4 Stitches to Know for the Tunisian Crochet Crescent Shawlette

The Tunisian Crescent Shawlette from Interweave Crochet Winter 2019 is a favorite project for a few reasons. First, it uses only one cake of Red Heart Yarns It’s a Wrap (affiliate link), making it incredibly affordable and available in a wide range of colors. Also, this shawl uses a range of Tunisian crochet stitches to accomplish its pattern. It’s a great sampler shawl to learn the basics of Tunisian crochet or to refresh your skills if you’re already experienced in this technique. Here are four stitches you will learn while working the Tunisian Crescent Shawlette, designed by Juliette Bezold. The difference among these stitches is in where you insert your hook.

1. Tunisian simple stitch (tss):

Insert hook from right to left behind the front vertical bar, yarn over, pull up a loop.

Where do you use this stitch?
The Tunisian simple stitch appears in the edging of the shawl. It is the most basic Tunisian crochet stitch and fun to return to in combination with some of the more intricate stitches.

2. Tunisian reverse stitch (trs):

Insert hook under back vertical bar from right to left, yarn over, pull up a loop.

Where do you use this stitch?
The Tunisian reverse stitch appears in the edging as well as the body of the shawl. You also work some decrease variations of this stitch to create the open eyelets. It’s a valuable stitch to know!

3. Tunisian full stitch (tfs):

Insert hook under all strands of horizontal bar in indicated space, yarn over, pull up a loop.

Where do you use this stitch?
The Tunisian full stitch is often worked into eyelets created by yarnovers in the previous row for this shawl pattern. It’s one of the easier stitches in Tunisian because you simply insert your hook into the largest opening (in this case, the space created by the yarnover).

4. Tunisian knit stitch (tks):

Insert hook between next vertical bars under horizontal strands, yarn over, pull up a loop.

Where do you use this stitch?
The Tunisian knit stitch looks like knitting and is a really stunning background stitch. This stitch comprises the body of the shawl between each of the eyelet rows. It’s a fun stitch to work and gives your eye a place to rest among the intricate patterning.

Return Pass (RetP):

Every return pass is worked the same way for this shawlette. Once you work the forward pass with your stitches, collecting loops on the hook, you will work a return pass to work the stitches off your hook. Work the return pass this way: yarn over, draw through 1 loop for first stitch, yarn over, draw through 2 loops for each remaining stitch until you have 1 loop left on the hook.

The shawl also includes variations on these stitches to create the patterning, but once you know the key to hook insertion, the variations are easy to learn. Each stitch variation is clearly described in the stitch guide section of the pattern in Interweave Crochet Winter 2019.

Are there any other Tunisian crochet stitches you’re trying to learn? Let us know in the comments below. Until then, enjoy working the stitches to create the stunning Tunisian Crescent Shawlette!

Happy Stitching!
Sara

(Featured Image: Tunisian Crescent Shawlette from Interweave Crochet Winter 2019 | Credit: Harper Point Photography)

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