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Happy St. Patrick’s Day friends! Here we are at Friday again… do you know what that means? Yes, you guessed it, time to learn a new stitch.
Looking through stitches, trying to decide what to share with you all has been so fun and inspiring. My project idea list has grown so much. I can’t wait to get started on it and share some new designs with you.
If you want to see the stitches from weeks 1 and 2 you can find them Here or Here
How’s your week been? The time change threw a big wrench in mine… lots of coffee was consumed in the making of this blog post haha. I considered calling my mom, who is a Registered Nurse, and seeing if she would be willing to make the 4 hour drive to my house to start me on a coffee IV. Ultimately, I decided against it because what kind of quack doctor could I get to write an order for that?
I did sign my middle daughter up for Kindergarten this week! Next year it will be just me and the baby (2 and half is still a baby, right??) home all day. Exciting and bittersweet all at the same time. Sometimes I want them to stay little forever. They gave me a questionnaire to fill out about my kid and most of it was just yes and no questions. Then at the end it there were 3 questions that required a written answer.
- What is most pleasing to you about your child? Well, she’s my kid so pretty much everything.
- What is most challenging about your child? Well, she’s my kid, so pretty much everything
- What form of discipline works best for your child? Discipline? What is that?
I should say, these were not my actual answers but when your filling out paperwork at 6am, these are things you actually consider writing.
Ok enough rambling…obviously, the caffeine is kicking in.
The Quick Shell Stitch
*This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase I receive a small commission. That money helps me maintain my site so I can continue to share my patterns and tutorials with you for free.
The Quick Shell Stitch pattern is achieved by working a row of 3 double crochet shells over a row of chain stitches. This creates an overall fabric with little eyelets in it. I think this stitch would suit a variety of different yarn weights and projects. Hats, blankets, scarves, market bags, baby items…. the list goes on. This stitch would lend itself well to stripes or color blocks, just make your color change at the end of a “shell row.”
When working your foundation chains, I suggest either going up at least a half a hook size or making sure your chains are very loose. I found that when I used the same hook size throughout, the bottom of my piece was too tight and make my swatch look a little wonky.
Materials
- For this tutorial I used a #4 Worsted Weight Yarn…. Caron Simply Soft in the color Strawberry to be specific.
- 5 mm and 5.5 mm hook
- Please feel free to pick whatever yarn weight and hook combo you want.
Abbreviations
- Ch(s): chain(s)
- Sc: single crochet
- Sk: skip
- Dc: double crochet
- St(s): stitch(es)
- Sp: space
Stitch Instructions
Using the bigger hook ( I used a 5.5mm), chain a multiple of 3 +2 more chains. I chained 26.
Row 1: Switch to your smaller hook (I used a 5mm). Sc in 2nd ch from hook. *Ch 3, skip 2 chs, sc in next, repeat from * across. Turn.
Row 2: This will be considered the Right Side of your piece. Ch 3, (counts as 1 dc here and throughout). Dc in Same st as ch 3. Sc in ch 3 sp, * 3 dc in next sc, sc in next ch 3 sp. Repeat from * across. 2 dc in last sc. Turn.
Row 3: Ch 1. Sc in same st as ch 1. * Ch 3, sk next 3 sts, sc in next (this will be the middle dc of shell from previous row). Repeat from * across, placing your last sc in top of turning ch 3. Turn
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until your piece is desired size.
Want to purchase supplies I used in today’s tutorial? Start here (affiliate link):
What are you going to make with the Quick Shell Stitch? I already have an idea what I’m going to do with it but you’ll have to wait and see. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Don’t forget to share your projects with me on Facebook or you can use #theunraveledmitten on Instagram.
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I love this stitch! I’m just learning to read crotchet patterns and I’m having trouble picturing each step. Your photos are helpful but I still can’t seem to make my stitches look like yours. Do you have a video tutorial?
Isn’t so pretty!? ? I do not have a video tutorial. If there is a certain part your hung up on I would be happy to help. Although, it may just be a case of “tension” we all crochet a little different. Some a little looser, some tighter. This can affect how your stitches look. Keep practicing and let me know if I can help. ?
