Bobble stitch, puff stitch, popcorn stitch

These stitches will all produce a „bump” in the crochet fabric. Maybe because the final effect is
rather similar, different sources use the names differently – the following is the terminology as
I’ve learned them and as I use them in my own patterns. Always make sure to read through the
designer’s description of the specific stitch to avoid any misunderstandings.

1. Bobble stitch
All type of bobbles are formed on the back of the work. So if you are not working in turned rows
but in continuous rounds as in amigurumi, you might need to push them from the inside so they
pop out as they are meant to look.

1/A: 2-dc-bobble
Start as you would a normal double crochet: yarn over, insert hook in stitch and pull up a loop
(1). Yarn over and pull through 2 loops on hook (2).
But instead of finishing the dc, yarn over again (3), then insert hook in the same stitch and pull
up a loop (4). Yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (5). Now you will two half-finished
dc worked into the same stitch. Yarn over again and pull through all three loops on hook (6).
Bobble finished!

Note: this type of bobble is rarely used because it is small even on a sc background (as in
amigurumi), it would be almost invisible in a row of taller stitches.
1/B: 3-dc-bobble
Start as the 2-dc bobble until you have the two unfinished dc on your hook (step 5 from the
previous). But instead of closing the stitch, once more yarn over, insert hook in same st and pull
up a loop (1), then yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (2). Now you will have a group
of 3 unfinished dc. Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops on hook (3). As expected, this makes a
bigger bobble than the previous one.

1/C: 4-dc-bobble
You know the routine now: work until you have the three unfinished dc (step 2 from the
previous), then once more yarn over, insert hook in same stitch and pull up loop, yarn over and
pull through two loops on hook. You will have now 4 unfinished dc on your hook; yarn over and
pull through all 5 loops on hook. Again, this bobble is bigger than the previous one.

Note: in theory you could just adding more and more dc

to your bobble, but most patterns only go up to 4. In
theory, bobbles could also be made from taller stitches
like treble crochet (I suppose that would be necessary
in a treble crochet row), but I haven’t seen those in any
amigurumi yet.
2. Puff stitch

Start with a yarn over (1), then insert hook in stitch and pull up a loop (2). Now again yarn over
(3), then again insert hook in same stitch and pull up a loop (4). Once more, yarn over, then
insert hook in same stitch and pull up a loop (5). You will now have 7 loops on your hook. Yarn
over and pull through all loops on hook (6) – puff stitch made!

Note: in theory, you could add more ’yarn over – pull up loop’ repeats, but it is hard enough to
finish these 7 loops at once, I haven’t met any pattern asking for more.

Differences between puff stitch and bobble stitch? Puffs are smaller, but they are very compact
like proper little knots, they show up almost the same from both sides. Bobble stitches are more
like hemispheres that look hollow from the wrong side.
3. Popcorn stitch
Popcorn is the most flexible from these stitches, so it’s especially important to read the
designer’s directions to get them right.

3/A: 4-dc-popcorn
Start with working 4 ordinary dc into the same stitch (1). Drop the „live” loop from your hook,
and insert hook into the top of the first dc you made from front to back (2). Catch the dropped
loop again, and pull through the top of the dc (3). This will pucker these 4 stitches into a little
ball – popcorn made!

3/B: 4-hdc-popcorn
Start with working 4 hdc into the same stitch (1). Just like the previous time, drop the live loop
from hook, and insert it from front to back into the top of the first hdc you made. Catch the
dropped loop again (2), and pull through the top of the hdc (3). This will pucker the hdc stitches
into a little ball – smaller than before as the stitches are smaller as well.

3/C: 4-sc-popcorn
Start with working 4 sc into the same stitch. Drop the live loop from hook, and insert it from
front to back into the top of the first sc from the group you just made. Catch the dropped loop
again, and pull through the top of the sc. This will pluck these 4 stitches into a little ball, making
an even smaller popcorn than the one before.

All the popcorns in my example are made from scrunching up 4 stitches. However, it would be
possible to use only 3, or 5 or more – there’s a lot of variations for popcorns.