Stitch Tutorial #1 - Slip Knot and Chain Stitch

Stitch Tutorial #1 - Slip Knot and Chain Stitch

Hello Everyone! Today I will be starting the first of our crochet stitch tutorials to help give you the skills you need to make lovely baby clothes and help to make a difference to a new mother in a crisis situation. 

We will be starting with the chain stitch, the basis of almost any project. I will also include step by step instructions for the slip knot, the method you use to start a project.
These stitches are simple, and I will also have step by step instructions with pictures to help you along. If you are left handed, things will be a little more difficult, but just remember that everything is a mirror image to your own work.
Remember, getting the right tension and consistent spacing on your stitches will take time, so I would recommend finding some older, not very special yarn and doing the chain stitch for a few days, just so that you can get an idea of the way a good stitch feels. Pretty soon your stitches will look beautifully consistent and will blend together in a fabric.
Alrighty then, let's get started! 

The Slip Knot

The most important thing to do when starting a project is to make sure that you have a good slip knot. This is how you get the yarn on the hook and start your projects. 

First, take your yarn in your left hand, holding the tail between your thumb and middle finger. 

Take the yarn (not the tail) and wrap it twice around your pointer finger, starting by going over (not under) the finger. 

 

Take the back loop and cross it over the front loop, and then take the new back loop and bring it over the first loop and off the finger. 

Insert hook into the loop still on your finger, and pull on the tail to tighten. Viola! You have a slip knot. 

The Chain Stitch

The basis of almost any pattern, you will be using  the chain stitch all of the time. Luckily, it is also super easy, so you will get it down pat pretty quickly. In a pattern, chain stitches are usually represented by ch, followed by the number of stitches required. 

Start with a slip knot on your hook. Pay attention to how I am holding the yarn and hook in this picture. This will help you develop your tension. 

Place your hook in front of the yarn and then move it backward, hooking a loop of yarn over the hook. 

Start drawing the new loop downward to the slip knot, angling the opening in your hook inward into the stitch as you bring it through.

This is your first chain stitch, repeat as many times as necessary.

I hope that this tutorial was helpful! I will be back next week with a tutorial for the single crochet, one of the most used stitches. Happy crafting!

God Bless, Magda