The Turning Chain: Why Your Edges Slant

If your rectangle is coming out as a trapezoid, or you started with 20 stitches and somehow have 17, the turning chain is almost certainly why.

It is a small thing that patterns explain badly, and it accounts for more frogged rows than any other single mistake in crochet.

What it is and why it exists

When you finish a row and turn your work, your hook is sitting at the bottom of the new row. But the stitches you are about to make are tall. If you just started crocheting from there, the first stitch of every row would be squashed and your edge would pull in.

So you chain upward first, to lift the hook to the height of the stitch you are about to work. That chain is the turning chain.

How many chains

The taller the stitch, the more chains you need.

That third column is the whole problem.

The question that ruins projects: does it count?

For single crochet the answer is simple and consistent: the chain-1 does not count as a stitch. It is there for height. After chaining 1 and turning, you work your first single crochet into the very first stitch of the row.

For everything taller, it depends on the designer, and they do not always tell you.

If the turning chain counts as a stitch, you skip the first stitch of the previous row — the chain is standing in for it — and you work your last stitch of the row into the top of the previous row’s turning chain.

If it does not count, you work into the first stitch as normal, and at the end of the row you ignore the previous turning chain entirely.

Both are correct. Mixing them within one project is what produces a slanted edge.

The three symptoms and their causes

Your work is getting narrower

You are losing a stitch per row, and there are two usual culprits.

You are missing the last stitch of the row. In double crochet especially, the previous row’s turning chain does not look like a stitch — it looks like part of the edge. If your pattern counts the turning chain, that chain is the last stitch and you must work into it. Look for the little chain column at the end of the row and put your hook in the top of it.

You are skipping the first stitch when you should not be. If your turning chain does not count as a stitch, the first real stitch goes into the first stitch of the row. Skipping it loses one every row.

Your work is getting wider

You are gaining a stitch per row, which is the mirror image of the above. Either you worked into the first stitch and counted the turning chain as a stitch — giving you two stitches where there should be one — or you worked into the previous turning chain when your pattern does not count it.

Your edge is slanting to one side

Your work is the right width but the sides lean. This means you are being inconsistent — counting the turning chain on some rows and not on others. Count your stitches at the end of every row for the next ten rows and the pattern of the mistake will surface immediately.

The gap at the start of double crochet rows

Even when you do everything right, a ch 3 standing in for a double crochet leaves a small hole at the edge of every row. This is normal and everybody gets it, because a chain is thinner than a real double crochet.

Two ways experienced crocheters reduce it:

Chain 2 instead of 3. Slightly shorter than a true double crochet, which closes the gap and is barely noticeable in the fabric. Very common in modern patterns.

The stacked double crochet. Instead of chaining at all, work a single crochet in the first stitch, then work a double crochet into the top of that single crochet. It gives you full height with the density of a real stitch, and the edge comes out visibly neater. It takes a minute to learn and it is worth it on anything where the edge shows.

Neither changes your stitch count. Both substitute for the ch 3 and count as the first double crochet.

Which way to turn

It genuinely does not matter whether you flip your work toward you or away from you — but pick one and always do it the same way. Alternating creates a subtle twist in the edge that shows up on long pieces like scarves.

Rounds work differently

Everything above applies to flat work in rows. In the round it changes:

Joined rounds use a starting chain instead of a turning chain, and you do not turn at all — the right side faces you the whole time. Same heights, same counting question.

Spiral rounds, common in amigurumi, have no chain at all. You simply keep going. There is nothing marking where a round begins, which is why patterns tell you to put a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round and move it up as you pass. Do it. Counting a spiral without a marker is genuinely miserable.

Frequently asked

Can I just skip the turning chain? For single crochet, many crocheters do skip the chain-1 and simply turn and work into the first stitch. It gives a tighter edge and works fine. For double crochet and taller, no — without the height, the edge pulls in badly.

Why do my patterns disagree with each other? Because there is no enforced standard. Turning chain conventions are one of the genuinely unstandardized parts of crochet, and designers each follow their own house style. Read the first row of each new pattern rather than assuming.

Does the turning chain count when I am counting my stitches? Only if the pattern says it counts as a stitch. If it does, include it in your total. This is the number one reason people think their count is wrong when it is actually correct.

How do I fix an edge that has already slanted? You cannot fix it afterward. Undo to the last row where the count was right and rework from there. It is faster than any workaround, and workarounds do not actually work.