Puffs, bobbles and clusters · Easy
Puff stitch
A puff stitch is a bundle of long loops pulled up in one stitch and closed together at the top. Yarn over, put the hook in and pull up a long loop, several times in the same place, then draw the yarn through every loop on the hook and chain 1 to lock it. A bobble is closed the same way but is made of unfinished stitches of double crochet (UK treble). A cluster is a smaller bobble, or one whose stitches stand in more than one place. A popcorn is made of finished stitches, gathered by taking the hook out and putting it back through the first.
How to work it
Three more times in the same place
Yarn over, put the hook into the same place and pull up another loop, as tall as the first. Do this three more times in all. Each time adds two loops to the hook: five, then seven, then nine.
Pull through all the loops
Yarn over and draw the yarn through all nine loops on the hook in one move. One loop is left on the hook.
Lock it with a chain
Chain 1. This chain closes the top of the puff and holds the loops in place. In the rows below it is the ch 1 written after each puff.
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 20, which is 10 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.
- 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.
- Foundation. Ch 20.
- Row 1 (RS). Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, [ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch] 8 times, sc in next ch (11 sc, 8 ch-1 sps).
- Row 2. Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1 sp), turn; [puff in next ch-1 sp, ch 1] 8 times, sk next st, dc in last st (2 dc, 8 puffs, 9 ch-1 sps).
- Row 3. Ch 1, turn; sc in first st, sc in next ch-1 sp, [ch 1, sc in next ch-1 sp] 8 times, sc in 3rd ch of turning ch (11 sc, 8 ch-1 sps).
Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the pattern.
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
- yo
- yarn over
- puff
- puff stitch: [yo, insert hook in the st or sp, yo, pull up a loop to the height of a dc] 4 times in the same place, yo, pull through all 9 loops on hook.
At a glance
- Used for
- soft, rounded texture in blankets, scarves and hats; rows of puffs with chains between them; a fabric that looks much the same on both sides
- Abbreviation
- puff or ps. Patterns differ, so read the list at the top of the pattern.
- In UK terms
- puff stitch, the same name
- Loops on the hook
- 7 when the loop is pulled up three times, 9 for four times, 11 for five times
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 2 (8 or more).
- Row repeat
- Rows 2 and 3.
- Sides
- Looks much the same on both sides.
- 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.
Patterns do not agree on how many times to pull up a loop. Three, four and five times are all in use, and the more loops, the fatter the puff. The puff on this page is made with four. Read how the pattern describes its own puff, which is usually under its special stitches, and count the loops on the hook before you pull through.
Most patterns lock a puff with one chain, and some leave the chain out. Where there is a chain, the top of the puff and the chain beside it look like two stitches when you come back along the next row. Work into only one of them, the one the pattern names, or the row gains a stitch at every puff.
A puff looks much the same on both sides of the fabric, so it can be made on any row. Some patterns still keep all their puffs to wrong-side rows.
Puff stitches use a lot of yarn, so a fabric full of them takes more than a plain fabric of the same size.
The names puff, bobble, cluster and popcorn are not used the same way by everyone, and one pattern's puff is another pattern's bobble. Go by the steps the pattern gives and not by the name alone.
Tips
- Pull every loop of a puff up to the same height as the first one.
When it goes wrong
- My row has more stitches after a row of puffs.
- You worked into both the top of each puff and the chain that locks it. Work into only one of the two for each puff, the one your pattern names.
- My puffs are different sizes.
- Check that each one has the same number of loops before you pull through (nine, for a puff made with four loops), and that every loop was drawn up as tall as the first.
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. Several unfinished stitches of double crochet in one stitch, closed together with one pull.
- Cluster stitch. The same closing with fewer stitches, in one place or spread over several.
- Popcorn stitch. Finished stitches of double crochet in one stitch, gathered by taking the hook out of the loop and putting it back through the first of them.
- Smaller and larger puffs. Pull up the loop three times for a small puff (seven loops on the hook) or five times for a large one (eleven loops).
Questions
- How many loops are on the hook for a puff stitch?
- Two for every time you pull up a loop, plus the one you started with: seven loops for three times, nine for four, eleven for five. The pattern says which.
- How is a puff stitch different from a bobble stitch?
- A puff is made of long loops, like half double crochet stitches that are never finished. A bobble is made of unfinished double crochet stitches, each worked off by one pull through two loops before the next is begun. Both are closed with one pull through every loop on the hook.
- Do I have to chain 1 after a puff stitch?
- Only if the pattern says so. Many patterns use the chain to lock the puff, and some close the puff without it.
- Does a puff stitch take more yarn than a plain stitch?
- Yes. A fabric full of puffs takes more yarn than a plain one of the same size.