Shells, fans and V-stitches · Easy
V-stitch
A V-stitch is a double crochet (UK treble), one chain and a second double crochet, all worked into the same place. The two stitches lean apart and make a V. After the first row every V is worked into the chain space in the middle of the V below it, so one row is all there is to learn.
How to work it
A second double crochet in the same place
Work another double crochet into the same stitch as the first. One V-stitch is made: two double crochets rising from one stitch, with one chain between their tops. In the first row, skip two stitches before the next V, so that each V has three stitches of room.
In the next row, work into the chain space
Turn, and chain 3 to stand for the first double crochet. From now on the hook does not go into a stitch at all. Put it under the single chain in the middle of the next V, into the space below that chain, and work the whole V-stitch there: double crochet, chain 1, double crochet. Do the same in every V across the row, and end with one double crochet in the top of the turning chain.
The stitch pattern, row by row
- Multiple
- Chain a multiple of 3 plus 1 (13 or more).
- Starting chain
- The rows here are written for a chain of 22, which is 7 times the multiple of 3, plus 1.
- 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.
- 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.
- Here a V-stitch is two double crochets with one chain between them, and each V is worked into the chain space of the V below. Some patterns use the name for two double crochets with no chain, worked between the pair below.
- Foundation. Ch 22.
- Row 1 (RS). V-st in 5th ch from hook (skipped chs count as dc), [sk next 2 chs, V-st in next ch] 5 times, sk next ch, dc in next ch (2 dc, 6 V-sts).
- Row 2. Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [V-st in next ch-1 sp] 6 times, sk next st, dc in top of turning ch (2 dc, 6 V-sts).
Repeat row 2 for the pattern.
What each symbol meansHow to read a chart
Abbreviations in these rows
- ch
- chain stitch
- dc
- double crochet (UK treble)
- RS
- right side
- sk
- skip
- sp
- space
- st
- stitch
- V-st
- v-stitch: (dc, ch 1, dc) in the same st or sp.
At a glance
- Used for
- light blankets and baby blankets; shawls, wraps and summer scarves; market bags and other open fabric
- Multiple
- The chain is a multiple of 3 plus 1 (13 or more).
- Row repeat
- Row 2.
- 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.
- In a pattern
- V-st, with the pattern saying what its V-stitch is: most often (dc, ch 1, dc) in the same stitch or space.
Because every V goes into a chain space, there is nothing to count inside a row once the first row is right. The Vs stack in straight columns, and the fabric is light and open, with a small hole at the heart of each V.
The edges are one plain double crochet at each end of the row: the turning chain at the start, and a double crochet worked into the top of the turning chain of the row below at the end. Patterns differ in how they begin the first row, and so in the number they add to the multiple of 3. Go by the pattern you are following.
Tips
- Work into the space under the chain, not into the chain itself. The hook goes in under the whole chain and comes out behind it.
When it goes wrong
- My rows are getting shorter.
- The last double crochet of the row has been left out. It goes into the top of the three chains that began the row below, after the last V.
- My Vs do not line up in columns.
- A V has been worked between two Vs and not in the middle of one. Each V goes into the chain space between the two arms of the V below, never into the gap that parts one V from the next.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- Half double V-stitch. The same V made with half double crochet (UK half treble): half double crochet, chain 1, half double crochet in one place, and each V worked into the chain space of the V below. A half double crochet is shorter than a double crochet, so the Vs and the holes between them are smaller. Patterns space the Vs of the first row either two skipped stitches apart or one.
- V-stitch with no chain. Some patterns give the name to two double crochets in one place with no chain between them. Each pair is then worked into the gap between the two stitches of the pair below. If a pattern says V-stitch, look for its own line saying which it means.
Patterns that use it
Questions
- What is the multiple for V-stitch?
- A V with two skipped stitches takes three chains, so the starting chain is a multiple of 3 plus the chains for the edges. In the rows written here that is a multiple of 3 plus 1. The starting chain calculator works out the number for a width of your own.
- Can I change color every row?
- Yes. V-stitch is often striped, with a new color at the start of each row or every few rows.