Dana Nield

Of the four basic Tunisian crochet stitches (simple stitch, full stitch, Tunisian knit stitch and Tunisian purl), my favorite is the full stitch. I think it is so unique to Tunisian crochet and challenging to replicate in traditional crochet or knitting.

I am hoping to complete an afghan using this stitch one day, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this dishcloth pattern! You can easily adapt this design to a baby blanket or afghan by beginning with a (much) larger starting chain. I do think this stitch would make a WONDERFUL baby blanket because of the beautiful woven stitches and generally tight weave so little fingers don’t get caught in the holes.

Materials

• Size 4 worsted weight yarn. I used one skein of Crafter’s Secret Cotton in Auburn Clay (95 yards, 2oz)
• Size J/6mm Tunisian crochet hook
• Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Abbreviations

• ch(s): chain(s)
• sk: skip
• sp(s): space(s)
• tfs: Tunisian full stitch
• yo: yarn over

Finished Size

10″x10″

Gauge

14 tfs sts x 18 rows = approx 4″x4″

Notes

I used the TL Yarn Crafts YouTube video on the Tunisian full stitch to practice. It’s a great resource especially when identifying where to place your stitches at the start and end of each row!

Unfortunately this stitch is not as mindless as some of my other favorite crochet stitches. I felt most comfortable counting stitches at the end of every row to make sure I hadn’t added or skipped a stitch by mistake. As I progressed further with the dishcloth I started counting every few rows.

You can find more Tunisian Crochet Dishcloth Patterns over at this great post from Pattern Princess.

Tunisian Full Stitch Dishcloth Pattern

Ch 36

Row 1: In the back bump of the 2nd ch from your hook and in each ch across, insert your hook, yo, and pull up a loop. You should have 36 loops on your hook at the end of this row.

Complete a standard return pass: ch 1, yo, and pull through 2 loops. *yo, pull through 2 loops* until there is 1 loop left on your hook.

Row 2: In the 1st sp between sts, insert your hook, yo, and pull up a loop. *in the next sp between sts, yo, pull up a loop* until there is 1 sp left at the end of this row. Sk this sp. Insert hook into the last ch of the row, yo, and pull up a loop. You should have 36 loops on your hook. Complete a standard return pass.

Below you can see images of where to insert your hook in that first sp between sts, what the entire forward pass looks like skipping the space between the last two stitches, and what row 2 looks like after the return pass.

Row 3: In the 2nd sp between sts, insert your hook, yo, and pull up a loop. *in the next sp between sts, yo, pull up a loop* in every space including the last sp at the end of the row. Insert hook in the ch, yo, and pull up a loop. You should have 36 loops on your hook. Complete a standard return pass.

Below you can see the completed forward pass skipping the first sp between sts as well as the completed return pass for row 3.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until dishcloth measures 10″, about 46 rows, staggering your tfs stitches each row so you don’t accidentally increase along the way!

Here’s a photo of what the first 5 rows look like! By the way, if you like the colorway in the step out photos, I used Crafter’s Secret Cotton yarn in Desert Gold.

Bind off: Insert your hook under the bar of the first stitch in your row (as you would with Tunisian simple stitch), yo, pull through two loops. *insert hook under the bar of the next st, yo, pull through 2 loops* to the end of the row. Insert hook in the ch, yo, and pull through 2 loops. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

Below is a picture of what I mean by inserting your hook under the bar of the stitch, and underneath is a picture of the completed bind off row.

The completed dishcloth!

The Tunisian full stitch curls a lot! To block, I wet blocked following Hortense’s instructions at Knitting with Chopsticks. You can get her free eBook of blocking instructions here.