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Working in rows · Easy

Chain space

A chain space is the gap under one or more chain stitches. It is made by working chains and then skipping stitches before the next stitch. When a pattern says to work into a chain space, written ch-sp, put the hook into the gap, under the whole chain, and not into the chain itself.

How to work it

  1. Find the space

    Look along the row below for a chain with nothing standing under it. The gap below that chain is the chain space. The pictures show a row of double crochet (UK treble) with one chain between each two stitches.

  2. Put the hook under the chain

    A row of double crochet with one chain between each two stitches: under every chain there is a gap. The hook passes through the gap under one chain, which is marked, and its head shows above that chain. One loop is on the hook.

    Push the hook into the gap, from the front, so that it passes under the whole chain. Do not put it through the chain.

  3. Work the stitch

    The stitch is finished. The new stitch, marked, stands over the chain: its foot goes down past the chain into the gap, so the stitch closes round the whole chain.

    Yarn over, pull up a loop and finish the stitch as usual. The stitch closes round the chain.

  4. Work as many stitches as the pattern says

    A space takes more than one stitch. A pattern often puts a whole group into one space, as in "3 dc in next ch-1 sp".

At a glance

Also called
ch-sp, ch sp
Used for
shells and other groups of stitches, which are worked into spaces; granny squares and their corners
Abbreviation
ch-sp or ch sp.
ch-1 sp
The space under 1 chain.
ch-3 sp
The space under 3 chains. The number is how many chains were made.
sp
Space.
sk
Skip: pass over the next stitch without working into it.

A chain space is usually made in two moves: chain, then skip. In "ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st", where dc is double crochet (UK treble), the one chain bridges the stitch that is skipped, and the gap under it is a ch-1 space. Chain more and skip more, and the space is bigger.

Skip means just that: leave the next stitch, or the number of stitches given, unworked and move on to the one after. In a pattern it is written sk. A stitch that is skipped with no chain over it makes the row one stitch shorter, so chains and skips usually come together.

Working into the space and working into the chain are two different instructions. If a pattern names a chain space, the hook goes under the chain. If it only says to work into the chain, or "in next ch", the hook goes through the chain stitch itself, as it does into a foundation chain.

When it goes wrong

My stitch count is short after a row with spaces.
Count the chains as well as the stitches: a chain often stands over a stitch that was skipped. Then check how many stitches the pattern puts into each space.
I worked into the chain and it was hard to get the hook in.
If the pattern says ch-sp, go under the chain into the gap: that is what the pattern means. Work through the chain itself only where the pattern says to work in a 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 does ch sp mean in crochet?
Chain space: the gap under a chain or a run of chains made in the row before.
What is the difference between ch-1 sp and ch-3 sp?
The number of chains over the gap: one or three. A ch-3 space is the wider of the two.
Do I crochet into the chain or under it?
Under it, when the pattern says chain space. Into it, when the pattern says only chain.

Where to go next

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