Crochet Stitches: Chain Stitch with Images

How to crochet chain stitches quickly and easily

(Referred to as ch in abbreviation patterns)

Each pattern will begin with a series of chain stitches, you need to refer to your pattern to see how many are needed, for now however just practise making a line of chain stitches. You form a chain stitch as follows:

1. Holding the hook and yarn put the hook down between the gap between your fingers and the yarn.
2. Take the hook under the yarn and up the side, this will catch the yarn onto your hook, - you will have two loops on your hook.
3. Now draw the hook through the previous stitch on the hook whilst holding onto the yarn.
4. One chain stitch has been made.
5. Repeat steps 1 – 4 over and over again to make a row of chains.

Basic Crochet Stitches

The most basic of crochet stitches include the chain stitch, the slip stitch, the double crochet stitch and the treble stitch. It is important to be confident and capable about forming these stitches, as the majority of crochet patterns include all of them. However you can and will find patterns which omit either the treble or the double crochet stitch so it is essential that you learn at least one of these basic stitches. Nevertheless it won’t be long before you find the need to have both in your crocheting skills repertoire.

To begin crocheting it is essential to start from the begin setup position. This is achieved by looping the yarn round itself into a looped ring, then inserting the hook into the loop and catching the yarn with your hook, and bringing it back up through the looped ring and lastly by tightening the slip knot onto your hook. The next task is to hold the crochet hook in your normal dominate hand in a style that suits you (either like a pen or as when holding a knife) whilst holding the yarn securely with your free hand just below the slip knot.

The chain stitch is the first crochet stitch used in all patterns; providing the foundation row or ring for either straight line or circular crochet. It is a very simple stitch abbreviated as ch in crochet patterns.

To work a series of chain stitches, wrap your yarn round your hook (two loops on hook) and then pull your hook through the first loop on its shaft. Now you have only one loop on your hook, and one chain stitch formed. Repeat this process for as many chain stitches as needed for your individual crochet pattern or project.

When crocheting in the round – circular garments like hats and doilies and squares are made this way – you need to join the chain stitches together with a slip stitch. A slip stitch is abbreviated to ss in crochet patterns. This is very simple. Just insert your hook into the middle of the first chain stitch crocheted, pick up the yarn and draw the hook back out again leaving two loops on the hook. Now just draw the hook through the first loop on the hook thus leaving only one loop on the hook and joining the work into a ring.

The double crochet stitch abbreviated to dc or in America the single crochet stitch is very similar to that of the slip stitch just described above. However the hook is placed into the next stitch to be worked. This will vary depending on what project you are making. After inserting the hook into the appropriate position, pick up the yarn and draw the hook back out of the stitch, leaving two loops on the hook. Now wrap the yarn again round the hook making three loops on the hook. Finally draw the hook through all the loops to leave just the one loop on the hook, with one double crochet stitch worked.

The last basic crochet stitch we are going to deal with is the treble stitch, abbreviated to tr in crochet patterns and also known as the double crochet in America. This is the hardest of the basic crochet stitches and is the meat and vegetables of crochet, as many advanced stitches and techniques are based around this stitch. Consequently it is a good idea to be proficient at performing this crochet stitch.

To crochet a treble stitch, first wrap the yarn round the hook before inserting your hook into the stitch where you wish your treble to be located. Catch the yarn as before and draw the hook out of the stitch. At this point you will have three loops on your hook. Again wrap the yarn round your hook, making four loops on the hook. Now draw the hook through the second and third loops on the hook, leaving you with two loops on your hook. Wrap the yarn round the hook again making three loops and draw the hook through these remaining loops, leaving you with just one loop on the hook and one treble formed.

You now have the basic techniques to crocheting, as we have covered the basic crochet stitches. You will be amazed at how many patterns and projects are now at your disposal with just this limited amount of crocheting knowledge. Don’t just take my word for it go and look for yourselves!

And remember… have fun!!!

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Crochet: Turning Chain Stitches

In crochet turning chains are the beginning chain stitches crocheted at the beginning of each new row. They are used in place of other crochet stitches to make the start of the new row easier to crochet.

If we were crocheting a garment using the straight line technique having just finished the foundation row and the first row of pattern, we would have a very difficult time trying to begin the next row with a treble stitch.

The reason behind the difficulty is that the yarn is still at the level of the last row. In order to easily be able to crochet we need to be at a higher height. Hence the need for turning chains.

Now obviously as with everything there are rules for the amount of turning chains we use to start off any row. These amounts depend on the stitch the chains are going to replace. Here lies another misconception, these beginning chains ARE part of the pattern, they do represent the first stitch, with the exception of double crochet stitches. (More later.) The stitch represented depends on the pattern being followed.

This is not difficult to understand and makes a lot of sense. The chain stitches go at the beginning of a row taking up the position of the first stitch so therefore they must be counted as such and hence worked into on the next row.

If we started with a foundation row of 10 chains, and our rows of treble stitch, then we would need 10 trebles to keep our work straight on each and every row. However because of the height difficulty we can’t just begin a row with a treble stitch we must begin with chain stitches taking the row to the appropriate height so that we can easily work our treble pattern.

So after our foundation row we work another 3 chain stitches to represent the first treble of this first row.

We then work the first of the 9 treble stitches into the 5th chain from the hook and then complete the other 8 trebles.
Our second row would begin with 3 chain and then go on to work 9 trebles, working the first treble into the second stitch.

The amount of chain stitches worked at the beginning of the row depends upon what stitch they are replacing.

If we are replacing a treble we make 3 turning chains and then work into the 5th stitch of a foundation row.
If we are replacing a half treble we make 2 turning chains and then work into the 4th stitch of a foundation row.
If we are replacing a double treble we make 4 turning chains and then work into the 6th stitch of a foundation row.
If we are replacing a triple treble we make 5 turning chains and then work into the 7th stitch of a foundation row.
If you look you can see that the rule for working into the chain stitch on the foundation row is:
Number of turning chains required plus 2.
The exception to this is the double crochet stitch. This stitch is so small that it is possible to add only 1 turning chain just to level off and then work into the first stitch as if you had not turned, ignoring the turning chain completely. The turning chain is there only to level off and does NOT need to be worked into on the next row.

Take care however as some patterns do not work in this way and use the rule for the half treble instead.