Working in rows · Beginner
Skip a stitch
To skip a stitch, pass over the next stitch without working into it, and put the hook into the stitch after it. Patterns write it sk. A skip is how a pattern leaves a hole under a chain, makes room for a group of stitches, or starts a row beside a turning chain.
How to work it
Pass over the stitch
Leave that stitch alone. Put the hook into the stitch after it and work the stitch the pattern asks for there. Nothing stands on the skipped stitch.
Count when the pattern gives a number
Skip 2 means pass over two stitches and work into the third. Skip as many stitch tops as the number says, no more and no fewer.
At a glance
- Used for
- a chain space: a chain is made and the stitch under it is skipped; room beside a group of stitches worked into one stitch, such as a V stitch; the first stitch of a row, under a turning chain that counts as a stitch
- Abbreviation
- sk
- In a pattern
- It reads sk next st, or sk next 2 sts, or the word skip spelled out.
- With a chain
- One chain for each stitch skipped keeps the count of the row the same and leaves a hole.
- With no chain
- The row has one stitch fewer for each stitch skipped, unless other stitches make up the number.
Skipping is also how a first row begins. Single crochet (UK double crochet) in the second chain from the hook means the first chain is skipped. Double crochet (UK treble) in the fourth chain from the hook means three chains are skipped, and those three stand as the first stitch of the row.
At the start of a row of tall stitches, the turning chain often counts as the first stitch. The stitch under it is then skipped, and the first worked stitch goes into the second stitch of the row. If the pattern says the turning chain does not count, nothing is skipped.
A stitch skipped by mistake is a common way to lose a stitch. If a row comes out short, look for a V of the row below with nothing standing on it, at the two ends of the row first.
When it goes wrong
- My row has too few stitches.
- A stitch was skipped that should have been worked. It happens most at the start and the end of a row. Find the bare stitch top in the row below and work back to it.
- I am not sure which stitch is the next one after a turning chain.
- If the turning chain counts as a stitch, the stitch right under it is skipped and the next one along is worked. If it does not count, work into the stitch right under it.
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 does sk mean in crochet?
- Skip: pass over the stitch or stitches named and work into the one after.
- What does skip next stitch mean?
- Do not work into the next stitch of the row below. Put the hook into the stitch after it.
- Is a chain skipped at the start of the first row?
- Yes. A first row of single crochet begins in the second chain from the hook, so the first chain is skipped. Count the chains away from the hook, leave the first one, and work into the second.
- Do I chain when I skip a stitch?
- Only if the pattern says so. Chain 1, skip 1 is common and leaves a hole. A skip with no chain shortens the row or makes room for stitches worked together in another place.