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Woven crochet

Woven crochet is a plain mesh with lengths of yarn woven through it afterward. The mesh is worked first, in double crochet (UK treble) with 1 chain between the stitches. Then strands are threaded on a yarn needle and woven up each column of holes, over one bar of chain and under the next, until the holes are filled. The result looks like woven cloth, and with colored stripes in the mesh and colored strands it makes a plaid.

How to work it

  1. Work the mesh

    Work the whole piece as a mesh: a double crochet, 1 chain, skip 1 stitch, all the way along the row. On the next rows, work a double crochet into each double crochet with 1 chain between them. Every hole of the mesh then has a bar of chain above it and below it, and the holes line up in columns.

  2. Weave the first strand

    A mesh of three rows: upright stitches with holes between them, and a bar of chain above and below every hole. A blunt needle carries a strand of a second color up one column of holes. The strand lies over the bottom bar and passes under the next bar up. The needle lies over the bar above that, and its point has gone under the top bar.

    Cut strands longer than the piece, so that an end is left at each edge to knot. Thread a yarn needle with one or more strands held together. Start at one edge and weave up the first column of holes: over the first bar of chain, under the next, over the one after, to the far edge.

  3. Alternate the next strand

    The same mesh with a strand woven up each of its three columns of holes, the ends left hanging above and below. The first and third strands lie over the bottom bar, under the next, over the next and under the top bar. The middle strand, in another color, does the opposite: under where its neighbors go over.

    Weave the next strand the opposite way: under each bar that the last strand went over, and over each bar it went under. Go on across the piece, alternating the overs and unders from one strand to the next.

  4. Fill the holes

    Weave enough strands through each column to fill it. How many depends on the mesh and the yarn: the more chains there are between the stitches, the more strands a column takes. In a mesh with 1 chain between the stitches, published patterns weave three or four strands of the yarn the mesh is made of through each column.

  5. Fasten the ends

    The ends of the woven strands hang free at both edges. Knot them together in small groups close to the edge of the piece, and they become a fringe.

At a glance

Used for
blankets and afghans with the look of woven cloth; plaids, with stripes in the mesh and colored strands woven through it
The mesh
Double crochet, 1 chain, skip 1 stitch; later rows a double crochet in each double crochet.
Woven with
A yarn needle, threaded with one or more strands.
The path
Over one bar of chain, under the next.
Strand to strand
The overs and unders alternate.
The ends
Knotted in groups as a fringe.

The strands can be the yarn of the mesh or a different yarn altogether, and they can run up the piece or across it. Woven across, a strand passes over and under the upright stitches of a row instead of the bars of chain.

For a plaid, work the mesh in stripes of color and weave the columns in the same order of colors. The stripes and the woven strands cross as the threads of woven cloth do.

A crocheted chain can be woven in place of loose strands. Make each chain as long as the piece and thread it through the mesh in the same way.

The woven stitch is something else: a stitch pattern that looks woven, with nothing woven through it.

When it goes wrong

I can see the mesh between the strands.
The columns are not full. Weave another strand through each column, or thread the needle with more strands at a time.

Variations

Questions

What is woven crochet?
Crochet and weaving together: a mesh is crocheted first, and strands of yarn are then woven through its holes with a needle.
How many strands go through each space?
Enough to fill it. The more chains between the stitches of the mesh, the more strands each column needs.
Do I weave up the piece or across it?
Either. Woven up the columns of holes, a strand goes over and under the bars of chain. Woven across a row, it goes over and under the stitches.
Is woven crochet the same as the woven stitch?
No. The woven stitch is a stitch pattern with a woven look. In woven crochet, separate strands are woven through a finished mesh.

Where to go next

Stitches

Patterns