Reverse Single Crochet Crab Stitch Video Tutorial

I have heard (and experienced) how awkward this stitch can be and I am not sure…but I think it might be because of the different ways we each hold our crochet hooks…

When I finally succeeded in making the crab stitch edging I did so by changing the way I held my crochet hook for part of the stitch. I thought I would share this with you just in case there are any other ‘knife hold’ (knife grip) Crocheters out there who are also struggling.

For me the awkward bit is swinging my hook back to the stitch prior to the one I have worked and when I hold my hook using the knife hold my range of motion is very limited in that direction. So I tried the “pencil grip”  and it worked like a charm. Here is a brief tutorial to show you the way I made the stitches. Please note the stitches were used to edge my nieces’s baby blanket (Zoey’s Baby Blanket) and for this specific pattern I worked 2 Crab Stitches into each ch1sp around.

Reverse Single Crochet Crab Stitch Video Tutorial

When working the crab stitch in this example, I began by finishing off my previous round with an invisible join / invisible finish. Next I joined my new yarn with a slip stitch before beginning the crab stitches for the edging. I did not chain 1 to begin – but if you wish to do so because it makes it easier to work the stitch – feel free 🙂 Try to make it a small ch 1 though – to make it more difficult to see as it will be an extra stitch for your edging and visible.

 

1.  Grip your hook as you would a pencil and slide your grip down the handle until it feels comfortable to move the hook downward toward your project and back to the stitch prior to the one you just made

 

2. Insert the hook into the stitch to the right of the last stitch worked if you are a right-handed Crocheter.

Please note: the image above shows one crab stitch already in the space and this is because the baby blanket this edging was used for worked 2 crab stitches into each ch1sp around for the edging.

 

3. Keep your working yarn to the back of your project (as you normally would). Keep the yarn beneath the hook and when you insert your hook through the project, use the hooked bit to grab the yarn and bring the it through to the front of your work.

 

4. You now have 2 loops on your hook.

Note: I am once again using the knife grip – I only used the pencil grip for steps 1-3.

 

5. Yarn over the hook and pull the yarn through both of the loops to complete the crab stitch.

 

6. Crab stitch Complete!

Note: Remember there are 2 crab stitches in the ch1sp for this border.