{"id":70,"date":"2026-09-16T00:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T00:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/how-to-make-a-slip-knot-and-foundation-chain\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:40:06","slug":"how-to-make-a-slip-knot-and-foundation-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/how-to-make-a-slip-knot-and-foundation-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Slip Knot and Your First Foundation Chain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every crochet project &#8211; every single one &#8211; begins the same way: a slip knot on the hook, followed by a row of chain stitches called the foundation chain. Get comfortable with these two things and you&#8217;ve cleared the first real hurdle. They take about five minutes to learn and a little practice to make neat.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m Nora, and I still remember how fiddly the slip knot felt the very first time &#8211; my loops kept sliding apart before I could get the hook into them. That&#8217;s completely normal. Your hands don&#8217;t yet know how much yarn to leave slack and how much to pull, and that only comes from doing it a few dozen times.<\/p>\n<p>What &#8220;getting it right&#8221; actually looks like isn&#8217;t a perfect first try &#8211; it&#8217;s a chain that lies flat, doesn&#8217;t spiral on itself, and has stitches you can count without squinting. That&#8217;s a realistic goal for your first sitting, and it&#8217;s worth slowing down for, because every single stitch you ever make will sit on top of a foundation like this one.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/crochet-hook-with-yarn-in-progress-on-a-sunny-table.jpg\" alt=\"Crochet hook with yarn in progress on a sunny wooden table\"\/><figcaption>A calm, well-lit spot makes it much easier to see your loops clearly while you&#8217;re still learning to count them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Making the slip knot<\/h2>\n<p>The slip knot is just an adjustable loop that anchors your <a href=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/how-to-choose-yarn-for-your-first-project\/\">yarn<\/a> to the hook.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"vr-steps\">\n<li>Leave a tail about six inches long, and make a loop with the yarn so the tail crosses behind the working yarn (the strand still attached to the ball).<\/li>\n<li>Reach through the loop and pull the working yarn through to form a new loop.<\/li>\n<li>Slide that loop onto your hook and gently pull the working yarn to snug it up &#8211; not tight, just secure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<aside class=\"vr-callout vr-callout--tip\">\n<p class=\"vr-callout__label\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/best-crochet-kits-for-beginners\/\">Beginner<\/a> tip<\/p>\n<p>You want the knot firm enough to stay put but loose enough to slide along the hook. If it&#8217;s strangling the hook, ease it back open and try again.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>The chain stitch (ch)<\/h2>\n<p>With the slip knot on your hook, you&#8217;re ready to chain. If you haven&#8217;t settled on a comfortable way to hold the hook yet, it&#8217;s worth a quick look at <a href=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/how-to-hold-a-crochet-hook\/\">how to hold a crochet hook<\/a> first &#8211; a relaxed grip makes the next part much easier to feel out.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"vr-steps\">\n<li>Hold the base of the slip knot with your yarn hand to keep it steady.<\/li>\n<li>Wrap the working yarn over the hook from back to front. This is called a &#8220;yarn over,&#8221; and you&#8217;ll do it constantly &#8211; it&#8217;s worth naming now.<\/li>\n<li>Catch the yarn in the hook&#8217;s throat and draw it back through the loop already on the hook.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>That&#8217;s one chain. You now have a fresh loop on the hook, ready for the next one. Repeat: yarn over, pull through. Each repeat makes one more chain, and together they form a little braid.<\/p>\n<h2>How to count your chains<\/h2>\n<p>Look at the front of the chain and you&#8217;ll see a row of &#8220;V&#8221; shapes, each one a single chain. So to make a foundation chain of 10, you make 10 V&#8217;s after the slip knot, ignoring the loop on the hook.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"vr-callout vr-callout--note\">\n<p class=\"vr-callout__label\">Good to know<\/p>\n<p>The loop currently on your hook doesn&#8217;t count as a chain, and neither does the slip knot at the very end &#8211; count only the finished V&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Counting matters because patterns tell you exactly how many to start with, and being off by one or two throws off the whole first row. When in doubt, lay the chain flat and count the V&#8217;s twice.