A basic foundation of any crochet project you will make is the chain stitch. Today let’s learn how to start a crochet chain for beginners.
If you are just beginning to learn crochet, start with my very first post What Do I Need To Start Crocheting For Beginners? to get an idea of what supplies you will need. Learning to chain is the second of the 6 Crochet Basic Stitches You Need To Learn First
how to start a crochet chain
Before I show you how to start a crochet chain let me talk about how to position both your hands and hold the yarn.
Here is how I hold my yarn in my left hand to crochet. I slip the yarn above my forefinger and pinkie but under my ring and middle finger. This allows me to move my forefinger. In my right hand I hold the crochet hook between my forefinger and thumb. Usually you will see an indent on the crochet hook where your thumb can naturally sit.
Now here is how to start a crochet chain step by step. Save this graphic to easily refer back or add it to your pinterest board.
- Start by making a slip stitch and slipping it onto your crochet hook as I show in my How To Make A Slip Knot Crochet post. This is your first loop. Now hold the crochet hook with the slip knot in your right hand. Rotate your left wrist 90 degrees counter clockwise, and grasp the tail of the yarn between your thumb and pinkie, ring and middle fingers. Have your pointer finger extended to have the working yarn held tightly.
- Move your crochet hooks head under the working yarn. This is called a yarn over.
- Use the crochet hook to pull the yarn over through the loop on the hook. You have now made your first chain.
- Insert the crochet hook under the running yarn, and pull through the loop on the hook again. You have now made your second chain. After every two chains, move your left hand thumb to the top of the chains (and the bottom of the loop on the hook). Repeat this as many times as needed to create this braid looking chain.
For an even looking chain, make sure you are not pulling tightly/ loosely. Maintain a constant tension. Below in an image showing you how to count your crochet chains. There is always one loop on the hook, and that is not counted as a chain. The braid like stitches we see are all of the chains. The yarn connected to your yarn skein is called the running yarn. The yarn end where you started your chains is called the yarn tail. Keep your yarn tail short to avoid confusion.
how to start a crochet chain Youtube
Watch and crochet along with me in this How to Chain video https://youtu.be/UnOaEFN6ocE. This video is slow and meant to encourage you to sit with me and crochet your first chains. Leave a comment if you need help or get stuck at any point, I am happy to help!
Alright friends, you have now learnt how to start a crochet chain and this will be the starting point for any Free Crochet Blanket Patterns you will see!
Practice how to start a crochet chain a few times, and maybe try your hand at making 200 even chains. Next you will want to learn how to single crochet to build your stitch skills. There are more Learn to Crochet topics to explore, happy crocheting!
