crochet puff stitch

crochet Puff stitches are truly one of my favorite techniques in crochet. I love the rhythm of making them and the beautiful texture they create. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll guide you through how to work a basic crochet puff stitch and show you how to use it in two different stitch patterns

Resources and tutorials you may find helpful in following this pattern: Crochet Abbreviations, US to UK Crochet Conversion Chart.  Find links to stitches on the “Tutorial” menu:  will show basic stitches used in many patterns and  shows our growing collection of crochet stitch tutorials

double crochet half
double treble crochet
increiase in crochet
Change Colours in Amigurumi

If you’ve never tried one of this stitch before, here are a few tips for puffy success:

f you’re new to puff stitches, here are a few helpful tips to ensure your puffs turn out perfectly:

how to crochet a puff stitch

1. Crochet with a relaxed tension—you may even want to go up half a hook size if your stitches tend to be tight.
2. Choose a smooth, non-splitty yarn (see my yarn recommendation below). Since puff stitches require you to pull your hook through multiple loops at once, a yarn that splits will make the process much harder.
3. Find a comfortable rhythm—consistent movement helps your puff stitches stay neat and uniform.

Puff stitches work beautifully with most yarn types and weights, but it’s best to avoid fluffy fibers like mohair since the stitch definition can get lost. For the samples shown below, I used a 100% cotton yarn from Nurturing Fibres. Its rope-like twist prevents splitting completely, making it a joy to work with!

Materials
3.5mm (4/E US size) crochet hook
DK yarn (for this sample, I’ve used Eco-Cotton DK in “sunkissed coral” by Nurturing Fibres)

Stitches + Abbreviations
Chain – ch
Double Crochet – DC
Half Treble Crochet – HTC
Puff Stitch – Puff st

Difficulty
Beginner

beginner puff stitch crochet

When you come to a point in the work at which you want a puff st, YO and pull up a total of three times in the same st

Yo again and pull through ALL loops on the hook.

Ch 1 to complete the stitch.

And that is all there is to it! It might take a little practice to pull the loops up to even heights and to get the hook through so many loops at the same time – if this is hard for you, don’t worry as this is normal – but with time this becomes a real go-to stitch. 

There are two ways in which you can use it as part of a crochet piece: stacked or offset. 

Make an even-numbered chain. Turn.

R1:
In the second chain for the hook, DC 1. *Skip 1 st, ch 1, DC 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn

crochet puff stitch pattern

R2:
Ch 2, *skip 1, then work a puff st in the ch 1 space; Repeat from * until 1 st remains. Work a HTC in the last DC of the previous row. Turn.

3:
Ch 1, work a DC in the first ch 1 space. *Skip 1 st, ch 1, DC 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the work has the desired length.

Make an even-numbered chain. Turn.

puff stitch instructions

R1:
In the fourth chain from the hook, work a puff st. *Skip 1, puff st 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

R2:
Ch 2, work a puff st in between the first and second sts of the previous row. Continue working puff sts in the gaps to end. Turn.