<\/p>\n<h2>The two most common beginner problems<\/h2>\n<aside class=\"vr-callout vr-callout--warn\">\n<p class=\"vr-callout__label\">Watch out<\/p>\n<p>If your chain is so tight you can barely get the hook back into it on the next row, you&#8217;re pulling each stitch down hard. Make each new loop a touch bigger, or go up one hook size just for the chain.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Chains that twist.<\/strong> A little curl is normal and relaxes once you work into it. Just make sure the chain isn&#8217;t physically twisted like a spiral before you start your first row, or the edge will be wonky.<\/p>\n<h2>Practice ideas before you start a real project<\/h2>\n<p>You don&#8217;t need a pattern to get good at this &#8211; you just need repetition with a clear thing to check. Try these on scrap yarn before you commit to a project:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chain to a set number, three times in a row.<\/strong> Chain exactly 20, lay it flat, count it twice, then pull it out and do it again. Speed doesn&#8217;t matter yet; consistency does.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chain with your eyes mostly on the yarn hand, not the hook.<\/strong> Beginners tend to stare at the hook tip. Try watching how your other hand feeds and tensions the yarn instead &#8211; that&#8217;s usually where unevenness actually comes from.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make one chain deliberately too tight and one too loose.<\/strong> Feeling the difference on purpose makes it much easier to recognize &#8220;just right&#8221; the next time, since you now have all three sensations to compare.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What comes next<\/h2>\n<p>Once your foundation chain is neat and counted, you&#8217;re ready to work your first real stitch into it. The <a href=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/how-to-single-crochet\/\">single crochet<\/a> is the usual next step, and it&#8217;s the stitch most beginner projects lean on. From a slip knot to a chain to a first row &#8211; that&#8217;s the whole on-ramp, and you&#8217;ve just done most of it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/learn-the-basics.jpg\" alt=\"A person crocheting with white yarn, close-up detail\"\/><figcaption>This is what the on-ramp looks like from here &#8211; a steady chain feeding into a first row of real stitches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Do I count the loop on the hook as a chain?<\/h3>\n<p>No. The loop on the hook is always a work-in-progress loop, never counted. Count only the finished V&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<h3>Why does my pattern say to chain extra at the start of a row?<\/h3>\n<p>Those extra chains, called a turning chain, give your stitch enough height to reach the top of the row. Each stitch type needs a different number, and your pattern will tell you.<\/p>\n<h3>My foundation chain keeps coming out too tight. Help?<\/h3>\n<p>Try holding the yarn a little looser, or make your foundation chain with a hook one size larger than the pattern calls for, then switch back for the rest.<\/p>\n<h3>How long should my practice chain be before I try a real stitch?<\/h3>\n<p>Anywhere from 15 to 20 chains is plenty for practicing the chain stitch itself. When you move on to your first row of single crochet, follow whatever starting chain length that project or tutorial specifies.<\/p>\n<h3>Is it okay if my slip knot looks different from the diagram in a pattern book?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, as long as it does the same job: it sits snugly but slides on the hook, and it doesn&#8217;t count as one of your foundation chains. There&#8217;s more than one way to tie the same functional loop.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every crochet project starts with a slip knot and a chain. Here&#8217;s how to make both, step by step, plus how to count chains and avoid a too-tight start.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wpap_ed_seo_title":"","_wpap_ed_img_alt":"","_wpap_ed_img_title":"","_wpap_recipe_servings":"","_wpap_ed_meta_desc":"","_wpap_ed_img_caption":"","_wpap_ed_img_desc":"","_wpap_recipe_ingredients":"","_wpap_recipe_steps":"","_wpap_recipe_on":"","_wpap_ed_split":"","_wpap_recipe_prep":0,"_wpap_recipe_cook":0,"_wpap_recipe_total":0,"_wpap_ed_autofill":"","_wpap_ed_manage":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[24,21,18,23,22],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grundlagen-lernen","tag-chain-stitch","tag-crochet-basics","tag-crochet-for-beginners","tag-foundation-chain","tag-slip-knot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kreatives-hakeln.crochet1.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}