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36 techniques

Techniques & Traditions

A technique is a way of forming and joining stitches. Two pieces can use the same stitch and look nothing alike because the technique behind them differs.

Each entry below states plainly what kind of thing it is — a technique, a construction method or an adapted tradition — because the vocabulary of crochet is looser than it looks.

36 entries

Sculptural · Intermediate

Amigurumi

Technique and product tradition

The Japanese tradition of crocheting small stuffed figures in tight continuous rounds so the fabric is dense enough to hold a sculpted shape.

Texture · Advanced

Aran-style Crochet

Style adapted from knitting

Crochet that imitates Aran knitwear using post stitches to build cables, ropes and diamond panels on a plain ground.

Embellishment · Advanced

Beaded Crochet

Technique

Beads are pre-strung onto the working yarn and pushed into place as stitches are made, so they become part of the fabric.

Regional · Intermediate

Bosnian Crochet

Technique and regional tradition

A slip-stitch-only technique worked with a flattened hook, producing a firm knit-like fabric traditionally used for warm accessories.

Tool-assisted · Intermediate

Broomstick Lace

Technique

Elongated loops are held on a large knitting needle or dowel, then grouped and worked off in clusters to form fan-shaped openwork.

Lace · Advanced

Bruges Crochet

Technique

A tape lace in which a narrow crocheted ribbon is curved back on itself and joined at the loops to form scrolling openwork designs.

Lace · Expert

Brussels Crochet

Technique (regional term)

A crocheted imitation of Brussels-style needle and bobbin lace, built from fine motifs set into a delicate net ground.

Construction · Intermediate

Continuous Crochet

Construction method

Designs worked in one unbroken path so that motifs connect without cutting the yarn between them.

Construction · Beginner

Corner-to-Corner (C2C)

Construction method

Fabric built diagonally from one corner in stair-stepped blocks, letting charted pixel designs be worked without carrying colours far.

Hybrid · Expert

Cro-tatting

Hybrid technique

A hybrid of crochet and tatting worked with a long, straight cro-tat hook to make tatting-style rings and chains.

Embellishment · Beginner

Crochet Appliqué

Finishing technique

Small crocheted motifs made separately and attached to fabric or another crocheted piece as decoration.

Embellishment · Beginner

Crochet Embroidery

Finishing technique

Embroidery stitches worked onto finished crochet fabric to add faces, detail and colour that stitches alone cannot achieve.

Long-hook · Advanced

Double-ended Crochet / Cro-hook

Technique

A Tunisian variant using a hook with a point at both ends so two colours can be worked from either side, producing reversible fabric.

Openwork · Intermediate

Filet Crochet

Technique

A grid technique in which filled and open squares form pictures, lettering and motifs, worked almost entirely in double crochet and chain.

Artistic · Advanced

Freeform Crochet

Approach

Improvised crochet with no fixed pattern, where small irregular scrumbles are made and joined intuitively into a whole.

Lace · Expert

Guipure-style Crochet

Technique (descriptive term)

Motif lace joined by bars or bridges rather than a continuous net, giving a bold, sculptural openwork.

Tool-assisted · Intermediate

Hairpin Lace

Technique

Loops are wrapped around a two-pronged metal frame and secured with a crocheted spine, producing long strips of open loop lace.

Surface and colourwork · Advanced

Intarsia Crochet

Technique

Blocks of colour worked from separate yarn bobbins with no carried strands, giving a single-thickness fabric with clean picture areas.

Lace · Expert

Irish Crochet

Technique and regional tradition

A fine motif-based lace in which padded roses, leaves and shamrocks are made separately and joined with a crocheted net ground.

Construction · Intermediate

Join-as-you-go Crochet

Construction method

Motifs are attached to their neighbours during the final round, so the piece grows complete with no sewing at the end.

Fine work · Expert

Micro Crochet

Technique

Extremely small-scale crochet worked in fine thread with hooks well under one millimetre, producing miniature and jewellery-scale pieces.

Construction · Beginner

Modular Crochet

Construction method

Projects built from repeated units — squares, hexagons, circles — made separately and then assembled into a larger fabric.

Surface and colourwork · Intermediate

Mosaic Crochet

Technique

Geometric two-colour patterns made by working one colour at a time and dropping stitches down into the row below, with no yarn carried across.

Surface and colourwork · Advanced

Overlay Crochet

Technique

Stitches are worked into the front loops or posts of rows below, layering raised motifs on top of a flat crocheted base.

Surface and colourwork · Advanced

Overlay Mosaic Crochet

Technique variant

A mosaic variant worked in back loops only with front-post or surface stitches added over the top, giving relief as well as pattern.

Openwork · Intermediate

Pineapple Crochet

Motif tradition

A classic openwork motif built from a fan of chain loops that tapers to a point, resembling a stylised pineapple.

Construction · Intermediate

Seamless Crochet

Construction method

Garments and objects worked in the round or top-down as one piece, avoiding sewn seams entirely.

Surface and colourwork · Beginner

Surface Crochet

Finishing technique

Slip stitches worked on top of finished fabric to draw lines, outlines and lettering, much like embroidery with a hook.

Surface and colourwork · Intermediate

Tapestry Crochet

Technique

Colourwork made by carrying unused yarns inside the stitches and switching colour stitch by stitch, producing a dense woven-looking fabric.

Fine work · Advanced

Thread Crochet

Technique family

Crochet worked in fine cotton thread with steel hooks — the basis of doilies, lace edgings and most heirloom crochet.

Foundational · Beginner

Traditional Crochet

Technique family

The standard single-hook method in which every stitch is completed before the next one begins, forming rows or rounds of interlocking loops.

Long-hook · Intermediate

Tunisian Crochet

Technique family

Worked with a long hook that holds many live loops at once, producing a dense, woven-looking fabric built in forward and return passes.

Long-hook · Advanced

Tunisian Entrelac

Technique variant

Tunisian crochet worked as small diagonal squares that interlock like woven basketry.

Long-hook · Advanced

Tunisian Lace

Technique variant

Openwork Tunisian crochet using yarn overs and skipped stitches to lighten the normally dense afghan fabric.

Long-hook · Advanced

Tunisian Mosaic

Technique variant

Two-colour geometric patterning applied to Tunisian fabric, changing colour on the return pass without carrying floats.

Alternative materials · Advanced

Wire Crochet

Technique

Crochet worked in fine jewellery wire instead of yarn, producing shapes that hold their form without stuffing or blocking.

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