Star Lattice Stitch

So today I'm going to talk to you about a stitch pattern I have used several times.  It's really rather simple, but I like the overall effect.  The pattern consists of three rows repeated: a row of star stitches followed by two rows of double crochet stitches.  The row of star stitches is denser and slightly thicker than the rows of dc.  I think of the two rows of dc as the lattice, hence the star lattice stitch pattern.

My friend Nettie taught me the star stitch and has a picture tutorial about it here.  Here's a brief explanation of the star stitch, but you should really check out Nettie's tutorial for help.


Decrease: YO, insert hook in same st as last stitch, YO, pull up a loop, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, skip next stitch, YO, pull up a loop, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, YO, draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Anyway, to do the star stitch, you chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, then work a decrease stitch.  Work a dc in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous decrease stitch.  Then work decrease in the same stitch as the previous dc.  Repeat (dc, decrease) across.  At end of row, dc in last stitch.

Half of the stitches will have three stitches in them, and the other half will have none.  In a normal decrease stitch pattern, you would decrease, ch 1, decrease, ch 1 across.  The star stitch simply has a dc in place of the ch 1 space. 

I once made a scarf entirely out of the star stitch, but became a little frustrated with the number of times I had to pull out rows to fix a mistake.  The scarf turned out beautifully, but my feeling of frustration remained.  Having two rows of dc between each row of star stitches makes it more forgiving.  It is much easier to 'fudge' something at the end of the row this way.

This stitch pattern lends itself to two striping patterns because it has three rows in it.  Thick and Thin and Featured Color stripes work well.

To make something with this pattern:
Chain an odd number
Row 1: dc in 4th chain from hook, dc across
Row 2: ch 3, turn, dc across
Row 3: ch 3, turn, star stitch across
Rows 4-5: ch 3, turn, dc across

Repeat rows 3-5 until work reaches desired length.