Crocodile Stitch

One of the most beautiful and interesting crochet stitches out there is the Crocodile Stitch. Hi, I'm Corrina Ferguson, and in this video I'm gonna teach you how to work up the Crocodile Stitch. So, this is one of my favorite crochet stitches and it's called the Crocodile Stitch. And the sample that I've worked out for you is in a color changing yarn and so you can see how pretty the little stitches look, they're very textural kind of lift. And when you look at the back of the Crocodile Stitch you can see how it's worked on a grid.

So, what we're gonna do is we're gonna learn how to work this Crocodile Stitch step-by-step and it really just is a bunch of chains and a bunch of double crochets. So the Crocodile Stitch begins just like any other crochet stitch, we start with a chain, and there'll be instructions for you on how to do the Crocodile Stitch, but I like to start with a chain of six stitches plus three. So for this example here I have 21 so what we're going to do is the first five stitches are going to be a double crochet and a chain too, that's what it's gonna count for. So we're gonna start into stitch number six with a pair of double crochets. So one, two, three, four, five, six and you don't have to be fancy with this you can go into any strand you want on it because you're not gonna see this chain it's gonna be hidden in the back.

So we're gonna do one double crochet here and then we're gonna do another one right into the same space. And then we are going to chain two and once we chain our two we're gonna do one double crochet into the third chain. So we're gonna skip two chains, do one double crochet into chain three here, and then we're just gonna alternate this down the row it's gonna be chain two double crochet twice, chain two double crochet once. And we're gonna do that all the way to the end of the row until we have the setup of our ladder. So we've got our foundation ladder and it consists of double crochets and like single ones and then the pairs, and the pairs is where the crocodiles are gonna go.

Some people will do pairs for everyone, I like to do the pairs only on the ones that I'm gonna actually work the crocodile on for this row just because it makes it easier for me to tell where things go. So we've got, we're gonna chain one here just to give ourselves a little wiggle and then we're going to work five double crochets and we're gonna work them, they call them post crochets. And what basically we're doing is instead of going into the stitches, we're gonna go under the first post which is this pair of double crochets. So we're gonna wrap our yarn, we're gonna yarn over our hook just like we're gonna do a regular double crochet but instead we're gonna go under the first of the pair. So this is the first post and I pull through our loop and then we're ready to work a double crochet just like normal.

And we're gonna do five of these on this side of the post. So we're gonna go under that same double crochet stitch. So the stitch is fatter than your normal yarn strands that you're going under but it's gonna change the direction of your crochet as well, because we're basically crocheting down the side of this other double crochet stitch. So how many do we have here? I can never keep count when I'm talking, we have one, two, three, four we need one more.

And as you get to the bottom here the post is gonna be very full of stitches and then what you wanna do is you've got half of your crocodile done. You're gonna do the other half of the crocodile on this post that's the pair. So what I like to do is I like to fold my work so that the first half of the crocodile is down here and then this post is actually facing me, I like to have the post facing me when I'm doing it. So I'm gonna yarn over just like I'm gonna double crochet and I'm gonna go under this post, pool through my, oops I lost my loop there, pool through my loop just like normal and then we're gonna do five double crochets for the second side of this crocodile, as I call it a crocodile scale maybe I guess a crocodile scale. So that's two, sometimes I move them down the post a little bit to give myself a little more room but we're always going into the same place.

So that's my thing third one, my fourth one, and one more will make my fifth who knew I would have to count so much for a living. Okay, and then what you're gonna do next is you're going to anchor your Crocodile Stitch to the ladder. So we're gonna take this single one, the single double crochet, the solitary double crochet let's not confuse ourselves, and we're just gonna anchor by slipping into the top of that stitch. So I'm gonna slip into the top of that stitch and anchor and then I'm ready to do my next crocodile. So I have a pair here.

We're gonna yarn over and we're gonna go into the post, just like we did before, and we're gonna do five of these on the first side. And I'm gonna go ahead and do all five even though you might be sick of watching me double crochet, 'cause I wanna show you the full thing maneuver again and what it looks like when you have more work on your hook or more work going. So that was three, this is four and one more. And you'll notice that the bottom of the crocodile scale has a natural roundness to it. So here's my first scale, here's my second then I've got half done.

