Foundation Row

You’ll need at least five chains to get started, but you can use as many as you like. I would recommend starting with 20-25 chains for your first swatch.

The standard, according to the Craft Yarn Council (CYC) is to work into the fifth chain from the hook, but some prefer to work into the fourth chain. If your chains are tight, work into the fifth chain, if your chains are pretty loose, then you might feel more comfortable working into the fourth chain. Experiment and figure out which of the two you’re most comfortable with.

Yarn Over Twice

First, yarn over by bringing the hook down in front of the working yarn and then back up behind. Repeat this one more time for a second yarn over. Then rotate your wrist to turn the hook to face down – this will make it easier to insert the hook into the stitch.

Insert your hook into the chain

Hold the chain between the left middle finger and thumb. You want to position your middle finger directly behind the chain you plan to work into (in this case, the fifth chain from the hook) and your thumb should be right at the base of that same chain (the bottom of the “V).

Push the tip of your hook into the center of the chain (the center of the “V”), then use your left thumb to help guide that top loop onto the hook. This is considered “insert your hook into the stitch” in crochet language.

Push the hook all the way through and yarn over again.

Pull up a loop

After you yarn over, rotate your right wrist to rotate your hook to face down and “catch” the yarn. Next, guide the yarn through the chain to pull up a loop. Push all four loops back onto the body of the hook – pushing the loops back onto the hook makes your stitches even in size.

Yarn over

Before you yarn over again, use your middle finger and thumb to pinch the chain that you just pulled through and pull it underneath your hook. This will give you additional control and help you maintain tension as well. Now yarn over again.

Pull through the first two loops on the hook

Then guide the yarn through the first two loops on the hook – one at a time. Make sure your hook is rotated to “face down” so that the hook part doesn’t get caught on any of the loops you’re trying to work through. Use your left middle finger and thumb to pull down slightly to add a little tension to the loops as well.

Push the remaining three loops back onto the body of the hook.

Pull through the next two loops

This time pinch the loops you just pulled the yarn through with your left middle finger and thumb. Then yarn over and guide the working yarn through the next two loops on the hook – again, one at a time.

Push the remaining two loops back onto the body of the hook.

Pull through the last two loops

Now pinch the loops you just pulled the yarn through with your middle finger and thumb. Then yarn over and guide the yarn through the last two loops on the hook.

Push the last loop back onto the body of the hook. You should have only one loop left.

Repeat until the end of the chain

Then move your middle finger and thumb to the next chain. Place your middle finger behind the chain stitch and your thumb at the bottom of the stitch. Then repeat all the steps until you’ve reached the end of the row.

The Second Row of Treble Crochet

Chain three or four for the turning chain. If your chains are tight, use four chains for your turning chain. If your chains are pretty loose, use three chains for your turning chain. (The standard is four, the preferred number is three). Either way, this turning chain will count as the first stitch of the row.

TIP: Decide whether you want to “chain then turn”, or “turn then chain” NOW for all of your projects. Creating a habit of either (not both) will help you remember to add your turning chains. Forgetting about the turning chain is the most likely reason your square/rectangle starts looking like a trapezoid!

Insert your first stitch into the second gap (or second “V”) from the base of the chain. Place your left middle finger behind that stitch/gap/V and rest your left thumb on the bump in between the stitches.

Then push your tip into that first gap and use your left thumb to make sure you pick up both loops of the “V.” Then repeat all the other steps for the treble crochet.

And that’s it! If you need more help, check out the photo tutorial below!