When I first started crocheting I had no idea that there was a “hidden” stitch right after crocheting into a corner. Now that I understand what stitches look like and how they work I am mortified by this faux pas, and yet it never occurred to me that other people might be having the same problem. If you are one of those people who keep missing the first stitch after crocheting a corner (and trust me, you might not even realize that you are), this tutorial is for you. It is just going to be a quicky, so prepare to be amazed at my speed!
You can now find the Danish Translation for this tutorial HERE, courtesy of Tina Poulsen.
Corners and the Elusive Hidden Stitch
When making crochet squares in the round your corners will be formed by working a few stitches into the corner stitch of the previous round.
Examples:
- (Sc, ch-1, sc)
- (2 dc, ch-1, 2 dc)
- 5 tr
You get the picture. A bunch of stitches all worked into one stitch.
Now comes the tricky part. When you’ve made more than one stitch into that corner stitch, the first stitch of the next “side” of your square can sometimes be hidden, especially if you don’t know what that first stitch should look like. If you miss this hidden stitch, your stitch counts will be out every single time, no matter how many times you frog and re-do.
To help you avoid missing that first “hidden” stitch, let’s look at the anatomy of the stitches first.
From the photo above you can see that the loops for each stitch can be found just in front of the post of that stitch (when the right side of the work is facing you*). If you are right-handed, this will be to the right of the post. If you are left-handed, this will be to the left of the post.
*If the wrong side of the work is facing you, this direction will be reversed. See Stitch Anatomy HERE.
So when you have finished working your corner (sc, ch-1, sc in the example below), the loops of your first stitch might be slightly hidden by the corner stitches. In the photo below I have kindly pulled the corner stitches to one side so that you can see the first stitch better.
Now you try it. In the photo below, can you tell which loops belong to the first stitch?
Look at the next photo. Were you right?
Don’t worry too much if you were wrong. At least you have tried and are now aware of the fact that the loops for the first stitch are usually hidden below the corner stitches.
So when you make your next afghan square, don’t just hook it, LOOK it. Pay attention to what the designer is asking you to do and try to figure out why. Look if you can see recurring themes between patterns. Pry your stitches apart and really look at what you are making. This is how we learn and TRUST ME, you will love crochet so much better if you understand it rather than just do it.
If you are a complete beginner, my friend Rhondda has an excellent stitch-guide on her blog. It is done as a photo, so you can save it to your desktop and use it often! It illustrates what each of the basic stitches should look like, what their abbreviations and chart symbols are and how many turning chains are needed for each stitch.
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pinouille says
You are a life-saver and a total dear. I cannot thank you enough. I was so sick of patterns not explaining why my corners kept getting larger or more uneven as I put together expensive baby afghan kits…. even with their video tutorials. I thought it was a counting thing, but I now see it is an invisible stitch thing. I really appreciate this. Thank you.
Tracy says
Thanks Dedri. I love how well you explain things and point out common mistakes – I’m usually about to do exactly what you warn us about!! Still trying to get in to the habit of counting after every single side … then I get slack and make a mistake !
Dedri Uys says
I’m glad you are finding all the (MANY) warnings useful, Tracy :)
Mary Yvonette Bimrose says
Easy to understand. Chevron designs, are the ones I can get wrong. I have learnt to count often
Jenny says
don’t you just love it when you lose count, Mary? lol drives me potty at times.
Carla says
Thanks for sharing this, I suspect that this has been my problem with count being off. So happy to learn this! Also, what is frogging and WIP? So many crocheters use these terms and I have no idea what they are talking about. Thanks for helping us learn a great craft.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Carla. Frogging means ripping your work out (rip it, rip it, rip it) like the sound a frog makes. WIP is work in progress.
Dara says
Working in a CAL and could not for the life of me figure out why my count waa off. Never even knew about this. I’m still unsure how to recognize it but I’ll do some more research. Thanks!
Jenny says
Try looking at some of the Sophie’s Universe video tutorials that demonstrate the hidden stitches, Dara :)
Elaine Hilliar says
Thank you so very much for this! The pattern I’ve currently started made no sense at all until I read this!
Carolien says
Thank you Dedri, for this very clear explanation. I always did it the right way, but wasn’t sure if it was (the right way)! Now I can feel confident and not question myself about it all the time!!
Dedri Uys says
You are most welcome :) I’m glad that you’ve had it right all along!
Libbie says
This helps tremendously! I’ve been having issues with corner stitches and getting my count right.
I’m also working on a project where I want 3 rounds of sc border. Where would I put the increases? Would I just add another 3 stitches into the corner stitch at each turn?
