How do you crochet a popcorn?

Popcorns: you either love them or hate them. They are one of three (primary) ways to create raised bumps in your blanket, next to bobbles and puff stitches. In my opinion, a big advantage of the popcorn is that by the way the stitch is constructed you actually force a bump into your blanket. Bobbles and puff stitches depend on tightness and the tightness of the stitches surrounding them - not the popcorn. Because you physically force the stitches to connect, your popcorn will always be puffy.

A popcorn is made by working multiple double crochets into the same stitch and then connecting the first and last stitch.

How many double crochets go into a popcorn?

I prefer to work my popcorn stitches with 6 double crochets. However, if you use bulky yarn or are short on yarn, you can switch to using 5 double crochets per popcorn (less dc's equals less yarn used of course). The exact number of stitches isn't critical, as long as you keep it the same for all popcorns throughout your project. That way, your popcorns will be the same size throughout as well.

How to crochet a popcorn stitch

1. Crochet 6 dc in the same stitch or space.
   
2. Remove your hook from your work. Make sure your last loop doesn't get undone.
3. Insert your hook from the front of your work to the back into the top of the first dc.
4. Grab your loop with your hook again.
5. Pull the loop through the loops of the first stitch, like you would make a slip stitch. You have now connected the first and last stitch, creating a circle of dc's. That's the popcorn stitch.

You can now continue with your pattern. The first stitch after the popcorn might be a bit awkward to make, but simply work this as any other stitch. Your popcorn will pull itself into its final shape when you crochet the next row.

Closing the popcorn stitch

Some patterns will state that a ch-1 is included with the popcorn to 'close it'. I personally don't do this, as this makes it really hard to count the right number of stitches in the next row. I simply crochet in the next stitch after 'connecting' the first and last stitch. If the popcorn looks a bit wonky, it will straighten itself out when you work the next row or round. However, it's a personal preference to work the ch-1 and it's perfectly fine, as long as the pattern explicitly states this (and thus takes it into account for the next row), or if you take this into account yourself.

Abbreviations for popcorns in patterns and crochet charts

Popcorns are not always abbreviated in patterns, this depends on the writing style of the designer. If they are, they are usually abbreviated to 'popc'. For example: 1popc, 3popc, 20popc.

Organicon Pillow

8-Bit Love C2C pillow