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If you’ve ever asked yourself ‘why is my crochet not straight?’ then you are in good company. A while ago I discovered how to work stacked single crochet stitches and now I never need to ask that again!
Stacked crochet stitches create beautifully neat and straight edges to your work by beginning a row or round with a set of single crochet stitches literally ‘stacked’ on top of each other.
You can work as many stitches as you need to reach the height of your row but the most commonly used is the stacked double crochet stitch that uses 2 single crochet stitches. That’s the example we’re going to look at today in the tutorial.
If you’re a beginner then please don’t worry – this doesn’t involve anything that you can’t do at all!
Let’s have a look at how to crochet stacked stitches and what we can use them for –
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What is a stacked single crochet?
As I mentioned, a stacked single crochet is just simply a set of single crochet stitches that are worked so that they sit on top of each other. It might seem a strange idea at first but once you see how easy it is to work into the side bar of the stitch to make it stack you’ll see what I mean!
Generally at the beginning of a row or round in crochet you are asked to work a turning chain that might count as a stitch. These are all well and good but have you ever done them and then seen that there is a bit of a gap between that chain and the next stitch?
There’s no escaping that when you use the chain but you can completely avoid it by using these stacked stitches. It’s like magic!
What is the difference between a stacked single crochet and a stacked double crochet?
As with lots of things in crochet depending on the designer or company you might see these stitches referred to differently.
A stacked single crochet stitch will always be taller than a regular single crochet because you’ve added the word ‘stacked’ to it. So it means that you have more than one.
This will then be the same as a stacked double crochet stitch as that refers to the height of the stitch that you are going to create.
So if you come across the instruction in a pattern just check to make sure that you know how tall you need to make your stitch. (They can be as high as you need them to be by just stacking more stitches on top!)
What are the benefits of using stacked crochet stitches?
The biggest benefit to these clever stacked stitches for me is that you don’t have any of those gaps at the beginning of rows that I spoke about. They are much neater than chains and stop your crochet from having any kind of ‘wave’ at the edge.
Not only this though, they are also great for if you are going to seam your crochet together or if you are going to crochet a border around it. You have lovely neat parts of the stitch to work into.
The other thing is that it makes your project much easier to block! Because the crochet is straighter and neater you don’t need to be as aggressive in your blocking to get it to measurements and you might get away without doing any at all! (But don’t tell anyone I said that!).
How to create straight edges in crochet
Before we get going with the tutorial it’s important to say that using stacked single crochet stitches won’t mean that you have perfectly straight edges in crochet.
They will help and make it much neater but there are many other factors like being consistent with your tension, making sure that your stitch count is as it should be and the stitches used in the pattern itself that will have an impact on those edges too.
How do you crochet a stacked double crochet stitch?
Let’s dive into it now and look at how to stack single crochet stitches to create a stacked double crochet stitch. If you prefer to watch video tutorials then just scroll down to find it after the pictures.
1. Find the first stitch to work into
This might sound obvious but if you’re used to working traditional chains then you need to make sure that you work into the very first stitch that you come across.
You don’t need to work any chains at all. We’re going to begin our stacked stitch right here in the first stitch.
2. Insert your hook into the first stitch
Begin your stacked stitch by inserting the hook into the first stitch.
3. Make sure to go all the way through the stitch
Make sure that you push your hook all the way through the stitch like so.
Your pattern might tell you to just use the front or back loop and that’s absolutely fine but I find the edges are even neater still if you use the whole stitch.
4. Yarn over hook and pull through stitch
Now it’s time to start the first single crochet we are working by placing the yarn over your hook and pull through the stitch. Just like you would with a regular single crochet stitch.
You’ll now have two loops on your hook like this:
5. Yarn over hook and pull through both loops on the hook
We need to complete the first single crochet now by putting the yarn over the hook and pulling through both loops.
6. Complete the first single crochet stitch
You’ll now have a completed single crochet stitch that is ready for you to stack the next one on top of it.
7. Find the side bar of the single crochet stitch
Next we need to find the side bar of the single crochet just worked as shown below. This is where we will be inserting the hook to work the next stitch.
Make sure to keep your work at this angle and not look from the top at all so that you’re not tempted to put it into the actual stitch!
8. Insert your hook through the side bar of the stitch and yarn over
Once you’ve found the right spot, insert your hook through that part of the stitch, ready to work the stacked single crochet into it. Yarn over hook.
9. Yarn over hook and pull through
As with a regular single crochet stitch you need to yarn over and pull through so that you have 2 loops on the hook.
10. Yarn over and pull through both loops on the hook
To complete the stitch you need to yarn over and pull through both loops on the hook.
And that’s it complete! Your two stacked single crochet stitches create a stacked double crochet that is the height that you need for your row.
11. Continue working the row as instructed
All you need to do now is continue the row as normal.
What projects can I use a stacked single crochet for?
You can use this technique for pretty much any project you like!
I have used it lots on crochet garments, blankets and shawls like these:
- Hawthorne Tee – it’s great fort the side of the lacy part here
- Willow Shawl – it gives such a neat edge to the triangle
- Criss Cross Blanket – it’s not written in the pattern bit you can totally do it for this!
Basically any pattern will work with a stacked stitch but it will depend on how it behaves with the yarn you’re using and stitch used in the pattern. My best advice would b e to have a go and see how it looks!
Can I use stacked single crochet stitches in the round?
Absolutely! You can use the stitch in rows or rounds where a pattern calls for a chain or standing stitch. Just work stacked single crochet stitches instead to meet the height of the stitch you’re using for that row or round.
Can I use a stacked stitch for any project?
The only reasons I can think of for not using this technique is when you don’t need the height of the stitch to be taller than a single crochet or half double crochet stitch.
In these cases there is no need to stack any stitches as they would then become taller than the stitches of your row.
For a half double crochet I just use a ch1 that doesn’t count as a stitch and then work a hdc straight into the first stitch.
For a single crochet you can either work the same principle of a ch1 that doesn’t count or just go for it and work a single crochet into the first stitch without worrying about a chain at all. The choice is yours!
Other top tips for stacked stitches
- Don’t pull your yarn too tight on your stitches. This will distort your crochet and leave you with a stacked stitch that isn’t the right height.
- Check throughout the row or round that your stitches are the same height as your initial stacked stitch.
- At the end of the row make sure to work into the full part of the stacked stitch from the row below. This will make it even neater!
- Experiment and have fun – if you find that working 3 stacked single crochet stitches meets the height of your double crochet stitch then do that. It really doesn’t matter as long as it looks good and you are happy with it 🙂
Materials used in this tutorial
I used Brava Bulky by WeCrochet for the tutorial photos which is a lovely acrylic bulky weight yarn, 100% acrylic, 135yds(123m)/100g.
I used a 7mm (L) streamline crochet hook from Furls Crochet.
The only other things you’ll need for your projects is a pair of sharp scissors and a tapestry needle.
Video Tutorial
If you’d like to see a stacked single crochet stitch video tutorial then you can watch it below –
Learn Some More Crochet Stitches With Me
If, like me, you’re eager to learn all the crochet stitches and techniques you possibly can then I’d love you to take a look at my crochet stitch tutorials – here are some of my favourites though:
Pin It For Later
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to work stacked single crochet stitches with me! I’d love to know if you decide to make any of patterns using it or if you create your own! You can sign up to become a member of HanJan Crochet and I’ll let you know about all the fabulous crochet adventures, offers, lives and more too!
See you there!
