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Graph patterns · Easy

Corner to corner

Corner to corner crochet (C2C) is worked in small square blocks, also called tiles, in diagonal rows from one corner of the piece to the opposite corner. Each block is a chain 3 and 3 double crochet (UK treble). Start with one block, make every row one block longer until the piece is wide enough, then make every row one block shorter down to the far corner.

How to work it

  1. The first block

    The first block. Three double crochet stand on three chains, and the three chains that were skipped stand up the right side of the block, marked. The slip knot is at the lower left, and one loop is on the hook at the upper left.

    Chain 6. Double crochet in the fourth chain from the hook and in each of the next 2 chains. That is row 1: one block.

  2. Start row 2

    Turn. Chain 6, and work a block on those chains in the same way.

  3. Join it

    Slip stitch into the chain-3 space of the first block: the gap under the 3 chains that stand up its side.

  4. The second block

    Rows 1 and 2 laid out as on a graph. The first block, numbered 1, is at the bottom right, with its three chains marked. Row 2 is two blocks, each numbered 2: one to the left of the first block and one above it, which stands on the marked chains.

    Chain 3, then work 3 double crochet into that same chain-3 space. Row 2 has 2 blocks.

  5. Every increase row

    A piece of five rows laid out as on a graph, each block a square numbered with its row. Row 1 is one block at the bottom right. Each row lies on the diagonal and has one block more than the row before; row 5, marked, has five.

    Turn, chain 6 and make a block on the chains. Then, for each block of the row below: slip stitch into its chain-3 space, chain 3, and work 3 double crochet into the same space. Each row has one block more than the last. Go on until each of the two straight edges is as long as the side of the piece should be.

  6. Every decrease row

    A square of four blocks each way, laid out as on a graph. Rows 1 to 4 grow to the longest diagonal. Row 5, marked, has three blocks: one fewer than row 4. The places of rows 6 and 7 are drawn empty.

    Turn. Slip stitch across the 3 double crochet of the block just made and into its chain-3 space. Chain 3 and work 3 double crochet into that space, and go on block by block. At the last block of the row below, slip stitch into its chain-3 space and stop: no block goes there. Each row has one block fewer, down to a single block at the far corner.

At a glance

Also called
C2C, diagonal box stitch
Used for
blankets; pictures in blocks of color, worked from a graph; dishcloths and scarves
One block
Chain 3 and 3 double crochet. Also called a tile, a box or a square.
Increase row
Begins with chain 6. One block more than the row before.
Decrease row
Begins with slip stitches across the last block. One block fewer than the row before.
Abbreviations used
ch, dc (UK tr), sl st (UK ss), ch-3 sp

The chain-3 space is the gap between the 3 chains at the start of a block and its first double crochet. Every later block hangs from one: a slip stitch into the space, 3 chains, and 3 double crochet into the same space, worked round the chain.

A square is made by increasing until the longest row is the diagonal you want, then decreasing every row. For a rectangle, increase until one side is as long as the short side should be. From then on begin one row with slip stitches and the next with chain 6, turn about: one side goes on growing while the other stays the length it is. When the long side is long enough, decrease on every row.

Because the fabric is made of equal blocks, it is used for pictures: a corner to corner graph is a grid of squares, one block for each square, with the yarn changed from block to block.

On this site every corner-to-corner graph is read the same way. Row 1 is the block in the bottom right corner of the graph. Rows run on the diagonal to the top left corner. Odd rows are read from the right edge, later the top edge, down to the bottom edge, later the left edge; even rows are read back up. Each row's label names its two edges.

When it goes wrong

I cannot see where to slip stitch.
Look for the 3 chains that stand up the side of the next block in the row below. The hook goes into the gap under them, not into a chain.
My piece keeps getting wider when I want it to stop.
A row that begins with chain 6 adds a block. To stop growing, begin the row by slip stitching across the last block, and end it with a slip stitch in the last chain-3 space.

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 C2C mean in crochet?
Corner to corner: the piece is worked on the diagonal, from one corner to the opposite one.
Which stitch is corner to corner worked in?
Double crochet, in blocks of three with a chain 3.
How many chains do I start corner to corner with?
Six. Three hold the three double crochet of the first block, and the three that are skipped stand up its side.
How do I decrease in corner to corner crochet?
Begin the row with no chain 6. Turn, slip stitch across the 3 double crochet of the block you have just made and into its chain-3 space, then chain 3 and work 3 double crochet into that space. At the last block of the row below, slip stitch into its chain-3 space and stop. A row worked this way has one block fewer than the row before, so the piece stops growing and narrows toward the far corner.

Where to go next

Stitches

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