Learning how to crochet Bobble Stitch (also known as a Puff or Popcorn stitch) is not that hard!
If you are a beginner crochet enthusiast then this easy crochet stitch will be a nice addition to your library of go-to stitches for various projects including scarfs, baby blankets, and wraps. Learning Bobble stitch crochet pattern will expand your possibilities.
Have you seen the abbreviation 5 DCTOG in one of the patterns and were wondering what does it mean and how to do it?
In our easy “How-To” step-by-step tutorial, we explain how do you crochet a popcorn or bobble stitch so you will be never confused again.
We want our tutorials to be helpful as a visual aid that doesn’t require explanations and is easily understood by people speaking any language.
What is a Bobble Stitch in crochet?
Before actually explaining how to crochet bobble stitch let’s learn more about what is it. Bobble stitch (sometimes also called popcorn crochet stitch) is abbreviated as 5DCTOG. 5DCTOG means 5 DOUBLE CROCHET (DC) stitches that you gather on your hook and then pull yarn through all of them at once. They form a bobble (semisphere) that pops up from the simple fabric of single crochet, in our sample. It is a very easy crochet stitch to master if you know how to SINGLE CROCHET and DOUBLE CROCHET. It becomes even easier for any visual learner with our step-by-step tutorial. See it once and then remember forever, right?
How to Crochet Bobble Stitch Step-by-Step Tutorial
To learn this simple stitch, chain multiples of 12. We have 11 SINGLE CROCHET stitches between each BOBBLE stitch.
If you want to modify this stitch and have less or more SC between your BOBBLES make sure that it is an odd number (9,11,13, etc). Otherwise, the alternate row of BOBBLES will be skewed – we need the BOBBLE to go RIGHT in the MIDDLE of these eleven SINGLE CROCHET for the polka dot effect.
Single crochet (SC) 5 rows before starting a new bobble row.
ROW 1: SINGLE CROCHET (SC) into the second chain from the hook on your foundation chain and to the end of the row.
ROW 2: CHAIN 1, turn. SINGLE CROCHET (SC) into the 1st single crochet and to the end of the row.
ROW 3-5: repeat row 2 until you have 5 rows of single crochet.
ROW 6 (BOBBLE row): CHAIN 1, turn. SC into the 1st single crochet, 10 SC into next 9 SC; you have 1 loop on the hook.
Now it is time to crochet a * BOBBLE:
- Yarn over, insert your hook into the next stitch, pull yarn through (3 loops on the hook);
- yarn over and pull yarn through 2 loops only, as if you are doing the first part of double crochet (DC) (2 loops on the hook);
- repeat it until you have 5 DC on your hook and 1 initial loop (total 6 loops on the hook);
- yarn over and pull through all 6 loops (1 loop on the hook – pull pretty tight, so your bobble really pops up);
- SC into the next 11 SC;
- 5 DCTOG ( one BOBBLE);
- 11 SC * repeat * * (1 BOBBLE, 11 SC) until the end of the row.
ROW 7: CHAIN 1, turn. SINGLE CROCHET (SC) into the 1st SC and SC into every stitch to the end of the row (including bobble stitches). NOTE: it is easy to skip incidentally these two stitches on both sides of the bobble, so make sure you count the first single crochet row after the bobble row to make sure you have exactly 11 SC between each bobble and 1 SC over the bobble itself.
Here is a step-by-step photo tutorial for SINGLE CROCHET row after the BOBBLE row:
ROW 8-11 – repeat row 7 (SC into each SC).
Basically, you are alternating 5 rows of SC and 1 BOBBLE row.
The SC row after the BOBBLE row will look a little strange at first but after 5 rows of SC it will settle into its place, the BOBBLES will ‘pop’ and it will all look beautiful. Single crochet stitches create a great background for the BOBBLES to really pop-up! Just love it – so simple and so modern, as a fresh take on a timeless craft.
We suggest testing your yarn first as some yarns are better than others for bobbles. Make a small sample before starting a bobble crochet stitch baby blanket to make sure the bobbles are to your liking. To have alternating bobbles, as on our sample, for the NEXT BOBBLE ROW, do 5 SC, then 5 DCTOG (BOBBLE); then 11 SC…. and repeat to the end of the row (the last stitches are 5 SC).
That’s it! Don’t forget to pin our helpful tutorial for your library of easy crochet stitches.