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Pique stitch

A pique stitch is two half-made stitches worked into one place and closed together. Begin a double crochet (UK treble) and stop when two loops are left on the hook. Yarn over, put the hook into the same stitch again and pull up a second loop. Then yarn over and pull through all four loops. The stitch is worked into every stitch of every row, and the fabric is close and textured.

How to work it

  1. Begin a double crochet

    Yarn over, put the hook into the stitch and pull up a loop. Three loops are on the hook.

  2. Through two loops, and stop

    Yarn over and pull through two loops. Two loops are left on the hook. A double crochet would be finished from here; this stitch is not.

  3. A second loop in the same stitch

    Four loops on the hook. Nearest the head is a long loop in the accent color, just pulled up from the stitch below. Next to it is the yarn over, then the loop of a half-made double crochet that stands in the same stitch, and last the loop that was already there.

    Yarn over, put the hook into the same stitch again and pull up a loop. Four loops are on the hook.

  4. Close all four

    A finished pique stitch at the left end of the new row, in the accent color: two strands that rise from one stitch of the row below and meet under one top. Every stitch of the fabric is made the same way. One loop is on the hook.

    Yarn over and pull through all four loops at once. One pique stitch is made: two legs in one stitch, under one top. Work the next one into the next stitch.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple
Chain any number (4 or more).
Starting chain
The rows here are written for a chain of 22.
  • The ch 2 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
  • Row 1 is the right side.
  1. Foundation. Ch 22.
  2. Row 1 (RS). Pique in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across (20 pique).
  3. Row 2. Ch 2, turn; pique in each st across (20 pique).

Repeat row 2 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of pique 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
RS
right side
st
stitch
yo
yarn over
pique
pique stitch: yo, insert hook in the st, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops, yo, insert hook in the same st, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook.

At a glance

Used for
washcloths and dishcloths; a close, textured fabric
Multiple
Any number of chains (4 or more).
Row repeat
Row 2.
Loops on the hook
3 after the first loop is pulled up, 2 after the pull through two, 4 after the second loop is pulled up
One stitch
Two legs worked into one stitch and closed together
Start of a row
Two chains that do not count as a stitch; the first stitch goes into the first stitch.

The first half of the stitch is a double crochet left unfinished. The second half is a loop pulled up as for a half double crochet (UK half treble). Because both go into one stitch and are closed together, patterns also write the stitch as a small cluster.

Every stitch has two legs where a plain stitch has one, and one stitch is worked into each stitch, so the count stays the same from row to row. Any number of chains will do to start.

Published rows differ at the edge: some begin a row with 3 chains and a half double crochet in place of the first pique stitch. The rows here begin every row with 2 chains that do not count.

When it goes wrong

My stitch ends with too few loops.
There is a yarn over before the hook goes into the stitch the second time. With it, the second loop brings the count to four: two from the first half, the yarn over, and the new loop.
My rows get narrower.
The two legs of a pique stitch go into the same stitch. If the second loop is pulled up in the next stitch along, that stitch is used up and the row comes up short. Work one whole pique stitch into each stitch.

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 is the multiple for pique stitch?
There is none: any number of chains works. For the rows here, chain 2 more than the number of stitches wanted, and work the first stitch into the third chain from the hook.
Is pique stitch a cluster?
It is built like one: two unfinished stitches in one place, closed together. Some patterns write it as a cluster.
What is pique stitch used for?
Washcloths and dishcloths.

Where to go next

Stitches

Tools

Patterns