Crochet guide
Crochet edging on fabric
To crochet an edging on fabric, hem the edge, then work a first row of single crochet (double crochet in the United Kingdom) through the cloth just under the hem. The hook gets through in one of three ways. A fine hook can pierce the cloth, holes can be made first, or a row of blanket stitch can be sewn on to crochet into.
On this page 8 parts
How a hook gets into cloth
In most woven cloth the threads lie too close together to let a crochet hook pass between them. There are three ways through.
- Pierce it with the hook. A small hook goes through fabric more easily than a large one. A 2 mm hook, or a hook with a pointed end, is used on light fabric.
- Make the holes first. Poke each hole with a darning needle or another sharp tool. On fleece, a toothed blade on a rotary cutter, called a skip blade, cuts a row of evenly spaced holes in one pass.
- Sew blanket stitch along the edge. Blanket stitch is a hand stitch that finishes and strengthens an edge and leaves a row of loops along it. One teacher uses it as a foundation: the hook goes into the loops, not the cloth. The sewing is done in crochet thread or embroidery floss, and a heavier cloth takes a heavier thread.
Get the edge ready
- Woven fabric frays, so turn its edge under first. Fold it under 1/4 in (0.6 cm). One how-to folds it twice and sews the hem down. Another makes one fold and lets the crochet stitches hold it. An item that already has a hem, such as a scarf, is ready as it is.
- Fleece does not need a hem. Its edge is folded over once, to the back, as the first row is worked.
Yarn and hook
Match the yarn to the cloth. Fine cloth takes crochet thread or a fine yarn with a small hook. Fleece takes a medium yarn. Choose a yarn that can be washed the way the cloth is washed, because the two are washed together from now on. How to wash crochet covers what each fiber needs.
The first row
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets where it differs.
- Hold the fabric with its right side facing you.
- Put the hook through the cloth just below the hem, through one layer only. On blanket stitch, put it under a loop. On fleece, put it into a cut hole.
- Pull up a loop and fasten the yarn on. Work a single crochet in the same place.
- Chain one or more, move along, and work the next single crochet. The chains span the cloth between two stitches.
- Go on to the corner. Work extra stitches or chains there, so that the edging can turn and lie flat.
- At the end of the round, join to the first stitch with a slip stitch.
Keep every stitch the same depth into the cloth and the same distance from the last, so that the loops are all one height.
How far apart, and how far in
How far apart the stitches go is set by the yarn and by the edging.
| What | Spacing the how-tos give |
|---|---|
| Blanket stitch for a border in medium yarn | Stitches about 1/4 in (0.6 cm) apart |
| Single crochet with chains and a picot between, on a light scarf | Stitches 3/4 in (1.9 cm) apart |
| Holes cut in fleece | About 1 in (2.5 cm) in from the edge |
| A hemmed edge | The hook goes in just under the hem |
After the first row
Only the first row goes into the cloth. Every later row or round is worked into the crochet stitches below it, like any border. Plain single crochet can be the whole edging. Shells, picots and reverse single crochet all go on top of it. Adding a border to a blanket covers corners and the rounds that follow.
What it is used on
Crochet edgings are worked onto fleece blankets, flannel, dish towels, scarves, quilts and clothes. For clothes, see adding crochet to clothes. A strip of edging can also be crocheted on its own and sewn on: see sewing crochet to fabric.
Where to go next
- Adding a border to a blanket for the rounds after the first.
- Crocheting with thread and the steel hook sizes chart for fine edgings.
- Lining a crochet blanket with fabric for fleece as a backing.