Rookies Learn to Crochet: The Chain Stitch

by Amber @ Craftaboo · Published June 3, 2018 · Updated June 4, 2020

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Welcome to the very first installment of my new series “Rookies Learn to Crochet”.

Each week I will present a new lesson, which will build on the skills and techniques we’ve learned from the previous lesson. By the end of this series you will have learned and (hopefully) mastered the following basic skills:

Chaining,
Single Crochet,
Half Double Crochet
Double Crochet,
Triple Crochet,
Changing Color,
Adding a Border,
Finishing off and Weaving in Ends.

Learning these basic stitches and techniques are essential in most crochet patterns.

Once you have learned these, the sky is the limit as far as what you can create! If you are a watch, pause, and rewind kind of learner, please check out the video tutorial that goes along with this blog post by clicking here.

There you can watch, pause, rewind and fast forward till your heart’s content. We all learn differently, and I’m here to try and help in as many different formats as possible.

So let’s get started!

Rookies learn to Crochet – The Chain Stitch

This week we are learning the foundation chain, or as it’s also known, the chain stitch. Learning the chain stitch is essential to be able to create most projects. Today we will learn:

How to hold your hook and yarn
Creating a Slip Knot
Finally, making the chain stitch

So first thing’s first, your supplies.

You will need to gather, yarn, and an aluminum crochet hook. I recommend getting a size hook that’s on the larger size so you can see your stitches easier. Size 5m (“H”) or 5.5m (“I”) are the most common sizes in patterns.

Also, make sure to grab a color of yarn that is light and easy to see. Even the most experienced crocheters tend to have trouble when working with darker colors.

Let’s dive in!

There are many different ways to hold your hook and yarn. The most important thing to remember is that there is no wrong way to do it. It’s entirely what you feel comfortable with.

The two most common hook holds are:

The knife hold:

And the pencil hold:

Pick whichever hold feels most natural! Now let’s move on to the slip knot and chain stitch.

To start the slip knot:

Hold your yarn similar to the picture below. Drape it across the tip of one finger, so it kind of bends in the middle.

Wrap it around so that it crosses at the bottom making a loop on the top. Pinch the loop with two fingers to hold it together.

Slip your pointer finger out of the loop you just made

Bring the tail of the yarn from below up behind the loop you just made and pinch it in place. You now have the yarn peeking out of the loop.

Pinch the piece of yarn that is in the middle and pull through the loop to make your slip knot.

Insert your hook into the loop and tug the tail gently to pull the loop taught around your hook.

And now you’re ready to make the chain stitch! Slip knots are so fun and easy to make.

Now to start the chain stitch. Pinch the bottom of your slip knot with two fingers, and bring your hook to the left of your working yarn. *the working yarn is the yarn that is coming off of the ball or skein of yarn you’re using*

Bring the hook from the left of the yarn to behing the working strand, with the hook part facing away from you.

Turn the hook that is facing away from you towards your body, grabbing the strand of working yarn in the process. The working yarn is now underneath the hook.

Continue pulling the hook down and away from your fingers, towards the loop to pull the loop through.

The closer your hook gets to the original loop the smaller it becomes, and you’ll be pulling the working loop through the slip knot to make one chain stitch.

Pull the loop all the way through. You have now completed one chain stitch.

Repeat this process until you have completed the required number of chains for your project.

And that’s all there is to it! Congratulations you have now completed and mastered the art of making the chain sttich! Keep practicing this stitch and I’ll see you back here next week for lesson 2: The single crochet stitch!

PS. If you’re struggling to make sense of the pictures and need to see this process in motion, head over to my YouTube tutorials by clicking here to see this in action. Or check it out below!

Happy Crocheting!