Xtra: Crocheted steek 101

Steeking: Is this on your bucket list? I’ve designed a set of coffee/tea cup accessories with steeking in mind. The pattern is coming soon. Steeking instructions are included in the pattern, but I’ve expanded them here. More pictures!

Crochet reinforcement for steek
I like to make my steek 6 sts wide. We will cut between Sts 3 and 4 (green line), but before doing that, we’ll reinforce the edges by crocheting the 2nd & 3rd sts together, and the the 4th and 5th sts together, using half of each st. (Yellow dashes. For clarity, not all sts are marked, but you will crochet in each st.)

First side: With cast on edge on your right, and center of steek facing away from you, pick up a loop of new yarn (MC) between sts 4 and 5 along cast on edge. Wrap yarn around hook and bring yarn through this loop. *Slide hook under right leg of st 5 and left leg of st 4, and bring up a loop. Now pull this new loop through the first loop on hook. Repeat this in each st of the column until you get to the ending edge. (Picture does not mark all sts). (See how there are 2 colors on the hook? Two halves of two different stitches.) End by crocheting a st along bound off edge between sts 4 and 5.

Second side: With cast on edge on your left, and center of steek facing away from you, pick up a loop between sts 2 and 3 along bound off edge. Wrap yarn around hook and bring yarn through this loop. *Slide hook under right leg of st 2 and left leg of st 3, and bring up a loop. Now pull this new loop through the first loop on hook. Repeat this along the column of stitches until you get to the cast on edge. Finish by crocheting a st along the edge between sts 2 and 3.

The two columns of single crochet lean away from each other, revealing half of st 3 and half of st 4. We will cut between sts 3 and 4. (These half sts are MC and CC because of our knit checkerboard pattern.)