Pompis and Double Crochet (DC)

Oh my word! I have been working on this post for a few weeks now. Being a beginner blogger, adding pictures can be a pain in the butt (I probably shouldn't write butt online. My Grams is my biggest fan! So, if she reads this post, she will call me just to say, "No No No! You don't say butt, you say pompis" She is too cute and I love her!) This post has been a pain in the pompis!

Anyhow, now that my conscience is clear and I hope my Grams is still my biggest fan and she will still buy my stuff and I can still go over to her house for breakfast and sometimes go grocery shopping in her cupboards or she will still take me to lunch because she loves me, I can move on and demonstrate a double crochet (DC).

After practicing a bazillion chains and now have a long string that spans 20 miles. . .

With your thumb and index finger, hold on to the last chain made. . .

and chain 3 more.
Note: The chain on your hook NEVER counts as a chain! If you happen to count it, I will have to call you and say, "No No No, this does not count!"

Yarn over (YO). Now put your hook through the chain that your thumb and index finger have been holding onto. 
Note: If you happen to take your fingers off, count 3 chains down from the hook and put it in the 4th one.

Next, YO one more time and pull through one chain. 

You should now have 3 chains on your hook.  

YO and pull through two chains now.
You should now have two chains left on your hook.  YO and pull through the last two chains. (Sorry, I don't have a picture of this process. I told you it was a pain in the pompis.)
Congratulations, you made a double crochet (DC)!

This is what it should look like. You should have one DC and one chain 3 next to each other. Now, start the process all over again minus the chain 3.
Note: The chain 3 counts as your first DC. Remember: YO, put hook in chain, YO pull through ONE, YO pull through TWO, YO pull through TWO. Viola! You have a DC. 

Keep practicing and this is what one row looks like.

Now to add another row, chain 3.

This is what it should look like, after you chain 3.

At this point, this is where beginner crocheters (or maybe just me) make a mistake. Because your chain 3 counts as your first DC, you do NOT put your hook through the first chain on your row. (My finger is showing where you do NOT put your hook through.) 

Instead, YO, count 4 chains down from the hook, and put your hook through the 5th chain and start your DC process. 

Note: Unless you are making a fancy design and you are working on your second row, you should put your hook through tho top two chains which look like lips. Basically, it should look like the picture above then start your DC process.