Ik I’m going to sound a bit silly here but I’m a bit confused. Can you go into more detail about rows 2 and 3s instructions? Specifically, what do you mean by, dc in the same stitch as chain 3? (Row 2) do you mean dc in the 3 chains made after turning the work? Or the 3rd ch from hook? Same q for row 3 sc?
Amber I’m with you. I don’t understand “dc in the same stitch as chain 3” I wish Heather had replied to you back in September. I’m in need of a baby blanket and this stitch looks very pretty. I’m going to try with the 3rd ch from the hook.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble. If you look at your work after you turn and ch 3 the first double crochet goes into that stitch at the base of the ch 3. So you will have 2 stitches in that stitch because the ch 3 counts as a dc. Does that clear it up at all?
Hi Amber I hope you found some help by now, but in case you haven’t I’ll give it a whirl. Place the dc and the sc
Place the sc and dc from rows 2 and 3 in the stitch at the base of the turning chain.
How do you get the video tutorial?
Hi Heather: Thanks for adding me; I am going to start the quick shell stitch. I have been crocheting for years but always like a new idea/pattern.
You’re welcome Shirley. Happy Crocheting!!
How would i make this in the round? Im thinking it would make a nice pattern for a beanie. Thank you
Hi Anh. Here is a hat I designed with this stitch that is worked from the bottom up: http://theunraveledmitten.com/2017/03/28/neapolitan-crochet-slouchy-hat/
If you wanted to do it top down just make sure you end your increasing rounds on a multiple of 3 and then continue with making the quick shell stitch.
I have 150 +2 stitches and at the end of row 1, I have 1 chain stitch left over from the foundation. Have I don’t something wrong? I have every 50th chain marked and double checked and everything. Please help! My daughter wants a blanket.
Tia!!
For some reason your comment didn’t come through until now. I hope you have figured this out!! If not, I would double check you have the correct amount of foundation chains and make sure you’ve skipped 2 chains in between each single crochet. Let me know if you are still having trouble.
I too am javing the same problem as Heather i jave double checked and tried different chain counts always have one ch left at end.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble. I worked this stitch a few different times today, each time with different starting chains and it is stated correctly in the pattern (multiple of 3 + 2). Check your foundation chain again and make sure you are only skipping 2 chains between each single crochet. Let me know if you are still having trouble and we can troubleshoot this a little more.
You should put your pictures below the instructions. I was eager to make this dishcloth but was confused until I realized that the photo I was looking at was for the instructions underneath the photo (underneath the ads) and it was truly confusing……….. ;(
Thank you for bringing this to my attention Tina! I can see how that looks confusing. I edited it so the pictures are now below the instruction.
Love the pattern very pretty and delicate ! I too totally go berserk trying to read patterns ? ….Is there a chance you will be doing video tutorials in the future? You have a lot of very pretty work I would love to try ?
Thank you Leah! I hope to offer video tutorials in the future, I am just not set up for if now. ?
How do I get the video tutorial?
Hi Terri, I do not have a video tutorial for this stitch at this time.
Love this stitch!! Working it now!
This is a lovely stich, thank you for posting it. I do wish the adds would stop. I have to copy/paste the pattern so I can take it to my chair & use this pretty pattern. I Do Not sell or post it. It is Just for My Personal use as I can not sit in front of the computer & use it. The adds keep me refreshing the pattern after every copy/paste.
I love this one too, you’re welcome. I understand your frustrations about the ads however having them on my site is what allows me to offer these patterns and tutorials to you for free. The money I make from having ads in my posts covers all the expenses that go into running this site as well as my time involved. ☺
how do you join the squares when making a Afghan. what joining stitch do you use
I love crocheting, and the many different things you can see.
I can’t wait to make this blanket for my nieces little girl. I am thinking of making small flowers and sewing them all around the borders. The blanket is going to be light blue. I don’t know if I want to make the flowers the same color or do them in pink. Please tell me what you think!
Hello. I’ve have followed your instructions and used the bigger hook (5.5) for my foundation stitch, and switched to my 5.0 hook for the rest of the blanket. My 1st three rows seem to be taking a curve, thus making the blanket round. What am I doing wrong? I would appreciate your input.