For week 3 we’re making the Camel stitch. The Camel stitch is just half double crochet worked into the 3rd loop – That lovely and very useful extra loop created when making half stitches. Working into this 3rd loop only creates a lovely texture that looks like you have a crochet chain running along the front of your piece. This stitch is usually made in the round, but can look just as stunning made in rows too, albeit with a slightly different look.

The Camel stitch when made in rows is a 2 row repeating pattern, where all the texture will be on one side only. The other side should be a nice flat surface with no additional texture at all. If we were making this stitch in the round it would only be a single row repeat.

The free pattern is below, but if you’d like the ad free printable version you can purchase it for £5 from Ravelry where you will receive all of the parts of the CAL as an instant download into your Ravelry library.

UK Translation

Half Double Crochet (Hdc) = half treble crochet

For this square I used Rico Cotton Creative Aran which is a 100% cotton non mercerised yarn. I chose this yarn as I love the feel of cotton, and it has a good selection of colours to choose from. This yarn does tend to split a little bit especially if you frog it a couple of times, so if this type of yarn is something you struggle to crochet with, I would choose a different brand.

I used the shade Cardinal (11), which is one of the 4 different colours I used to create my own 50 stitches blanket. I also used a 4.5mm hook – I recommend using Clover Amour hooks. A cost effective hook that is comfortable in your hands thanks to their ergonomic design, so doesn’t make your hands tired when crocheting for periods of time.

The Pattern

Click here for the left hand video

For this square you will need a 4.5mm hook. We switch hook sizes for different squares due to the different tensions we tend to work different stitches with.

Start by making a foundation chain of 32

Row 1. In the 4th chain from your hook make a hdc (your turning chain counts as your first stitch of the row) make a hdc in each chain across – 30 stitches

Row 2. Turn and chain 1. Make a dc turning chain (this will count as a hdc) in the first stitch – make this stitch in the 2 loops to stabilise the edges. Make a hdc in each stitch across USING THE 3RD LOOP ONLY. Make the final hdc stitch of the row through 2 of the loops to stabilise the edge – 30 stitches

Row 3. Turn and chain 1. Make a dc turning chain in the first stitch (this will count as a hdc) – make this stitch in the 2 loops to stabilise the edges. Make a hdc USING THE FRONT LOOP ONLY in every stitch across. Make the last hdc of the row through 2 of the loops to stabilise the edge – 30 stitches

All of the ribbed texture should be on one side of your square only.

Rows 4 – 15. repeat rows 2 and 3

A quick check to make sure you are using the right loops for each row is that in the even numbered rows you will be using the back loop to make all of your stitches. In the odd numbered rows you will be using the front loop to make all of your stitches. You will have 30 stitches in every row you make.

The Border

Now you need to add the border to your square before we join this one to last weeks square with the Interlocking border. We’re going to be making a round of single crochet around our square. I’ve chosen to do this in a contrasting colour for each of my squares, but you can use a complimenting or same colour as your square if you want. I chose to use Rose (00) in Rico Cotton Creative Aran yarn for my border colour, which I also used for the Interlocking border.

For this piece you need to make a single crochet in each stitch on the top and bottom edges of your square. For the sides you will need to make 2 sc in the side of each row of hdc. You should have 30 sc down each side, plus an extra stitch in each corner for the turn. This will make your stitch count as 32 stitches across each side and 124 stitches in total (remember the extra stitch in the corner is included in the stitch count for both sides)

You have now finished your square and you can cut off and weave in the ends.

You can now add the interlocking border to join this weeks square to last two weeks. You can see how to do this here both as a written guide and with a video to help you too.

If you have any questions about the pattern or the CAL, then come on over to the Facebook group – Froggity Frog’s Ribbit And Stitch where you can show us your completed squares too and join the chat and meet your fellow hookers.