A chain is simple to make and surprisingly easy to over-tighten. If your first row feels like a battle with every stitch, the foundation may be the problem. Practicing a short, even chain is a better starting point than pushing through a long one that you cannot comfortably work into.
From slip knot to chain
Place a slip knot on the hook and adjust it so it can slide along the shaft. Hold the yarn with enough control to guide it, but leave slack between your hands and the ball. Catch the working yarn with the hook and draw it through the loop already there. You have made one chain.
Repeat the same movement: yarn over, pull through the active loop. Move your supporting fingers along the growing chain so you are holding close to the hook instead of pulling from the far end.
What counts as a chain?
Lay the chain with its Vs facing you. Each complete V is one chain. The live loop on the hook does not count, and the slip knot is not an extra chain. Count away from the hook when finding the second, third or fourth chain for your first stitch.
For example, a simple twelve-stitch single-crochet practice row can start with thirteen chains. Working into the second chain from the hook and then each chain across produces twelve single crochets. A different stitch or pattern repeat may require a different starting count.
Keep a long chain from becoming a guessing game
Place a removable marker at a regular interval, such as every ten or twenty chains. Choose an interval you can remember and write it down. Count the final short section separately, then add it to the marked groups.
Check the total before beginning the first row. Counting a chain while making it and counting it afterward are two chances to catch the same mistake. Neither the hook loop nor a marker adds to the total.
Which part of the chain should the hook enter?
The front of a chain shows a V, and the reverse has small bumps. Tutorials and patterns may use different insertion methods. Working into the back bump can leave a neat lower edge; another method may be easier for a beginner to see.
Choose the placement required by your pattern and use it consistently. If the directions leave it open, practice a few stitches both ways on separate short chains. Do not accidentally alternate methods halfway across because the chain has twisted in your hand.
Three signs the foundation is too tight
- The hook has to be forced into nearly every chain.
- The first row is visibly wider than the chain edge when the stitch count is correct.
- The lower edge pulls into a shallow bow while the rows above it relax.
Let each new loop settle on the full hook shaft before making the next chain. Avoid pulling the working yarn hard after every movement. If you consistently chain tighter than you crochet, test the foundation with a larger hook and switch back for the body. Swatch the result instead of assuming a particular size change will fix every yarn.
A chain count is not a finished measurement
Two people can make the same number of chains and get different widths. The stitch pattern can also pull a loose chain inward once the first rows are complete. For a blanket, measure a sample in the actual stitch pattern rather than stretching a chain across a ruler and calling that the finished width.
Our blanket foundation guide works from measured gauge and a pattern repeat. It is useful after the basic chain feels comfortable and you are ready to plan a real size.
Keep learning
Work the first row · Manage tension · Diagnose a tight lower edge