An Alternative to the Turning Chain

I have never liked the look of a turning chain especially if it's 3 chains or taller. It's too skinny and leaves a gap before the next stitch. I've seen several alternatives to the turning chain. At a Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) conference a couple years ago a representative from Lion Brand demonstrated a nice one. I've modified it slightly to come up with a version that I really like. I call it a beginning dc, but you can make it shorter and use it as an hdc or longer and use it as a treble.

Here's a swatch showing how this stitch looks different from a standard ch 3. 

To begin, pull up a loop to about the height of a double crochet.

Put a twist in the loop by rotating your hook in a complete circle. It doesn't matter which direction you rotate the hook, but take note of which you choose.

Insert your hook in the first stitch of the row below and pull up a loop.

Adjust the size of that loop to about half that of your twisted loop and ch 1.

Rotate your hook in a complete circle in the opposite direction from the way you rotated it above.

Yarn over and pull through all loops on your hook to complete the stitch.

That's all there is too it. Give it a try and let me know how you like it. As always I love to hear from you.