Favourite Stitches – Shell like
Recently I was asked by a fellow crafter what my favourite crochet and knitting stitch is. Now if you are interested, for knitting, moss stitch is thing of textural beauty. But it is a labour of love. For crochet my usual answer is .. a shell edging. I love it with a passion. You are lucky that it does not appear on every item edge. It is so pretty and so simple. (We will get into the technicalities and the uses later). However in the past year I have been designing more. The new book 10,000 Crocheted Hats has by necessity required me to be more adventurous in my stitch choice and I have begun to wonder if I actually do have some new favourites.
So I thought in the next few weeks I might share a few with you and the reasons why – what do you think? If you have a favourite crochet stitch pattern I would love to know.
But let’s return to the original favourite – the Shell edging. If you can treble stitch – you can make a shell. All you need really is multiples of 4 stitches + 1 stitch if you are doing a straight edge. But working in the round you only need multiples of four. My personal favourite technique is to miss the next 1 stitch, work 5 treble stitches into the next stitch, miss the next stitch and then slip stitch into the next stitch. What you get is a lovely fanned shell. Beautiful. Now If you are working into a slightly curved edge or round a corner then you are going to need more treble stitches. Either way it will look very pretty. In How to Crochet – I used the stitch twice – both for the fingerless mittens and the potholder. Both good patterns – which I continue to make.
For Emily the Rabbit’s dress in Cute Crocheted Animals I used it at the hem edging and Barbara the Elephant’s little nighty in the Wild Animals book – had a pretty edge. It is such a simple stitch which adds a little feminine detail
This morning I found a new practical use for the shell edge – solving two problems in one. In the middle of the night – a water glass returning to a hard coaster, can rather go through you. Being of that delightful age of once-woken…now permanently awake…my mind went to the distraction of crochet and the eternal challenge or reducing the left-over yarn stash.
I have just finished my latest blanket project and have a few odds and ends left over. I dug out an old pattern of mine and set to, making a couple of silent crochet coasters. The glass-to-table decibels are reduced and if there is a smallish spillage they are also delightfully absorbent. This favourite patten has a little shell edge. (Of course it does). Three were made in the early morning light.
So it is no wonder the shell edge has been my favourite crochet stitch for well-over a decade. What is yours?
Just for this week I am leaving this pattern here for you as blog readers to use for free. Please tag me if if you make any of these for yourself.
My Flower Crochet Coaster Pattern
You will need:
- Your choice of dk yarn from your stash
- 3.5mm hook
- Tapestry needle
Stitches used UK terms:
- Chain stitch (ch)
- Space (sp)
- Slip stitch (sl st)
- Double crochet (dc)
- Treble crochet (tr)
PATTERN
Using 3.5 mm hook and Creamy white yarn 4ch, join with a sl st to make a ring.
Rnd 1: 3ch, work 11tr into ring, join with a sl st to ch. [12sts]. Break off yarn and fasten off.
Rnd 2: Change to next colour, and join with a sl st in any tr, 3ch, 1tr in the same st, 1ch, (2tr in next st, 1ch) to end, join with sl st to third ch. [24 sts]. Break off yarn and fasten off.
Rnd 3: Change to next colour, join with a sl st in any chain space, 3ch, 2tr in same ch sp, (miss 2tr, 3tr in next ch sp) to end, join with sl st to third ch. [12 3tr clusters]. Do not break off yarn.
Rnd 4: (miss 3tr, 6 tr between next clusters, miss 3tr, sl st between next clusters) to end. [ 6 shell sts]. Break off yarn and fasten off.
Rnd 5: Change to firs yarn, join with a sl st to any sl st, *(1dc, 1ch) 5 times, 2dc; rep 5 times. Break off yarn and fasten off and weave in ends.
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