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Shells, fans and V-stitches · Easy

Arcade stitch

Arcade stitch is rows of fans that stand on arches of chains. One row makes the arches: three stitches of single crochet (UK double crochet), then three chains over three skipped stitches. The next row fills each arch with seven stitches of double crochet (UK treble). Then come arches again, set across the tops of the fans, and four rows repeat.

How to work it

  1. Make a row of arches

    The row is groups of three single crochets with arches between them. For each arch, chain 3, skip three stitches, and work a single crochet into each of the next three. The three chains hang over the skipped stitches as a small arch. At each end of the row there are two single crochets and not three.

  2. Fill each arch with a fan

    A fan of seven double crochets worked into an arch of three chains. A single crochet in the middle one of three single crochets holds the fan down at each side. A ring marks the arch the next fan goes into.

    Turn, chain 1, and work a single crochet into the first stitch. Skip one single crochet and work seven double crochets into the arch: put the hook under the three chains, into the space below them, for every one of the seven. Skip one single crochet and work a single crochet into the next one, the middle one of the three. It holds the fan down. Repeat across the row.

  3. Lay new arches across the fans

    Turn. The next arches stand on the fans: three single crochets into the middle three double crochets of a fan, then chain 3 to cross to the next fan, skipping the two double crochets left of this fan, the single crochet, and the first two double crochets of the next. At each edge there is only half an arch. The row begins with chain 4, which counts as a double crochet and one chain, and ends with chain 1 and a double crochet in the last stitch.

  4. Fans again, with a half fan at each edge

    Turn and chain 3. Work three double crochets into the small space at the edge: with the three chains that is half a fan. Then a single crochet into the middle one of each group of three single crochets, and seven double crochets into each arch, to the end, where the last small space takes the other half fan. The row after this one is a row of whole arches again, like the first.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple
Chain a multiple of 6 plus 2 (20 or more).
Starting chain
The rows here are written for a chain of 20, which is 3 times the multiple of 6, plus 2.
A swatch of arcade stitch.
  • The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
  • The ch 4 at the start of a row counts as a dc and a ch-1 sp. The last stitch of the next row is worked into its 3rd ch.
  • The ch 3 at the start of a row counts as a dc. The last stitch of the next row is worked into the top of it.
  • Row 1 is the right side.
  • Stitches in parentheses, or several of one stitch, are all worked into the one place named after them.
  1. Foundation. Ch 20.
  2. Row 1 (RS). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, [ch 3, sk next 3 chs, sc in next 3 chs] 2 times, ch 3, sk next 3 chs, sc in next 2 chs (10 sc, 3 ch-3 sps).
  3. Row 2. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, [sk next st, 7 dc in next ch-3 sp, sk next st, sc in next st] 3 times (4 sc, 21 dc).
  4. Row 3. Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1 sp), turn; sk next 2 sts, sc in next 3 sts, [ch 3, sk next 5 sts, sc in next 3 sts] 2 times, ch 1, sk next 2 sts, dc in last st (2 dc, 9 sc, 2 ch-1 sps, 2 ch-3 sps).
  5. Row 4. Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, [sk next st, sc in next st, sk next st, 7 dc in next ch-3 sp] 2 times, sk next st, sc in next st, sk next st, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch (22 dc, 3 sc).
  6. Row 5. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, sc in next st, [ch 3, sk next 5 sts, sc in next 3 sts] 2 times, ch 3, sk next 5 sts, sc in next st, sc in top of turning ch (10 sc, 3 ch-3 sps).

Repeat rows 2 to 5 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of arcade stitch: 9 rows on the foundation chain, each row numbered at the side it starts from. Odd rows are drawn dark and even rows green, so that neighbors can be told apart.

What each symbol meansHow to read a chart

Abbreviations in these rows

ch
chain stitch
sc
single crochet (UK double crochet)
dc
double crochet (UK treble)
RS
right side
sk
skip
sp
space
st
stitch

At a glance

Used for
shawls, wraps and scarves; light blankets and throws; table runners and other pieces for the home
Multiple
The chain is a multiple of 6 plus 2 (20 or more).
Row repeat
Rows 2 to 5.
Edges
The side edges are straight: where a row begins with a chain that counts, that chain is the edge stitch and the last stitch of the next row goes into its top; a row that begins with a chain that does not count begins and ends in a stitch, and that chain is not worked into.
A fan
Seven double crochets in one arch of three chains.

The rows go in pairs. In the first pair the arches are whole and the fans are whole. In the second pair everything is moved half a repeat sideways, so that each new fan stands over the gap between two fans below, and the edges are filled with half arches and half fans. Then the first pair comes round again.

Every fan is worked into the space under an arch and never into a chain, so the fans are easy to place. The stitch that needs care is the single crochet between fans: it always goes into the middle one of three single crochets.

Patterns differ a little at the edges. Some put all four stitches of the last half fan into the last space, where the rows here put three in the space and the fourth into the turning chain. The count of the row is the same.

Tips

  • A fan has a middle stitch, the fourth of its seven. The three single crochets of the next row go into the third, fourth and fifth.

When it goes wrong

My fans do not sit between the fans below.
Check which row you are on. After a row of whole fans, the arches must begin with chain 4 and skip two stitches, so that the first three single crochets land on the middle of the first fan.
I have too many or too few stitches at the end of a fan row.
Count the double crochets in each fan. Seven go into every whole arch, and three, with the turning chain, make each half fan.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Patterns that use it

Questions

What is the multiple for arcade stitch?
The starting chain is a multiple of 6 plus 2: six chains for each arch and its three single crochets, and two more for the edge. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
How many rows repeat?
Four. After the first row of arches, the pattern is a row of fans, a row of arches, a row of fans with half fans at the edges, and a row of arches.
Is the fan of arcade stitch a shell?
It is made like one: several double crochets in one place. The pages on shell stitch and fan stitch set out how the names are used.

Where to go next

Stitches

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