The “double front post double crochet” (abbreviated: dfpdc) is not a stitch you may have heard of before, but it’s one I’ve been loving a lot lately. Three of my collections this past fall – Drifting Leaves, Bonfire, and Gemstone – featured this stitch and I’m not done with it yet! In fact, I have at least two upcoming patterns that will use it and one is going to be offered free here on the blog, so I thought I’d teach you how to do the stitch before those patterns release.
If you are familiar with the front post double crochet or the alpine stitch, then you should have no problem picking this one up. It’s basically a front post double crochet, but you go around the post twice to draw up loops instead of once to create the extra squishiness of the stitch. Easy, right? So let’s get into it!
To start, you need a base row of stitches (most commonly double crochet stitches) so you have posts to work around. To work the stitch, yarn over and insert your hook around the post of the dc from the row below (A)
Yarn over and pull up a loop (3 loops on hook). Pull up on the loop until it’s about even with your working row (B), then yarn over and insert your hook around the same dc post and pull up another loop, (5 loops on hook) (C)
Yarn over and pull through 4 loops (2 loops left on hook) (D)
Yarn over and pull through the remaining 2 loops (E)
Working around the post takes the place of working in the stitch, so make sure you skip the stitch behind the post stitch.
And that’s it! Depending on what you plan to do with the stitch, you need to make sure to have at least one regular double crochet between the dfpdc stitches so they don’t become too crowded. They look great spaced out, like in my Drifting Leaves patterns, or clustered together, like patterns in my Gemstone collection. Also, pro tip: if you use this stitch in turned rows, put a row of single crochet stitches after each dfpdc row so the stitches all pop out on the same side of your work! If you are working in the round, you can use the row of single crochet or not, it works both ways.
Go ahead and practice this stitch so you are ready when my new patterns release! If you are interested in any of my existing patterns using this stitch, you can find them here:
Drifting Leaves:
Beanie Etsy Ravelry
Headband/Cowl Bundle Ravelry
Bonfire:
Beanie Etsy Ravelry
Headband Etsy Ravelry
Cowl Etsy Ravelry
Gemstone:
Beanie Etsy Ravelry
Headband Etsy Ravelry
Cowl Etsy Ravelry
Cup Cozies Etsy Ravelry
Until next time, happy stitching!
