Mar
Getting Started With That Knit-Look Crochet Thing
So I made one of these sweaters back in spring 2022 when I was basically living on my couch binge-watching The Great British Baking Show and honestly it came out way better than expected. The whole point is you’re using crochet but making it look like knitting which sounds weird but actually works if you use the right stitch.
The main stitch you want is called the waistcoat stitch or sometimes people call it the center single crochet. It’s basically where you insert your hook through the center of the stitch below instead of under both loops or one loop. Makes these little V shapes that look super similar to knit stockinette stitch. I didn’t even know this existed until someone on Instagram posted about it and I was like wait that’s crochet??
Yarn Choice Matters More Than You Think
Okay so for yarn you really gotta pick something smooth. I used Caron Simply Soft in that grey color—I think it was called Grey Heather? The texture needs to be consistent because any fuzzy or textured yarn is gonna hide that knit-look effect you’re going for. Lion Brand Wool-Ease works too if you want something with actual wool content but honestly the acrylic stuff is fine and way cheaper.
You want worsted weight or maybe DK weight if you’re going for something lighter. I tried this once with Red Heart Super Saver which everyone says is scratchy but it actually showed the stitch definition really well. Just don’t use anything with eyelash or bouclé or whatever because—yeah that’s not gonna work at all.
The Actual Pattern Structure
Most knit-look sweater patterns work from the bottom up. You’re basically making rectangles and then seaming them together which I know sounds boring but it’s actually way less complicated than trying to do it in one piece. I made a pullover with a crew neck and it was four pieces: front panel, back panel, and two sleeves.
For sizing you need to measure yourself or whoever you’re making it for. Bust measurement is the big one. My sweater was supposed to fit a 38 inch bust with about 2 inches of positive ease. Positive ease means it’s slightly bigger than your actual measurement so it’s not skin-tight.
Starting the Back Panel
Chain however many stitches gets you to your desired width. For me with worsted weight yarn and a 5mm hook that was like 98 chains I think? You want an even number for the waistcoat stitch to work properly.
Row 1 is just single crochet in the second chain from hook and across. Nothing fancy yet. Then you chain 1 and turn.
Row 2 is where you start the waistcoat stitch. Instead of going under both loops of the stitch you’re looking at the stitch and seeing that it makes a V shape at the top and then the post of the stitch below. You insert your hook through the CENTER of that V—like you’re splitting the stitch vertically. It feels super weird at first and I kept accidentally just doing regular single crochet out of habit.
One thing that really annoyed me was how much my hand cramped doing this stitch. The waistcoat stitch requires you to kind of push through the fabric more than regular crochet and after like 20 rows my right hand was killing me. I had to take breaks every few rows which meant this project took forever. My cat kept sitting on the work-in-progress too which didn’t help.
Keeping Track of Your Rows
You just keep doing that waistcoat stitch for every row until you reach the armhole depth. For an adult sweater that’s usually around 13-15 inches from the bottom edge depending on how long you want the body. I measured every like 10 rows because I’m bad at counting and didn’t use a row counter.
The fabric you’re creating should look really smooth and have these tiny V’s stacked on top of each other. If it’s looking lumpy or you can see gaps you might be going through the wrong part of the stitch. It took me probably 5 or 6 rows before I got consistent with where to insert the hook.
Armhole Shaping
This part is where it gets slightly more complicated but not terrible. When you reach armhole depth you need to bind off some stitches at the beginning of the next two rows to create the armhole openings. Usually patterns say to slip stitch across like 5-8 stitches then chain 1 and continue in pattern.
After you bind off at both edges you just work straight on the remaining stitches until you reach shoulder height. For me that was another 8 inches or so. Then you bind off and you’re done with the back panel.
Front Panel Is Almost the Same
The front panel starts exactly like the back. Same number of chains same waistcoat stitch same everything until you get to the neck shaping. This happens a few inches before you reach the full shoulder height.
You work up to where the neck starts then you’re gonna divide the work. Work across until you reach the center then stop. Chain 1 turn and work back on just that side. You’re leaving the other side unworked for now. Keep decreasing at the neck edge every row or every other row depending on how scooped you want the neckline. I did decreases every row for like 6 rows to get a regular crew neck shape.
Bind off the shoulder when it matches the back panel length. Then you attach yarn to the other side of the neck and do the same decreases as a mirror image. It’s not hard just tedious.
Sleeves Are Actually the Easiest Part
Sleeves start at the cuff and work up toward the shoulder. Chain enough for your wrist measurement—for me that was like 40 chains. Work in waistcoat stitch but you need to increase stitches gradually to make it wider as you go up the arm.
I increased 2 stitches every 4th row. One increase at each edge. To increase in waistcoat stitch you just work two stitches into the same stitch below. Keep the increases consistent and evenly spaced or your sleeve will look wonky.
