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!

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