Is a turning chain always necessary?

Hi everyone on the forum,
I started crocheting about three-quarters of a year ago and taught myself everything online. Right now I’m working on an English pattern and have the following question for you:

When it says:
Row 2: 2 sc in first sc, sc in each sc across to last sc, 2 sc in last sc, turn (7)
Row 3: sc in each sc across (7)

Does that mean that at the end of Row 2, you have to turn the work and then simply crochet back through all the stitches—in other words, without a turning chain? I’ve read elsewhere that a turning chain is always necessary when crocheting rows. Or does the pattern’s creator perhaps assume that you automatically make a turning chain? I’d just be a little surprised, because she usually describes everything else in great detail.

Thanks in advance and best regards

Hi Boo,
if you want to see what happens when you skip the turning chain, take a look at my profile picture. I’d just started crocheting back then, and that’s what came out of it.

What are you crocheting from that English pattern? Maybe you don’t need a turning chain for some projects? For example, if it’s not meant to gain much height.
But in the second row, you have two stitches in the very first stitch and two in the last one—maybe that’s supposed to replace the turning chain? But that won’t give you any height either, more width instead.
I hope a pro chimes in on this.
It would be great if you could tell us exactly what you’re crocheting.

I sometimes forget to include the turning chain in patterns, too. You do it so automatically that the English author might have forgotten it as well. Why don’t you write to her and ask?
Best regards

Thanks to both of you for your answers!
@Muetzekatze: this is going to be the chest plate of a Ninja Turtle:

http://wolfdreamer-oth.blogspot.de/2011/03/tmnt-michaelangelo.html?m=1

Crocheting two stitches at the beginning and at the end is supposed to make it gradually wider.

@omishaekelstübchen: I thought I'd ask you pros here, because the pattern is a bit older and the author doesn't always reply.

I've already crocheted up to row 9 without a turning chain, and I rather feel that it's becoming too narrow (though I could be wrong)

@Boo
I actually had to look up what Wendeluftmasche is called in English
turning chain or tch
that's what I found there
http://www.vbs-hobby.com/de/blog/haekelabkuerzungen-deutsch-englisch-121.html
and then I used Ctrl + F on the link with the English pattern to search for "turning chain" or "tch", but didn't find anything. That's kind of a little strange.
I mean, I could understand it if there were a sentence somewhere saying something like "please remember to crochet a turning chain at the end of each row." But somehow there's nothing at all about the subject. So I assume that the pattern designer assumes you automatically make the turning chain. Just like OmisHaekelstübchen writes too.

You've already tried what happens when you leave out the turning chain
You might know how it is: crocheting and frogging are time-honored crochet traditions. ;) So don't worry about it, the pros did that at the beginning too, frogging and starting over every now and then.
but the Ninja Turtle is great. just try it with the turning chain and see whether everything works out the way it should.
You're probably also someone who doesn't like counting stitches? I don't like it either.
But maybe you can manage reasonably well with a tape measure to help you see whether the width is roughly right?

I suspect it’s automatically assumed that a turning chain should be crocheted

Okay, thanks again, everyone! Then I’ll just have to start over :D

@muetzekatze: I actually always count the stitches xD Thanks for giving me the idea with the measuring tape :D The number is right too, but I can imagine it just gets tighter if the turning chains are missing. Well, I’ll see whether it gets better!

Have a nice evening, everyone :)

@Boo
So, how’s it going? Are you making good progress on the Ninja Turtle?

Well—personally, I don’t always work a turning chain.
When I don’t, though, I make sure to crochet the first stitch a little looser so that it’s definitely level with the other stitches in the row.
But it certainly looks nicer and neater with a turning chain.
 

I wouldn’t have thought that pros would leave out the turning chain.

I should also mention, though, that most of my projects are, of course, crocheted in spiral rounds. In those cases, turning chains don’t really play a role.
But I’ve crocheted a lot of things for myself, and I’ve noticed that it works just fine without a turning chain :)
You just have to be really careful not to make the first stitch too tight and to make sure you actually catch the first stitch every time. Often, it’s actually the case that you can only really identify the correct stitch because of the turning chain ;)
Best regards,
Petra

I'll try that when crocheting too.

I tried this out yesterday without a “turning chain.” Of course, it doesn’t work with double crochet and such. But with single crochets, if you make a nice first stitch, as Streifgetier says, it kind of works for me, even though the edge ends up a bit crumpled. But I was crocheting in rows, not in spiral rounds.
So it’s a bit different than with spiral rounds. Still, I think it’s easier for beginners not to skip the turning chain. If you take a look at my profile picture, those were my very first attempts at crocheting, back then, a few years ago. That was supposed to be a pot holder. When I crocheted that, I didn’t know anything about turning chains or starting chains yet. Of course, the stitches weren’t really even yet, so what came out was crooked and lopsided—it looked more like an egg timer than a pot holder.
These days I’m better at making even stitches and all that, but I still haven’t figured out whether to use two or three turning chains when working double crochets; I just end up using either two or three, depending on how tight or loose I’m crocheting at the moment, whether I’m using a large or small crochet hook, what kind of yarn I’m working with, or if I’m crocheting with two strands at once—from two different balls of yarn that I join together to crochet with for nice color effects and such. You have to be very careful to make sure all the stitches are even, and you can’t skip the turning chain or the starting chain, because otherwise you might end up inserting the hook not into the stitch, but between the two strands—which are actually supposed to be one strand or worked as one strand—well, it kind of works anyway. :) With a little practice—or a lot of practice—it all goes much better. But I still have a lot of practicing to do before I might eventually reach an advanced level—sometime in 20 years or so :)