Work until the sleeve measures about 18 inches or whatever your arm length is from wrist to underarm. Then bind off. Make a second sleeve exactly the same. Try not to lose count of your increases because I definitely made one sleeve slightly bigger than the other and had to frog it and start over which was super annoying.
The Thing About Gauge Nobody Wants to Hear
Yeah you’re supposed to make a gauge swatch. I know I know it’s boring but with the waistcoat stitch especially your gauge can be really different from what the pattern expects. The stitch is denser than regular single crochet so if you don’t check you might end up with a sweater that’s way too small or weirdly large.
Make a swatch that’s like 20 stitches by 20 rows in the waistcoat stitch. Measure how many stitches and rows you get in 4 inches. If it matches the pattern great. If not you need to go up or down a hook size. I had to go up to a 5.5mm hook to get the right gauge even though the pattern called for 5mm.
Seaming Everything Together
Once you have all four pieces you gotta seam them. I used mattress stitch which is a sewing technique that makes invisible seams. You basically weave yarn through the edges of two pieces back and forth pulling tight as you go. There are videos online that show it way better than I can explain in text.
Start by seaming the shoulders. Line up the back and front panels and seam across each shoulder. Then attach the sleeves by lining up the center top of the sleeve with the shoulder seam and pinning or clipping it in place. Seam around the entire armhole which is kind of annoying because you’re working in a circle basically.
After sleeves are attached seam up the sides of the body and the underside of each sleeve in one continuous seam. Make sure to line up your rows as you go so the seam doesn’t look twisted or puckered.
Finishing the Neckline
The neckline edge is gonna look a little rough after all that neck shaping so you should add a border. I did a simple single crochet border around the entire neck opening. Just work single crochet evenly around trying to keep the stitches consistent so the neckline doesn’t ruffle or pull tight.
Some people do a ribbed neckband which looks more polished but requires you to either crochet ribbing or pick up stitches and actually knit a band if you know how to knit. I don’t knit so I just did the single crochet border and called it good enough.
What I Wish I Knew Before Starting
The waistcoat stitch uses more yarn than you expect. I ran out of my grey Caron Simply Soft about three quarters through the second sleeve and had to order more which delayed the whole project by like a week. Buy an extra skein just in case or you’ll be annoyed like I was.
Also the fabric doesn’t have as much stretch as actual knitting. Crochet is generally less elastic so even though this looks like knitting it doesn’t have that same give. Make sure you’re adding enough ease in your measurements or it’s gonna be tight and uncomfortable. I probably should have gone up one size in retrospect because mine fits fine but it’s not super roomy.
The sweater is also heavier than a knitted one would be because crochet uses more yarn per square inch. It’s warm though which was great for spring weather but I wouldn’t wear it in summer. It’s currently shoved in my closet somewhere and I’ll probably pull it out again when it gets cold.
Variations You Could Try
You could do a cardigan instead of a pullover by just making the front as two separate panels instead of one piece. Then you’d add a button band up each front edge. Honestly that might be easier than dealing with neck shaping.
V-neck would also work—you’d just start your neck shaping earlier and decrease more gradually. Or you could do a turtleneck by making the neck border way longer and folding it over. I’ve seen people do colorwork with the waistcoat stitch too like stripes or Fair Isle type patterns but that seems complicated and I haven’t tried it yet.
You could also make it cropped by just working fewer rows on the body panels before you start the armholes. Or make it oversized by adding more stitches to your starting chain and more rows throughout. The basic construction is pretty flexible once you understand how the pieces go together.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
If your fabric is curling at the edges you might be working too tight. Try going up a hook size or consciously loosening your tension. The waistcoat stitch can curl a bit naturally but blocking helps with that.
Blocking is when you wet the finished piece and pin it out to the right dimensions then let it dry. Makes everything look more professional and evens out your stitches. I didn’t block mine until after I seamed it which was probably backwards but it still worked fine. Just got it damp with a spray bottle and shaped it on my bed then let it dry overnight.
If you’re having trouble seeing where to insert your hook for the waistcoat stitch try using a lighter colored yarn while you’re learning. The stitch structure shows up better in light colors than dark ones. Or use really good lighting because trying to do this in dim light is basically impossible.
How Long This Actually Takes
It took me probably 30-35 hours total? I wasn’t really timing it but I worked on it most evenings for like two weeks. The waistcoat stitch is slower than regular crochet because of that extra step of finding the center of the stitch. If you’re a fast crocheter maybe you could do it quicker but don’t expect this to be a weekend project unless you’re really dedicated.
The seaming probably took 3-4 hours by itself because I’m slow at finishing work and I kept having to redo sections where the seam looked lumpy. Weaving in all the ends was another hour at least. So yeah it’s a time investment but the result looks pretty professional if you take your time with it.
