Week 2 - Riffs on the Basics
Day 4 - Waistcoat Stitch
Today's stitch is the Waistcoat Stitch, which is a great technique for creating fabrics that look like they are knitted! It's commonly used for intarsia, or stranded, colorwork because you can create patterns made of little front-facing Vs... just like knitting! In fact, here's a little preview of a pattern I have in the works for a winter hat worked just this way:
Ok, let's get started!
What it's good for:
- Scarves/cowls
- Hats
- Gloves/fingerless mitts
- Blankets/Afghans
Alternate Names:
- Split Single Crochet
- Knit Stitch
- Center Single Crochet
Remember to upload your projects to Instagram. Tag me @theivykillerscrochet and use hashtag #newcrochetstitchperday for a feature on my feed!
Supplies Used for this Swatch:
- Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, color 151 (Grey Heather)
- Hook: USL11/8.00mm
Techniques Used and Abbreviations:
(All instructions are given in US terms. UK terms are given here for reference)Stitch (st)
Stitches (sts)
Chain (ch)
Single Crochet / UK Double Crochet) (sc)
Waistcoat Stitch (ws)
Stitch Instructions:
The key to making this stitch successful is to go WAY up on your hook size (like 2 - 3 hook sizes) and to keep your tension really loose. I mean REALLY loose! You'll be inserting your hook between the two strands that make up the post of your single crochets, and if you don't keep that tension loose it's super difficult to maneuver your hook into the right place. Also, try to find a hook that's extra pointy to help push through the post. Round-tipped hooks make this a difficult task!
One last thing. Waistcoat stitch is often used in the round, as it works up perfectly using the seamless spiral technique. You can also crochet it flat (although not for stranded colorwork), but it takes a little practice getting your final stitch placed correctly. When you get to the end of a row, you place your stitch in the post of the last available stitch, then put one final sc in the top of that same stitch. This ensures you have the correct number of stitches in each row and that your edges are nice and square.
For each tutorial I'll include instructions written out long-form for intro-level crocheters and short-form for more advanced crocheters. The instructions are the same but include different levels of detail. Use whichever you prefer!
Intro-Level
Chain any number. Final chain counts as turning chain (but DOES NOT count as a stitch), so your stitch count will be one fewer than the number of foundation chains.Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook. sc in each ch across to the end of the row.
Row 2: Turn and ch1. ws in the post of the first st. Your hook should be inserted between the two strands of the post, making a V shape.
ws in the post of each st across to the end of the row.
sc in the top of the final sc - this will be the same st as your final ws. (You may want to count your sts at this point to make sure that you have the same total number of sts as in Row 1.)
Repeat Row 2 until you reach the desired size.
Advanced
Chain any number + 1.Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook and across.
Row 2: Turn and ch1. ws in 1st st and across. sc in final st.
Repeat Row 2 until you reach the desired size.
Tips and Modifications:
- I found it pretty difficult to work into the V of the stitch – it took a lot of wiggling and pushing the hook through. Once I started keeping my tension extra loose, it got easier.
- I also had a hard time figuring out where to put the last stitch of each row because the last place to put a ws (i.e., the last v to split) is the 2nd to last st. I tried chaining 2 for the turning chain and then putting the final st in the top of the ch2. That looked fine, but after a few rows I could see that the edge was a little loose/wavy. So I started putting that last st in the top of the final sc, and that worked great. The edge was tighter and straighter, and it was a ton easier than trying to put sc in the turning ch1.
- Also, use a hook 2 sizes larger than the suggested hook size (you still end up with a dense fabric), and a pointy hook works a lot easier than a round one. I found that if I wasn’t careful it was pretty easy to split the yarn and/or to come out the backside in the wrong place.
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