How to Crochet ZigZags, Chevrons and Waves.

   

Almost since picking up my first crochet hook I've been fascinated by Zigzags but have no real understanding of how they are formed. Being a bear of very little brain, I have finally decided to sit down and decode their construction.

    What is the difference between a chevron and a wave? For our purposes, let's say that a wave is a gently curving line, while a chevron has sharp points. 

    Let's start by imagining our zigzag as a line 'W'. The line is made up of peaks ⬈⬊ and valleys⬊⬈. In order to create a peak we have to add in extra stitches. In order to create a valley we have to remove stitches. The number of stitches we add and subtract must be the same.   

I have found it helpful to imagine I was crocheting a square, like a Granny Square. Normally there would be two or three extra stitches in order to turn a corner. If we stack these increases row by row then we create a sharp angle. If we spread out the increases a little then we create a more rounded curve.

    I learn by doing, so let's look at how different arrangements of stitches change the shape of the angles. Let's start with a simple double crochet (Sc-US) chevron. To make this shape I have added in two extra stitches to create a peak and removed two stitches to create a valley.

Here is the same thing worked in treble stitches (Dc-US).

Worked in treble stitches the chevron isn't as dramatic. So let's see what it looks like if I use a chain stitch at the peak.

As it doesn't seem to make much difference, I wondered what would happen if I mixed rows of double crochet between the treble stitches. (Sc,Dc-US)

That does make a sharper peak, so now I ask myself, 'what would 2 chain stitches at the peak do?'

The peaks and valleys are nice and sharp, but of course the look is quite different. Before we move on to waves, any easy way to change the look of these chevrons is to use post stitches or work into back or front loop only.

 

Let's move on to Waves. In all the samples above I have increased and decreased at a single point. So in this example I have used a pair of increases and decreases. Is it a chevron or a wave? Clearly I think wave!

So far my rows have all been made of a single sized stitch. By mixing stitches without increases we can easily create waves.

Here is a more complex version.

This design is just crying out for some back loop stitches isn't it?

It even looks great the other way round.

When sitting down to write this post I had theorised that if I could understand how chevron patterns were created, then I should be able to change any simple stitch pattern into a chevron pattern. So I picked out a simple V-stitch pattern.

After some experimentation I finally managed to turn it into a chevron pattern.

Of course there are many, many other ways to make zigzags, chevrons and waves. When I started looking through my stitch dictionaries I started to see them everywhere. Clearly a sign I have spent too much time on this subject!

Fastening off...