Bullion Stitch Crochet Ideas

By
Kate
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5
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Have you ever heard about Bullion Stitch? If not, that’s not surprising, because it’s not a very popular one. In fact, this technique is much more popular in embroidery and helps creators make lovely three-dimensional elements.

In the world of crochet bullion stitch is reserved for the ambitious and tackled by few – mostly, because it’s very decorative and requires skillful tension control. It’s not that hard to learn, though! I’ve had much worse time trying to learn myself how to make these Puff Stitch Flowers!

Below you can see a small snippet of what’s to come in this article, so sit comfortably and enjoy the ride. I will analyze bullion stitch’s anatomy and, as per usual, throw on you a bunch of fantastic colorways, so that you can use them in your future projects.

Why this stitch?

The word bullion means gold or silver in the form of bars – and what are these stitches if not little bars, right?

Let’s be honest – not everyone is a fan of bullion stitch, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it myself. What made me change my mind, though was a couple of informative tutorials and the discovery of the fantastic Abacus Blanket by Susan Carlson – the creative author behind Felted Button. Her blanket pattern is absolutely the most popular project, which incorporates bullion stitch, so you will see a lot of different versions of it below.

What is Bullion Stitch?

This unique technique is a very interesting one, because it creates a nice bead-like stitches. They can be tall or short, depending on the number of times you will wrap the yarn around your tool. I purposefully say tool, because there are many ways to make bullion stitch, including using latch hook, for example.

beautiful beads

Learn how to crochet Bullion Stitch with free tutorials

To make your own swatch, you can use any yarn with corresponding hook, but remember that the thicker yarn you choose, the bigger your stitches will be.
Basic premise of bullion stitch is this: you wrap the yarn around your hook a couple of times, insert the hook in the stitch, yarn over and pull through all of the wraps you have on your hook. It can be tricky, because it’s a long way and the yarn have a tendency to fall of the hook before you make it through all the wraps.

Method #1

First tutorial I want to recommend comes from Naztazia, who came up with a clever idea of taping two crochet hooks together, so that it’s easier to pull the yarn through the wraps. The thickness of joined tools create a lot of room for the hook to travel, making it much easier to finish the stitch.

To learn more and see video tutorial by Naztazia, go to her website naztazia.com.

Method #2

Second video tutorial comes from creative minds behind B.Hooked Crochet, who use latch hook instead of crochet hook. If you’ve never heard of this tool before, it’s a very clever one, used mostly in rug hooking. It has a hook with a clasp, which opens and closes as you work with it.
Using latch hook for your bullion stitches will ensure that your yarn won’t fall of your tool during its travel through the wraps.

To learn more and see video tutorial by B.Hooked Crochet, go to her website bhookedcrochet.com.

talking about stitches…

Our growing website and library of free crochet patterns has some projects that might interest you, too. What would you say to this Striped Bunny Baby Lovey? 

→ Yes! Take me to this free pattern! ←

or…

Learn How to Crochet Alpine Stitch!

→ Yes! Take me to this article! ←How to Crochet Alpine Stitch

 

crochet roundup!

Now – to the juicy part! As I mentioned before, most of the crochet projects you can find online, when looking for bullion stitch, are the versions of Abacus Blanket by Susan Carlson. It’s a paid pattern, but it’s quite simple. I bet that many of you will be able to make a similar project, just by learning the stitch from free tutorials!

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Colorful Bullion Stitch Blankets

Abacus Blanket by Susan Carlson

Let’s start with the original, shall we? Colorful creation by Susan calls for different colors in each bullion row, because the texture of puffy little beads goes very well with rainbow palette. Simple white stripes between the colors and in the border frame this design perfectly. Take a look below to see how soft and squishy it is!

  • photo by Susan Carlson / feltedbutton.com

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: 10 Best Crochet Hacks to Make Your Life Easier

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Colorful Abacus Blanket Version by kerryandtheboys

Kerry always chooses her palettes masterfully, and the blanket you see below is no exception. Primary colors make it playful, and two shades of green break the Lego-feel you can get from reds, blues and yellows. If you are wondering where to go with your next baby blanket, this direction seems good!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com. Free crochet pattern for Snowflake by Kate Veselunka uses this technique, too, so be sure to check it out.

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Abacus Blanket Version by kerryandtheboys

Another version of Kelly’s resulted in a beautiful, deep color scheme. Hues are much more contrasting and moody, but still playful and fresh. White yarn in between the rows pops up even more here, when it’s combined with navy, deep reds and moody blues. For a perfect finishing touch, Kelly decided to add popcorn stitch to her edging – just take a look below to see how great it looks!

To learn more about fun edgings, check out my article The Best Crochet Edging Ideas.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: How to Change Colors in Crochet

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Abacus Blanket Version by frankielovescrochet

Staying in the rainbow realm, let’s take a look at Frankie’s creation, which you can see in the photos below. She chose light blue-grey yarn for her border and stripes, and I must admit that it looks lovely. It’s not as contrasting as white, and makes you dive into the rainbow.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com. If you are looking for a free crochet pattern that use bullion stitch, check out Bead Stitch Cowl by Slipstitch Hollow.

