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Ruffles

To crochet a ruffle, work two or more stitches into every stitch of an edge. The new row has more stitches than the edge has room for, so it cannot lie flat, and it gathers into folds. More stitches in each stitch, or more rows, make the ruffle fuller and deeper.

How to work it

  1. Start from an even edge

    Work a row or a round of single crochet (UK double crochet) along the edge first, so that the ruffle has an even row of stitches to stand on.

  2. Two stitches in every stitch

    A ruffle row on the edge of a piece. Each of three stitches of the edge holds two double crochet, whose posts fan out from the one stitch to two tops; the pair in the middle is marked. The row of six tops is twice as long as the three stitches under it.

    Work two double crochet (UK treble) into the first stitch of that row, and two into every stitch after it, to the end. The row now has twice as many stitches as the edge.

  3. Add rows for a deeper ruffle

    For a deeper ruffle, work more rows. A row with one stitch in each stitch makes the ruffle deeper; a row with two in each stitch makes it fuller as well.

  4. Fasten off

    A ruffle seen from far off. The straight line is the edge of the piece; below it hangs the ruffle, marked, whose lower edge is longer than the edge it grew from and waves up and down in folds.

    Fasten off and weave in the ends. The edge hangs in folds.

At a glance

Used for
the border of a blanket; the hem of a sweater; the ends of a scarf
The rule
More stitches than the edge has room for: two, three or more worked into every stitch
How full
Set by the number of stitches in each stitch. Two in each doubles the length of the row; three in each makes it three times as long.
How deep
Set by the rows: how many there are, and how tall their stitch is. A ruffle of one row is as deep as that stitch is tall.
One row or more
A plain ruffle is one row. A deep ruffle is the same thing carried on over more rows.

A ruffle is an increase in every stitch. The same thing that spoils a flat piece when it happens by mistake, too many stitches, is done here on purpose and all along the edge.

Patterns differ in how they get there. One ruffle is a single row with several stitches in every stitch. Another builds up over several rows, doubling the stitches on some rows and working even on others. The more times the stitches are doubled, the more the edge folds.

Taller stitches make a deeper ruffle than short ones for the same number of rows, because each row adds more depth.

When it goes wrong

My edge ruffles and I did not want it to.
It has too many stitches. Pull the row out and work fewer stitches along the edge.
My ruffle is too flat.
It has too few extra stitches. Work more stitches into each stitch, or add a row that doubles the stitches again.

Questions

How many stitches go in each stitch for a ruffle?
Two at the least. Patterns use two, three or four in every stitch: the more there are, the fuller the ruffle.
Why does my border ruffle when I do not want it to?
For the same reason a ruffle ruffles: there are more stitches than the edge has room for. Work fewer stitches along the edge.
Can a ruffle be more than one row?
Yes. A plain ruffle is one row; a deep ruffle is worked over several.

Where to go next

Stitches

Patterns