Catherine's Wheel Stitch Tutorial

By
Mollie Johanson
Mollie Johanson
Mollie Johanson
Mollie Johanson is a professional needlecrafter with over 10 years of hands-on embroidery, sewing, and knitting experience. She is the author of “Stitch Love: Sweet Creatures Big & Small." Mollie also designs and sells stitching projects, co-hosts a crafting podcast, and has taught online embroidery courses.
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Updated on 01/08/21
How to Crochet Catherine's Wheel Stitch

The Spruce Crafts / Mollie Johanson

Project Overview
  • Skill Level: Intermediate

Add a new stitch to your crochet repertoire when you learn how to do Catherine's wheel stitch. Named for the spinning fireworks of the same name, this beautiful stitch creates rows of interlocking rounds or "wheels" that you can highlight with different color combinations.

Catherine's wheel stitch uses basic crochet stitches, but you should be comfortable doing increases (crocheting more than one stitch into a stitch) and decreases (crocheting more than one stitch together).

The round elements the stitch is known for are formed with double crochet half circles that are similar to shell stitch, as well as decreases that make upside-down half circles.

There are several stitches Catherine's wheel is often confused with, but they aren't the same. Among them, Harlequin stitch and starburst stitch both use a similar technique to this one, but the biggest difference is that Catherine's wheel looks more round or even hexagonal, while the others are more like diamonds. Additionally, there are variations on this stitch that involve using fewer stitches on the half-circles and adding extra rows and fullness.

Notes: This tutorial uses US crochet terms and turning chains count as stitches.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Crochet hook to fit your yarn

Materials

  • Medium-weight yarn

Instructions

Start Catherine's wheel stitch with a multiple of 10 + 7 stitches. You can also begin with a foundation single crochet base for a sturdier start.

Row 1 of Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch

The Spruce Crafts / Mollie Johanson

  1. Row 1

    Single crochet in the 2nd chain from the book. Single crochet 1. *Skip 3 chains, 7 double crochet in the next chain, skip 3 chains, single crochet in the next 3 stitches. Repeat from * to the last 4 chains. Skip 3 chains, 4 double crochet in the last chain. Turn.

    If you want to alternate colors, change to your next color now.

  2. Row 2

    Single crochet in the first two stitches. *Chain 3, double crochet 7 together working across the next 7 stitches, chain 3, single crochet 3. Repeat from * to the last 4 stitches. Chain 3, double crochet 4 together working across the last 4 stitches. Turn.

    Row 2 of Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch
    Mollie Johanson

    To keep the rounded rows of Catherine's wheel stitch, use the same color for this row.

    Tip

    The chain 3s can create gaps in this stitch, and that's normal and okay! But you can reduce that with slip stitches. Donna Wolfe of Naztazia has a helpful tip for this in her YouTube tutorial.

    Row 3 of Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch
    Mollie Johanson

  3. Row 3

    Chain 3, 3 double crochet in the first stitch. *Skip 3 chains, single crochet in the next 3 stitches, skip 3 chains, 7 double crochet in the chain that closed the double crochet 7 together from the previous row. Repeat from * to the last 5 stitches. Skip 3 chains, single crochet in the last 2 stitches. Turn.

    Change to the next color.

    Row 4 of Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch
    Mollie Johanson

  4. Row 4

    Chain 3, double crochet 3 together working across the next 3 stitches. *Chain 3, single crochet 3, chain 3, double crochet 7 together working across the next 7 stitches. Repeat from * to the last 2 stitches. Chain 3, single crochet in the last 2 stitches. Turn.

    Continue working in the same color.

    Row 5 of Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch
    Mollie Johanson

  5. Row 5

    Chain 1, single crochet in the next 2 stitches. *Skip 3 chains, 7 double crochet in the chain that closed the double crochet 7 together from the previous row, skip 3 chains, single crochet in the next 3 stitches. Repeat from * to the last 4 stitches. Skip 3 chains, 4 double crochet in the last stitch. Turn.

    Continue in the pattern, repeating rows 2 through 5.

    Catherine's Wheel Crochet Stitch Sample
    Mollie Johanson

For this sample, there's a base color (cream) with pastels rows in between and the cream carries along one edge. This creates bold stripes of Catherine's wheel. You can also use different colors for each set of rows (2 and 3, 4 and 5, etc.) to make a more colorful arrangement of the wheels.

Of course, you can choose to work in any mix of colors and variations of the stripes that you want, including working through your stash of extra yarn.

This stitch is perfect for making blankets, but would also be great for a wide scarf, a purse, a cowl, or even a headband. To finish the edges, you could work a round of single crochet to all the sides or add a shell stitch border to complete the scalloped look!