How to crochet a chain

Before you start

A slip knot and a relaxed way to hold the yarn.

New to holding the hook or making a slip knot? Start there, then return to this lesson.

Make the stitch

1. Make a slip knot and place the working loop on the hook.
2. Wrap the yarn over the hook from back to front.
3. Draw that wrap through the loop already on the hook. One chain is complete.
4. Repeat, keeping each new loop large enough for the hook shaft to pass without forcing it.

Count check: Each pull-through makes one chain; the active loop is not counted.

Try a practice strip

Make 12 chains. Set the hook down without pulling the active loop closed. Count the 12 small V shapes beneath the active loop, then put the hook back through that loop. Repeat until your chains are similar in size.

Put a removable marker in the first and last stitch of the row. Count before you turn. Different patterns treat turning chains differently; the rule above belongs to this practice strip.

Common mistakes to catch

• Counting the loop on the hook as a chain. Count the V shapes below the hook; leave the active loop out.
• Tightening the foundation so much that the next row is hard to enter. Loosen the loop on the shaft before forming the next chain.
• Twisting a long chain before joining. Lay the chain flat and follow its V shapes before joining the ends.

Keep going

Read these stitches inside a written pattern or chart.

Next lesson: Slip stitch →

Before making a sized project, learn to measure a swatch. If a pattern uses a different hook label, convert the hook size.