Add Great Texture to Your Next Project
I have a new stitch crush, one that is so strong I’ve devoted the entire month of January to it. It’s called the woven stitch and it has changed my crochet life!
The woven stitch is unlike any other stitch you’ve experienced. It doesn’t use the four basic stitches as a foundation like many others. No, it uses a unique set of crochet stitches to create wonderful texture in the round and the flat.
I have found that I turn to the woven stitch time and time again when I’m looking to create great texture. This month, you can find the woven stitch featured in my new crochet mittens and in next week’s woven stitch hat.
Uses and Applications
The woven stitch is great for many projects. It is versatile enough to be incorporated into just about anything.
Use it in the round or by the row. Any way you decide to use it, the wavelength stitch will bring a delightful texture to your project.
I can see this stitch being used in many ways. For example, the woven stitch will be great for:
- afghans and baby blankets
- mittens, hand warmers and fingerless mitts
- leg warmers and socks
- clutches and handbags
- headbands and hats
- placemats
- scarves and cowls
You can pretty much add any project type to this list. Honestly, this stitch is good in just about any application!
Before you get Started
I have successfully used many types of yarn for the woven stitch and I know you will too. For the sake of this tutorial, I am using a bulky weight yarn so you can really see how to work the stitches.
Grab whatever spare yarn and a hook that coordinates to practice this stitch along with me in my video demonstration.
The Woven Stitch Video Tutorial
This video is also available in a left handed version. Click here to be directed to the left handed tutorial on YouTube.
Written Instructions
The woven stitch must be worked in a multiple of 2. Make sure your foundation chain is an even number.
Abbreviations
- Ch – Chain
- Sc – Single Crochet
- Ws – Woven Stitch *See stitch description below
- YO – Yarn Over
Stitch Description
The woven stitch is reversible!
When working the woven stitch in a flat piece, you will have the exact same texture on each side. When working in the round, the inside and outside will have a slightly different appearance. It is still considered reversible, but keep in mind that you will have a unique texture on each side!
The woven stitch is made up of two stitches in one. When asked to make a woven stitch, here’s what you should do:
YO and insert your hook in to the designated stitch, YO and pull up a loop (three loops on your hook). Pull the first loop (the one closest to the hook) through the middle loop on your hook. YO and pull through the remaining two loops on your hook. YO and insert your hook into the same stitch, YO and pull up a loop (three loops on your hook). Pull the first loop (the one closest to the hook) through the remaining two loops on your hook. That completes one woven stitch. You will need to skip one stitch directly next to the woven stitch to avoid increasing your total stitch count.
Foundation Row: Make a foundation chain that has an even number of chains. Make a Ws in the third chain from the hook. *Skip one chain. Make a Ws in the next chain. Repeat from * until the end of the foundation chain. Make a Sc in the last chain.
Row 1: Ch 1. *Skip one stitch. Make a Ws in the next stitch. Repeat until you have reached the end of the row. Make a Sc in the last stitch.
Repeat row 1 until your work is the desired length.
To work the woven stitch in the round, you will work the stitch pattern exactly as described in the instructions above. I recommend working in the round in a tube fashion (not increasing to create a circle). Working in a spiral is the best approach rather than joining at the end of every round.
Note that the front and back of the woven stitch when working in the round have a slightly different appearance. It is still considered a reversible stitch, but keep in mind that you have a unique texture on each side!
So basically this is a double stitch and a half double worked in the same stitch below. I would decrease by skipping the first and/or last stitch(es) in a row. When increasing did you use a foundation stitch method so you could maintain the stitch pattern? That would seem most logical instead of squishing stitches together in or at the beginning or end of a row.
Hi Cindy!
It’s easy to get these motions confused with a double crochet and a half double crochet. It’s important to note that they are not the same. You’ll get a completely different look when using a double crochet and a half double crochet in the same stitch rather than doing what is shown in the video.
I did not demonstrate increasing in this tutorial. It is possible to make two woven stitches in the same stitch for an increase.
Hi there! Is it possible to inc and dec with the woven stitch?
Hi Ashley!
That’s a good question. Increase, yes…I’ve tried this before and it worked pretty well. I haven’t tried decreasing. Sounds like an interesting challenge!