Texture · Intermediate
Fancy and unique stitches
Unusual crochet stitches fall into a few kinds, and this page sorts them into five by what the fabric is: bumps that stand up from the surface, stitches that lean or cross, loops and scales, open lace, and color worked into the rows. Most are made of basic stitches such as single crochet (UK double crochet) and double crochet (UK treble), used in a new way.
How to work it
Bumps and knots: a surface that stands up
Work several stitches, or parts of stitches, into one place and close them together, and the group stands out from the fabric as a rounded bump. That is a bobble, a puff or a popcorn. A bump can also be one tall stitch, such as a treble crochet (UK double treble), folded over between two short ones, or a few chains worked inside a stitch. Bumps are usually made on wrong-side rows, so that they stand out on the right side. What they ask of you is counting: the loops on the hook, and the places the bumps go.
Stitches that lean or cross
In a herringbone stitch, worked as a half double crochet (UK half treble) or as a double crochet, the loop that is pulled up goes straight on through the next loop on the hook. That one move tilts the stitch, and row on row the tilt gives a woven look. Crossed stitches are a pair worked out of order: skip a stitch, work the next one, then go back and work into the skipped stitch, so that the two cross in an X. Each asks for one changed move and nothing else new.
Loops and scales
Loop stitch leaves a long loop of yarn at every stitch. The loops are made round a finger on wrong-side rows, and they cover the right side like fur. Crocodile stitch builds scales: groups of tall stitches worked round the posts of the row below, each row of scales overlapping the one under it. Crocodile stitch asks you to work round posts and to turn the piece as you go.
Open lace: holes on purpose
Chains worked over skipped stitches leave holes. A trellis is a net of chain arches. Iris stitch stacks small open shells one above another. Arcade stitch fills arches of chains with fans of seven double crochets. A row of eyelets puts one line of small holes into plain fabric. Lace asks you to work into chain spaces, and to count chains.
Color worked into the rows
Some patterns in color are drawn by the stitches themselves. A spike stitch is worked down into a row below, so that a long strand of its color lies over the rows between; larksfoot stitch does this with two or more colors. In mosaic crochet every row is worked in one color, and stitches placed over earlier rows build up the pattern. These ask you to count rows downward, and for mosaic crochet to follow a chart.
At a glance
- Used for
- finding a stitch by what its fabric looks like; bumps, slants, loops, lace and patterns in color
- For bumps and knots
- bobble, puff, popcorn, cobble and granule stitches
- For a woven look or an X
- herringbone stitches; crossed stitches
- For fur or scales
- loop stitch; crocodile stitch
- For holes on purpose
- trellis, iris, arcade and eyelet stitches
- For patterns in color
- spike and larksfoot stitches; mosaic crochet
The five kinds are this page's own way of sorting. A stitch can belong to two of them: puff V-stitch is bumps set in a lacy row, and larksfoot is a spike stitch that only shows in two colors.
Few of these are new stitches to learn from nothing. Most build on the basic stitches, or use them in a new way, and a stitch that looks intricate is often easier than it looks. Each stitch page on this site gives its own level, its rows and its multiple.
When it goes wrong
- My bumps stand out on the wrong side.
- A bump is pushed away from you as it is made. Work the bumps on wrong-side rows and they stand out on the right side.
- I cannot tell from a name what a stitch is.
- Names are not fixed: one name is given to more than one stitch pattern, and one pattern to more than one name. Go by the rows a pattern prints for its own stitch.
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. One bobble, step by step.
- Puff stitch. Long loops drawn up in one place and closed.
- Popcorn stitch. Whole stitches in one place, gathered together.
- Puff V-stitch. Two puffs and a chain in one place.
- Cobble stitch. A treble crochet folded into a bump.
- Granule stitch. Small knots of three chains, set in turn.
- Pique stitch. Two half-made stitches closed together, in every stitch.
- Crinkle stitch. Post stitches from the front and the back in turn.
- Herringbone half double crochet. The tilted stitch, in its shorter form.
- Herringbone double crochet. The same move one stitch taller.
- Crossed stitches. The pair that makes an X.
- Loop stitch. Long loops on one side of the fabric.
- Crocodile stitch. Scales worked round posts.
- Trellis stitch. A net of chain arches.
- Iris stitch. Small open shells in columns.
- Arcade stitch. Fans on arches of chains.
- Eyelet stitch. A line of small holes in plain fabric.
- Wattle stitch. Groups of a short stitch, a chain and a tall stitch.
- Spike stitch. A stitch worked into a row below.
- Larksfoot stitch. Spikes in two or more colors.
- Mosaic crochet. One color a row, and a chart to follow.
Questions
- What are some unique crochet stitches?
- By kind: bobble, puff and popcorn stitches for bumps; herringbone and crossed stitches for slants and an X; loop stitch and crocodile stitch for fur and scales; trellis, iris and arcade stitches for lace; spike stitches and mosaic crochet for patterns in color.
- Are fancy crochet stitches hard?
- Often less than they look. Most are basic stitches worked in an unusual place or grouped with others, so the new part is one move.
- Which unusual stitches use only basic stitches?
- Trellis stitch is chains and single crochet, with a double crochet only at the side edges. Wattle stitch is chains, single crochet and double crochet, and iris stitch is chains and double crochet. A herringbone stitch is a half double or a double crochet with one move changed.