Learn to crochet foundation stitches. Foundation stitches are a better way to start your crochet project (or sections of your project) than the traditional foundation chain stitch method for many reasons. Read below for an explanation of the technique with tutorials.

Starting with a chain that you work into for your first row has it’s downsides. Because the chain stitches tend to be tighter and without much elasticity, your project can become uneven and wider as you add more rows because your rows will get looser and the tight starting chain can often have a bowed look to it because of this.

Not only does the foundation method give a cleaner, more uniform look to your starting rows, but allows you to add stitches as you go in your first row which can be convenient if you are unsure of how many stitches you need to make. Such a pain to make a chain and work your first row only to realize you should have made the chain shorter or longer and have to unravel the row, fix your chain, and start the first row of stitches all over again.

Ever since I learned the crochet foundation stitches method, I use it to begin most of my projects. Especially with crochet garments, as the foundation stitch row has a much better elasticity and just the right amount of stretch to it. This method can be used for all the basic stitches, single crochet, half double, double crochet and treble crochet. I will go over all of these in the tutorials below.

Foundation Double Crochet

To begin a foundation double crochet, chain 4, yarn over and insert hook into the first chain, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull up a loop again (this extra loop is the foundation chain built right into the double crochet), yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops. To keep going with the foundation double crochet, see photos below…

Yarn over and insert hook into the bottom of the previous stitch. If you flip your row over and look at the little V like stitches, you will be able to tell which is the bottom of the last stitch (SEE PHOTO #1). Yarn over and pull up a loop. There will now be 3 loops on your hook (SEE PHOTO #2). Yarn over and pull up a loop again (SEE PHOTO #3). Yarn over and pull through 2 loops (SEE PHOTO #4). Yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops (SEE PHOTO #5).

Foundation Treble Crochet

To begin a foundation treble crochet, chain 4, yarn over twice and insert hook into the first chain. Pull up a loop, yarn over and pull up a loop again, yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops. To keep going with the foundation treble crochet, see photos below…

Yarn over twice and insert hook into bottom of previous stitch (SEE PHOTO #1). Yarn over and pull up a loop. You should now have 4 loops on hook (SEE PHOTO #2). Yarn over and pull up a loop again (SEE PHOTO #3). Yarn over and pull through 2 loops (SEE PHOTO #4). Yarn over and pull through 2 loops (SEE PHOTO #5). Yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops on hook (SEE PHOTO #6).

Foundation Half Double Crochet

To begin a foundation half double crochet, chain 3, yarn over and insert hook into first chain and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull up a loop again. Yarn over and pull through all loops on your hook. To continue with the foundation half double crochet see photos below…

Yarn over and insert hook into bottom of previous stitch (SEE PHOTO #1). Pull up a loop (SEE PHOTO #2). Yarn over and pull up a loop again. Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on your hook (SEE PHOTO #3).

Foundation Single Crochet

To begin a foundation single crochet, chain 2, insert hook into first chain (do not yarn over first), pull up a loop. Pull up a loop again. Yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. To continue with the foundation single crochet, see photos below…

Insert hook into the bottom of previous stitch without yarning over first (SEE PHOTO #1). Yarn over and pull up a loop (SEE PHOTO #2). Yarn over and pull up a loop again (SEE PHOTO #3). Yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops on your hook (SEE PHOTO #4)

And those my friends, are the crochet foundation stitches. Once you start using this method, you will quickly realize the difference it makes from using the chaining and working stitches into the foundation chain method. I hope you found these tutorials helpful. If you are new to crochet, check out my post 11 Crochet Tips For Beginners for some useful info to make your life as a crocheter easier.

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That’s all for today folks.