Tunisian crochet is a beautiful crochet technique that allows you to have multiple loops on the hook, much like knitting. It is one of crochet expert Mary Beth Temple’s favorite techniques in the craft. In this video, she demonstrates how to work the Tunisian Full Stitch.
The Tunisian Full Stitch is a stunning stitch that creates vertical bars on the fabric. This stitch can be worked in one color for interesting texture or worked in multiple colors to create something truly unique. Mary Beth notes that it is also a very quick stitch to make as the Tunisian crochet hook is worked in the spaces between the vertical bars of the stitches. This stitch pattern not only has an interesting surface texture, it also has a lot of stretch, making it a great stitch to use for projects like garments and baby items.
To begin, Mary Beth works on row of Tunisian Simple Stitch. The then begins working the Full Stitch by working in the spaces in between the stitches. She works the forward pass by working into the first space and drawing up a loop, stopping before the last stitch. She then works a standard return row. For the next row she starts the forward pass in the second space, instead of the first space. Mary Beth points out that on the forward pass for the Full Stitch, you’ll either be working in the first space and skipping the last space or vice versa, depending which row you are on.
Once she demonstrates the Tunisian Full Stitch, Mary Beth looks at a large swatch of the fabric. She notes that a fabric worked entirely in this stitch has a tendency to curl. To counteract the curl, you can explore taking the following steps to make a flatter fabric:
- Try a larger hook
- Use Tunisian Purl Stitch around the border of the fabric
- Wet block the piece when finished
Continuing to look at the larger swatch of the Tunisian Full Stitch, Mary Beth notes that the resulting fabric has a good amount of stretch to it. If you work the stitch at a loose gauge, it will look lacy and open.
