Originally Posted by Neesie

Although I've been crocheting since I was a young child, I can certainly understand why some people have so much trouble with it (after teaching and trying to teach, several others). One piece of advice I can give, is to just work on the starting chain, until your loops are even and the yarn/thread is flowing freely and comfortably, from your thread-holding hand. If your starting chain is too tight, the others stitches will be a nightmare to make. The way you hold your thread may not be the way someone else holds it. What feels comfortable for one, may be totally wrong for someone else. Try different examples and see which works best for you.
Another piece of advice - learn with a worsted-weight yarn, which has just a bit of stretch to it. A bit of stretch makes it much easier to work stitches, if your tension does happen to be uneven.