How to Crochet the Puff Stitch

The puff stitch is a soft, pillowy bump made by pulling up several long loops in the same stitch and gathering them all together at the top. It adds texture to blankets, hats and baby items. Every loop is pulled up to about half double crochet (hdc; UK half treble) height, so a puff stands about as tall as an hdc but is much thicker.

US/UK note: this page uses US terms. US single crochet (sc) is UK double crochet; US hdc is UK half treble (htr).

You’ll need

• Smooth worsted-weight yarn. Smooth yarn makes the loops easier to see and pull through; splitty or fuzzy yarn makes this stitch harder.
• A hook one size larger than the yarn label suggests can make pulling through many loops easier
• Comfort with chain, single crochet and half double crochet

Step-by-step: how to make one puff stitch

This is a 3-loop puff (also called a 3-hdc puff). Patterns may use 3, 4 or 5 repeats — check yours.

1. Yarn over.
2. Insert your hook into the stitch.
3. Yarn over and pull up a loop, lifting it to about the height of an hdc. You have 3 loops on the hook.
4. Yarn over, insert into the same stitch, yarn over and pull up a long loop. (5 loops)
5. Repeat once more in the same stitch. (7 loops)
6. Yarn over and pull through all 7 loops.
7. Chain 1 to close and lock the puff, if your pattern says so.

Repeats	Loops on hook before closing
3	7
4	9
5	11

Each repeat adds 2 loops (the yarn over and the pulled-up loop) to the one loop you started with.

Tip: Hold the loops on the hook with your index finger as you build them, and keep them all the same height. Pulling every loop to the same height is the usual advice for a neat puff.

Foundation multiple

For the flat pattern below, chain a multiple of 2 + 2 (any even number of at least 4). For a swatch, chain 18.

Puff stitch pattern in rows

Row 1 (WS): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, turn. (17 sc)

Row 2 (RS): Ch 2 (does not count as a st), puff in first sc, *ch 1, sk next sc, puff in next sc; rep from * across, ch 1 to lock the last puff, turn. (9 puffs, 8 ch-1 sp)

Row 3: Ch 1 (does not count as a st), sc in top of first puff, *sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in top of next puff; rep from * across, turn. Don’t work into the locking chain at the start of the row or into the ch-2 at the end. (17 sc)

Repeat Rows 2–3. Row 2 is labeled the right side here. Check which face of your swatch you prefer and treat that as the right side.

In Row 2, the ch 1 between puffs does two jobs: it spaces the puffs and locks the one just made.

Finding the top of a puff

The top of a closed puff is the small V formed by the final pull-through. If a chain 1 was used to close it, the V sits just under that chain. Work your sc under that V — not into the chain-1 space beside it.

Common mistakes

• Loops of different heights. The first loop is often taller or shorter than the rest. Lift each loop to the same height as the turning chain.
• Pulling the first loop back out. When you insert for the next repeat, keep tension on the loops so they don’t shrink.
• Struggling to pull through all loops. Use a hook with a pointed tip and a pronounced throat, or go up a size. Rotate the hook throat-down as you pull through.
• Skipping the locking chain. Without it, the puff can loosen and the top of the stitch is hard to find.
• Miscounting in the return row. Each puff and each ch-1 space gets exactly one sc.

Puff vs. bobble vs. popcorn

Stitch	How it’s made	Look
Puff	Several long loops in one stitch, closed together	Soft, flat-ish oval
Bobble	Several unfinished dc in one stitch, closed together	Rounder bump; often worked on wrong-side rows so it pops to the right side
Popcorn	Several complete dc, then the first and last are joined	Firm, very raised bump

FAQ

How many loops are in a puff stitch?

It depends on the pattern. A 3-repeat puff has 7 loops on the hook before closing, a 4-repeat puff has 9 and a 5-repeat puff has 11.

Do you chain 1 after a puff stitch?

Many patterns do, to lock the puff and give a clear top to work into. Follow your pattern; some designs close the puff and move straight on.

Why are my puff stitches flat?

A common cause is loops that are too short. Pull them up to hdc height or a little more, and add a repeat if you want more volume. Yarn and tension also affect how much a puff stands out.

Which side do puffs show on?

It depends on the pattern. Some tutorials work puffs on wrong-side rows, between single crochets, so they push out on the right side. This page’s pattern works them on Row 2 with ch-1 spaces between, and labels that row the right side. Look at both faces of a few rows and choose the one you prefer.