Mastering knitted-look fabric

We’ll show you how to hook these three di erent knit-look fabrics

There are various ways to recreate the look of stocking stitch using your crochet skills. Here are three:

Method 1 One of our favourite ways to create a knit-look fabric involves working double crochet stitches in a slightly different way to usual – you insert the hook in between the ‘legs’ of the ‘v’ of the dc on the row below. It’s best to use a slightly larger hook to make the fabric slightly looser so the hook is easier to insert. The result is quite a thick fabric that really looks like knitted stocking stitch, but it only works in the round (in rows, the ‘v’ shapes don’t line up). It also leans diagonally up and to the left, but you can pull and block it straight.

Method 2 Another nifty method is to use half treble stitches, working them into the third loop of the half treble on the row below. The result creates ‘v’ shapes that run horizontally across the fabric, which can be handy for edgings, although it only works in the round (in rows the ‘v’ shapes run in different directions). With lighter weight yarns (such as DK, shown here), there’s a gap between the rows of ‘v’ shapes, which creates more of a knitted ‘rib’ look. With chunkier yarns and a larger hook, the gap disappears and the ‘v’ shapes sit right next to each other, just like stocking stitch. Either way, the fabric has a good amount of stretch and bounces back well.

Method 3 If you’re a fan of chunky knitted fabrics, then you’ll probably like the puff stitch technique. With this one, you hook puff stitches to create the ‘v’ shapes of stocking stitch. The result is a thick, chunky fabric that has a lovely drape. This method works in rows or rounds, with any yarn, so it’s flexible for all sorts of projects, but especially blankets.