In this post I will be showing you how to do the crochet crocodile stitch. As you will probably know from my previous posts, this is one of my favourite stitches! I first learnt how to do this a few years ago, it did take a bit of learning but I got there in the end.
I have written this tutorial using UK crochet terms.
Crochet Crocodile Stitch Tutorial
To start you need to chain in multiples of 6 until you get to your desired length, then add 3 chains, which will act as your first treble.
Base Row:
Treble in the third chain from your hook, chain 2, miss 2 chains, 2 trebles in next chain, chain 2, carry on like this along the chain, turn.

Chain in multiples of 6

First treble

How base row looks completed
Row One:
Chain 3, (which acts as your first treble) then working around the ‘post’ of the first treble of the previous row, work 4 more trebles.

4 trebles worked around ‘post’
chain 1, work 5 trebles around the other ‘post’
chain 1, skip next 2 trebles, work 5 trebles around next ‘post’, chain 1, work 5 trebles around next ‘post’, skip next 2 trebles, continue in this way along the row.

2 ‘crocodile’ stitches completed.

How the end of Row 1 should look.
Row 2
Slip stitch into the space of the first crocodile stitch
chain 3, 1 treble into same place as slip stitch.
chain 2, treble 2 between next 2 trebles, making sure you crochet under the chain 2 on Row 1.
chain 2, 2 treble into next space, carry on in this way along the row to the last scale, turn.

How Row 2 should look.
Row 3:
Chain 1, skip first 2 trebles, 5 trebles around ‘post’ of next treble, chain 1, 5 trebles around next ‘post’
skip next 2 trebles, 5 trebles around the ‘post’ of next treble, chain 1, 5 trebles around the next treble, carry on like this until you get to the last 2 trebles, slip stitch between the 2 trebles, turn.
Row 4:
Chain 3, treble 1 into space between 2 trebles on previous row, chain 2, 2 trebles between next 2 trebles, carry on like this until the end of the row, making sure you don’t miss out the last 2 trebles, which can sometimes be hidden.

Last 2 trebles worked
Repeat Rows 1 – 4 until you get to the required length you need, always end your work on Row 1.

Front of work
I hope this tutorial has been of some help to you, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below.
The pattern by ‘Bonita Patterns’, which is what I use to make these Baby Booties from, uses a slightly different version of the crocodile stitch, making the ‘scales’ by doing half trebles instead of trebles as full trebles would be too big but you still get the same effect.
Here are some links to Patterns that can be made using the Crochet Crocodile stitch.
6 Comments
Thanks for sharing this, your instructions are beautifully clear and your photos are amazing.
Thank you so much Stephanie, that’s very kind of you.
Wow, what a great tutorial, easy to follow and beautifully illustrated! I am sure a novice like me could follow it :). I also love the colour.
Aww thank you so much for your lovely comment, I’m so pleased you like it.
Thank you very much for your clear instructions and wonderful pictures. I’m confident I can achieve this now, as a small dishcloth sample initially. Really appreciate all the time and effort you’ve put into this.
Thank you for your lovely comment, I really appreciate it.