Tunisian crochet tutorial – Foundation Row

Are you starting to learn Tunisian crochet? It is so exciting to learn something new! Tunisian crochet provides a whole new set of stitches and textures that open up so many possibilities to build new fabrics.

There are a few things you need to know before you start:
1. The foundation row is the first row that you will make in any Tunisian crochet project.
2. Every Tunisian crochet row is made up of two parts – the forward pass and the reverse pass.
3. You never turn your project around like you do in regular crochet.
4. You need to pick a crochet hook that is at least 2 sizes larger than the recommended crochet hook for the yarn.

The hook

There are a bunch of different Tunisian crochet hooks available for purchase. You can read about the hooks I use here. Because of the nature of Tunisian crochet stitches, I recommend using a hook that is at least 2 sizes larger than the recommended hook on the yarn.

Different ways of making the Foundation Row

There are 3 parts of a chain: The Top loop, the Bottom loop and the Back bump.

Depending on which loop(s) you pick, the edge created on a foundation row will be different. The picture below shows how the different edges look:

The first sample is made by picking the Top loop only. While the edge is clean, it is curling upwards. I don’t recommend it for this reason.

The second sample is made by picking the Top loop and the back bump (this is usually how I make my foundation row in regular crochet). There is no curling but I like the edge of the third sample better.

The third sample is made by picking the Back bump only. The edging is neat and there is no curling. I use this to make most of my projects!

There is a video tutorial below that shows you how to make all three. The photo tutorial is for the first sample but the instructions are the same for all three methods except for which loops need to be picked to make the row.

Video Tutorials

I have right and left handed video tutorials on my Youtube channel. You can find all my Tunisian crochet video tutorials here.

Right handed

Left handed

Photo tutorial (Top loop method)

Forward pass

Step 1: Make a chain – the number of stitches in the chain will be equal to the number of stitches of your foundation row. For instance, if you need 15 stitches in your foundation row, make 15 chain stitches.

Step 2: Identify the top loop of 2nd chain from the hook. Insert hook into the top loop, yarn over and pull through one loop on the hook.

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Step 3: Identify the top loop of the next stitches. Repeat step 2 for all stitches in the chain.

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Reverse pass

Step 1: Chain 1

Step 2: Yarn over and pull through two loops on the hook. Repeat this for all the loops on the hook until you have one loop on the hook.

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Notes:

1. The number of loops on the hook after the end of a forward pass will always match the number of stitches on the previous row unless there is a deliberate increase or decrease.
2. The stitches in the foundation row cannot be defined as a specific stitch because stitches on any given row are defined by how you crochet the next row. If this is hard to understand, you don’t have to worry. This will be more clear in the next tutorials in the Tunisian crochet series 🙂

Patterns you might be interested in

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More Tunisian Crochet tutorials

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Share your pictures with me!

I really hope you liked this stitch / technique. I would love to see what you make with it so please share your pictures with me!
– Share them on Instagram with the tags #knitterknotter, #madewithknitterknotter and @knitterknotter
– Share them in my Facebook Group
– Create a project on Ravelry

I strive to offer my patterns for free and that is possible only with your support. Please share this stitch / technique and your pictures as much as possible. Every share counts 🙂

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