Texture · Easy
Blanket stitch
Crochet blanket stitch is groups of three stitches worked into one place: a single crochet (UK double crochet) and then two stitches of double crochet (UK treble). Two stitches are skipped between groups, and in every later row each group goes into a single crochet of the row below. It is not the sewn blanket stitch that edges fabric, which is made with a needle.
How to work it
A single crochet and two double crochets in one stitch
Into one stitch work a single crochet, then two double crochets. The short stitch comes first, so the group rises to one side like a small wedge.
The stitch pattern, row by row
- Multiple
- Chain a multiple of 3 plus 2 (11 or more).
- Starting chain
- The rows here are written for a chain of 20, which is 6 times the multiple of 3, plus 2.
- The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
- Row 1 is the right side.
- Stitches in parentheses, or several of one stitch, are all worked into the one place named after them.
- Foundation. Ch 20.
- Row 1 (RS). (sc, 2 dc) in 2nd ch from hook, [sk next 2 chs, (sc, 2 dc) in next ch] 5 times, sk next 2 chs, sc in next ch (7 sc, 12 dc).
- Row 2. Ch 1, turn; (sc, 2 dc) in first st, [sk next 2 sts, (sc, 2 dc) in next st] 5 times, sk next 2 sts, sc in last st (7 sc, 12 dc).
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)
- dc
- double crochet (UK treble)
- RS
- right side
- sk
- skip
- st
- stitch
At a glance
- Used for
- blankets and baby blankets; scarves
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 3 plus 2 (11 or more).
- Row repeat
- Row 2.
- One group
- A single crochet and two double crochets, all in one stitch
- Between groups
- Two stitches skipped
- Start and end of a row
- A row begins with a chain 1 that does not count and a whole group in the first stitch, and ends with one single crochet in the last stitch.
The name is shared. In sewing, blanket stitch is worked with a needle and thread along the edge of fabric. This page is about the crochet stitch, which is rows of groups.
The row is short to remember: the same group, over and over, always into a single crochet. Three stitches go into every third stitch, so the count stays the same from row to row.
Some published rows begin each row with chain 2 and two double crochets in the first stitch, end it with a single crochet in the turning chain of the row below, and start from a chain that is a multiple of 3. The rows here make a whole group after a chain 1 that does not count, and start from a multiple of 3 plus 2. Sedge stitch is built the same way with a half double crochet (UK half treble) as the middle stitch of the group.
When it goes wrong
- I am not sure where the next group goes.
- Into the single crochet of the group below, which is the shortest stitch of its group. Working back along the row, the two double crochets of a group come first and are skipped.
- My rows get longer or shorter.
- Count the groups at the end of each row: every row has the same number, and each row ends with one single crochet on its own.
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
- Is crochet blanket stitch the same as the blanket stitch used to edge blankets?
- No. That blanket stitch is sewn with a needle along the edge of fabric. The crochet stitch of the same name is a fabric of its own, made with a hook in rows of three-stitch groups.
- How many chains do I start with for blanket stitch?
- For these rows, a multiple of 3 plus 2. Published rows that begin each row with chain 2 and two double crochets start from a multiple of 3, so use the count that comes with the rows you follow.
- Is blanket stitch only for blankets?
- No. Published tutorials suggest it for scarves as well.