New stitches: fpdc, bpdc, dragon scale

There were going to be lovely photos with this post, but I have managed to break my shiny new phone after having it for a week. Well done, me. So please excuse the fuzzy rubbish photos – hopefully I’ll be able to update them with better ones soon.

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I’ve only been crocheting for a couple of years. I’m still at the stage of learning how many new stitches I still need to learn!  Just this year I’ve discovered three new-to-me stitches:

1. Front post double crochet (fpdc)
2. Back post doucble crochet (bpdc)
3. Dragon scale stitch

I have also used front and back post half double crochet (fphdc and bphdc respectively) so technically I’ve learned five new stitches in just over two months!

The pattern I was following used fpdc and bpdc alternately, to create a gorgeous lined texture:

I love the look of it, but I’m also quite interested in experimenting with maybe just using one or the other, alternating with a regular double crochet stitch.

I also wonder if you can fp and bp into the same stitch to increase, or if that would just make a mess. There’s only one way to find out*, so keep an eye out for my experiment posts in the future

Dragon scale stitch

This is fast becoming my favourite stitch of all time. How could it not be, it’s just gorgeous! I mean technically it’s called crocodile stitch. But I don’t want to be a crocodile; I want to be a dragon.

This one works by creating a row of V-stitches (double crochet, chain one, double crochet all in the same stitch), and then double crocheting 5 stitches down the first post,

chain one, and 5 stitches up the second post.

So basically, a fancy way of using fpdc!

It took me a few goes to understand where I was supposed to put my hook and how to get the second lot of 5 to face the other way, but when I got it I just whizzed through. Dragon scale looks far more complicated than it actually is – another reason to love it!

Does anyone else have a favourite stitch? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

*Okay, so there’s youtube. But that’s no fun!