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Texture · Intermediate

Waffle stitch

Waffle stitch is double crochet (UK treble) in which some stitches are worked round the post of the stitch below, from the front, and not into its top. Two rows repeat. The raised post stitches of one row and the next box in small sunken squares, like the grid of a waffle.

How to work it

  1. Go round the post, not into the top

    The hook goes in from the front, passes behind the post of the next double crochet of the row below, and comes out to the front again. That post is in the accent color and lies over the hook. One loop is on the hook.

    A front post double crochet begins like any double crochet, with a yarn over. Then leave the top of the next stitch alone. Put the hook in from the front, pass it behind the post of that stitch, and bring it out at the front again. The picture leaves the yarn over out, so that the path of the hook is plain.

  2. Finish it as a double crochet

    Yarn over and pull up a loop round the post: three loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through two, then yarn over and pull through the last two. The stitch stands a little forward of the row.

  3. First pattern row: one post stitch, two plain

    Work a front post double crochet round one stitch, then a plain double crochet into the top of each of the next two. Repeat across the row.

  4. Next row: swap them

    On the way back do the opposite over each stitch: a plain double crochet into the top of each post stitch, and a front post double crochet round each plain one. The little boxes close. Repeat these two rows.

The stitch pattern, row by row

Multiple
Chain a multiple of 3 plus 1 (10 or more).
Starting chain
The rows here are written for a chain of 25, which is 8 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 wrong side.
  • The waffle forms on the side that faces you while you work the rows of (FPdc, 2 dc): those are the right-side rows.
  1. Foundation. Ch 25.
  2. Row 1 (WS). Dc in 4th ch from hook (skipped chs count as dc) and in each ch across (23 dc).
  3. Row 2. Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [FPdc around next st, dc in next 2 sts] 7 times, dc in top of turning ch (16 dc, 7 FPdc).
  4. Row 3. Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn; [FPdc around next 2 sts, dc in next st] 7 times, dc in top of turning ch (9 dc, 14 FPdc).

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the pattern.

Symbol chart of waffle 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
dc
double crochet (UK treble)
FPdc
front post double crochet (UK front post treble)
WS
wrong side
st
stitch

At a glance

Used for
thick, squashy blankets and baby blankets; dishcloths; scarves and other warm things
Multiple
The chain is a multiple of 3 plus 1 (10 or more).
Row repeat
Rows 2 and 3.
Made of
Double crochet and front post double crochet (FPdc)
Sides
It has a right side: the side that faces you as you work row 2.
Start and end of a row
A row begins with chain 3, which counts as a double crochet, and ends with a double crochet in the top of the turning chain of the row below.

Only front post stitches are used, and they are used on both rows. They are what make the grid lines: by the end of the second pattern row the boxes can be seen.

The fabric has a right side and a wrong side. The rows mark the side with the deep squares as the right side.

Published waffle stitch rows do not all treat their edges alike. Several start from a chain that is a multiple of 3 plus 2 and turn with chain 2. The rows here start from a multiple of 3 plus 1 and turn with chain 3. The stitches between the edges are the same, so use the multiple that comes with the rows you are following.

When it goes wrong

I cannot find the post.
The post is the upright body of a stitch, below the two loops at its top. Push the hook in beside it from the front and bring it out on the other side of it, so that the post lies across the front of the hook.
My squares do not line up.
On the second pattern row every post stitch goes round a plain stitch, and every plain stitch goes into the top of a post stitch. If two post stitches sit one on top of the other, a stitch was miscounted: count back from the edge.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Questions

Is waffle stitch the same on both sides?
No. Published rows mark a right side and a wrong side, and the deep squares are on the right side.
How many chains do I need for waffle stitch?
For these rows, a multiple of 3 plus 1. Other published rows ask for a multiple of 3 plus 2, because their edge stitches are arranged differently. The starting chain calculator opens on this stitch's multiple.
What stitches do I need to know?
Chain, double crochet and front post double crochet. The post stitch is a double crochet worked in a different place.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

Tools