May
okay so tunisian simple stitch
Right so you need a tunisian crochet hook which is basically just a really long crochet hook. I got mine from Hobby Lobby back in like spring 2022 when I was making a blanket during that whole weird breakup phase and needed something to do with my hands that wasn’t texting. The hook needs to be long because you’re gonna keep a bunch of loops on it at once, not like regular crochet where you work them off immediately.
The brand I used was Boye, the aluminum one with the stopper ball on the end. You can also get the ones with the cord attached if you’re doing something really wide but honestly those always felt awkward to me.
starting the foundation
You chain however many stitches you want for the width. Let’s say 20 for practice. This is your foundation chain and it counts as your first row kind of but also not really? It’s confusing at first.
Here’s where TSS is different from regular crochet. Each row has two passes. A forward pass where you pick up loops, and a return pass where you work them off. This is the part that annoyed me SO MUCH at first because I kept forgetting which pass I was on and having to count.
forward pass (picking up loops)
So after your foundation chain, you’re gonna pick up loops. Skip the first chain right next to your hook because that’s basically your first stitch already there. Insert your hook into the second chain from the hook, going under the back bump of that chain. Yarn over and pull up a loop. Don’t work it off, just leave it on your hook.
Now you have 2 loops on your hook. Keep going across the whole chain, pulling up one loop from each chain stitch. Insert hook, yarn over, pull through, leave it on the hook. Insert hook, yarn over, pull through, leave it on the hook. My cat kept trying to attack the working yarn while I was learning this which made it even more frustrating.
By the end of the forward pass you should have like 21 loops on your hook if you started with 20 chains. Or 20 loops? Honestly I still lose count sometimes but it doesn’t matter that much as long as you’re consistent.
return pass (working them off)
This is where you work all those loops off. Yarn over and pull through the first loop only. That’s like your turning chain equivalent I guess.
Then yarn over and pull through 2 loops at a time. Just keep doing that. Yarn over, pull through 2. Yarn over, pull through 2. Keep going until you only have 1 loop left on your hook. That last loop stays and becomes the first loop of your next row.
The return pass goes pretty fast once you get the rhythm. I usually did it while watching Great British Bake Off in summer 2024 when I made a washcloth set, and you can definitely do the return pass without looking much.
row 2 and beyond
Okay so now you have this fabric with all these vertical bars. Those bars are what you work into for the next row.
forward pass for row 2
The first stitch is already on your hook from the return pass. Now you need to pick up loops again. Look at your work and you’ll see these vertical bars. Insert your hook under the front vertical bar from right to left (or left to right if you’re left-handed I guess). Yarn over and pull up a loop. Leave it on the hook.
Keep going across, picking up one loop from under each vertical bar. You’re basically collecting loops again. At the end of the row, the last stitch is a little different because you need to go through both the front and back vertical bar of that edge stitch or it gets all wonky and loose.
Actually that last stitch thing is what really annoyed me about TSS because nobody explains it clearly and my edges were a mess for like three projects before I figured it out. You gotta go under both loops of that last vertical bar to keep it from getting stretched out and sloppy.
return pass is always the same
Yarn over pull through 1, then yarn over pull through 2 repeatedly until one loop remains. Every single row. The return pass never changes.
what the fabric looks like
TSS makes this really thick dense fabric that doesn’t curl as much as stockinette if you were knitting but it does curl some. The fabric has a right side and wrong side. The right side has these nice neat vertical lines and looks kinda like knit stockinette honestly. Wrong side is bumpier.
I made a scarf with Lion Brand Wool-Ease in like burgundy and it came out super warm but also really stiff. TSS isn’t great for things that need drape. It’s good for potholders, washcloths, bags, blankets if you want something heavy.
tension stuff
Your tension matters more than regular crochet I think because you’re keeping all those loops on the hook. If you pull too tight on the forward pass, the return pass gets hard to work. If you’re too loose, everything gets sloppy and uneven.
I had to redo the first like 4 inches of that breakup blanket because my tension was all over the place. Some rows were tight, some were loose, it looked terrible. Eventually you find a rhythm though.
