2 simple steps on How to Skip Stitch in Crochet and 5 ways to use them
If you have been confused about skipping stitches in crochet then you are at the right place! In this post, I will be talking about skipping stitches in crochet and how they result in chain spaces and some examples of how those look like in crochet. Finally we will talk about why you would want to use these techniques in your crochet and amigurumi and what are the shaping results you can get from there!
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How to leave a hole in crochet?
I thought it was best to first talk about what was the final effect we want to achieve in our crochet and amigurumi projects. There may be occasions where you would want to create holes in your crochet pieces like perhaps texturing or button holes. To get this appearance, you would have to skip stitches to get holes in your crochet.
How do you leave spaces in crochet?
To leave holes or spaces in your crochet, instead of continuing in consecutive crochet stitches, skipping a few stitches will result in a nice stitch space. I will explain more about these terms later on.
What does it mean to skip in crochet?
When working in crochet in general, unless otherwise stated, you would generally work into the next stitch along the row or round. Now when a pattern mentions to skip in crochet, it means to NOT crochet in the next stitch but to skip that stitch and work into the next one. I will elaborate more on this below.
What Does Sk Mean in Crochet?
The abbreviation for skipping stitches or skipping on crochet is sk. So if you see a pattern that says (sk 2 sc), then it refers to skipping the next 2 single crochet stitches.
What is a skipped stitch crochet?
Like I mentioned above, a skipped stitch in crochet refers to NOT working into the next stitch or skipping it. You could do it one of 2 ways - either by skipping a stitch and next straight away working into the next one, or skipping a stitch and doing an accompanying chain and then working into the next stitch.
A skipped stitch could refer to skipping a single stitch or even skipping multiple stitches, depending on what the pattern suggests.
What does leaving the stitches unworked mean?
This is another way of saying to skip stitches. Sometimes crochet designers put inside their patterns, to leave the last 7 stitches unworked. It just means to skip the last 7 stitches. So move onto the next round without working into those last 7 stitches. Remember to check if there is an accompanying chain as well, if they do not write then there probably isn't.
What do skipped stitches in crochet look like?
Here for simplicity, I have included how skipped stitches look like in crochet for rows and for rounds, with accompanying chains which is what is commonly done.
What do skipped stitches in crochet row look like?
Start off with a foundation chain and then continue crocheting into rows. After completing a few rows, then work a chain of 3 stitches and at the same time, skip 3 stitches. You will then see a space in between the chain and the skipped stitches. I will explain more about stitch and chain spaces later on.
This is how it looks like.
What do skipped stitches in crochet round look like?
This time start off with a magic ring of 10 and then continue into the second round with an increase all around to get 20 stitches in a round. This short pattern example is as follows:
Round 1: Magic ring sc10 - 10st
Round 2: 2sc10 - 20st
Round 3: Sc7, skip 3st and ch3, sc10 - 17st (not counting ch as st)
As for the third round, instead of continuing to work single crochet stitches all around to get 20 stitches, after doing the first 7 single crochet stitches, skip the next 3 stitches and at the same time continue with a chain of 3, then finish up the rest of the round with 10st.
This is how it looks like.
How to skip stitches in crochet?
Just above this you have seen the appearance of how skipped stitches look like. In this short section, I will talk about certain situations where skipping a stitch might be used and also how to skip stitches without chaining.
Do you skip the first stitch when crocheting?
When you see this written inside a pattern, more often than not, it refers to skipping the first stitch in a row after turning. For example, after you initially start off with a chain of 11, then sc10 down the row. At the end of the row, ch1 and turn, then skip first stitch, and continue down the rest of the row - in this example it would mean sc9.
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10, ch1 and turn - 10st
Row 2: Skip 1st, sc9 - 9st
So you see, it refers to skipping the first st in the row after the turn. This might be important when it comes to turning chains after completing a row. To see more about turning chains and how to count them into the stitch count for the row, check out this blog post on '18 detailed ways to figure out Turning Chains in Crochet'.
How to skip three stitches in crochet?
