The Turtle stitch is a beautiful shell crochet stitch that has raised shells with a ridge of texture. In this stitch guide I will show you how to crochet the Turtle stitch with all the pictures that you need along with a video guide that you can follow along with too.

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I first used the Turtle stitch in the FrankenScrap crochet along as one of the pieces of the quilt like blanket. You can access the whole pattern for free here.

The Turtle stitch is a shell stitch that uses front loop and back loop only stitches to create ridges that add a ridge of texture across the top of the shells and raises the shell up just like the shell of a turtle. All the texture is on one side of the fabric making this a single sided stitch. This stitch would look great used for blankets, clothing and much more besides.

For the sample in the picture below I used Sirdar Toscana DK – a 100% marled cotton yarn, which unfortunately has been discontinued. I only had one ball of this pretty yarn rattling around my yarn drawers, and now I’m wishing I had more as I’ve not seen any other yarns that have this type of colour marling to it and it was a nice smooth yarn to work with and didn’t split

This how to guide is part of Froggity Frog’s Stitch Vault collection. Have you seen all the other stitches in there? You can take a look here all the guides are free to access and maybe you will discover some new stitches to create for yourself.

The yarn I used in the pictures of this stitch guide below is Stylecraft Cotton Classique DK, a 100% cotton yarn. It’s a non mercerised cotton that is lovely and soft, but it can get a bit splitty if you frog it a couple of times. It does makes lovely cosy blankets though and is the yarn that got me hooked on cotton as my fibre of choice. I think I first got a ball of this yarn in a mystery bag I got off ebay, and it was a great yarn discovery for me and I’ve been loving using this yarn ever since.

I also used my trusty Clover Amour hooks which are perfect if you are looking for a good value ergonomic crochet hook that won’t cause your hand to ache if you are crocheting for long periods of time. I’ve tried many different crochet hooks over the years, but I always end up coming back to my trusty Clovers. They just sit so well in my hand and never let me down.

How To Crochet The Turtle Stitch

Click here for the left hand video

Abbreviations

• Ch = Chain
• Sk = Skip
• St = Stitch
• Chsp = Chain Space
• FLO = Front Loop Only
• BLO = Back Loop Only
• Sc = Single Crochet
• Dc = Double Crochet

Start by making a foundation chain in multiples of 6 plus 4 (plus 2 for your turning chain)

Row 1. In the 4th ch from your hook make 2 dc in the same st (your turning ch counts as the first st of the row). sk the next 2 st then make a *sc in the next st, 

sk the next 2 st and then make 5dc in the next st. Sk the next 2 st* repeat between *and* Finish the row by making a sc in the last st.

Row 2. Turn and ch1. Using the FLO make a dc turning ch in the first st and then make a dc in the same st. * sk the next 2 st and then make a sc in the FLO of the next st.

Make 5dc in the FLO of the sc in the row below* repeat between *and* making a sc in the last st of the row.

Row 3. Turn and ch1. Using the BLO make a dc turning ch in the first st and then make a dc in the same st. * Sk the next 2 st and then make a sc in the BLO of the next st. Make 5dc in the BLO of the sc in the row below* repeat between *and* making a sc in the last st of the row.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have as many rows as you need.

How To Add A Border To The Turtle Crochet Stitch

The rows of the Turtle stitch are either a single crochet or a double crochet. Which means adding a border is simple as you just make a single stitch into the side of every single crochet row and two stitches into the side of every double crochet row..

I always recommend that you make a round of single crochet stitches around your piece first before adding any border pattern that you have planned, as doing this just helps to even your stitches out and make a nice solid round to add any further stitches into.

I used the Turtle stitch as one of the pieces in the scrappy quilt like FrankenScrap crochet along – find out more about this free pattern here, and join in and access the entire pattern for free.

You can find more free crochet stitch guides here in Froggity Frog’s stitch vault. Come on over to our Facebook group – Froggity Frog’s Ribbit And Stitch and show us what you made with the Turtle stitch. I’d love to see what you created with this crochet stitch. 

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