A month or so ago, I was playing around with stitches… specifically with Crab Stitches.  I LOOOOVE Crab Stitches. I hit upon this Crab Stitch Linen Stitch or Reverse Single Crochet Linen Stitch, and I fell head over heels in love with it!  It has got the prettiest woven look and creates a lovely dense fabric!  I think it looks like lobster tails (especially in the burnt orange I was using at the time).  To introduce you to this stitch, I have written down a pattern for three small Lobster Tail baskets.  Once you get used to the technique, you can use it to create draft excluders, bags, boot cuffs, cowls… Anything that is shaped by working in a cylindrical spiral.

Lobster Tail Crochet Basket Pattern {3 Sizes}

©Dedri Uys 2020.  All Rights Reserved.

Materials

• Scheepjes Cahlista (70% cotton/30% acrylic), 50g/75m/82yds
  • Main Colour (MC) – 393 (Grey)
  • Contrasting Colour 1 (CC1) – 244 (Petrol)
  • Contrasting Colour 2 (CC2) – 388 (Burnt Orange)
• 4.5mm hook

Abbreviations

US Terminology Used

• Ch – Chain
• Hdc – Half-double crochet
• Rem – Remains/remaining
• Sc – Single crochet
• Sl st – Slip stitch
• SM – Stitch marker
• Sp/sps – Space/spaces
• St/sts – Stitch/stitches

Punctuation

Square Brackets [] indicate repeats. You will need to repeat the instructions between square brackets the number of times specified. This is a lower level repeat.

Parentheses () are used to indicate stitches made into the same st/sp.

Special Stitches

Crab Stitch – see Round 1.

Notes

You can make these baskets as big/high as you want to by altering the number of Base Rounds and Side Rounds.  Using multiple strands held together and a 10mm hook, you can make large, sturdy baskets.

Gauge

Your base should measure 5.5cm/2.2″ after Round 3.

Size

Basket One (Petrol): 11cm/4.3” diameter and 6cm/2.3” high

• Base – 6 rounds = 10g
• Sides – 15 rounds = 28g

Basket Two (Burnt Orange): 9cm/3.5” diameter and 5.5cm/2.2” high

• Base – 5 rounds = 7g
• Sides – 13 rounds = 19g

Basket Three (Grey): 7cm/2.7” diameter and 5cm/2” high

• Base – 4 rounds = 5g
• Sides – 11 rounds = 13g

Basket One

With MC, make an adjustable ring, leaving a 10cm/4” tail.

Base

Worked in a Spiral

Round 1:  Into the ring, ch 1 (doesn’t count as a st throughout), 10 hdc, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {10 hdc}

Round 2:  Ch 1, make 2 hdc in each st, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {20 hdc}

Round 3:  Ch 1, [2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next st] 10 times, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {30 hdc}

Round 4:  Ch 1, [2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next 2 sts] 12 times, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {40 hdc}

Round 5:   Ch 2, [2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next 3 sts] 10 times, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {50 hdc}

Round 6:   Ch 1, [2 hdc in the next st, hdc in the next 4 sts] 10 times, join to the first hdc with a sl st.  {60 dc}

Fasten off and work away your ends.

Sides

Joined in the Round. 

When working with Crab Stitches (Reverse Single Crochet), you work in the opposite direction to what you usually would.  If you are right-handed, therefore, you will work clockwise, not counter-clockwise.  If you are left-handed, you will work counter-clockwise, not clockwise.  With that established, I will continue to refer to stitches as next instead of previous.

Difficulty

Round 1

Mark the first ch-1 sp of Round 1 with a SM {Photo 11}.

Join CC1 yarn by making a sl st in any st around {Photo 1}.  Ch 1 {Photo 2} and skip the next st (in the opposite direction, as noted above).

Make a Crab Stitch in the next st.  To do so, swing your hook under your hand and insert it into the indicated st {Photo 3}.  Yarn over {Photo 4} and pull up a loop {Photo 5}.  Yarn over {Photo 6} and pull through both loops {Photo 7}.  You will notice that the first loop lies behind the second loop {Photo 6}, not to the side of it like it usually would.  You will therefore have to angle your hook away from you on the pull-through.  This will feel odd at first, but you will soon get into the rhythm of it.  Try to relax your tension a tiny bit to make things easier.

[Ch 1 {Photo 8}, skip the next st, make a Crab Stitch in the next st {Photos 9 and 10}] until 1 st rem. Ch 1, skip the last st and the next sl st {Photo 11}.  {29 Crab Stitches and 30 ch-1 sps – not including first sl st}

Round 2

Make a Crab Stitch in the first (marked) ch-1 sp of the previous round {indicated with an arrow in Photo 1 and illustrated in Photo 2}.  Ch 1 and place a SM around the last Crab Stitch {Photo 3}.  This will mark the first ch-1 sp of the Round so that you can find it at the start of the next round. [Skip the next st, make a Crab Stitch in the next ch-1 sp, ch 1 {Photos 4 and 5}] until 1 st rem {Photo 6}.  Skip the last st.  {30 Crab Stitches and 30 ch-1 sps}

Note

In Round 2, it was easy to spot the ch-1 sps from Round 1.  From Round 3, it will be a bit more tricky to spot them.  For the first few, you might have to stretch your work to see the ch-1 sps.  Once you get used to working into them, though, it will become much easier.

Rounds 3 – 15

As Round 2.

Finishing Off

When you get to the end of the last round, sl st in the next ch-1 sp {indicated with an arrow in Photo 1 and illustrated in Photo 2}.  Cut your yarn and pull it through to the inside of the work.  Work away your ends.  The sl st end should be virtually seamless :) {Photo 3}

Basket Two

Base

Rounds 1 – 5:  With MC, as Rounds 1 to 5 of Base above.  Fasten off and work away ends.  {50 hdc at end of Round 5}.

Sides

Rounds 1 – 13:  With CC2, as Rounds 1 – 13 of Sides above.  Finish Off.  {25 Crab Stitches and 25 ch-1 sps}

Basket Three

Base

Rounds 1 – 4:  With MC, as Rounds 1 to 4 of Base above.  Fasten off and work away ends.  {40 hdc at end of Round 4}.

Sides

Rounds 1 – 11:  As Rounds 1 – 11 of Sides above. Finish Off.  {20 Crab Stitches and 20 ch-1 sps}

Oh, I hope you love this stitch as much as I do!  If you make these baskets (or use this stitch), please use #lobsterstitch so that we can all see them.

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