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Rainbow Abacus Blanket Version by skinnybeader

I love palettes like this one, because it’s not obviously rainbow-y. The brightest tints of yellow and blue are nicely subdued by very delicate color change. As you can see below, mixing up dark tones with bright ones create a nicely balanced palette.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: Granny Stripe Crochet Ideas

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Abacus Blanket Version by craftyrie

One of the coolest qualities of this blanket is its lovely texture, which can be very stimulating for babies and kids. Simple thing like touching the beads of bullion stitch will positively impact the cognitive skills of little ones. Add the colors to it, and you’ll have learning, play and beauty all in one piece.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

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Abacus Blanket Version by made.by.rose

Off-white background and rows of colorful beads – this must be yet another beautiful version of Abacus Blanket! Rose chose classic pastel rainbow, and I very much reccommend you doing the same, if you are not in the mood for conjuring up your own color palette. Take a look below and get inspired!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

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Pastel and Moody Bullion Stitch Blankets

Bullion Stitch Blanket by Little Things Blogged

The yarn you choose can have a crucial impact on your final make, so always consider what you want to achieve. In the photos you can see a masterpiece of keeping the right tension, because crocheter behind Little Things Blogged managed to produce amazingly uniform stitches. They are beautifully defined thanks to the right kind of yarn.

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Pastel Abacus Blanket Versions by skinnybeader

Let’s talk about pastels – we all love them, right? Or are there any of you who don’t like these delicate colors? I think they are the best way to go, if you don’t feel confident in choosing colors by yourself. Take a look at the photos below and see how well these hues go together – even if you introduce stronger ones between them!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com. Remarkable precision of Holly Doily by Viktoriia Gul makes it hard to believe, that it’s in fact a free crochet pattern! You will find our hero stitch used there.

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Abacus Blanket Version by littlev_andme

Working with two colors at once isn’t very popular nowadays, because there are many yarns, that are designed to create this marbled effect. That said, it’s a great idea for those of you, who want to lighten up the colors you already have, or if you have lots of white yarn piling up and don’t know what to do with it. In the pictures you can see how interesting this technique looks in Nat’s project, when applied to many different colors!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: Chevron Stitch Ideas

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Abacus Blanket Version by dlachance

The blanket you can see in the photos may be the most beautiful palette I’ve seen in a long time – and I mean it! Shiny yarn makes bullion stitch look like little pearls, and grey stripes are the perfect balance for this color scheme. Hues go from deep violets to deep reds, which makes this project a very sophisticated one. Creator behind the name dlachance truly nailed it!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com. Looking for a free crochet pattern to try out first? Check A Bullion Stitch Headband by Rhelena’s Crochet Patterns.

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Abacus Blanket Version by mad4tahoe

Most versions of Abacus Blanket use light colors for the background, but here you can see how cool colorful beads look on black! Crocheter behind mad4tahoe created a stained glass effect, which makes the colors pop even more.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on Ravelry, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

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Cool Hues Bullion Blankets

Abacus Blanket Version by Skinnybeader

Dive deep into the ocean with this blue version of bullion stitch blanket. As you can see below, these colors are absolutely timeless, so make them your first choice when in doubt. A blanket like this one would look amazing in a modern nursery, no matter if the owner would be a baby girl or a baby boy. Crocheter behind Skinnybeader stick to classic white border, and it looks beautiful.

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: African Flowers Crochet Ideas

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Blue-Green Abacus Baby Blanket Version by JessiJSmith

Jessi’s version of this blanket stands out, because she used golden-beige yarn for the stripes and border. Take a look at the photos below and see how beautifully it goes with deep hues of blue and green! It reminds me of king’s brocades and rich embroidered velvets. Sophisticated is the word we could use for this design, so get inspired!

Purchase the pattern for this blanket on ravelry.com, or read more about it on Susan’s blog feltedbutton.com.

You may also like this article: Crochet Blocking

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Bullion Stitch in Other Crochet Projects

Mock Bullion Flames by Kati Donahue

As I’ve said earlier, there are not that many projects, that use bullion stitch, but I’ve managed to find a few. I was very much enchanted by this afghan square by Kati, because it reminds me very much of embroidery. Little bullion stitches are beautifully arranged in the forms of tiny flowers, which is very elegant and feminine.

Find this free crochet pattern on Ravelry.

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Rainbow Mix Baby Blanket Version by Kerryandtheboys

Bullion stitch works perfectly as an accent stitch, and the work in progress in the photos below is a nice example of that. It’s not Kerry’s first version of this multi-textural pattern, but this time she chose rich colors of the earth for her palette. As you can see, bullion stitches correspond nicely with stars and popcorns.

This is a version of Rainbow Mix Baby Blanket by Skinnybeader Crochet – you can purchase the pattern through ravelry.com.

Below you can see how the finished blanket turned out:

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That’s all for today, but I’ll be back with much more inspiring projects and free patterns. Like, share and subscribe if you like what you see. Stay tuned!

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You may also like: 6 Day Kid Blanket Ideas

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5 COMMENTS

  2. I came across this stitch several years ago in a magazine and fell in love with it but lost the article. I am so thankful that you posted this article on this lovely stitch. Your descriptions of the stitch and tips on using it in a project are awesome. Now I’ll have this tutorial and article close at hand for my upcoming project. Thank you so much!! Your articles and insightful tips are awesome! I couldn’t ask for anything better
    .

    • Kathleen, thank you for your kind words! It’s so good to hear that my articles are useful. Good luck with your project!

    • ha, good question! although their instagram post says ‘pattern coming soon’, I can’t find it anywhere. I’m afraid you’d have to ask them directly!

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