Beginning Row Chains in Crochet

Closeup of Beginning Rows in Crochet

A few days ago, a friend called with a crochet question. We always get in touch by email, so when I heard her voice on the incoming call, I grabbed it. I knew it had to be important.

It was - to her - very important.

Normally, she works from patterns, really cute afghans and such. But this time she was in a hurry to whip up a baby blanket. She decided on plain and simple, and chose yarn texture, weight, and hook that worked. She also decided to just work a simple square.

The only problem she had was trying to recall how many stitches to begin each row if she was working this in rows of double crochet. My answer to her was to ch 3 to begin each row of double crochet.

For any of you who need a quick refresher, here's the usual setup for beginning each crochet row if a pattern does not specify, or if you are not using a pattern.

single crochet - ch 1

half double crochet - ch 2

double crochet - ch 3

 
Even the most experienced of crocheters occasionally has a mental block. For me, it happens, as it did with my friend, when I am in a hurry.