Starting · Beginner
Foundation chain
The foundation chain is the row of chain stitches that a piece of crochet starts from: the first row of stitches is worked into it. Make one chain for each stitch of the first row, plus the extra chains the pattern asks for. Then count back from the hook to find where the first stitch goes.
How to work it
Count from the hook
A pattern says where the first stitch goes by counting chains from the hook, as in "2nd ch from hook". The loop on the hook is not a chain. The chain next to it is the first, and the one after that is the second.
Look at both sides of the chain
The front of a chain is a row of V shapes. Turn it over, and each chain has a bump along its middle. Keep the front toward you as you work, all the way along, so that the chain does not twist.
Choose where the hook goes in
There are three ways into a chain. Under the top loop only, the upper strand of the V. Under two strands, the top loop and the bump behind it. Or under the bump alone, with the chain turned over. Choose one and keep to it for the whole row.
At a glance
- Also called
- starting chain
- Used for
- the start of anything worked in rows; a ring of chains for work in the round
- In a pattern
- Written as ch and a number: "ch 15" means make 15 chains.
- First stitch goes into
- The second chain from the hook for single crochet (UK double crochet), and the fourth for double crochet (UK treble), as a rule. The pattern says which.
- The skipped chains
- They stand up at the edge as the first turning chain.
- Never counted
- The slip knot and the loop on the hook.
- Under the top loop
- A common way.
- Under the bump
- Leaves both strands of every V along the bottom edge, so the bottom of the piece looks like the top.
How many chains to make depends on the stitch. A row of single crochet needs one chain for each stitch and one more, because the first stitch goes into the second chain from the hook. Taller stitches skip more chains at the start, so they need more extra chains. A pattern gives the whole number; the calculator linked below works it out for your own width.
A common fault is a chain that is tighter than the rows above it. The bottom edge then pulls in and the piece puckers or curves. Making the chain with a larger hook, and changing back for the first row, is the usual cure.
A long chain twists easily. Check as you work along it that the Vs still face you.
Tips
- Count a long chain in tens, with a stitch marker in every tenth chain.
When it goes wrong
- I cannot get the hook into the chains.
- The chain is too tight. Make it again more loosely, or with a larger hook than the one for the rows.
- The bottom edge of my piece is narrower than the rest.
- The foundation chain is tighter than the rows. Start again with a looser chain, made with a larger hook if need be.
- I ran out of chains before the end of the first row.
- The chain was miscounted. Pull the row out, make the chain again, and count it as you go, with a marker every ten chains.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- Chainless foundation. A first row can also be made with no chain at all. A chainless foundation makes each chain together with the stitch that stands on it, so the starting chain and the first row are finished at the same time. It is worked in single crochet (UK double crochet) as foundation single crochet, and the same way as foundation half double crochet (UK half treble) and foundation double crochet (UK treble).
Questions
- What does "2nd ch from hook" mean?
- Count the chains starting with the one next to the loop on the hook. Skip that first chain and put the hook into the second.
- Which loop of the chain do I crochet into?
- Any of the three ways works: the top loop, the top loop with the bump behind it, or the bump alone. The top loop is a common choice. The bump gives a bottom edge that matches the top.
- Is the starting chain the same as the foundation chain?
- Yes. Both names mean the chain a piece begins with.
- Which side of a chain is the front, and which loops can the hook go under?
- The front is the side that shows a row of V shapes. The back has one bump along the middle of each chain. Working into the chain, the hook can go under the top strand of a V, under that strand and the bump behind it, or, with the chain turned over, under the bump alone.