How to crochet popcorn stitch
For a stitch that really 'pops', you can't beat the popcorn crochet stitch!
Published:
These little stitches are so much fun, they ‘pop’ right out of your fabric. These big, bumpy stitches use trebles, so you’ll need to know how to treble crochet before trying popcorn crochet stitch.
The small bumps look similar to bobble crochet stitch, but the great thing about popcorn crochet stitch is that they can be worked in any stitch, even double crochet, so you can create much smaller bumps, but in this tutorial we’re going to show you how to make a popcorn crochet stitch using treble crochet stitches. You can make the crochet popcorn stitch on right side or wrong side rows, so that they ‘pop’ out of the front or the back of your fabric. We’ll show you how to work both types so that the bumps only show on the front or right side of the crochet fabric.
Check out our handy video guide to learn how to crochet popcorn stitch, or read on for our step-by-step picture guide.
Don’t forget if you’re not familiar with any of the terminology used in this how to crochet a popcorn stitch tutorial, you can always check our our guide to abbreviations and conversions.
You Will Need
- Yarn
- Crochet hook
How to crochet a popcorn stitch
Step 1
To practise working a popcorn crochet stitch, make one row of 14 treble stitches (so ch16, work a treble into the 4th chain from the hook and in each chain to the end). On the second row, make the 3-ch t-ch and work a treble into the next stitch. Now work a front popcorn stitch into the top of the next stitch on the row below, as follows:
*In the next stitch, work 5 whole treble stitches as usual…
Step 2
After the final treble is finished, carefully remove the hook from the working loop.^ Insert the hook into the top of the first treble you made in this group of 5 trebles. Make sure you insert the hook into the loop from front to back.
Step 3
Insert the hook back into the working loop…
Step 4
…and pull it through the top of the first stitch.
Step 5
Finish the popcorn stitch by making 1 chain – this will form the top of the stitch that you’ll work into on the next row.
Space out your popcorn stitch by a working plain treble into the next two stitches. Then you can work a popcorn stitch into the next stitch in the same way as before, repeating from *. Continue the row in this way and make 4 popcorn stitches in total.
These popcorn stitches will all pop out on the front of the work as you make them, so if you work them on the right side they will ‘pop’ out of the front of the work. To make popcorn stitches that will ‘pop’ out on the reverse side of the work as you make them, you will need to work a back popcorn stitch.
How to crochet a back popcorn stitch
Step 1
To make a back popcorn stitch (this could also be referred to as a wrong side popcorn stitch), turn your work, make the 3-ch t-ch and treble into the next stitch. Now work a back popcorn stitch into the next stitch (this will be the ch1 part of the popcorn stitch on the row below, don’t work into the popcorn stitch loop that lies next to it). Now work in the exact same way as the front popcorn stitch above, from*…
Step 2
…but when you reach ^, you need to insert the hook from back to front, into the top of the first of the 5 trebles you made…
Step 3
…then back into the working loop…
Step 4
…and pull through.
Step 5
Chain 1 to complete the stitch, then work more back popcorn stitches and trebles across the rest of the row as before. Turn and you’ll find that this gives you two rows of popcorn stitches that all ‘pop’ out on the front or right side of the fabric.
If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might like these too!
- How to change colours in rows
- How to do mosaic crochet
- How to do beaded crochet
- How to make the loop stitch
We hope you’ve enjoyed this ‘How to crochet a popcorn stitch tutorial’. Don’t forget, if you need any help with your crochet stitches you can always check out our crochet for beginners guide. And if you’re looking to treat yourself, check out our list of the best crochet hooks and the best crochet kits for beginners.
Authors
Becky is a writer, crafter and designer from Bristol. As well as contributing many designs to Simply Crochet, Becky is also the creator of many of the Simply Crochet workshop features, sharing her incredible crochet knowledge with readers. As well as crochet Becky is a keen crafter in a variety of disciplines, including baking, beadwork, sewing and knitting. You can catch up with Becky on Instagram at @becky.skuse
