out so I can see it and count the stitches. To count your stitches, you need to only count 1 stitch for the peaks (since all your sc will go into one stitch) and 3 stitches for the valleys, and then you need to count your side stitches. You will use this method whether you use single crochet or double crochet stitches. In this case, I needed 28 chain stitches for my chevrons.
Because I’m using single crochet, I need to add one additional chain because this is my “turning chain.” I won’t actually put a stitch in it; it just allows me to turn my work in a neat manner. When we do this in the foundation chain, the instruction is to “sc in 2nd ch from hook.”
Now that you’ve figured out colors, drawn your chevrons, and counted how many stitches you need (plus one), lets go over now to go back over the foundation chain to make your first row of chevron. To start your foundation for this project, you’ll need to chain 28 total stitches. You will sc in the 2nd ch from hook and in the next 2 ch. Then you will sc 3 into the next chain – this will create your first peak. Sc in the next 3 ch. Now you’re going to make your valley – you will sc 2 ch together, but you need to skip the middle ch, so you are still using up 3 ch, but only doing something with 2 of them. Sc in next 3 ch. Sc 3 in the next ch to make your peak. Sc in next 3 ch. Sc 2 ch together as you did before to make your valley. Sc in next 3 ch. Sc 3 in next ch. Lastly, sc in the next 3 ch. Now you will need to ch 1 so you can turn your work. This is your foundation row.
This is the only time you’ll work the stitches exactly like this in your piece. All the others are done slightly different so you keep a straight edge.
From row 2 until you’ve reached the length you want, you will do each of the rows in this manner: After you’ve turned your work, you will sc the next 2 sts together to create one st. Then you will sc in each of the next 2 sts. You will sc 3 in the middle st of the previous peak, and this will create your peak for the new row (and all peaks will be done like this). Sc in the next 3 sts. Now you will create the first valley of this row – you will sc2tog, but you will skip the middle stitch. So just as you did in the foundation row, you’ll skip the middle stitch so you’re still using up 3 sts, but only working in 2 of them. All valleys will be done like this. Sc in each of the next 3 sts. Make your peak (3 sc in the next stitch, which will again be the middle sc from the previous row’s peak). Sc in each of the next 3 sts, make your valley, sc in each of the next 3 sts, make your peak. Now you’re going to sc in the next 2 sts, and then you’ll sc2tog the last 2 stitches to create one stitch. You’ll notice each of the “ends” are done with “sc2tog, sc in next 2” – this keeps it so you still only have 3 sc on the ends, and it keeps your sides straight. To finish out the row, you will ch 1 and then turn your work to begin the next row.
You’ll continue in this way until you reach the length you want your scarf (or other project) to be. Once you reach the length your heart desires, you can choose how you want to finish (aka border) your piece. The edges should be straight enough that you can leave it alone. Alternatively, you can sc around – you will still sc3 in the peak stitch and sc2tog for your valley (skipping middle st), and you will sc3 at each of the 4 corners. If you have another border you rather do, that’s okay too – entirely up to you! At the end of this tutorial, you’ll find pictures will help you to see which stitches to use.
Some of you may not know how to sc2tog. In some circles, this is also referred to as a sc dec (single crochet decrease). Whether you’re using 2 stitches directly next to each other or skipping stitches in between the two you’ll use, the process is the same. To complete this stitch, you will insert your hook into the first stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop through the stitch as if you were going to do the full stitch, but you will not finish it…you’ll keep 2 loops on your hook and go on to the next stitch. With these two loops on your hook, insert the hook into the next stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop through the stitch. Now you have 3 loops on your hook. You will yarn over, and pull it through all three loops. This creates a single stitch. It may look a little longer than the rest of your sc, but that’s okay, as long as it isn’t a huge difference. There are numerous tutorials on YouTube that can show you how to do this stitch if you still need guidance.
If/When you want to change colors: there are a few different schools of thought on the best way to change colors. Feel free to google or use your usual method if you have a favorite….but I’ll share the way I’ve found that works best. At the end of the row, before doing the “ch 1, turn,” you will still have to old color on your hook since you just finished the sc2tog (last stitch of the row). Instead of just ch 1, you will pull the new color through as you chain stitch. It might not look like you’ve done the ch 1, but I promise, it works out 🙂 After you’ve done this, you will pull the old color tight so it doesn’t look like a chain itself. This will also keep the edge straight and have a reasonably invisible color change. Then you will turn your work as normal and begin the next row as you normally would. I also usually crochet over my ends so I don’t have to weave them in later, but that is entirely up to you – just do what you feel better (more secure) in doing: weave in or crochet over…it won’t make a difference to the way the pattern works out.
In the photo tutorial for the chevron, I’ll show you how to do the foundation row and the second row. Remember, when you’re doing your project, row 2 is the repeating row, and you will always “ch1, turn” at the end of every row (except your final one).
There you have it! I hope this was easy to follow and that y’all find it helpful!
(I will have this available as a PDF download once I complete all parts of the chevron tutorial).