Also the hook size matters. I usually go up a size or two from what the yarn label recommends because TSS is already so dense. If you use the recommended hook size it comes out like cardboard. With Caron Simply Soft I used a J hook even though the label said H.
counting rows
Each set of forward pass plus return pass equals one row. The vertical bars you see are the rows. You can count them pretty easily by counting those vertical lines. This is actually easier than counting rows in regular crochet where you’re looking at like chains and trying to figure out what counts.
binding off
When you’re done and want to finish, you do one more forward pass to pick up all your loops. Then instead of the regular return pass, you do slip stitches across. Insert hook under the next vertical bar, yarn over and pull through everything on your hook. Keep doing that across the row until you’ve worked off all the stitches.
Or you can do the return pass normal and then just slip stitch across the top. Either way works honestly.
Cut your yarn leaving a tail and pull it through the last loop. Weave in your ends which is the worst part of any project let’s be real.
common problems I had
Losing count of stitches. I’d end up with different numbers of loops on different rows and the edges would get all diagonal and weird. You just gotta count more carefully or use stitch markers every 10 stitches or something.
The edges being too loose especially that last stitch on each row. Fixed by making sure to go through both loops of the vertical bar on that last stitch of the forward pass.
The fabric curling. TSS curls toward the wrong side usually. Blocking helps if you’re using wool or acrylic that responds to blocking. Or just accept the curl and use it for something where it doesn’t matter.
Hand cramping because you’re holding so many loops on the hook. Take breaks. I had to stop every few rows at first because my hand would get tired. Now I can do like 20 rows before needing a break but it took practice.
yarn recommendations
Bernat Blanket yarn is actually pretty fun for TSS even though it’s so thick. Makes it go really fast. I made a little basket with it and it was done in like an hour.
Red Heart Super Saver works fine and it’s cheap for practicing. The fabric comes out really sturdy which is good for things like dishcloths or market bags.
I tried TSS with some fancy merino wool once, I think it was Malabrigo, and it was beautiful but also kind of a waste because the stitch is so dense you can’t really appreciate the yarn quality as much? Save the expensive yarn for lacework or something where you can see it better.
Cotton yarn like Sugar’n Cream or Lily Sugar’n Cream is perfect for washcloths and kitchen stuff. The density of TSS makes them really absorbent and they hold up well in the wash.
variations you can try after
Once you get basic TSS down there’s tunisian knit stitch which looks even more like knitting, tunisian purl, tunisian full stitch. But honestly master the simple stitch first because it teaches you the basic forward and return pass concept.
You can also do color changes which look really cool in TSS. Change colors on the return pass and you get these crisp horizontal stripes. Or change on the forward pass for different effects but I haven’t really messed with that much.
what to make for practice
Start with a dishcloth. Like 25 stitches wide, work until it’s square. It’ll teach you the technique and you end up with something useful instead of a random swatch.
After that maybe a scarf if you want something longer and narrower. Or a potholder which is basically just a small square.
I wouldn’t jump straight into a blanket even though that’s what I did because it’s just SO much fabric to manage and if you make mistakes early on you’re stuck with them or you have to frog a ton of work.
the hook thing again
You really do need an actual tunisian hook. I tried using a regular crochet hook at first and it’s just not long enough to hold all the loops. They fall off the end or you can’t pick up more loops because there’s no room. Just get the right tool it makes everything easier.
The interchangeable sets are nice if you’re gonna do a lot of tunisian crochet because you can swap out different size hooks with different length cords. But for starting out just grab a single hook in whatever size works for your yarn.
Some people like the wood hooks better than metal because they’re warmer and the stitches slide easier or something but I’ve always used metal and it’s fine. Personal preference probably.
reading patterns
If you find a TSS pattern it’ll usually say something like “TSS in 20 sts for 30 rows” which just means do the forward and return pass thing 30 times with 20 stitches across. Pretty straightforward once you know the basic technique.
Some patterns separate it out like “Forward Pass: pick up 20 loops. Return Pass: work off all loops” for every single row which is helpful when you’re learning but gets repetitive.
why even learn this stitch
I mean it makes a different fabric than regular crochet which is cool if you want variety. It’s also weirdly meditative once you get the rhythm down because it’s just the same motions over and over. Forward pass, return pass, forward pass, return pass.
And some people think it looks more like knitting so if you want that look but don’t wanna learn to knit, TSS gets you partway there. Though actual knitters will definitely know the difference.
It’s also reversible kind of? Like both sides are usable even though they look different. For something like a scarf or blanket that’s nice because there’s no “wrong” side really showing.
Anyway that’s the basics of tunisian simple stitch. You just gotta try it and mess up a few times before it clicks. Watch your tension, count your stitches, remember to go through both loops on that last edge stitch, and don’t forget which pass you’re on.
