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Shells, fans and V-stitches · Easy

Primrose stitch

Primrose stitch is two rows worked by turns. One row makes small loops: a single crochet (UK double crochet), two chains and another single crochet, all in one stitch. The next row fills each loop with three stitches of double crochet (UK treble). The loops of the row after that stand on the middle one of each three.

How to work it

  1. Make a row of small loops

    Work a single crochet into the stitch a loop is to stand in, chain 2, and work a second single crochet into the same stitch. The two chains stand up between the two single crochets as a small loop. Skip two stitches and make the next loop in the stitch after them. In the first row the loops go into every third chain.

  2. Fill each loop with three double crochets

    A row of small loops, each a single crochet, two chains and a single crochet in one stitch. In the next row, three double crochets are worked into each loop. A ring marks the loop the next three go into.

    Turn, and chain 3 to stand for the first double crochet. Put the hook under the two chains of the first loop and work three double crochets into that space. Work three more into the next loop, and so on to the end. Nothing is worked into the single crochets. End the row with one double crochet in the last stitch.

  3. Set the next loops on the middle stitches

    Turn. Each group of three double crochets has a middle stitch, the second of the three. Work a loop into it: a single crochet, chain 2, a single crochet. Skip the two stitches between one middle stitch and the next. These two rows repeat.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple
Chain a multiple of 3 (9 or more).
Starting chain
The rows here are written for a chain of 21, which is 7 times the multiple of 3.
A swatch of primrose stitch.
  • The ch 3 at the start of a row counts as a dc. The last stitch of the next row is worked into the top of it.
  • The ch 1 at the start of a row does not count as a stitch.
  • 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.
  • Stitches in parentheses, or several of one stitch, are all worked into the one place named after them.
  1. Foundation. Ch 21.
  2. Row 1 (RS). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, [sk next ch, (sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch, sk next ch] 6 times, sc in next ch (14 sc, 6 ch-2 sps).
  3. Row 2. Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [3 dc in next ch-2 sp] 6 times, sk next st, dc in last st (20 dc).
  4. Row 3. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, [sk next st, (sc, ch 2, sc) in next st, sk next st] 6 times, sc in top of turning ch (14 sc, 6 ch-2 sps).

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of primrose stitch: 5 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)
dc
double crochet (UK treble)
RS
right side
sk
skip
sp
space
st
stitch

At a glance

Used for
sweaters and cardigans; pieces that need a close fabric with some body
Multiple
The chain is a multiple of 3 (9 or more).
Row repeat
Rows 2 and 3.
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; a row that begins with a chain that does not count begins and ends in a stitch, and that chain is not worked into.
A loop
Single crochet, chain 2, single crochet, all in one stitch.

The fabric is close and lightly textured: every opening left by a loop is filled by the three double crochets worked into it.

Patterns differ at the edges of the loop rows. Some begin and end those rows with a half double crochet (UK half treble) and start from a chain that is a multiple of 3 plus 2. The rows here begin and end them with a single crochet, on a chain that is a multiple of 3. The middle of the fabric is the same either way.

Tips

  • On a loop row, count one loop for each group of three double crochets below.

When it goes wrong

My loops are not over the middle of the groups.
A loop has gone into the first or third double crochet of a group. Count each group as one, two, three, and work the loop into two.
I have a group left over, or a loop with no group.
Count the row below. A row of double crochets has three for every loop under it, plus one at each edge.

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

What is the multiple for primrose stitch?
Each loop and the two stitches skipped beside it take three chains. For the rows here the starting chain is a multiple of 3. Patterns with half double crochet edges use a multiple of 3 plus 2. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
How many rows repeat?
Two: the row of three double crochets in each loop, and the row of loops.

Where to go next

Stitches

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