Crochet Chain Calculator

The turning chain is the whole problem

The starting chain is the stitch count plus the turning chain. In most modern patterns the turning chain does not count as a stitch, so it is added on top; in many older patterns it does count, and is included. Getting that backwards is a one stitch error that propagates through every row.

The turning chain's height matches the stitch: one for single crochet, two for half double, three for double, four for treble. Too short and the edge pulls in; too long and it gapes.

The stitch count itself is width times gauge, rounded to whatever multiple the stitch pattern repeats over — the same constraint as a knitted cast-on.

A worked example

Forty inches at 3.5 stitches per inch is 140 stitches. Working in double crochet with a turning chain that does not count, chain 143: 140 stitches plus a three-chain turn.

If the pattern counts the turning chain as a stitch, chain 140 in total — the turn provides the first stitch. The difference is three chains, which sounds trivial and shows up as a diagonal edge if you get it wrong consistently.

Where the answer misleads

Most crocheters chain more tightly than they stitch, which makes the foundation row narrower than everything above it and gives the piece a pulled-in bottom edge. Chaining with a hook one size larger fixes it, as does a foundation single or double crochet, which builds the chain and first row together and removes the problem entirely.

Crochet gauge is also more variable than knitting gauge, because how far into the stitch the hook goes changes the stitch height as well as its width. Two crocheters with the same hook and yarn can differ by half a stitch per inch without either doing anything wrong.

Finally, the width is measured across the finished fabric, not the chain. A chain that measures 40 inches will not produce a 40 inch first row, because the chain and the stitches worked into it behave differently.