Ripples and chevrons · Easy
Chevron stitch
A chevron is a row bent into a zigzag. Extra stitches worked into one stitch push the row up into a peak, and stitches skipped or worked together pull it down into a valley. The rows here are single crochet (UK double crochet): three stitches in one at each peak and two stitches skipped at each valley. A softer wave in double crochet (UK treble) is set out further down.
How to work it
Down the slope, and skip two at the valley
Work one single crochet into each of the next four stitches. Then skip two stitches: they are the bottom of the valley, and nothing is worked into them. Put the hook into the stitch after them and carry on.
Up the slope, and three in one at the peak
Work one single crochet into each of the next four stitches. Then work three single crochets into the next stitch. That stitch is the top of the peak: in every row after the first it is the middle one of the three stitches of the peak below. Repeat steps 2 and 3 across the row, and end with two single crochets in the last stitch.
The stitch pattern, row by row
- Multiple
- Chain a multiple of 11 plus 2 (35 or more).
- Starting chain
- The rows here are written for a chain of 35, which is 3 times the multiple of 11, 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.
- Three stitches in one make each peak and two skipped stitches make each valley; the count never changes.
- Foundation. Ch 35.
- Row 1 (RS). 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, [sc in next 4 chs, sk next 2 chs, sc in next 4 chs, 3 sc in next ch] 2 times, sc in next 4 chs, sk next 2 chs, sc in next 4 chs, 2 sc in last ch (34 sc).
- Row 2. Ch 1, turn; 2 sc in first st, [sc in next 4 sts, sk next 2 sts, sc in next 4 sts, 3 sc in next st] 2 times, sc in next 4 sts, sk next 2 sts, sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in last st (34 sc).
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
- st
- stitch
At a glance
- Also called
- ripple stitch
- Used for
- striped blankets and afghans; scarves and shawls
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 11 plus 2 (35 or more).
- Row repeat
- Row 2.
- Edges
- The side edges are straight: a row that begins with a chain that does not count begins and ends in a stitch, and that chain is not worked into. The top and the bottom edges are zigzags.
- Peaks
- Increases: here, three stitches in one stitch.
- Valleys
- Decreases: here, two stitches skipped.
The number of stitches in a row never changes. Each peak adds two stitches and each valley takes two away, so every row has the count of the row before it. That is the check to use: count the stitches at the end of a row while the pattern is new to you.
Peaks stack on peaks and valleys on valleys. If the three stitches of a peak go into the wrong stitch, the zigzag drifts sideways and the side edges begin to slope.
The top and bottom edges of the piece are zigzags too.
The symbol chart below draws each row straight, so that the stitches are easy to count. In the fabric the same rows bend into the zigzag of the two pictures above.
Tips
- Put a stitch marker in the middle stitch of each peak as you make it. It shows where the three stitches of the next row belong.
When it goes wrong
- My side edges are slanting.
- A stitch has been added or left out at the end of a row. Each row starts with two stitches in the first stitch and ends with two in the last. Count the row: it should have as many stitches as the first row.
- My peaks are drifting to one side.
- The three stitches of a peak have gone into a stitch beside the middle one. Find the middle stitch of the three below, and work all three into that one.
- The row came out a stitch short or a stitch long.
- Look at the valleys first. One skipped stitch where there should be two leaves the row a stitch long, and three leave it a stitch short.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- A soft wave in double crochet. For rounded crests and troughs, work in double crochet and put two increases side by side at each crest and two decreases side by side at each trough. A common repeat is: double crochet in each of the next 3 stitches, double crochet 2 together twice, double crochet in each of the next 3 stitches, then 2 double crochets in each of the next 2 stitches. The chain is a multiple of 12 plus 3, the first double crochet goes into the fourth chain from the hook, and each row ends with 2 double crochets in the last stitch.
- Longer or shorter slopes. The stitches between a peak and a valley can be any number, as long as both slopes have the same. More stitches make wider zigzags. Patterns use four, five and eleven, and each has its own multiple.
Questions
- What is the difference between chevron and ripple?
- There is no fixed rule, and many patterns use the two names for the same thing. Where a difference is made, a chevron has sharp points and a ripple has gentler, rounded waves.
- What is the multiple for a chevron?
- It depends on the length of the slopes. For the single crochet rows here the chain is a multiple of 11 plus 2. For the soft double crochet wave it is a multiple of 12 plus 3. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
- How do I change color?
- At the end of a row: work the last stitch until two loops are left on the hook and pull the new color through them. Stripes of one or two rows show the zigzag off.