I’m doing the A to Z Challenge for the month of April with the theme “Learn to Crochet A to Z.” For more details, and to see previous posts, click here!
Today we’re going to be talking about a twist on previously existing crochet stitches. Extended stitches, as you might guess from the name, are a way to make crochet stitches just a little bit taller and give them a little extra drape. They’re great for lacework and anything where you want a lighter fabric.
The cool thing is they’re super easy to do, you just add one extra step when making the stitch. I wanted to do a post about them during the A to Z Challenge because I haven’t seen much publicity about extended crochet stitches – they don’t show up very often, which is a shame because they have so much potential!
This is an example of extended single crochet. I’ll admit this might not have been the best yarn to demonstrate with, but I liked the springlike colors. Still, can you see how it’s a little less dense than the typical single crochet? Let’s have a side by side comparison:
Maybe this will help illustrate the difference a little better. The extended single crochet is taller and not as dense, and has a lovely almost knit look to it because of the extra chain.
To do an extended stitch, just wait until you have the required number of loops on the hook (two for a single crochet, three for a double crochet), then yarn over and pull through just the first loop. Then finish your stitch like normal. This adds a “chain” at the bottom of the stitch and gives it a bit of extra height.
Here’s a picture that might help clarify a little bit. I’ve prepared to make a double crochet, so yarn over and stick the hook into the stitch, then yarn over and pull through. See how there are three loops on the hook? At this point, we would normally yarn over and pull through 2 loops, then yarn over and pull through the last 2 loops. However, to make an extended double crochet, first yarn over and pull through ONE loop, then follow those normal steps. Just one extra step.
For an extended single crochet, you would stick the hook in the stitch, yarn over and pull through, then yarn over and pull through one loop, then yarn over and pull through two loops.
You can do this for pretty much any stitch – single crochet, half-double crochet, double, triple, and on up (although you don’t see many stitches taller than a triple crochet!)
What are your thoughts on extended stitches? Have you tried them before?
Great post! I didn’t know about extended stitches at all! 😀 I’ll have to try this soon!
Thank you so much, Grace! I was really excited when I first found out about them, as I always like learning ways to crochet faster, haha. I hope you have fun if you try them out! 😀
I’d never heard of extended stitches before! I can see how they would be great for lace and drapey fabrics – I’ll have to try it out.
They’re a fascinating stitch! I don’t remember where I learned them, but I wish I did. I hope you like trying them out, you’re so right that they would be perfect for lacey patterns – I want to try to make something of the sort! 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a comment!