Puffs, bobbles and clusters · Easy
Cluster stitch
A cluster stitch is several unfinished stitches closed together with one pull through every loop on the hook. The one met most often is the 3-dc cluster: three unfinished stitches of double crochet (UK treble) in one stitch or space, closed under one top. A bobble is a bigger cluster, usually of five stitches, that pushes out from the fabric. A puff is made of long loops in place of unfinished stitches. A popcorn is made of finished stitches, gathered by taking the hook out and putting it back through the first.
How to work it
Two more in the same place
Do the same twice more in the same place. Each unfinished stitch leaves one more loop on the hook: three loops, then four.
Close the cluster
Yarn over and pull through all four loops at once. The three stitches are held under one top and count as one stitch.
The same closing over several stitches
A pattern may put the unfinished stitches into the next three stitches, one in each, and close them the same way. Then three stitches become one and the row gets narrower. That is a decrease, written dc3tog.
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 4 at the start of a row counts as a dc and a ch-1 sp. The last stitch of the next row is worked into its 3rd ch.
- 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). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, [ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch] 8 times, sc in next ch (11 sc, 8 ch-1 sps).
- Row 2. Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1 sp), turn; [CL in next ch-1 sp, ch 1] 8 times, sk next st, dc in last st (2 dc, 8 CL, 9 ch-1 sps).
- Row 3. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, sc in next ch-1 sp, [ch 1, sc in next ch-1 sp] 8 times, sc in 3rd ch of turning ch (11 sc, 8 ch-1 sps).
Repeat rows 2 and 3 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
- sp
- space
- st
- stitch
- yo
- yarn over
- CL
- cluster: [yo, insert hook in the st or sp, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops] 3 times in the same place, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook.
At a glance
- Used for
- rows of clusters with chains between them, for blankets and scarves; a dense, textured fabric
- Abbreviation
- CL. Patterns also write cl, 3-dc cluster or dc3tog, and some use no abbreviation.
- In UK terms
- cluster, the same name. A 3-dc cluster is three unfinished trebles.
- Loops on the hook
- 4 before closing a cluster of three stitches; 5 for four stitches
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 2 (8 or more).
- Row repeat
- Rows 2 and 3.
- 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 pattern that uses clusters says what its cluster is, usually in a list of special stitches before the rows: how many stitches, of what kind, and where they go. Read it every time, because the word covers many stitches. A cluster can have two, three, four or more stitches, and they can be half double crochet (UK half treble), double crochet or treble crochet (UK double treble).
A 3-dc cluster and a bobble are made the same way. The bobble has more stitches, usually five, and is set between short stitches so that it stands out. Many patterns use the two names for the same stitch.
Whether the stitch count changes depends on where the unfinished stitches stand. All in one stitch or space, they take the place of one stitch and the count stays the same. Spread over several stitches, they turn that many stitches into one, which is how a decrease is made.
In the rows on this page every cluster is worked into a chain space and followed by one chain. The next row puts a single crochet (UK double crochet) into the space under each of those chains.
When it goes wrong
- My rows are getting narrower.
- The unfinished stitches went into separate stitches, which is a decrease. For a cluster that keeps the count, put every one of them into the same stitch or space.
- I do not know when to close the cluster.
- Count the loops. A cluster of three stitches is ready when four loops are on the hook: one for each unfinished stitch and the one you began with.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- Bobble stitch. A cluster of five unfinished stitches of double crochet in one stitch, made on a wrong-side row so that it pushes out on the right side.
- Puff stitch. Long loops pulled up in one stitch and closed together.
- Popcorn stitch. Finished stitches of double crochet in one stitch, gathered by taking the hook out of the loop and putting it back through the first of them.
- Double crochet decrease. The same closing over two or more stitches, used to make a row narrower.
Questions
- What does 3-dc cluster mean?
- Three double crochet stitches worked into the same place, each left unfinished, and closed together at the top with one pull through all four loops. Together they count as one stitch.
- Is a cluster the same as dc3tog?
- The move is the same: three double crochets worked together. In one stitch or space it makes a cluster and the stitch count stays the same. Over three stitches it is a decrease.
- Is a cluster stitch the same as a bobble?
- They are made the same way, and many patterns use either name. A bobble usually has five stitches and stands out more.