Mesh and lace · Easy

Mesh stitch

Mesh stitch is a net of small square holes. Work a double crochet (UK treble), chain 1, skip one stitch, and repeat. In every row after the first, each double crochet goes into the double crochet below it and each chain lies over the chain below, so the holes line up.

How to work it

Work the first row into the chain
Chain an even number. Work a double crochet into the sixth chain from the hook. The five chains passed over stand for the first double crochet, the first chain and the skipped chain under it. Then chain 1, skip one chain, and work a double crochet into the next chain. Repeat to the end.
Set each stitch on the stitch below
Turn, and chain 4: three for the first double crochet and one for the first chain. Skip the chain space below and work a double crochet into the top of the next double crochet. Chain 1, skip the next chain space, double crochet into the next double crochet, and so on across. No stitch goes into a chain space.
Find the last stitch
The row ends on the turning chain of the row below. Work the last double crochet into its third chain, counted from the bottom, which is the top of the chain that stands for a double crochet. Every row after this is the same.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple: Chain a multiple of 2 (10 or more).
Starting chain: The rows here are written for a chain of 22, which is 11 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.
Row 1 is the right side.

Foundation. Ch 22.
Row 1 (RS). Dc in 6th ch from hook (skipped chs count as dc and ch-1 sp), [ch 1, sk next ch, dc in next ch] 8 times (10 dc, 9 ch-1 sps).
Row 2. Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1 sp), turn; [sk next ch-1 sp, dc in next st, ch 1] 8 times, sk next ch-1 sp, dc in 3rd ch of turning ch (10 dc, 9 ch-1 sps).

Repeat row 2 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of double crochet mesh: 3 rows on the foundation chain, each row numbered at the side it starts from. Odd rows are drawn dark and even rows green, so that neighbors can be told apart.

What each symbol means How to read a chart

Abbreviations in these rows

ch: chain stitch
dc: double crochet (UK treble)
RS: right side
sk: skip
sp: space
st: stitch

At a glance

Also called: double crochet mesh
Used for: market bags and other net bags; the open ground of filet crochet patterns
Multiple: The chain is a multiple of 2 (10 or more).
Row repeat: Row 2.
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.
One hole: A double crochet at each side, one chain across the top.

The fabric is light and open, more hole than stitch.

The stitch to watch is the last one of each row. It goes into the turning chain of the row below, which looks like a strand and not like a stitch, so it is easy to stop one stitch early.

This grid is also the open ground of filet crochet, where a pattern is made by filling some of the holes with stitches.

Tips

Count the holes, not the stitches. Every row has the same number of holes as the first.
If the top of the turning chain is hard to find, put a stitch marker into its third chain as soon as you have made it. The marker shows where the last stitch of the next row goes.

When it goes wrong

My rows are getting shorter.: The last double crochet has been left out. It goes into the third chain of the turning chain of four, after the last hole.
My holes do not line up.: A double crochet has been worked into a chain space. Each one goes into the top of a double crochet, and each chain skips over the space.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Variations

Wider meshes. For bigger holes, chain 2 and skip two stitches between the double crochets. Many filet crochet patterns use this two-chain mesh.
A closer mesh. Some patterns give the name mesh stitch to a closer fabric made the same way with single crochet (UK double crochet): single crochet, chain 1, skip 1, with each stitch on the stitch below.

Patterns that use it

7 × 60 in Easy

Mesh band scarf

32¼ × 40½ in Easy

Mesh band baby blanket

50¼ × 60 in Easy

Mesh band throw

7 × 60 in Easy

Simple mesh scarf

50¼ × 60 in Easy

Simple mesh throw

Questions

What is the multiple for mesh stitch?: Each hole takes two chains, so the starting chain is an even number: a multiple of 2. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
Why chain 4 at the turn?: Three chains stand for the first double crochet of the row and the fourth is the chain over the first hole. So the next stitch is the second double crochet, worked into the next double crochet of the row below.
Is mesh stitch the same as filet crochet?: It is the empty net that filet crochet starts from. Filet crochet fills chosen holes with stitches to draw a pattern; mesh stitch leaves them all open.