One day, I was watching some videos on YouTube and came across one that showed an alternative way to make a foundation chain. I watched it, tried it out, and liked it. But since I didn’t use the technique right away, I ended up forgetting how to do it.
Some time later, I wanted to try that alternative foundation chain again, but I just couldn’t remember the steps. Instead of looking it up, I thought I’d experiment and see if I could figure it out myself—trying to piece together how it might work. I went through a lot of trial and error until I came up with a method that actually let me start a crochet row using any stitch. And I realized it had one big advantage: it created a really stretchy foundation chain, which is always a bonus.
Later, I found the original method I had seen and realized that what I’d figured out was actually something different—I had ended up discovering (or inventing) my own way to make this type of foundation chain.
Of course, nothing’s perfect. In this case, it just means that the process of making each chain isn’t exactly smooth or relaxing. On top of that, counting the chains you’ve made also takes some patience and attention, as this type of foundation chain tends to twist. I recommend practicing with a light-colored yarn first to get familiar with it.
But the effort is worth it because the result is a much stretchier foundation chain. That extra stretch can save you from those frustrating situations where, as your project grows, you notice the starting edge is either tighter or looser than the middle.
In my next video, I’ll show you exactly how I make this foundation chain so you can try it for yourself. I hope it’s as useful for you as it’s been for me.
For the demonstration, I worked the first row with double crochet stitches, just to show how I transition from the foundation chain to the row itself. But of course, you can use any other stitch you like. To start the row, you’ll just need to make the right number of chains. I made two chains, because that’s what I normally do when starting a row of double crochet.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. I’ll be happy to help!
See you in the next stitch!
— TeresaM