Changing color · Easy

Block stitch

Block stitch is two rows worked by turns. One row is stitches of single crochet (UK double crochet) with two chains between them. The next row works three stitches of double crochet (UK treble) into each space of two chains, and each three is a block. Worked in two colors, the blocks stand out as rows of small squares of color.

How to work it

Make a row of single crochets and chains
With the first color, work a single crochet, chain 2, skip two stitches, and work a single crochet into the next. Repeat across the row. Each pair of chains hangs over the two skipped stitches as a small space.
Fill each space with a block
Change to the second color. Turn, and chain 3 to stand for the first double crochet. Put the hook under the two chains of the first space and work three double crochets into that space: one block. Work three into every space across the row. The single crochets are not worked into. End with one double crochet in the last stitch.
Put single crochets between the blocks
Turn, chain 1, and work a single crochet into the first stitch. Chain 2 and skip the three double crochets of the first block. Work the next single crochet into the gap between that block and the next: under the tops of the stitches and between their posts, not into a stitch. Go on across, chain 2 over every block and a single crochet in every gap, and end with a single crochet in the top of the turning chain. Then come blocks again.

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 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.
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.
Stitches in parentheses, or several of one stitch, are all worked into the one place named after them.
The sp before next st is the gap between two stitches, under all the loops, not the top of a stitch.
Change yarn in the last yarn over of the last stitch of the row before.
Do not cut a yarn that rests: it waits at the edge where its next row begins and is carried loosely up that edge, over 2 rows at most.
The yarn changes every two rows here, so that it is never cut: a row of blocks and the row of single crochet above it are one color. Changing color at every row, with every row of blocks in the second color, is the more usual look; it means cutting the yarn at the end of each row and weaving in two ends for every row.

Foundation. With A, ch 20.
Row 1 (RS). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, [ch 2, sk next 2 chs, sc in next ch] 6 times (7 sc, 6 ch-2 sps).
Row 2. With B, ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [3 dc in next ch-2 sp] 6 times, dc in last st (20 dc).
Row 3. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, ch 2, sk next 3 sts, [sc in sp before next st, ch 2, sk next 3 sts] 5 times, sc in top of turning ch (7 sc, 6 ch-2 sps).
Row 4. With A, ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [3 dc in next ch-2 sp] 6 times, dc in last st (20 dc).
Row 5. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, ch 2, sk next 3 sts, [sc in sp before next st, ch 2, sk next 3 sts] 5 times, sc in top of turning ch (7 sc, 6 ch-2 sps).

Repeat rows 2 to 5 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of block stitch: 9 rows on the foundation chain, each row numbered at the side it starts from. Each row is drawn in the color of its yarn.

What each symbol means How 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: blankets and baby blankets
Multiple: The chain is a multiple of 3 plus 2 (11 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 block: Three double crochets in one space of two chains.
Colors: Two or more.

There are two ways to place the colors. The rows written here change color every two rows: a row of blocks and the row of single crochets above it are one color, and the yarn that rests is carried up the edge and never cut. The other way changes color after every row, so that all the blocks are one color and all the lines of single crochets and chains are another. That way the yarn is cut at the end of each row, and there are ends to weave in for every row.

Many patterns begin with a plain row of double crochet and work the first single crochets into the gaps between its stitches. The rows here begin with the single crochets and chains worked straight into the starting chain, which is why their chain is a multiple of 3 plus 2. A pattern that begins another way may give a different number.

Tips

On a row of single crochets, count as you go: two chains over each block, one single crochet in each gap.

When it goes wrong

My single crochets are hard to place.: They do not go into the top of a stitch. Look for the gap between the last double crochet of one block and the first of the next, and put the hook through that gap.
My rows are getting shorter.: The last stitch has been left out. A row of blocks ends with one double crochet in the last stitch, and a row of single crochets ends with a single crochet in the top of the turning chain.

Left-handed

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

Questions

What is the multiple for block stitch?: Each block takes three chains. For the rows here the starting chain is a multiple of 3 plus 2. Patterns that begin with a row of double crochet give a multiple of 3 plus 1 or plus 2, by the way they turn. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
How many rows repeat?: Two rows of stitches: the blocks, and the single crochets and chains. With the colors changed every two rows, the color repeat is four rows.

How to work it

Make a row of single crochets and chains

Fill each space with a block

Put single crochets between the blocks