Puff Stitch: How to Do It Step by Step

Puff Stitch is a crochet stitch that makes soft raised puffs; plush and thick. Makers reach for it for blankets, baby items, pillows, flower motifs. It is rated intermediate here, so it helps to be comfortable with the basic stitches first and to practice on a swatch before a project.

1. Yarn over, insert the hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop to the height of a dc. There are 3 loops. 2. Repeat step 1 in the same stitch 2 to 4 more times, as the pattern says (7 to 11 loops). 3. Yarn over and pull through all loops on the hook. 4. Ch 1 to close the puff if the pattern calls for it. Work slowly for the first few repeats, keep your tension even, and check the result against the steps before continuing across a whole row or motif.

US patterns abbreviate puff stitch as puff st. UK patterns use the same abbreviation, puff st, so this one reads the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Pattern keys list every abbreviation used, usually near the materials list.

The most common problems are: pulling loops to different heights so the puff is lopsided; losing loops off the hook; confusing it with a bobble, which closes each dc partway. Most are easy to spot if you pause after a few repeats and compare your work with the steps. Good light helps a great deal, especially with dark yarn or thread.

Stitches closely related to puff stitch include Bobble Stitch, Popcorn Stitch. Learning them together makes patterns easier to read, because many designs switch between related stitches to change texture, height or line. Each has its own step-by-step page in the stitch dictionary.