Most crochet projects begin with a length of chain. This is the perfect stitch to practice your tension on, as it is the simplest thing you can do in crochet.
1 Holding the yarn and hook in the appropriate hands, hold the tail end of the yarn under the slip knot and bring the working yarn over the hook by passing the hook in front of yarn then under it: this is called ‘yarn over’ and will be referred to that way for the rest of these technique instructions.
2 Turn the hook around towards you to catch the yarn and pull a loop through the loop on the hook.
3 One chain is made.
4 Ensuring the stitches are even – not too loose or tight – repeat Step 2 to make a length of chain.
WORKING INTO A CHAIN
You might need to concentrate a bit more when making stitches into a chain, but once you have done the first row, it’s much easier to continue.
1 You need to miss the appropriate number of chain for your particular stitch (see the individual stitch instructions), then insert the hook from front to back into the next chain, under the top loop of the chain.
2 Yarn over and draw a loop through to the front of chain, then complete the stitch. (See pages 18–23 for stitch instructions.).