Most crochet projects start with chain stitch. We’ve covered that, so hopefully you have been practicing!
But let’s face it, the chain itself doesn’t do much. I mean, I’ve seen kids love it as a snake, but otherwise not so much. We have to do something with it.
Anatomy of the chain
When you look at your chain stitches, you’ll see there are two sides. Realistically either could be the top or the bottom, but I’m going to call the side with the V’s the top, as this is traditionally what is used. These V’s are made of two strands of yarn and you will get very used to seeing them. This is what the last step of almost every stitch creates. The bottom is a single bump.
Working into it
Working into the chain means you are going to take your hook, and scoot it underneath both strands of the V on the top so that they are all on your hook body. You will have a total of three loops of yarn on your hook at this point. There are a variety of stitches that you can do next, and we’ll go over them in later weeks. For now, just know that we talk about working into the chain, this is what we mean. Alternately, you can do the same thing with the bottom of the chain, and only pick up the single bottom loop.
It can get tight trying to work into the chain, so there are times when it is more challenging. Just go slow and be patient, and you will get the hang of it.
What do you think is the most difficult part of working into the chain? Other than counting, this is the part I think might be the hardest. Sometimes it’s hard to get your hook in there!