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Friday, February 25, 2011

Single crochet ripple tutorial

It's really not all that hard to calculate and crochet your own sc ripple, whether you're making a scarf, a wrap/shawl or an afghan. The yarn you use doesn't matter, just use a hook recommended on the wrapper, or don't go much bigger or smaller. Gauge isn't important either. Here's how it's done:

Figure out how many stitches you want on each side of the peak, add one for the peak and two for the skipped chains at the bottom. This is your multiple. Then crochet this multiple until you have as many peaks as desired, then add three more. This formula will work for any size sc ripple, no matter how many sts you want in each peak.

Say you want 7 sc along each side. Okay, that's 14. Now you will add 3 more (one for your peak and the two you will skip at the bottom). So that's 14 + 3 = 17. 17 will be your multiple. Now say you want 10 peaks for a wrap. Your starting chain will be 17 x 10 = 170. Now you'll want to add 3 more, bringing your total to 173. So your pattern will read multiple of 17 + 3, meaning you will chain your multiple (17) ten times, then add three more chains at the end.

Note: The instructions in parentheses below are to be repeated according to the instructions, which is all the way across to the last 2 chs/sc.

Note: When the instructions say BLO, that means crochet in the back loop only of each stitch from now on. This creates a very pretty ribbed effect and makes a nice, cushy fabric.

To crochet this, you will sc in 2nd ch from hook, sk next ch, (sc in next 7 chs, 3 sc in next ch, sc in next 7 chs, sk 2 chs) across to the last 2 chs, sk 1 ch, sc in last ch.

Row 2 and all other rows: Ch 1, turn. Working in the BLO, sc in first sc, sk next sc, (sc in next 7 sc, 3 sc in next sc, sc in next 7 sc, sk 2 sc) across to the last 2 sc, sk next sc, sc in last sc.

That's all there is to it. Use a little math and pre-planning and you can make anything from a scarf to a wrap to an afghan.

Here's some starting multiples for you:

4 sc on sides: Multiple 11 + 3
5 sc on sides: Multiple 13 + 3
6 sc on sides: Multiple 15 + 3
7 sc on sides: Multiple 17 + 3
8 sc on sides: Multiple 19 + 3
9 sc on sides: Multiple 21 + 3
10 sc on sides: Multiple 23 + 3

See the pattern?

Abbreviations used:

ch: chain
sc: single crochet
sk: skip
BLO: Back Loop Only

I hope I wrote these clearly enough.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have provided BY FAR the most simple and comprehensible description on the entire Web for calculating ripple stitch numbers.
You go, girl! :-)

Scotkat said...

Thankyou must try this out.:)

Chatty said...

Thank you, I just had to try to write one out that would be simple enough for a beginner to follow.

Anonymous said...

Awesome instructions and whole afghan worked out beautifully! Thank-you for taking time to post.

Anonymous said...

This is the best set of instructions that I have found. Thank you so much for posting them. I've searched and searched for directions I could understand and this was the best ever! :)

sue said...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Your instructions are simple - easy to follow - and in English format! Lol!!

Anonymous said...

Chatty thank you, how would I procede if I wanted to use hdc, DB, or triple crochet?

Sylvia (Sissy) Alton said...

I love the instructions thank u

Miki said...

Thank you for this! Would it be the same formula and pattern if I wanted to do it in DC?

Anonymous said...

This is awesome! Thanks so much!

WWanderer said...

Is there a way to know how many stitches make one pattern repeat in a ripple pattern? I am looking at a pattern that calls for 11 ripples across, for a total of 209 stitches in the first row from 210 chains. But I want to try a small sample to see what it's like. I don't know how to calculate how many extra chains there are, i.e., how many chains per ripple, plus how many extra.

Anonymous said...

Thankyou very for this simple formula for the ripple stitch.I am planning to make an afghan and it will be very useful.

jklamb said...

would like to know how many ripples to make to create a 60 inch wide afghan new to making these

Anonymous said...

I used this pattern for a baby blanket, loved it so much I'm working on another-306 chains wide. Next time I will do less chains.Its taking forever to complete. Christy

Anonymous said...

At last ! After many hours of searching for a simple way to work out the amount of chains required to create a ripple cot blanket, and many failed attempts.....mainly because there are so many weird and wonderful, not to say differing results out there.
You have given simple, easy to follow instructions, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you so much for helping me create my cot blanket!
Lori (UK)

Anonymous said...

I have been perusing tons of ytubes, and goofs, to learn the ripple...I have my yarn, but am peacticing,....but, it would be soooo nice if I could find something like a chart for...single and double crochet and sharp, soft and wavy ripplE...
Chain count
Stitches up, doen, on peak, in valley
Starting and ending row stitches (one?, 2?, in same stitch?, skip a stitch?)

And what about some examples of color placement...same pattern, same colors, and moving them around..
There should be an app for that!
But, for what you have done,...all the kudos in the world from this beginnMer!
SQ

Lorraine said...

HELP!!

Is there a chart to calculate the size of different ripples afghans?

I am looking to make a 7-8 stitches per side and want to make it twin bed size

Thank you,

Lorraine

Chatty said...

Okay, let me see if I can answer the questions. For dc, I think it's a bit different due to the dc being taller. I may have to work on it and see.

Charts...I don't know if there are any charts out there.

WWanderer-just divide the number of peaks called for by the number of sts used. I think that would do it., that should give you what you need to add or subtract.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I always try to make my instructions as easy to follow as possible.

Anonymous said...

These instructions are the best I have seen! Perfectly clear! Can't wait to start.

Lorraine said...

How do you know how wide it will be aside from doing and wait and see?

Chatty said...

Oh, thank you. :) I try to write so that anyone can understand it. The ripple is my favorite pattern, and I just sat down one day and experimented until I figured out the correct formula.

Chatty said...

Lorraine, you can do a swatch of a couple of points and measure that. Then just multiply that number by the number of peaks in your project.

Anonymous said...

I have been searching for this type of calculation for the last couple of hours. Thank you.

crochet girl said...

Thank you! A great explanation; however, can you please explain why 3 is added at the end? And this includes the one turning stitch?

Katminder said...

I'd been searching for a pattern like my grandmother's, always so cozy. And... yada! There you were, I've made three using your formula and they turned out wonderful! A great way to use up stash with a 2 row white stitch between each color. Now I can justify new yarn! Yay!

Katminder said...

I'd been searching for a pattern like my grandmother's, always so cozy. And... yada! There you were, I've made three using your formula and they turned out wonderful! A great way to use up stash with a 2 row white stitch between each color. Now I can justify new yarn! Yay!

Chatty said...

crochet girl-the three is added at the end for the edge stitches, to make a nice edge. The edge is the one sc on each edge, then you skip the next stitch and work you peaks till you get to the last two stitches, then you sc in the last stitch.

Some patters are like that. You have a multiple, which is the pattern itself, and then there are extra stitches added at the end of the multiple to make it come out right on each end.

Northwoods Fan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Northwoods Fan said...

Thank you for providing the clearest instructions on how to crochet a single crochet ripple afghan. I've made 3 with your instructions and am about to begin my fourth. I'd contemplated doing a double crochet ripple pattern but decided to return to the single because the single is warmer: this next afghan, like the first and third, will be used in northern Wisconsin. When I started to design this afghan, I was worried because I couldn't find your tutorial; then, thankfully, I looked at my original design and saw your above instruction URL. Thank you again!