Crab stitch (which is also called reverse double crochet) is a simple edging that you can work with any number of stitches – it creates a diagonal zigzag effect. Crab stitches are just like normal dc stitches but worked in the opposite direction to usual - hence the alternative name of reverse double crochet. It's called crab stitch crochet as a reference to the way crabs can walk sideways (fun fact, most crabs can actually walk forwards and backwards, but the way their joints are positioned it's much faster for them to walk sideways)
We'll now show you how to crochet crab stitch, it will seem a bit tricky at first but keep practicing and we're sure you'll crack it! Please note that here at Gathered we use UK crochet terminology, so for those of you who use US terminology this would be called a reverse single crochet. You can find more information of all abbreviations we use and how to convert them into US terms in our abbreviations and conversions guide.
To follow this crab stitch crochet tutorial, start with a few rows of regular double crochet stitch, then at the end of a row DON'T TURN. Work from left to right as described below if you’re right-handed – if you’re left-handed, work from right to left instead and reverse the other directions. To start, work ch1 (the turning chain), but then don’t work into the st at base of chain (the first dc st). Instead, work as follows:
