What to expect next in crochet was a topic I forgot to cover at the Fiberside Chats. So, let’s guess!

Right now, crochet is going through a very interesting time. There is so much experimentation with texture! Different cables, ribbings, short-row textures, brioche-like effects, and many other new techniques are appearing all the time.

Crochet texture has moved forward a lot, but there is still a gap when it comes to fresh-looking lace. So I think the next step will be fine yarns, lightweight fabrics, and new lace stitches designed specifically for them.

Thin, sleek, soft yarns have so much to offer in crochet. They just need right stitches. And I expect we will see a lot of changes in this area soon! ◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍

So far, I know only one lace stitch that works with fine yarns with incredible ease. This is the stitch I created for the Awakener cowl, and the same stitch I used for the top in the photo above.

It is worked in Malabrigo Silkpaca (lace/2 ply, 420 yd/384 m per 50g skein) and hook E-4 (3.5 mm).

This top took me about 3 days of actual crocheting and less than 2 skeins of yarn. It has a circumference of 51″/130 cm and weighs 98g!

I am so excited about the result, its weight and drape, that I already have another garment in mind for this stitch, definitely in lace-weight yarn. :)

Instagram videos:

🎥 See the unblocked fabric in this post
🎥 And how smoothly this stitch works with lace-weight yarn - in this reel

If you want to experience this stitch for yourself, the Awakener cowl pattern is available on Etsy, Ravelry, and my website, and it is 20% off everywhere until the end of August.

It features the same stitch and the same way of working in the round without turning or working beginning chains.

The only thing I would now change in it (with the top experience behind me) is the foundation round.

To make it as simple and quick as the rest of the stitch pattern, work the foundation with two strands of yarn held together and make one-third fewer stitches than required (or, in other words, twice as many as the pattern stitches, so for 80 stitches, work 160 foundation stitches).

Drop one strand and continue with one strand only. And in the first round, instead of working [ch 2, sk 2, 1 sc], work [ch 2, sk 1, 1 sc].

This will give you the same circumference, but since the foundation stitches are thicker and easier to work into, you will sail smoothly through the first round, and the rest of the process is such a breeze!

It is so enjoyable that you might not want to stop :) I couldn’t, and once used all two 100g skeins of lace-weight yarn for the entire cowl. ↓

This stitch, of course, can be worked in thicker yarns, and it is charming. But it fully blooms in thin yarns. The finer the yarn, the longer the loops, and the overall texture becomes squishy and airy.