How to Crochet the Spike Stitch for Amigurumi

Have you ever tried the spike stitch? It’s essentially an extended single crochet and can be used for really interesting surface detail on your projects. From repeating patterns to variations, there are a bunch of ways to play around with this simple stitch and we’re going to explore them today! Once you know how to crochet the spike stitch for amigurumi, you’ll be dying to play with it on your next project.

How to Crochet the Spike Stitch for Amigurumi

Spike Stitch Tutorial

To practice this stitch, I recommend making a small sample project in one color and then using another color for the spike stitches. While you don’t have to change colors, the contrast really helps this stitch pop.

For the flat sample below, I chained 16 and then worked up several straight rows. For the round sample, I started with a magic ring of 6, increased evenly every round until I reached 42 stitches around, and then worked a few rounds of just single crochet stitches.

The spike stitch is basically a single crochet stitch, but instead of working into the next stitch, we’re working into one of the rounds below.

1. Insert your hook into the round below, being sure to keep a tight tension on the loop on your hook.
2. Yarn over and pull up a loop to match the height of the round.
3. Then yarn over and pull through both loops.

You can make your spike stitches as long as you want by inserting your hook into the rounds further below.

The is one big difference between working the spike stitch flat versus in the round though. When you’re working flat, your stitches are stacked directly atop one another, making it easy to create straight spikes. However, in the round, depending on tension and stitch drift, your stitches most likely will not stack so neatly. If this is the case, you may need to adjust your hook placement over slightly to get the straightest spike.

That’s it! The spike stitch is actually super simple, but that’s what makes it so fun! Now let’s talk about ways you can play with this stitch.

If you want to see this stitch in action, follow along with the video tutorial below! And if you want a free way to support me, give the video a thumbs up!

Repeating Patterns

Typically when you see the spike stitch in a pattern it will be highlighted through repeating patterns. This means the same sequence of spikes will be repeated vertically, horizontally or both. For example, in Sammie the Turtle’s Pine Tree Shell (updated version coming soon), I repeated the same groupings of spike stitches to create a patterned effect.

This is just one way to layer repeating spike stitches though. Especially if you’re playing with colors, you can create lots of interesting surface details by using this stitch. If you wanted a spookier effect, just one row of spikes could look like something dripping or oozing down the side of a project.

Spike Stitch Variation: Diagonals

Yep! While most spike stitches you see will be straight, you definitely don’t have to keep yours on a straight line.

1. Instead of inserting your hook into a spot on the round directly below, you can also shift forward a few stitches.
2. You’ll still yarn over and pull a loop up to match the round height.
3. Then yarn over and pull through both loops.

To form a diagonal going backward, it’s especially important to maintain your tension on the initial loop.

1. Insert your hook down a few rows and back a few stitches.
2. Yarn over and pull up a loop to match the round height.
3. Yarn over and pull through both loops. To help anchor the diagonal, I recommend skipping the next single crochet (where your spike stitch is) and then working a regular single crochet into the next stitch.

Spike Stitch Variation: Post Stitches

In some cases you might want to create a ridged texture on your project that spans vertically for a few rounds. If you’re not a fan of traditional double crochet post stitches, then using the spike stitch might be a good alternative.

Start by creating the spike stitches on a lower round. Then once you’ve worked a few more rounds:

1. Instead of inserting your hook into a round below, you can work around the ‘post’ of the spike stitch below.
2. Yarn over and pull a loop up to match the round height.
3. Then yarn over and pull through both loops.

This variation gives you that awesome ridged texture, while still keeping the fabric tight so you won’t have any stuffing coming through the gaps later!

Seeing the Spike Stitch in Patterns

Unfortunately the spike stitch does not have a universally accepted abbreviation as per the Craft Yarn Council, so it may be abbreviated differently from pattern to pattern. However, a designer should always detail the specifics in the Project Notes section of the pattern. For example, depending on the design, I would write Sspike = short spike and Lspike = long spike. Then in the notes section I would specify that a short spike is worked 1 round below while a long spike is worked 2 rounds below.

Each designer is different with different styles, so just keep an eye on those notes sections and this stitch should be a breeze!

Summary

In this article we’ve covered not only how to crochet the spike stitch, but also how to create variations of it for different effects! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and if you did I would love if you shared it with your crafty friends.

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Til next time, happy stitching!