And then again, I'm gonna fold this down so I'm working on this post. So, yarn over, the first one is always the trickiest one go under the post, grab it and do the double crochet. And then you're just gonna do the five and you're gonna do that on all of the pairs of double crochet all the way down the rope. So I finished our first set of Crocodile Stitches and we need to anchor this to the end. So if you remember, we started with the chain five, so it was chain three to count as the first double crochet and then chain two for the spacing.

So we need to anchor this to the top of the chain three with a slip stitch. So we're just gonna go into here, anchor with a slip stitch and that ends off our first row of crocodile. Now we need to make the ladder for the next row of crocodiles. So to start, we're gonna start with two at the end instead of one. One, two, three, chain three is gonna be our first double crochet and then we're gonna go back into the very same space we just came out of and we're gonna work a double crotchet up.

So we're just gonna go right back in there and double crochet. So that'll be our first pair and that's where our crocodile is gonna sit. And you'll notice that our crocodiles are going to alternate. So let's look back at our sample just so we can see. We have four, we have five, four or five and you see how they alternate so it kind of makes it really pretty texture and it covers up all the gaps and stuff.

So we're gonna alternate. So we've got two in this first one and then we're gonna chain two 'cause we need some spacing, of course, and then into the space between the two halves of the crocodile is where we're gonna do a single of our double crochet. We should do a solitary, I should say solitary, that's less confusing, a solitary double crochet. Chain two, and then our next pair of double crochets is gonna go right where that single one, that solitary one was before. So we're gonna go right into here and we're gonna add a pair, and make sure we're in the right place, oh, I'm not in the right place.

Okay, I wanna make sure we're actually in the stitch and not all jumbled up in the middle of a stitch. And then we wanna make sure we're doing a double crotchet, there we go. So that's gonna get one and then another one 'cause their was a one before so now it's gonna be a pair and then chain two again and then in between the crocodiles halves, we're going to double crochet in this space and chain two again and then we've got that single one from the previous set, make sure we get into that right spot there, and this is gonna get two double crochets 'cause we're alternating singles and pairs. And like I said, sometimes they'll tell you just to do all pairs 'cause it's not like they're gonna add any bulk to the back of your work, but I really like the single double alternate because it tells me exactly where I'm supposed to work things and it reduces the chances that I will mess it up because that can happen even when you're teaching people how to crochet as you've probably seen if you're watching my videos. So then we're gonna go back into this final one and we're going to double crochet twice into this very, and make sure we get into the space there to the right spot, there you go and we're gonna do two double crochet to end this off.

And when we start at the beginning of the row, when our pairs are at the beginning of the row, I'm gonna start with a chain three for that first double crochet. So then you do one, two and three, and then I'm gonna do four more double crochets in the post. So this is our first post. So we'll wrap our yarn over to double crochet we'll go under the post. I'm just gonna get you started on this row so we can see.

And all of this is written down in the instructions just to really helps I think sometimes to have someone show you all the steps, definitely the way that I learned best. I learned to crochet from my stepmother when I was about 13 and it was very nice having someone hands on, and I think so many people learn online nowadays though so it's good to have these videos. So we have our chain and then we have four more double crochets and then like I said, I like to fold it so I'm gonna fold my half down and then I'm going to go into that post again, okay. So I'm gonna show you here a little slowly. So I've got my yarn wrapped over and I've got it folded down and this is the post that I'm gonna go around.

So I'm gonna go under, bring it through that loop and start that first one. The first one I think is the trickiest one when you fold it, when you're going into the second half, and then we just do three, four or five and you're just gonna continue down the road in the same manner. When the two is at the end of the thing you're gonna start it with a chain three but that's in the written instructions when it's not you're going to start it with the chain one. Okay, whoops, this is my last guy and then of course when I finish, a set of stitches, I anchor it to the chain. See how there's my chain one and my chain twos, then I anchor it to my chain one with a slip stitch.

And then I'm just ready to continue all the way down the row. Thank you so much for joining me to learn how to work the Crocodile Stitch. Check out our website for more great videos.