Thanks!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Libbie. Yes. Either add 3 stitches into the corner stitch, or make (sc, ch 2, sc) corners and then make one of those into each ch-2 corner on the next round. I hope that helps.
Crystal Wall says
Thanks for this quick lesson. Although I did know that there was a hidden stitch, I have missed it plenty of times myself. Right NOW, I have a never ending granny on my hook and when I picked up my work and started looking, I noticed I missed a corner totally, not just the stitch. I found this post searching for ways to fix the corner without ripping out an hr of work. (queen size blanket). Thank you for reminding me to look for that hidden stitch today as I crochet the rain away. I want to finish this blanket and change to a lighter weight yarn thinking I may force spring with my yarn and a hook! :-) I follow and share. Thanks!
~Crystal
Jane Campbell says
Now that you’ve shown the hidden stitch it seems so bloody obvious I’m kicking myself. I thought I was a seasoned crochet but I bow down to your supreme knowledge. Lol
One other thing, how do you choose your colours? I love your colour combinations but struggle to do the same myself. Any help would be great.
Jenny says
Laying colours out in the floor in a circle is the way I choose most of my project colours, Jane. I also look for inspiration in photos too, or nature. There are colour palette websites out there too which are an aid to getting colour schemes from photos :)
Tanya says
Hi. Just wanted to say thanks – I have seen the light! I’m a self taught crocheter (in other words I blag my way with lots of trial and error) and I now know one of the ways I was going wrong.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Tanya. I am pleased that you found the tutorial useful :)
Cathleen says
Thank you, Dedri! I always thought it was the loop AFTER the post. Thanks again for all your help. You are awesome!
Jackie says
I thought I knew which loop belonged to which stitch but have just discovered that I have been working into the wrong loop each time. Thank you
Dedri Uys says
You’re welcome, Jackie. Just remember that this tutorial is strictly for when you are working in the round. If you work in rows where you turn your work at the end of each row, the tops of each stitch will fall after each post, not before, because you are looking at them from the back.
Dedri
Andria says
Thanks – that was just the information I was after!
JoAnn McLean says
Finally!! I have crocheted for years, but still miss that stitch and don’t realize it till my count is out!!!!!! This puts it all into understandable perspective – THANK YOU!
Dedri Uys says
JoAnn, you are most welcome. I didn’t even realize that I didn’t realize it until someone pointed it out to me, so I am all too happy to spread the knowledge. Happy hooking!
Stephanie says
You are a total godsend! It’s amazing how something so simple can derail your entire project. Thank you for straightening this out. I always found myself debating when I came to these areas.
lyndell says
now if I could just find the first and last stitch in a row…
I crochet a lot in the round (amigurumi) but when I have to make a flat piece I always struggle with which loop to enter after chain 1 turn and which is the last stitch in the row. both are interfering with my stitch count. I have been trying to make a ripple afghan for about 50 years. all I get is a wedge that keeps growing!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Lyndell. Thank you for your comment. It depends on if you are using sc/hdc or dc/tr. For sc/hdc you make your first stitch right at the base of the ch-1 (or ch-2 for hdc) turn. For dc/tr you make your first stitch in the next stitch and your last stitch in the actual turning chains. UNLESS the pattern very clearly states that the turning chains are not counted as a stitch, in which case you will make your first dc/tr in the stitch right at the base of the turning chain and your last stitch in the last dc/tr NOT into the turning chain. I feel another tut coming on…
Carrie says
This is an excellent tutorial. I’ll never miss a corner stitch again (now let’s see if I can hold myself to that :D)
RIa says
This is an awesome tip! I just started my first afghan using the CCC CAL and discovered these “hidden” stitches when doing the second block. They are tricky!
Dedri Uys says
Thanx, Ria. It was Kim’s idea to do this post :)
Carol says
Dedri, I just discovered your website! Your instructions are incredibly detailed and so very helpful. I have been crocheting for years (20+). I taught myself from a book and it’s illustrations. I am learning a lot from your tutorials, things that make crocheting more enjoyable and easier for me! Thank you for sharing your valuable ideas and your invaluable time!!! You are ‘bookmarked’ and I’m certain to use your patterns and instructions frequently. :)
Dedri Uys says
Carol, I replied to your comment, but I just saw that it hadn’t worked (or accepted your comment), so I am trying again. I enjoyed reading your comment and am very pleased that you find my tutorials useful. More than anything I want people to enjoy crocheting AND the process of learning to crochet. So thank you for that special comment :)
Kim says
You are the bomb-diggity!!!!! Beginners take heed…if you do not create bad habits you will not have any to break :)
Dedri Uys says
Lol…thank you, Kim.