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Nothing excites crocheters as some serious texture in their projects. One of the ways to add texture and a total cute factor to a project is by using an HDC puff stitch. Half Double Crochet Puff Stitch is one of my favorite stitches to use in my own patterns.
What is an HDC Puff Stitch
HDC Puff Stitch is made of a number of loops all crocheted into the same stitch and then joined together.
HDC Puff Stitch comes from the family of crochet stitches that create bobble-like textures. They include stitches like popcorn, bobble, and puff stitch. They might seem similar at the first glance, but they are actually quite different in how they made and how much yarn they take up.
The Puff Stitch is an easy crochet stitch to make. It can be done in HDC, DC, and even the TR version, but we are going to work with the HDC puff stitch this time.
What can you make with HDC Puff Stitch
HDC Puff Stitch is a wonderful great way to add lots of texture and fun detail to any crochet project.
You can use a row of puff stitches on each edge of a blanket or the top of mittens. You can also place a row of puffs on the brim of a hat.
You can make repeating clusters of 3 puffs in the shape of a triangle or 4 puffs in a shape of diamond sprinkled throughout your project like a blanket or a pillow.
You can make an entire surface of the project out of the puff stitches. Just be mindful that the puffs make the crochet fabric stiff so you can use that in a decorative pillow or a shoulder bag.
Things to know about HDC Puff Stitch
- To make the HDC puff stitch you make a combo of “Yarn Over(YO)+insert hook+YO+pull through” into the same stitch. Depending on the thickness of the yarn you can make HDC puff stitch out of 3, 4, or 5 repeats of this combo.
- The more repeats you make, the thicker and stiffer the puff is and the more yarn it “eats” up.
- The fact that the puff stitch consumes a lot of yarn is something to think about as the number of puffs you use in your crochet project can make a difference between using one vs two skeins of yarn.
- The crochet fabric that has puffs that are closely placed will have less drape to it and will be stiffer.
- Unlike bobble or popcorn stitches that create texture on the right side of the work, puff stitch creates the texture on both sides of the crochet fabric, making your project more reversible.
How to Crochet HDC Puff Stitch Starting with the Chain
There are a few variations of HDC Puff Stitch. Here, we will work on an upright standing puff stitch that uses 3 sets of YO+insert hook+YO+pull through.
When you make the puff stitch starting with a chain, first make a chain of multiples of 2 plus 4. If you want, to create a solid foundation row, you can also do a row of single crochet stitches first before you start with the row of puff stitches.
In this tutorial, we will be doing the puff stitch with the 3 repetitions.
If you are starting with the chain, yarn over and insert hook into the fourth chain from the hook. Yarn over and pull through. You have 3 chains on the hook. Yarn over and complete this first regular HDC.
Next, yarn over and insert the hook into next available stitch.
Yarn over and pull through a loop. When you are pulling a loop through, pull it longer than usual and make sure it’s as tall as the HDC stitch next to it. You now have 3 loops on your hook.
With 3 loops on your hook, yarn over again, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 5 loops on your hook.
With 5 loops still on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 7 loops on your hook.
Yarn over and pull a loop through all 7 loops at the same time.
Crochet 1 single CH to secure the top of the HDC puff stitch. It also gives a 1 stitch space between the puff stitch and the next stitch. This also makes the puff stand upright instead of leaning.
To make the next puff stitch, skip 1 chain, yarn over and insert the hook into the next available chain. Yarn over and pull through a loop. When you are pulling a loop through, pull it longer than usual and make sure it’s as tall as the HDC stitch next to it. You now have 3 loops on your hook.
With 3 loops on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 5 loops on your hook.
With 5 loops still on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 7 loops on your hook.
Yarn over and pull a loop through all 7 loops at the same time. Crochet 1 single CH to secure the HDC puff stitch.
Every new stitch in the row will be done this same way if you want to have a complete row of HDC puff stitches. Simply continue in the same manner till the end of the row.
How to Crochet HDC Puff Stitch on the Top of Another Row
When creating the HDC Puff Stitch on the top of the next row (we’ll be making one with 3 repetitions), first crochet a regular HDC to start off the row. That will be your first stitch.
Next, yarn over and insert the hook into the next available stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. When you are pulling a loop through, pull it longer than usual and make sure it’s as tall as the HDC stitch next to it. You now have 3 loops on your hook.
With 3 loops on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again, pull up the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 5 loops on your hook.
With 5 loops still on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 7 loops on your hook.
Yarn over and pull a loop through all 7 loops at the same time. CH 1 to secure the top of the stitch and to create a space between it and the next stitch.
To make the next HDC puff stitch, you will need to skip one stitch, then yarn over and insert the hook into the next available stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. When you are pulling a loop through, pull it longer than usual and make sure it’s as tall as the HDC stitch next to it. You now have 3 loops on your hook.
With 3 loops on your hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 5 loops on your hook.
With 5 loops still on your crochet hook, yarn over, insert the hook into the same stitch. Yarn over and pull through a loop. Again pull the loop to be as long as the loops you just pulled and as tall as the HDC stitch next to them. You now have 7 loops on your hook.
Yarn over and pull a loop through all 7 loops at the same time. Crochet 1 single CH to secure the HDC puff stitch.
Continue the same till the end of the bobble row. If you want the whole crochet fabric made of this same stitch, just repeat row of puff stitches you just did.
Variation on HDC Puff Stitch
The stitch we did above was an HDC Puff Stitch that stands upright. There are other version of this stitch and it’s the version of the puff stitch that leans diagonally.
To create this version, at the end of the making the puff, when you pull the loop through all of the loops on your hook, DO NOT make 1 CH to secure the top of the puff.
Instead, make an SC into the next stitch instead of the single CH. It also secures the top of the puff giving it its shape, but, unlike CH, using single crochet stitches into next stitch makes the puff stitch lean over, positioning it diagonally, which is a pretty cool look as well.
If you want to see the puff stitch in action, here is a great video tutorial to show you the steps:
A puff stitch is a simple but pretty way to add texture and character to your crochet project. You can make a whole project completely out of puff stitches, or space them one apart or make stitch pattern with small triangles made out of groups of 3 puffs sprinkled throughout your project, there is no limit on how you use the HDC puff stitches to embellish your creation.
I have used the puff stitch in my own crochet patterns like Stepping Stone Cowl. A bobble crochet stitch is another great texture stitch similar to puff stitch.
Puff stitches can also be done based on DC stitches, in which case they come out taller.
You can practice puff stitch by getting a free pattern that uses this stitch and working through the steps. Start with simple crochet projects like a dish cloth, a scarf or a pillow cover to get a hang of the process. Baby blankets, even though they are a large project, also great to make using the puff stitch.
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