My foundation chain is too tight to work into. What do I do?

Best: chain with a hook 1.5-2 mm larger, then switch to your working hook. The chain's job is to be a base, not to set gauge, so making it with a bigger hook affects nothing downstream.

Second best: use a chainless foundation, which removes the chain entirely. Slower per stitch but gives a stretchy edge. Worst: deliberately working the whole thing looser, which fixes the chain by breaking the gauge in the fabric that people actually see and measure.

If you are three or four stitches in, undo the row, undo the chain, and redo it with the bigger hook. That is under two minutes of work. If you are 20 stitches in and the chain is merely snug rather than impossible, carry on: the first row is the hardest and it will feel normal from row two.

Do not cut the chain and re-chain it. A joined chain has two tails in the middle of the bottom edge and both will work their way out.

Chains are worked at the very start of a session, when your hands are cold and your tension is at its tightest. By row three you have warmed up and relaxed. If your chains are consistently tight, your first five minutes of any session are the problem, not that particular project.

Warm up on a scrap of chain before starting anything that begins with a foundation row. Thirty seconds of scrap is cheaper than re-chaining a 120-stitch blanket edge.