Texture · Intermediate
Bean stitch
A bean stitch is three loops drawn up in one place, with a yarn over before the second and the third, all closed together with one pull and held shut by a chain 1. It is a close relative of the puff stitch that sits at a slant, and rows of it make a dense, bumpy fabric.
How to work it
Draw up three loops in one place
Put the hook into the stitch or space and pull up a loop: two loops on the hook. Yarn over, go into the same place and pull up another loop: four. Yarn over and do it once more: six loops on the hook, counting the two yarn overs.
Close it, and chain 1
Yarn over and draw the yarn through all six loops at once. Then chain 1. The chain holds the bean shut, and the space under it is where a bean of the next row will go.
The stitch pattern, row by row
- Multiple
- Chain a multiple of 2 (8 or more).
- Starting chain
- The rows here are written for a chain of 20, which is 10 times the multiple of 2.
- The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
- Row 1 is the right side.
- A stitch worked into a chain space passes over any stitches that lie before the space; they are left unworked.
- Foundation. Ch 20.
- Row 1 (RS). Bean in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, [sk next ch, bean in next ch, ch 1] 8 times, sk next ch, sc in next ch (9 beans, 1 sc, 9 ch-1 sps).
- Row 2. Ch 1, turn; [bean in next ch-1 sp, ch 1] 9 times, sc in last st (9 beans, 1 sc, 9 ch-1 sps).
Repeat row 2 for the pattern.
What each symbol meansHow to read a chart
Abbreviations in these rows
- ch
- chain stitch
- sc
- single crochet (UK double crochet)
- RS
- right side
- sk
- skip
- sp
- space
- st
- stitch
- yo
- yarn over
- bean
- bean stitch: insert hook in the st or sp, yo, pull up a loop, [yo, insert hook in the same place, yo, pull up a loop] 2 times, yo, pull through all 6 loops on hook.
At a glance
- Used for
- a dense, textured fabric in which the stitches lean one way and then the other
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 2 (8 or more).
- Row repeat
- Row 2.
- Loops on the hook
- Six before the bean is closed: the loop that was there, three drawn-up loops and two yarn overs
- After each bean
- Chain 1
- Where the beans go
- In the first row, into every second chain. In later rows, into each chain-1 space.
Published rows describe the place for the next row's beans in different words: into the chain-1 space, into the gap just above each bean, or into the bean itself with the chain skipped. The rows here use the chain-1 space. However it is worded, the beans of one row lean the opposite way to those of the row below, which gives the fabric its zigzag look.
One published instruction counts seven loops on the hook, because it counts the last yarn over as well. It is the same stitch.
Published rows also differ at the edges. One version puts a half double crochet (UK half treble) at each end of the row; others have no edge stitch and turn with extra chains. These rows end each row with one single crochet.
When it goes wrong
- My rows are losing beans.
- Count the beans at the end of each row: every row has the same number. Work one into every chain-1 space, and do not leave out the single crochet at the end.
- I am not sure where the chain-1 space is.
- It is the small gap under the chain that closes each bean, between that bean and the next. Pull the fabric gently sideways and the gaps open.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Questions
- Is bean stitch the same as puff stitch?
- Not quite. They are made in much the same way, by drawing up loops in one place and closing them together, but a bean stitch sits at a slant and locks in between the stitches of the row below.
- How many loops are on the hook for a bean stitch?
- Six, just before it is closed: the loop that was already there, three drawn-up loops and two yarn overs. An instruction that says seven is counting the final yarn over too.
- How many chains do I start with for bean stitch?
- For these rows, an even number. Some published rows ask for an odd number, because their edges are different, so use the count that comes with the rows you follow.