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Moss stitch

Moss stitch is single crochet (UK double crochet) and chain 1, taking turns, with every single crochet worked into the chain space of the row below and never into a stitch. The same rows are also called granite stitch, linen stitch and woven stitch.

How to work it

  1. Find the chain space

    The hook passes under a chain of the row below, into the space beneath it, and not into a stitch. That chain is in the accent color. One loop is on the hook.

    A chain space is the small gap that lies under a chain of the row below. It is there because the chain was made over a stitch that was passed by. In moss stitch every single crochet goes into one of these gaps. Put the hook in from the front, under the whole chain, and not into a stitch.

  2. Work a single crochet there

    A new single crochet, in the accent color, stands in the space under the chain of the row below: its V reaches down past that chain into the gap. One loop is on the hook.

    Yarn over and pull up a loop through the space. With two loops on the hook, yarn over once more and draw the yarn through the pair of them. That single crochet now stands in the gap, between two stitches of the row below.

  3. Chain 1 and move to the next space

    One chain, in the accent color, has been made after the single crochet; nothing stands under it. The next chain of the row below is ringed: the next single crochet goes into the space under that chain.

    Chain 1. Pass over the single crochet of the row below, which now has your chain above it, and work the next single crochet into the next chain space. Carry on: a single crochet in each space, and a chain after it.

  4. End the row in the turning chain space

    When the chain-1 spaces run out there is one place left: the space at the very end of the row below, under the chains that began that row. On row 2 those are the chains you skipped at the start of row 1; on every later row they are the chain 2 that began the row below. The last single crochet of the row goes there.

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 22, which is 11 times the multiple of 2.
  • The ch 2 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch. It makes the turning ch sp, and the last stitch of the next row is worked into that space.
  • 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.
  1. Foundation. Ch 22.
  2. Row 1 (RS). Sc in 4th ch from hook, [ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch] 9 times (10 sc, 9 ch-1 sps, 1 turning ch sp).
  3. Row 2. Ch 2, turn; [sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1] 9 times, sc in turning ch sp (10 sc, 9 ch-1 sps, 1 turning ch sp).

Repeat row 2 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of moss stitch: 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 meansHow to read a chart

Abbreviations in these rows

ch
chain stitch
sc
single crochet (UK double crochet)
RS
right side
sk
skip
sp
space

At a glance

Also called
granite stitch, linen stitch, woven stitch
Used for
scarves and other pieces that should lie flat and drape; stripes of two or more colors; a first textured stitch, for anyone who can chain and single crochet
Multiple
The chain is a multiple of 2 (8 or more).
Row repeat
Row 2.
Made of
Single crochet and chain 1
Where the stitches go
Into the chain-1 spaces of the row below, never into a single crochet
Start and end of a row
A row begins with chain 2 and ends with a single crochet in the space that the chain 2 of the row below made.

Because every single crochet sits in a gap of the row below, the stitches of one row stand between the stitches of the last, like bricks in a wall. The chains leave small openings, so the fabric drapes well and is still solid, not lacy.

Most published rows begin each row with chain 2, as these do. Others begin with chain 1 and place their edge stitches a little differently. The fabric between the edges is the same either way.

The names are used loosely. Granite stitch, linen stitch and woven stitch all mean these rows. Some stitch collections give the name moss stitch, or the name “even moss stitch”, to different rows, of slip stitch and half double crochet (UK half treble); on this site those rows are crunch stitch.

Tips

  • Count the single crochets at the end of a row. Every row has the same number.

When it goes wrong

My rows are getting shorter.
The last stitch is being left out. After the last chain-1 space, work one more single crochet into the space under the turning chain of the row below.
My stitches stack up in columns.
The hook is going into the tops of the single crochets. Pass over each one with a chain and put the hook into the gap under the next chain.

Left-handed

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

Patterns that use it

Questions

Is moss stitch the same as linen stitch or granite stitch?
Yes. Granite stitch, linen stitch and woven stitch are all further names for these rows of single crochet and chain 1.
How many chains do I start with for moss stitch?
An even number. Every two more chains add one single crochet and one chain space to each row. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
What does ch-1 sp mean?
Chain-1 space: the gap under a single chain of the row below. A pattern writes "sc in next ch-1 sp" for a single crochet worked into that gap.
Can moss stitch be worked in the round?
Yes. Start from an even number of stitches and work the single crochets into the chain spaces round by round, as in rows.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

Tools