One of my favorite things about crochet is its versatility; with a hook and some yarn we can create almost anything! Did you know that you can create the look of knit stitches with crochet? Yes, it’s true! The waistcoat stitch, or knit stitch, uses a modified single crochet stitch to capture the style of knit stockinette stitches. It’s my go to stitch for crochet colorwork, and I think soon it’ll be one of your favorites too!
What skills do you need to do the waistcoat stitch?
The best part about this stitch, is that you don’t need to know anything beyond single crochet! That’s right, you only need to know how to do the first stitch you learn after the chain stitch. The waistcoat stitch takes the single crochet stitch, and instead of working through the normal loops, you go through the middle of the post of the stitch. You then do the normal single crochet stitch through the post of the stitch, and this simple modification changes the stitch to look like it’s knit. I’ll show you how to do it all in the tutorial below!
Want to save this stitch for later? Save it to your favorite Pinterest Board!
Supplies you’ll need
To follow along with this video, you can use any weight of yarn and the corresponding hook side for it. I used two of my favorite crochet supplies! WeCrochet Brava Bulky yarn, and my Furls Crochet hook that works with the yarn. I love the WeCrochet Brava Bulky yarn because it is soft and has such great stitch definition for this type of stitch pattern. Furls hooks are my go to hooks no matter what I’m crocheting, so I always have one close at hand. If you’d like to get these supplies yourself, you can find them at the links below:
– WeCrochet Brava Bulky yarn in Seraphim (affiliate link)
– Furls Crochet Streamline Swirl Cookies and Cream Hook (affiliate link)
Waistcoat Stitch Tutorial
I’ve created a step by step video tutorial that walks you through the different parts of how to crochet the waistcoat stitch. Generally the waistcoat stitch is mainly used for projects in the round. However, sometimes it will be used for projects worked flat, which makes the stitch appear differently. In the tutorial I show both ways! I also go in depth about how you measure gauge and create a gauge swatch with this stitch. You can find everything you need to know to learn this stitch in the video tutorial below that’s available on my Youtube channel.
The Waistcoat Stitch and Gauge
When checking your gauge for a project that uses the waistcoat stitch, you’re going to want to know a few different things:
- Is this project worked flat or in the round? If the project is worked flat then your gauge swatch will be worked flat. If it’s done in the round, then you will want to make your gauge swatch in the round.
- How many stitches wide and how many rows tall does your pattern have the gauge set for? If your project is worked flat, then you are going to do that amount for your swatch or a little bit bigger just to make sure everything is in order. If it is worked in the round, I recommend doing double of what the stitch amount is and then joining in the round. This way you can see how your waistcoat stitch is worked in the round.
You can find all of my tips for gauge for the waistcoat stitch in the video tutorial above!
Other Tips for the Waistcoat Stitch
- The waistcoat stitch tends to be very tight. If you find that your tension is too tight, go up a hook size, and it will be a lot easier to get your hook through the v of each stitch.
- Remember, the looser the better when doing the waistcoat stitch! Hold your yarn a little looser and don’t pull your stitches closed super tight when working them.
- When working flat, the stitch will look different on both sides (right and wrong). On the right side, you work through the v of the stitch. On the wrong side, the v’s will be upside down, so you work through the upside down v’s of each stitch. You can also check on the right side if you’re going through the right portion of the stitch on the wrong side. You’ll be able to tell if it’s going through the v of the stitch on the front.