The Crab Stitch (also known as Reverse Single Crochet in US terms and Reverse Double Crochet in UK terms) is one of those under utilised stitches. The idea of working backwards usually puts people off. While the first stitch or two can feel awkward if you’ve never done this before, it really is an easy stitch and once you’ve done it a couple of times, you’ll wonder why you ever balked at doing it.

The Crab Stitch is great for adding a stiff border around projects. It creates a corded look that is strong and less flexible than other border stitches. This is perfect for dishcloths when you want to add some structure and scrubbing power at the same time!

The video below demonstrates how to do this stitch.

For the dishcloth in the video, I wanted to create an uneven, bulky border for scrubbing power so I did the Crab Stitch all the way around the dishcloth, in the same hook size that I had been using, without a foundation round. If you want an even Crab Stitch, then work a round of single crochet (USA)/double crochet (UK) stitches, then go down 1/2 a hook size and do the Crab Stitch. Of course, you can also continue with the same size hook you’ve been using which will give you a slightly larger crab stitch border. It depends on what look you want for your project.

The pattern for the dishcloth in the video can be found HERE.

To do the Crab Stitch:

1. Do a round of single crochet (US)/double croceht (UK). Do not turn.
2. Chain 1 then insert your hook into the stitch to the RIGHT of your hook from front to back.
3. Yarn over to draw up a loop (see video for a tip on this!) and pull through the stitch.
4. Yarn over and pull through both loops on hook.
5. Repeat from Step 2.

The corded appearance will show up after a few stitches.

To run a corner simply do two or three crab stitches in the corner stitch while rotating your work 90 degrees. The size of the project will determine whether you want to do two or three stitches. For the dishclothes, I use two crab stitches in the corner.

It’s that easy. It’s just like making a normal single crochet (USA)/double crochet (UK) except you work backwards!

Happy hooking!