I’m not sure how many crochet-readers I have out there (my guess is that most of you are knitters and/or my personal friends)… but here’s a puzzle for y’all:
It acts like stockinette stitch, with the smooth front and the bumpy back, and the natural curling at the bottom and top. But it’s much more denser, and might I add, requires more yarn than usual.
What kind of stitch is this?
(front)
(back)
…
…
Give up? It’s Tunisian Crochet! (Or “Afghan Stitch” as some call it.) It’s a really interesting way of crocheting, because you NEVER turn your work, you are always working on the right side. And instead of working one stitch at a time on your hook, you have a whole row of them, reminiscent of knitting:
This stitch pattern requires a really long crochet hook (however long you need for your project) and is a 2-row pattern; the first row requires picking up stitches along the row, the second row is the actual working into those stitches, until you reach the end and have only 1 stitch left on your hook. And then you start all over again.
Interesting, huh? I’m liking this stitch pattern, even though it eats up yarn like crazy, it produces a warm, dense, smooth fabric (well, the smoothest you can get for crochet). I wouldn’t mind doing a bunch of squares for an afghan, it would be awfully warm and cozy. (I wonder if that’s why alot of people call it the “afghan stitch”? HAR HAR)
=)
(Note: Yarn used is Lion Brand’s Cotton Ease in Terracotta.)
10 Comments so far
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This might make me sound crazy but before I finally learned to knit I tried Tunisian Crochet too. It was, as you pointed out smooth for crochet and mimicked knitting as such. So many cute patterns were knitting and I didn’t know how! This seemed to save my life, until I realized I couldn’t purl. Then again, I had trouble purling with KNITTING at first, too. Maybe I should try this again sometime.
By LaBean on 03/06/08 2:32 am | Permalink
Interesting! I don’t like crochet garment because of the dense crochet fabric … or too holey fabric! But I also discovered a way of making single crochet stitch that produces a fabric that feels like knitted one! And I love it. Love discovering new things!
By Agnes on 03/06/08 9:43 am | Permalink
What a neat stitch! It definitely looks cozy.
By caitlyn on 03/06/08 9:50 am | Permalink
I love Tunisian crochet! i’m sort of working on a blanket that’s tunisian entrelac crochet. hahahaa. i havent’ worked on it since last summer. ouch. but i think it would be fun to make a whole blanket w/ all the squares and everything! :) all in lovely purples…purpleeeee
By Jen da Purse Ho on 03/06/08 11:38 am | Permalink
I’ve tried afghan stitch before and never had much luck. Yours looks great! I may have to give it another go.
By Jess on 03/06/08 12:12 pm | Permalink
oooo i like it! i might just look it up.. esp since i like the way knitted stitches look better than crocheted stitches. is it hard to increase and decrease with this particular stitch?
By Wendy on 03/06/08 5:22 pm | Permalink
Hey, thanks for sharing, this really look like st st in knitting, even the back also look like purl to me :D
By regg on 03/06/08 6:31 pm | Permalink
I may need to teach myself to crochet soon ‘cuz I’ve fallen in love with these adorable Hello Kitty amigurumi I’ve seen while surfing the crafting blogs… So my appreciation for your beautiful crochet work may soon grow by leaps and bounds. But even to my untrained eye it looks so nice!
By Lisa on 03/09/08 1:37 am | Permalink
Hello! I am one of your crochet readers, although I do want to learn how to get beyond basic knitting and purling one day too. :-) I’ve been drooling over the Spring issue of Interweave Knits, especially that Printed Silk Cardigan.
By Jeanie on 03/12/08 9:24 am | Permalink
Someone in my knitting group just showed me a Koigu scarf she made using afghan stitch. Three coordinating colors of Koigu and the thing was gorgeous — very subtle and classic. I may need to check this out!
By lv2knit on 03/17/08 8:44 pm | Permalink
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