92 In side Cr och et
CHAIN
Most crochet projects begin
with a length of chain. This is
the perfect stitch to practise
your hold and tension with.1 Holding just the hook with
point up in your dominant
hand, and the yarn in the
other, grip the slipknot
with the yarn holding hand.
Work a yarn round hook
(yrh or yoh) by passing the
hook in front of the yarn,
under and around it.2 Roll the hook round in
your fi ngers towards you
to catch the yarn and pull
through loop on hook.
One chain made.3 Ensuring the stitches
are even – not too loose
or tight – repeat to make
a length of chain.GETTING STARTED
PENCIL GRIP
Hold the hook in your
dominant hand as you
would a pencil.MIDDLE-FINGER
METHOD
Wrap the ball end of the
yarn around the little fi nger
of your opposite hand and
over the other fi ngers. Hold
the work steady with your
forefi nger and thumb, then
raise your middle fi nger
while you are crocheting to
create tension.KNIFE GRIP
Hold the hook in your
dominant hand as you
would a knife.HOLDING THE HOOK
FOREFINGER
METHOD
Wrap the ball end of the yarn
around the little fi nger of
your opposite hand, under
the next two fi ngers and over
the forefi nger. Hold the work
steady with your middle
fi nger and thumb, then
raise your forefi nger when
working to create tension.HOLDING THE YARN
To crochet smoothly and effi ciently, you must hold the hook
and yarn in a relaxed, comfortable and consistent fashion. This
will also ensure that your tension is even and accurate. There
are two main ways of holding the hook and two main ways
to tension the yarn. You can choose whichever combination
feels more natural for you, or a variation on these.THE BASICS
SLIPKNOT
A slipknot creates the fi rst
loop on the hook.1 Make a loop in the yarn
around 10–20cm/4–8in from
the end. Insert hook through
loop, catch the back strand
of yarn and pull it through to
the front.2 Pull the ends of the yarn to
secure the knot around the
hook, but not too tightly or
it will be hard to pull the fi rst
loop of chain through.The a ct ion of working
st it che s ca use s a
con st a n t rolling of t he
hook in your f ingers;
hold t he hook p oin t ing
up when p erf orming
t he yrh, t hen roll it
round t owa rds you
t o p oin t down when
p ulling t hrough t he
loop s so t ha t you
don’t ca t ch t he hook
in t he st it che s.To cr -hn e,
imly do o
r i - h n e h.
H
mi
u ny
p ur i h guide t o
se e how t o work.It doe sn’t ma t t er i f your
st it che s t end t owa rds
b e ing slight ly t ight or
e ven a lit t le loose; you a re
a iming f or a n e ven t en sion
t hroughout t o a ch ie ve a
professional finish.