With the yarn on your hook, and holding the rest of your yarn in your non-dominant hand, move your hook so that the yarn is draped over the crochet hook.

Grab the yarn with the hook and begin to pull toward your thumb with it to take it through the loop that is on your hook currently.

Note: You might have to work on how tight you are holding any of the yarn if it doesn’t easily slide through. The goal is to move the loop currently on your hook, off of your hook, as it is now replaced by the new chain you made.

Continue doing the same motion until you have the number of chains your pattern calls for. For the purpose of this tutorial, I worked on making 10. As you continue to chain, hold your work by the area below the slip knot at first, and you can re-position your thumb as you chain 5 or 6 (as shown in the video below).

Video Tutorial of Crochet Chain Stitch

Below is the video tutorial that I made doing the chain stitch. I suggest that you watch this, pausing and playing as necessary until you get used to the motion. Once you get used to it, chain 10, and move along to chain 30. I know many people who start using this to practice their tension (how balanced their stitches are based upon how tightly they are holding their hook or yarn) and will end up making wrap bracelets, a crochet chain headband, or something simple to count as their first project.

Remember that practice is the only thing that truly helps you to learn tension and become comfortable with holding both your hook and yarn. You can always unravel your stitches and use the same yarn to practice over and over again.