Starting and Finishing, A Modern Guide to Granny Squares

Crochet can be worked in rows, beginning with a foundation chain, or in rounds, working outward from a foundation ring of chain stitches or a magic ring. See this page for a reminder of how to work the basic crochet stitches.

The most common way of holding the hook is shown here, but if this doesn’t feel comfortable to you, try grasping the flat section of the hook between your thumb and forefinger as if you were holding a knife.

1 Holding the hook like a pen is the most widely used method. Center the tips of your right thumb and forefinger over the flat section of the hook.

2 To control the supply and keep an even tension on the yarn, loop the short end of the yarn over your left forefinger, and take the yarn coming from the ball loosely around the little finger on the same hand. Use the middle finger on the same hand to help hold the work. If you are left-handed, hold the hook in your left hand and the yarn in your right.

1 Loop the yarn as shown, insert the hook into the loop, catch the yarn with the hook, and pull it through to make a loop over the hook.

2 Gently pull the yarn to tighten the loop around the hook and complete the slip knot.

The pattern will tell you how many chains to make. This may be a specific number or a multiple. If a pattern tells you to make a multiple of 3 + 2, this does not mean make a multiple of 5. It means that you should make a multiple of 3 and then add 2 chains—e.g. 3 + 2, 6 + 2, 9 + 2, and so on. You may also be instructed to add a turning chain for the first row.

1 Holding the hook with the slip knot in your right hand and the yarn in your left hand, wrap the yarn over the hook. Draw the yarn through to make a new loop and complete the first chain stitch.

2 Repeat this process, drawing a new loop of yarn through the loop already on the hook until the foundation chain is the required length. Count each V-shaped loop on the front of the chain as one chain stitch, except for the loop on the hook, which is not counted. If your chain stitches are tight, try using a larger hook for the foundation chain. After every few stitches, move up the thumb and finger that are grasping the chain to keep the chain stitches even.

1 Work a short length of foundation chain as specified in the pattern. Join the chains into a ring by working a slip stitch into the first chain of the foundation chain.

2 Work the first round of stitches into the center of the ring unless specified otherwise. At the end of the round, the final stitch is usually joined to the first stitch with a slip stitch.

Use this alternative to a foundation ring for working in the round when you want to prevent a hole in the center of your work. Wrap the yarn into a ring, insert the hook, and draw a loop through. Work the first round of crochet stitches into this ring, then pull the yarn tail tightly to close the ring.

When working crochet, you will need to work a specific number of extra chains at the beginning of each row or round. When the work is turned at the end of a straight row, the extra chains are called a turning chain, and when they are worked at the beginning of a round, they are called a starting chain.

The extra chains bring the hook up to the correct height for the stitch you will be working next. The turning or starting chain is counted as the first stitch of the row or round, except when working single crochet where the single turning chain is ignored. A chain may be longer than the number required for the stitch, and in that case counts as one stitch plus a number of chains.

At the end of the row, the final stitch is usually worked into the turning chain at the beginning of the previous row. The final stitch may be worked into the top chain of the turning chain or into another specified stitch of the chain. At the end of a round, the final stitch is usually joined to the starting chain with a slip stitch.

NUMBER OF TURNING CHAINS

Single crochet (sc): 1 turning chain

Half double crochet (hdc): 2 turning chains

Double crochet (dc): 3 turning chains

Treble crochet (tr): 4 turning chains

Double treble crochet (dtr): 5 turning chains

Triple treble crochet (trtr): 6 turning chains

When you have completed your crochet, cut the yarn about 6in (15cm) from the last stitch. Wrap the yarn over the hook and draw the yarn end through the loop on the hook. Gently pull the yarn to tighten the last stitch, then weave in the yarn end.

For a neater finish, don’t use a slip stitch to join the last stitch of the final round to the first stitch of the round. Instead, fasten off the yarn after the last stitch, thread a yarn needle with the end of yarn, and pass it under the top loops of the first stitch of the round and back through the center of the last stitch.

Weaving in ends

At the end of making your project, you will need to weave in any yarn ends from changing colors and sewing seams. For crochet worked in rows, use a yarn needle to sew in ends diagonally on the wrong side. For crochet worked in rounds, sew in ends under stitches for a couple of inches. If the pattern doesn’t allow this, sew under a few stitches, then up through the back of a stitch, and under a few more stitches on the next row.