How to Make a Slip Knot

Making a slip knot is the only way your foundation chain will become durable.  There are multiple ways to create slip knots; this is one possible approach.                                               

Grasp the yarn in your left hand, between your
thumb and middle finger, and allow the yarn to flow freely over your index finger. Support the yarn with your middle finger. Leave a tail of yarn trailing below your thumb.

Use the crochet hook to twist the yarn so that a loose loop is on the hook. As shown in the figure below.

Use the hook to catch the yarn so that it is wrapped around the throat of the hook in the direction shown in the figure below and draw it through the loop.

You now have a loose slip knot on your crochet hook. Tug the tail gently to tighten the slip knot. Don’t over-tighten it; the crochet hook should be able to move easily inside this loop so that you can form your starting chain in the next step.

Your slip knot will look like the figure below. Note that this slip knot or slip loop is not usually counted as a stitch in crochet.