Monday, February 2, 2015

Crochet Tutorial: The Crocodile Stitch

Add a little reptile to your repertoire. 

The crocodile stitch is a wonderful textured stitch. It appears to be a recent — and popular — invention. It’s fun, once you overcome a few challenges.
Crocodile stitch swatch
Photo by John Polak, from The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop
Executing the “scales” of the crocodile requires some unusual turning this way and that. The crocodile stitches are usually staggered from one row to the next so that the scales are visible. There are many variations on this stitch, but here’s a good one to start with.
Chart for crocodile stitch
Note 
To work around the posts of stitches, insert the hook under the post. This is the same as when working any post stitch, except you will be making several stitches around the same post.

Ch a multiple of 4, plus 2 for tch. (ch 26 for swatch)

Row 1 Dc in 4th ch from hook, *ch 1, sk 1 ch, dc in next ch, ch 1, sk 1 ch, dc in next 2 ch, rep from * across, turn.

Note that you have pairs of dc stitches (ready for crocodile stitch) alternating with single dc stitches. 

Row 2 Ch 1, *work 5 dc around post of second dc, ch 1, work 5 dc around post of next dc, sl st in next dc (1 crocodile st made), rep from * across, work 5 dc around post of last dc, ch 1, work 5 dc around tch, sl st in top of tch, turn.

Row 3 Sc in center of first crocodile st, *ch 1, 2 dc in next dc (there is already a sl st worked into this dc), ch 1, dc in center of next crocodile st, rep from * across, ch 1, 2 dc in last dc, turn.

Row 4 Ch 1, work crocodile st around first 2 dc posts, *sl st to next dc, crocodile st around next 2 posts, rep from * across, sc in sc, turn.

Row 5 Ch 3, dc in first sc, ch 1, *dc in center of next crocodile st, ch 1, 2 dc in next dc, rep from * across, dc in center of next crocodile st, turn.

Row 6 Ch 1, sk first dc, *crocodile st around next 2 dc, sl st in next dc, rep from * across, ending with crocodile st in last 2 sts, turn.

Rep rows 3–6 for pattern.

Making the Scales

The “scales” of this stitch are worked around the posts of paired dc stitches. Work 5 dc around the post of the first dc, going from the top of the post to the bottom (1 and 2), ch 1, work the next 5 dc around the post of the 2nd dc of the pair going from bottom to top (3 and 4), and sl st in next dc.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3: The second set of 5 dc must be approached from the opposite direction.
Step 4

Text and pattern excerpted from The Crocheter’s Skill-Building Workshop © 2014 by Dora Ohrenstein. Photos by John Polak. Illustration by Ilona Sherratt. All rights reserved.

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