For the above appearance examples, I showed how to skip stitches with an accompanying chain. When you choose to do that, then the stitch length of the row or round will stay constant.
Especially if you choose to continue working the next round into the chains, then the stitch count of the subsequent row or round will also stay constant.
Here is an example:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10 - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, sk 3st and ch3, sc4 - 7st (not counting in the ch)
Row 3: Sc3, sc3 into ch, sc4 - 10st
So you see, eventually in the third row, the number of stitches stay the same as the first row, which is 10st.
Another way you could skip 3 stitches in crochet is to make a longer chain with the skipped stitches. Here is yet another example, which is slightly different from the example above:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10 - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, sk 3st and ch5, sc4 - 6st (not counting in the ch)
Row 3: Sc3, sc5 into ch, sc4 - 12st
As you can see, eventually in the third row, the number of stitches increases over the first row with 12 stitches now instead of 10 stitches.
How do I skip stitches without chaining?
On the other hand, if you skip stitches without chaining, then you would actually reduce the stitch count of the row or round with the skipped stitches.
Another short example:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10 - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, sk 3st, sc4 - 7st
Row 3: Sc7 - 7st
Now in this example, I did not include the accompanying chains when I skipped stitches and that reduced the stitch count for that row and all the subsequent rows after as well.
What is a stitch space in crochet?
We have talked about skipping stitches already and the different ways to achieve that. So let us talk about the space that skipped stitches can create.
When you crochet down a row or a round in consecutive stitches, you will see that the row or round starts to progressively fill up.
Once you skip a stitch, or more obviously if you skip several stitches and then you restart crocheting again, an empty space is created and that is called a stitch space.
What does sp mean in crochet?
The abbreviation for a stitch space is sp in crochet. So when you see work into sp, the pattern is referring to working into that stitch space.
How do you sp in crochet?
With working with skipped stitches within a row or a round, as I have explained above, you would have already created an sp or a stitch space for the subsequent row or round. It might be easier to illustrate with a chain space example, which I will explain next.
What is a Chain Space?
Chain space is a more commonly used crochet term than stitch space. A chain space refers to the empty space that is created by skipped stitches and its accompanying chain.
If a pattern tells you to work into a chain space, instead of working into the individual chains, work into the hole (or empty space) bounded by the chain.
What does ch sp mean in crochet?
Ch sp is the abbreviation for chain space. So when a pattern says (sc2 in the next ch-2 sp), it refers to single crochet of 2 stitches in the next chain space bounded by a chain of 2. This will make more sense in the next section.
How do you find the chain space in crochet?
The chain space can only be seen after you have skipped the stitches with an accompanying chain and then subsequently worked into the next row or round.
So the chain space is bound by 4 sides, the previous row, the stitch before the skip, the stitch after the skip and the chain.
You can see it in the example below:
How to make a chain space in crochet?
For this short section, I'll be showing a few examples of how to make chain spaces of various sizes using different lengths of chains. First ch-1 sp then ch-2 sp and finally ch3 sp.
What does ch-1 sp mean in crocheting?
Ch-1 sp refers to chain space of 1 stitch. Here is a short example:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10, ch1 and turn - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, skip 1st and ch1, sc6 - 9st
Row 3: Sc3, sc1 in the next ch-1 sp, sc6 - 10st
So you see, the chain 1 space is pretty small, for the next examples it will get bigger.
What does ch-2 sp mean in crochet?
Ch-2 sp refers to chain space of 2 stitches. Here is a short example:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10, ch1 and turn - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, skip 2st and ch2, sc5 - 8st
Row 3: Sc3, sc2 in the next ch-2 sp, sc5 - 10st
Now the chain 2 space is getting slightly larger and taking up more of the space along the row.
What does ch 3 sp mean in crochet?
Ch-3 sp refers to chain space of 3 stitches. Here is the last short example:
Chain 11.
