HOW TO knit popcorn stitch: Big POPCORNS

In my “How to knit popcorn stitch” tutorial I show you a series of photos that will guide you step-by-step through your first popcorn stitch!

I use this technique in my POPCORN baby hats, but you can use it to change any other knitted piece into something much more textured. For instance, make some popcorns in an otherwise plain baby cardigan in stocking stitch and voilà! You’ll end up with a unique and fun looking cardigan  😀

Step by step guide

1) With the right side facing you, knit until you reach the stitch into which you want to make the popcorn.

2) Insert the tip of your right-hand needle into the future POPCORN stitch and pull open. This step is OPTIONAL but will make easy for you to knit front and back 2 times into this stitch.

3) Knit alternatively the Front loop (front leg) and Back loop (back leg) of the future POPCORN stitch, WITHOUT sliding the stitch off the left-hand needle. This is usually abbreviated as KFB (knit front and back).

4) Repeat step 3. That is, knit again into the front and back loops (KFB) of the future popcorn:

You can now let the stitch slide off the left-hand needle. The triple increase you’ve made will look like this:

5) In order to produce the big popcorn, you’ll need to forget about all other sts and work 4 rows in stocking stitch only with these 4 sts (1 original, 3 newly produced).

Just in case, I’ll show you these 4 rows step-by-step too 😊

5.1) Turn your work:

5.2) Purl 4 stitches:

5.3) Turn your work:

5.4) Knit 4 stitches:

5.5) Turn your work:

5.6) Purl 4 stitches:

5.7) Turn your work:

5.8) Knit 4 stitches:

You finished working with the 4 stitches during 4 rows!

6) Now we need to get back to the original number of sts in your needles, by decreasing the 3 stitches we created before. In this final step to shape the popcorn you’ll bind off sts 2, 3 and 4 by passing them one by one over stitch #1.

Here’s your starting point:

6.1) Pass the second stitch over the first stitch:

Now you have this:

6.2) Pass the third stitch over the first stitch:

6.3) And finally, pass the fourth stitch over the first:

Done! You can knit normally the rest of your row, or add more popcorns here and there if you want 😀

IMPORTANT NOTE

When you reach the popcorn in the next row (WS) make sure to pull the yarn tightly between the stitches at each side of the popcorn to prevent forming a hole or relaxing the texture of your knitting.

Over the following rows you will notice that the wrong side looks almost like a regular stocking stitch:

I hope you find this tutorial useful.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave a message below. I’ll reply ASAP.

Happy knitting!

Cecilia