Alternatives to chain when startingwhen starting a crochet project

[Dilbertian]

If I said that I detest crocheting row 1 into a chain it would be an understatement. This is limiting what I will make.

There must be alternatives to chaining? I'm contemplating casting onto a knitting needle, casting off, and then crocheting into the cast off stitches - would that work?

Magic loop for an amigurumi shape?

Chainless foundation?

https://yarnandchai.com/tutorial-chainless-foundation-no-more-chains/

There is a technique for starting off with double crochet/single crochet (depending on whether you're US or uk)
Google brings up loads of hits E.g. https://persialou.com/foundation-single-crochet-fsc-photo/
I've done it to start a blanket and found it a bit fiddly to start with but it does save all that wrestling with a chain.

OMG I learned that foundation stitch years ago! How did I forget about it?

Thank you for reminding me 😍

I love using a chainless foundation row. I find it far better than a chain and use it whenever I can, even for a ripple blanket.

I use the long-tailed foundation, I find it easier than the other method. It does tend to be twisty so I put a stitch marker into the first stitch and then into every 10th stitch so I know where the top is. I use one colour for 10, 20, 30, 40 and then a different colour for 50, back to original colour every 10 until 100 which is the same colour as 50. I used this video. s

I'd heard the term long tail foundation, but thought it simply meant leaving a very long tail for sewing in or sewing a seam!

That looks brilliant.

Right. Two jobs: refresh chainless foundation and learn long tail foundation.

(3rd job: get cracking on some of those wishlist projects that I haven't started because of the massive starting chain!)