Making the First Stitch
Put the yarn on your finger. Stick out your pointer finger so that the nail is facing away from you. Now, drape the end of the yarn over your finger. The end should be on the front side of your finger, with about 1-1.5" of yarn extending below your finger. The rest of string should fall behind your finger. Use your thumb on the same hand pressed at your fingertip to hold the yarn in place.
Wrap the string around your finger. Grasping the string behind your finger with your free hand, pull it toward you and then up and over your finger to wrap it around. You should see two loops formed around your finger. Now, adjust the second loop that you just made so that it goes over the top of the first loop, forming a sort of slanted X shape. Once you've formed this X shape, you can hold the slack from the rest of the string in your middle and ring fingers on the same hand that is wrapped in yarn.
Pull on the X "arm". Looking down at the top of your finger at the X which is formed, locate the upper "arm" of the X which is closest to the end of your finger (of the left if you made the loop on your right hand, on the right if made on your left hand). Pinch this arm with your free hand and pull on it just a little to make it slack.
Slide the yarn through to form another loop. Now, from your fingernail side, reach under the arm and grab the other arm from behind it. Pull that string under and through. You should see another loop or circle start to form above your finger, made from the string you're pulling. Once it's about as big as the loop on your finger, slide the whole thing off of your finger carefully. This should leave you with a clear loop and a very open, loose, beginning of a knot. If it doesn't, try again.
Adjust your loop. Pinching the loop with your fingers, pull on the short end of the string to tighten the knot. Adjust as you go to make sure you don't end up with too much tail. You want to maintain a tail length of 1-2". Once the knot is tightened, you should be able to slide it to create a bigger or smaller loop. Place your hook through the loop and set it at a comfortable tightness. This structure that you've ended up with is called a slipknot and is the basis for starting most crochet projects.
Creating the Chain
Hold the hook up in front of you. Hold the hook with the loop on it up in front of you. It should be pointing toward the opposite hand from the one that's holding it, with the long end of the string behind the hook. The loop should be sitting about 1" down from the curved end of the hook. This means that the knot should be below the hook.
Pull the yarn up and over the hook. Taking the long end of the yarn, pull it up and over the top of the hook. The knot should remain below the hook and the rest of the yarn should now be in front of the hook. This is called a yarn over. Hold the yarn tight enough to keep its tension, but loose enough to let it still slide through your fingers while you are crocheting.
Catch the yarn with the hook. Pull the hook so that the curved end moves forward and catches the yarn you just pulled over the hook. The yarn should be nested in the hook now.
Pull the yarn through the loop. Pull the yarn, using the hook, through the slipknot loop. You have now made your first chain.
Repeat until you have as many chains as you want. Repeat the process of yarning over and pulling it through until you have as many chains as you need for your project. If you need to count chains, lay the chain flat. You should see a series of V shapes. Each V is a single chain stitch.
Going from Here
Tie off your chain. If you just want a chain, such as if you're making a bracelet, you can tie off your chain when it reaches the desired length. Simply clip the yarn at least an inch from your last stitch, catch the last remaining end with the hook, and pull it all the way through the loop. Give it a good tug to secure the end.
Change direction to start a new row. You can also change direction in order to start a new row. This will be the most common route for most crocheters. When you make a new row, you will be rooting your stitches in the chain that you made. How this is done will depend on your project, so you'll have to follow your pattern. The most likely options are to use single crochet or double crochet. Before you start this new row, you will make a couple of extra chains (usually two, it can vary depending on the size and tightness of your stitches). Chain these extras and then root your next row in the last proper stitch in your chain. It is best for beginners to start with small projects that are worked in flat rows.
Join the ends to form a circle. Another option is if you are crocheting a circle. In this case, once you are done making your initial chain (usually four stitches), you will join the ends together to form the beginning of your circle. This is done using a slip stitch. With the last loop of your chain on your hook, push the head of the hook into the very first stitch on your chain. This will make two "loops" on the hook. Grab the yarn with your hook, just as if you were chaining normally, and pull it through both loops. This will leave you with one loop on the hook and you'll be ready to start your next "row".
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