Pattern question

[Lodie]

My pattern says “ch 3 (see pattern notes—chain-3 at beginning of round counts as first double crochet unless otherwise stated), dc in next ch, dc in each rem ch around, join(see pattern notes—join with slip stitch as indicated unless otherwise stated) in top of beg ch-3.” And this is very confusing to me as im a beginner. Am i supposed to dc the 3 ch’s ? Then why does it say dc in next ch & in each rem ch around? And the join in top of beg ch3?! Im just all around confused if anyone could help i would highly appreciate it.

[Lodie]

53 minutes ago, Lodie said:

My pattern says “ch 3 (see pattern notes—chain-3 at beginning of round counts as first double crochet unless otherwise stated), dc in next ch, dc in each rem ch around, join(see pattern notes—join with slip stitch as indicated unless otherwise stated) in top of beg ch-3.” And this is very confusing to me as im a beginner. Am i supposed to dc the 3 ch’s ? Then why does it say dc in next ch & in each rem ch around? And the join in top of beg ch3?! Im just all around confused if anyone could help i would highly appreciate it.

So after reading a bunch I think i got it and now just want to clarify—the first ch 3 just acts as a dc and for the remaining ch’s they actually are dc around until i then join the beginning and the end with the slip stitches ? 

[Granny Square]

Hi, and welcome to the 'ville!

A helpful link for beginners https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/how-to-read-crochet-pattern  This using US stitch terms, and so am I, as your pattern seems to be in US terms.

Basic crochet stitches, meaning sc, hdc, dc, and so on that are the 'building blocks' of many complex stitches, or a whole blanket (or whatever) can all be made of one of those stitches repeated over and over.  Each of these stitches, when you work in rows, has to have a way to 'get up to the height' of the next row, this is done by what's usually referred to as a 'turning chain'. 

The above link explains how turning chains work for each basic stitch, but in a nutshell - SC has a turning chain of 1, and the turning chain does not count as a stitch.  HDC can be a little odd, I don't even remember what the rule is supposed to be, but I've seen patterns either have you treat it the same as a SC, or have you chain 2 and count it as a stitch.

...and you just replied to yourself and found the same answer that I was about to give you - yes, you got it--treat the chain 3 as a DC.  DO read the link I gave you (unless it was one you already read in 'the bunch), there are more details.