Crochet Stitch Variations: Shells, Clusters, Bobbles & More

All Crochet Texture Comes From the Basics

Here is one of the most encouraging truths about crochet: no matter how complex a stitch pattern looks, it is almost always built from combinations of the five basic stitches you already know. Fancy textured stitches are just those basics arranged and combined in specific ways.

Shells and Groups

A shell (also called a group) consists of several complete stitches worked into the same stitch or space. Working multiple stitches into one point fans them out like a shell shape.

The most classic shell is a Five Double Crochet Shell: you simply work five double crochets all into the same stitch. Shells can also be made with half double crochets or longer stitches, and they can vary in the number of stitches from pattern to pattern.

Shells are used both as decorative stitch patterns and as a method of increasing the width of a piece.

Clusters

A cluster is the opposite of a shell in spirit: it groups stitches together by working each stitch most of the way, leaving the last loop of each one on the hook, then pulling through all of them at once to join them into a single top.

To work a Three Double Crochet Cluster across three adjacent stitches:

1. 1.Work a double crochet into each of the next three stitches, stopping before the final pull-through on each one. After three partial double crochets, you have four loops on the hook.
2. 2.Yarn over and pull through all four loops at once.

Clusters can be used as decorative stitch patterns and also as a method of decreasing.

Bobbles

A bobble is a cluster worked entirely into a single stitch rather than spread across multiple stitches. By cramming multiple partial stitches into one spot and joining them at the top, you create a raised, rounded bump on your fabric.

To work a Five Double Crochet Bobble:

1. 1.Work five double crochets into the same stitch, keeping the last loop of each one on the hook.
2. 2.After five partial double crochets, you have six loops on the hook.
3. 3.Yarn over and pull through all six loops.

Bobbles pop out on the opposite side from where you are working, so they appear on the right side of the fabric when worked on wrong-side rows.

Popcorns

Popcorns are similar to bobbles but are closed differently, creating an even more pronounced, dimensional bump. Instead of leaving partial stitches on the hook and joining them, you complete all the stitches first, then fold and close them at the top.

To work a Five Double Crochet Popcorn:

1. 1.Work five complete double crochets into the same stitch.
2. 2.Remove the hook from the working loop.
3. 3.Insert the hook from front to back through the top of the very first double crochet in the group.
4. 4.Pick up the working loop and pull it through to close the popcorn.

Because the stitches are completed rather than partial, popcorns can be made with half double crochet, double crochet, or longer stitches.

Puff Stitches

Puff stitches are worked with half double crochets and are similar to bobbles, but the puff cannot be closed until all the required stitches have been worked.

To work a Three Half Double Crochet Puff Stitch:

1. 1.Yarn over, insert the hook in the stitch, yarn over and draw up a loop (three loops on hook). Repeat this two more times into the same stitch. You now have seven loops on the hook.
2. 2.Yarn over and pull through all seven loops.

Puff stitches create a softer, rounded texture compared to the harder pop of a bobble or popcorn.

Filet Crochet

Filet crochet deserves a special mention because it looks completely different from any of the above, yet uses only double crochets and chain stitches. Filet crochet creates a grid-like mesh by alternating open spaces (a double crochet, two chain stitches, skip two stitches, a double crochet) with solid blocks (four consecutive double crochets).

Filet patterns are given in chart form: open squares represent spaces and filled-in squares represent blocks. By filling in blocks in specific arrangements, you can create images and text in your crocheted fabric.