Row 1: Sc10, ch1 and turn - 10st
Row 2: Sc3, skip 3st and ch3, sc4 - 7st
Row 3: Sc3, sc3 in the next ch-3 sp, sc4 - 10st
So you see in all the examples above, for row 3, the pattern talks about working into the ch-3 space and NOT into the individual chains. Hopefully that was clear in the examples above.
How do you make a hole in crocheting?
Now that you know about stitch spaces and chain spaces, the next step is to crochet in the next row or round, AROUND the holes. There are 2 ways you can do this - either by crocheting into the chains or into the chain spaces. They both help to create and hole that is intended in the crochet project but the final appearance is slightly different as you will see below.
What part of the chain do you crochet into?
By crocheting into the individual chains in the next row or round, the number of stitches that you work are limited to the number of chains that were created in the previous row. This method might be preferred if you are choosing to surface crochet onto this hole subsequently as you can still individual stitches. As you will see for the method, by crocheting into chain spaces instead, you would not be able to see the individual stitches.
What does it mean to crochet in the chain space?
Crocheting into the chain space means inserting the hook into the space beneath the chain and not into the chain itself. This method also means that you could crochet multiple stitches into the chain space without limiting it to the number of chains in the preceding row. Also, the stitches tend to look neater than the method just above. However, as I mentioned earlier, when using this method, it will be difficult to visualise individual stitches for surface crocheting a separate piece later.
Why do you skip stitches in crochet?
Now that you have learnt how skipped stitches are done and also all about chain spaces, you must be wondering how does this translate into the crochet patterns and your amigurumi projects and why would you use these techniques?
Crochet examples for chain spaces
Here are some reasons you might want to have holes inside your crochet projects:
1) Lacy texturing
Some crocheters love these lacy textures for appliqués and doilies and they have open areas where the chain spaces are. Here is an example of how I made holes in my crochet piece as a handle for a small bag.
2) Button holes
Another common use for skipped stitches and chain spaces are the create button holes for garments. I will talk a little bit about this for amigurumi clothes in the next part.
Amigurumi examples for chain spaces
Below I have given some ideas specifically for shaping amigurumi using skipped stitches and chain spaces. I hope these help with giving you more suggestions on how to make your amigurumis more distinctive!
There are many ways you can do this, much like what I suggested above or even more complex variations. Most of the examples I gave above include the number of chains tallying with the number of subsequent crochet stitches. Think about increasing the number of chains over the corresponding stitches, or decreasing the number or chains over the corresponding stitches.
By using a combination of varying techniques, you could achieve the following with your amigurumi:
1) Facial detailing
Consider using skipped stitches and chain spaces to create a mouth appearance or even shaping of cheek protrusions on either side of a face.
2) Making limbs
I also often use these chain spaces to landmark positions on a main amigurumi body that is meant for creating the limbs. You could either use these spaces to landmark where to sew on a cylindrical arm or leg, or for me, I tend to surface crochet on these chain spaces to create my amigurumi limbs.
To understand more about surface crocheting and attachment of crochet pieces, check out this article on '12 creative ways on How to Join Crochet Pieces Together'.
3) Making clothes
Finally, for making clothes, in this case I am referring to amigurumi mini garments. So I create chain spaces for sleeves in clothes, so that I can surface crochet on sleeves, much like what I do for limbs in the previous point. Also, the holes created can be used for button holes, so you can attach button on one side of the garment and create a chain space on the opposite side for the button to fit in.
Conclusion of skipped stitches and chain spaces in crochet
The comprehensive lowdown on holes in crochet, through the process of skipping stitches and creating chain spaces. We talk about how those look like, in rows and rounds, the abbreviations, how to skip one or up to three stitches with chaining and without chaining. Then finally we talked about why you would use these techniques in your crochet in the first place, for flat crochet pieces and for 3D amigurumi as well!
If you found this article useful, please remember to share it or pin it to Pinterest so that others may read it too. You have any examples of how you would use skipped stitches or chain spaces in your amigurumi, please comment down below as well!
To check out more of my ideas for using various types of crochet stitch techniques to shape amigurumi, grab my free Amigurumi Shaping Starter Guide below!
