Crochet Knurl Stitch Tutorial (a raised horizontal crochet cable)

What is the knurl stitch I hear you ask?

It’s a classic cable stitch which sits raised on the top of a crochet fabric.

The crochet knurl stitch is great for adding interest into crochet scarves, hats, other accessories and homewares such as blankets and cushions.

This crochet technique makes a neat and professional looking edging method for crochet projects like blankets or even garment hems or cuffs.

If you’ve worked the crochet crab stitch or reverse single crochet before then you’re going to pick this up in no time.

If you’re newer to the technique, have a little patience. It can feel kind of counter intuitive when you start.

I will start this tutorial with a guide to the crab stitch. To start the knurl stitch, you’ll need to know how to work the reverse single crochet / crab stitch, so I’ve given brief instructions how to work it. I’ve also included my personal tips for working it with a couple of options depending on what works for you.

You will see this in action in the knurl stitch video tutorial.

After the crab stitch instructions, you will find a video tutorial (left and right handed with closed captions), followed by written stitch instructions and, lastly, a photo guide showing you how to crochet the knurl stitch step by step.

You can see the knurl stitch used in the Fisherman’s Nap crochet blanket pattern both as part of the stitch pattern and as a border. In this pattern it’s paired with a twisted cable stitch to create a traditional Aran style cable blanket.

How to crochet Crab stitch / Reverse single crochet

The terms crab stitch and reverse single crochet are used interchangeably throughout this article.

When working the crab stitch, you do not turn your work at the end of the previous row. Instead you work it in the opposite direction to the one you normally work, i.e. you work backwards along the last row.

So if you are right handed and normally crochet right to left, you will work left to right.

If you’re left handed (like me) then you will work from right to left instead of left to right.

That’s a lot of left and rights, so just know you’ll be going in the counter intuitive direction.

Crochet crab stitch instructions;

• Insert the hook into the previous stitch (working backwards along the row)
• yarn under, pull through, bringing your hook above the stitch as you do so (this will create a kind of wrap or twisted look)
• yarn over and pull through two loops to complete the stitch
• Move along to the next stitch and repeat to the end of the row / as desired

The tricky bit about reverse single crochet for me was working out how to pull the yarn through when I had inserted the hook. It might help you to see it as a mirror image of a single crochet as well as reverse.

I found it easier to yarn under and there are two ways to do this;

First, you could turn the hook the direction you’re working and wrap the yarn from bottom to top (as below).

Alternatively, turn your hook in the opposite direction so it’s facing away from the direction you’re working and grab the yarn with your hook from above – hook over yarn (as per image below).

It’s one of those stitches that’s hard to describe in words and might take a few attempts to ‘get it’.

Note that the crab stitch will not look like a typical single crochet. When you pull the yarn through you are kind of twisting or wrapping it around the stitch so it creates a cable wrap like texture.

You need to work a few stitches to see the results and I do encourage you to watch the video (below) to get a better idea of the motion.

This stitch took me quite a while to get the hang of. I watched a few different videos and some really helped, some didn’t. I think that the way you hold your hook and yarn will influence how you approach the stitch.

So if this one doesn’t work for you, do have a look at some others and don’t give up. As I said at the start, it can take some patience.

Crochet Knurl stitch – written instructions

Once you know how to work the crochet crab stitch, you can get going with the knurl stitch.

If you’re practicing following along with this tutorial, you may want to start with a few rows of single crochet to work from.

The knurl stitch pattern itself uses a two-row repeat and can be worked over any number of stitches (you can learn more about stitch and row multiples here).

Both rows are worked on the right side (RS).

Knurl Row 1 (RS):  Without turning at the end of the previous row, chain 1, then working backwards, make a crab stitch / reverse single crochet in the front loop only of each stitch to end, do not turn

Knurl Row 2: (RS): Without turning but switching to work in your normal direction, chain 1, then make 1 single crochet in the unworked back loop of each stitch on the row of single crochet made prior to Knurl Row 1

Once you get to the end, you can turn or not turn to continue or fasten off, depending on the stitch pattern you’re crocheting with.

If you want to work multiple knurl stitch rows, you might want to work a couple of rows of single crochet between them so they don’t get too crowded – this is what I have done with the pictured purple swatch.

Crochet Knurl stitch video tutorials

Below you will find video tutorials with closed captions which demonstrate the crochet knurl stitch technique both in left and right handed formats.

Tap or click the images to watch the video.

Right handed crochet knurl stitch video tutorial

Left handed crochet knurl stitch video tutorial

Crochet knurl stitch photo tutorial

As with the general written instructions, if you’re practicing the stitch before working it into a project, I encourage you to start with a few rows of single crochet before you work the first knurl stitch rows.

In the pictures below, I started with 3 rows of 10 single crochets.

The images below show a right handed version of the stitch and are shown after the written instructions they relate to. Left handers will see a mirror image.

Knurl stitch row 1:

If you are familiar with the crab stitch, the first row is essentially is crab stitch worked in the front loop only.

Step 1: With the right side facing you, do not turn after the end of the previous row, chain 1 and pull the loop up a little to give you space to work backwards.

Step 2: Insert your hook into the front loop of the previous stitch

Step 3: Yarn under and pull your yarn through and up. You may need to twist your hook a little here – the video demonstrates this in movement (see crab stitch instructions earlier in the post for more guidance here).

Step 4: Yarn over,

Step 5: pull through 2 loops to complete the stitch. It will look like it’s pulling away from the fabric a little. This is normal and it will be pulled down by the next stitch.

Step 6: Repeat steps 2-5 working backwards across the row to the end, do not turn at the end of the row

Knurl stitch row 2:

Step 1: Chain 1, moving in the direction you normally crochet, work 1 single crochet in the unworked back loop of the stitch in the previous row of single crochet (made before Knurl stitch row 1)

Step 2: Work 1 single crochet in the unworked back loop of each stitch to the end of the row

You will see how the second row allows the knurl cable to sit on the front of the fabric.

If you’re working in rows then at the end of this row you can turn to the wrong side, and continue working in pattern. If you’re working in unturned rounds you can continue working. Or, if you’re working a border for example, this is where you might want to fasten off.

And that’s it!

As i’ve mentioned, it does take a little getting used to, but once you’re in the flow, I hope you’ll find it a pretty relaxing and somehow very satisfying stitch to work as I do.

Any questions or thoughts, please do drop them in the comments, and if you like this tutorial, please do share it with your crochet friends!

Happy Hooking

Dx