Have you ever noticed that while double crocheting in rows, you need to “chain 3” before starting the next row? Have you ever wondered what this is called and why you need to do this?
Well, the chains at the end of the rows are called “turning chains,” abbreviated tch. They exist because they allow your crochet room to grow evenly. Later we are going to see what it looks like and feels like if you try to work back and forth without turning chains. As you can imagine, it gets pretty cramped and a little wonky!
Photo below shows a double crochet swatch with no turning chains!
How many turning chains are needed for each type of crochet stitch? The number depends upon the height of your stitch. Assuming you are working in simple, flat rows, you should use the following number of turning chains at the end of each row.
single crochet – ch 1
half double crochet – ch 2
double crochet – ch 3
triple crochet – ch 4
double triple crochet – ch 5
triple triple crochet – ch 6
Generally, while crocheting evenly, you are expected to skip the first stitch after the turning chain. If this is the case, the pattern may say “ch 3 (counts as 1 dc now and throughout the pattern), dc into the next stitch.” The turning chain isn’t always counted as a stitch. If you are working with a pattern it should indicate if the turning chain is being used/counted as a stitch.
In order to fully understand the turning chain, we are going to double crochet two swatches evenly in rows, with and without turning chains. Finally, we will use the normal number of turning chains but crochet into the first stitch from the tch. Yarn and hook size don’t matter for these practice swatches.
You may mouse over images for left-handed views.
Abbreviations:
ch – chain
dc – double crochet
tch – turning chain
Swatch 1 (no turning chains)
Row 1: ch 10, dc into the first stitch from the hook.
The photo below shows the stitch where the first dc will go!
dc into each ch across.
The photo below shows this in progress. The arrow is pointing to the very cramped first dc.
Rows 2-5: turn, dc into the first dc and into each dc across. After completing 5 rows, finish off.
Swatch 2 (standard turning chain)
Row 1: ch 12, dc into the fourth stitch from the hook (first 3 ch from hook count as 1 dc), dc
into each ch across.
The photo below shows the foundation chain with an arrow pointing to the 4th chain from the hook.
ch 3 (counts as 1 dc now and throughout the pattern), turn
The photo below shows this done with an arrow pointing to the turning chain that counts as a dc.
Rows 2-5: dc into the second dc and into each dc across, dc into the tch (you’ll have a total of 10 dc on each row)
The photo below shows this in progress with the arrow pointing to the tch where the dc should be worked.
After completing 5 rows, finish off.
The photo below shows the swatch finished.
Swatch 3 (standard turning chain, but tch does NOT count as dc)
Row 1: ch 13, dc into the fourth stitch from the hook, dc into each ch across.
The photo below shows this done with an arrow pointing to the first 3 ch from the hook. These 3 ch count as a turning chain, not as a dc.
Rows 2-5: ch 3, turn, dc into the first dc and into each dc across.
The photo below shows this in progress with the tch evident next to the double crochet.
After completing 5 rows, finish off.
The photo below shows the swatch done. See how it looks “puffier” than the traditional swatch?
I suppose that each of these methods could be used in different designs for a different effect. I thought it was difficult doing a double crochet with no tch. What did you notice about the tch? Which of these methods do you usually use?
Tags: Caissa McClinton, crochet 101, crochet basics, turning chain, tutorials and help, understanding crochet
This entry was postedon Tuesday, June 25th, 2013 at 12:00 AM by Caissa "Cami" McClintonand is filed under Tutorials and Help.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
