Okay, okay, so in my last blog I gave you the quick and dirty on how to crochet a chain. You practiced right? Awesome, cuz here’s the next step: Your first row of single crochet! Followed by your second row! And your third row! :)

Flying V

Take a peek at your chain – you'll see there’s a top and a bottom. Across the top, there is a line of little V’s. On the bottom, there’s a little bump behind each V.

To make your single crochet, you’ll be inserting your hook under both arms of the V, between the V and the little bump. 

To count your chains, just count the V’s, not counting the slipknot you started out with, nor the chain on the hook. 

Starting out 

Here we go: Keeping in mind the above, not counting the chain on the hook, begin your single crochet across the chain by inserting your hook under both arms of the V in the second stitch from the hook. Yarn over the hook, and pull up a loop.

Now you have two loops on the hook. Yarn over, and pull through both loops on the hook. Guess what? You did it! Your first single crochet is born! Now do that all the way across your chain. 

Is this normal? 

Yes, yes it will feel very awkward at the start, be difficult to hold onto and you’ll wanna quit. Don’t give up just yet, it gets better! 

Tips to help yourself out: 

-crochet your chain a bit on the loose side, it’ll make it easier to insert your hook behind the V. 

-I actually have my own lil style for getting behind the V. I insert my hook under the first arm and turn the chain over just a tiny bit (you can see in the video) and end up putting my hook behind the lil stitch at the back of the V. Just to be clear, I’m still making my stitch above the V, not the bottom of the chain. 

-everything gets easier and more graceful when your work becomes long enough to hold it with your right hand as you go. I use my thumb, index and middle fingers to hold the hook, and hold my work lightly between my ring finger and pinkie. 

At the End of Your Rope? 

At the end of your crochet chain, you’ll make the final single crochet in the last V. 

Now what?

Turn your work, so the end that’s facing you while crocheting the row now faces away from you. 

Take a minute and check out your progress – you'll see a nice lil row of V’s across the top. Look familiar? Excellent – insert your hook under both arms of the very first V, pull up a loop making two loops on the hook, yarn over and pull through both loops. Tah dah! This is the start of your second row! 

Keep going, just like that! 

And, I hope you know by now that I’m gonna tell you to practice, practice, practice until the awkwardness goes away. This whole process is about to become oddly soothing and addictive, so get ready!