Crochet Spike Stitch.

Choose smooth yarn, a suitable hook and two removable markers. A contrasting yarn of similar thickness can make the spike easier to see, but a second colour is optional.

Chain thirteen. For row one, single crochet into the second chain from the hook and each remaining chain. Count twelve single crochets. Neither the skipped first chain nor the active loop counts as another stitch.

For row two, chain one and turn, then work one single crochet under both top loops of every stitch. Repeat that instruction for row three. Each row has twelve stitches, and chain one does not count in this exercise.

Count before continuing. The spike will change where one stitch is anchored, not repair an extra or missing stitch in the base.

Chain one and turn to begin row four. Number the twelve tops of row three from the end where you are about to work. Place a marker in the sixth top.

Follow that sixth stitch's body down to the stitch it was worked into in row two. Mark that row-two top with the other marker. This is the lower insertion point for the spike.

Do not count row two again from whichever outside edge is nearest. Turning reverses the direction of work, so a fresh count from the wrong edge can identify a different column. Follow the actual stitch connection below the marked position.

The target is in row two, with the completed row three above it. Naming the rows is more useful here than relying on the phrase “two rows down,” which can be counted differently in different instructions.

Make one single crochet into each of the first five row-three tops. Stop before the marked sixth top. Leave that top unworked for the moment.

Find the lower marker in row two again. That row-two stitch already supports a stitch from row three; the spike reaches back into the same specified lower top while covering the intervening body.

Remove the lower marker when you need room to insert the hook. Keep the upper marker in place so you can still see the row-three position that this spike replaces.

Insert the hook from front to back under both top loops of the marked row-two stitch. Do not insert into a gap beside it or split the strand already occupying the top.

Yarn over and draw a loop through the lower stitch. Bring that loop up to the working height of row four, beside the active loop already on the hook. You have two working loops.

Let the fabric lie naturally while adjusting the loop. A loop kept at the lower row's height pulls the upper rows down. An unnecessarily long loop can hang loose and catch on things. Match the working level without stretching the sample to disguise the difference.

Yarn over and draw through both loops. One active loop remains. You have made one spike single crochet, occupying the sixth position of the new row.

Do not also make an ordinary single crochet into the marked sixth top of row three. In this defined exercise, the spike replaces that top-loop insertion.

Remove the upper marker. Work one ordinary single crochet into row-three positions seven through twelve. Count the new row: five single crochets, the spike and six more single crochets. You should still have twelve stitches.

In other patterns, check whether a long stitch replaces a background stitch or is added over it. Follow that pattern’s count rather than assuming it works like this sample.

For row five, chain one and turn. Work one ordinary single crochet under both top loops of each of the twelve new tops from row four, including the spike's top.

You do not reach back into row two again for this plain row. The spike has already produced a normal top to work into. Count twelve stitches and inspect the marked area from both fabric faces.

The crochet glossary can help distinguish a spike from an extended stitch. An extended single crochet adds a separate pull-through stage during its construction; this spike keeps the ordinary single crochet finish and changes the insertion point and loop length.

If the row has thirteen tops, look for an ordinary stitch added into the covered sixth top. If it has eleven, check whether you skipped position seven as well as the covered position.

If the sample puckers at the spike, undo that stitch and give the drawn-up loop enough length to reach the current working height. A loose loop needs the opposite adjustment. Pulling the neighbouring stitches tight is not a reliable way to hide either problem.

Use the gauge guide when applying a textured stitch to a project. A sample with one spike does not establish the drape, length or yarn consumption of a larger repeated design.