The Tidewater Ripple Panel is a single flat rectangle of crisp chevron stripes in bright turquoise and deep navy. Each stripe has a solid band of double crochet with a row of small eyelets through the middle, so the zigzag reads clearly and the fabric stays light.
The panel is two full ripple repeats wide. A raised half-peak sits at each side edge, with one peak in the center and two valleys between them. The top and bottom edges come out pointed, and the side edges stay straight. You can use it as a wall hanging, a chair-back panel, a table mat, or a practice piece for ripple technique.
This pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished panel measures 7.75 in (19.7 cm) wide by 13.5 in (34.3 cm) tall after blocking. Height is measured along a side edge, from the top half-peak to the bottom corner.
You work it bottom-up in rows from a foundation chain. Every row has 29 stitches. Increases at the peaks and decreases in the valleys keep the zigzag shape. You make 27 rows in nine three-row stripes, then add a single crochet edge to each straight side.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 7.75 in × 13.5 in (19.7 cm × 34.3 cm)
- Skill level: Easy / advanced beginner
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4)
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 1
- Layout: One panel, 2 ripple repeats wide, 9 stripes tall (5 turquoise, 4 navy)
- Piece size: 29 stitches × 27 rows
- Size before border: 7.25 in × 13.5 in (18.4 cm × 34.3 cm)
- Border depth: 0.25 in (0.6 cm) on each long side edge only
Materials
Pick a smooth worsted-weight yarn with good stitch definition. Mercerized cotton or a cotton blend gives the sharpest peaks and eyelets. Soft acrylic works too and drapes a little more. The amounts below assume a yarn of about 170 m per 100 g (186 yd per 100 g).
- Color A, bright turquoise: 40 g, about 68 m (74 yd). Used for 5 stripes and the side border.
- Color B, deep navy: 25 g, about 43 m (47 yd). Used for 4 stripes.
These amounts include a margin of about 20% for your gauge swatch and weaving in ends.
Tools:
- 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
- 2 stitch markers
- Measuring tape or ruler
- Blocking mat, rust-proof pins, and a spray bottle
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sc – single crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sk – skip
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sp – space
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
- dc3tog – double crochet 3 together (see below)
Special stitch – dc3tog: (Yarn over, insert hook in next st, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops) 3 times, working into 3 stitches in a row. You now have 4 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops. This makes one stitch from three and forms a valley.
Stitch count note: The ch-3 at the start of each row counts as 1 dc. On eyelet rows, each ch-1 space counts as 1 stitch. Every row has 29 stitches.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge in pattern after blocking: 16 sts = 4 in (10.2 cm) measured along a straight section of a row, and 8 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm). One full ripple repeat (14 sts) is 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide.
The panel is small, so you can treat the first stripe as your gauge test. Work Rows 1–3, then lay the piece flat and measure before you go on.
Checkpoints:
- After Row 1: Width edge to edge is about 7.25 in (18.4 cm) once you gently stretch out the zigzag. You have 29 sts.
- After Row 3 (first stripe): Stripe height is 1.5 in (3.8 cm) at the side edges.
- After Row 9 (3 stripes): Height is 4.5 in (11.4 cm).
- After Row 18 (6 stripes): Height is 9 in (22.9 cm).
- After Row 27: Height is 13.5 in (34.3 cm). Width is still 7.25 in (18.4 cm).
- After the border: Width is 7.75 in (19.7 cm).
If your piece is too big: Rip back and try a 4.5 mm (7) hook. Don’t drop stitches, because that changes the ripple layout.
If your piece is too small: Rip back and try a 5.5 mm (I-9) hook.
If only the height is off: Your dc are taller or shorter than the gauge. Pull the first loop up to the height of a dc before you finish each stitch. A 0.25 in (0.6 cm) difference over the whole panel is fine.
Ripple Panel
Stripe sequence: Rows 1–3 Color A, Rows 4–6 Color B, Rows 7–9 A, Rows 10–12 B, Rows 13–15 A, Rows 16–18 B, Rows 19–21 A, Rows 22–24 B, Rows 25–27 A.
Changing color: Work the last dc of the stripe’s final row until 2 loops are left on the hook. Drop the old color, pull the new color through those 2 loops, and turn. Cut the old color, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
Stitch layout: In every row, the stitch positions are: [1–2] edge half-peak, [3–7] slope, [8] valley, [9–13] slope, [14–16] center peak, [17–21] slope, [22] valley, [23–27] slope, [28–29] edge half-peak. Because the layout is symmetric, it lines up whichever direction you are working.
Foundation and Row 1 (Color A, solid row)
With Color A, ch 32.
Row 1 (RS): Dc in 4th ch from hook. The skipped ch count as 1 dc, so you have 2 dc in this ch for the edge half-peak. Then dc in next 5 ch, dc3tog over next 3 ch (valley), dc in next 5 ch, 3 dc in next ch (center peak), dc in next 5 ch, dc3tog over next 3 ch (valley), dc in next 5 ch, 2 dc in last ch (edge half-peak). (29 sts)
Check: you worked into 1 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 1 = 29 chains and made 2 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 2 = 29 sts. Put a marker in each dc3tog so you can see the valleys.
Row 2 (Color A, eyelet row)
Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn. Dc in first st (edge half-peak made).
Eyelet slope: dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st, ch 1, sk next st, dc in next st. This uses 5 sts and makes 5 (3 dc + 2 ch-1 sps).
Work an eyelet slope, then dc3tog over next 3 sts (the marked valley is the center one). Work an eyelet slope, then (dc, ch 1, dc) in next st for the center peak. Work an eyelet slope, dc3tog over next 3 sts, then another eyelet slope. Finish with 2 dc in top of turning ch. (29 sts: 22 dc + 7 ch-1 sps)
The peak eyelet is centered, so the next solid row puts its 3 dc right into that ch-1 sp.
Row 3 (Color A, solid row)
Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn. Dc in first st, then dc in each of next 5 sts and ch-1 sps. Dc3tog over next 3 sts with the valley stitch in the center. Dc in next 5 sts and sps, then 3 dc in the center ch-1 sp (peak). Dc in next 5 sts and sps, dc3tog over next 3 sts, dc in next 5 sts and sps, and 2 dc in top of turning ch. (29 sts)
Change to Color B on the last dc. Move the markers up to the new valleys.
Rows 4–27
Repeat Rows 1–3 as a three-row stripe, using the same instructions as follows:
- Solid rows (4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25): Work as Row 3.
- Eyelet rows (5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26): Work as Row 2.
- Solid rows (6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27): Work as Row 3.
Follow the stripe sequence. Every row ends with 29 sts. After Row 27 you have 9 stripes, 5 in Color A and 4 in Color B. The panel is 7.25 in × 13.5 in (18.4 cm × 34.3 cm).
Fasten off after Row 27. The bottom edge has two downward points under the valleys, and the top edge rises to the center peak and both edge half-peaks.
Border
The border goes only along the two straight side edges. The pointed top and bottom edges already have clean dc tops and a clean foundation, so they don’t need it.
Border gauge: 4 sc = 1 in (2.5 cm) along the row-ends. That’s 2 sc per dc row-end.
Right side edge
With RS facing, join Color A with a sl st at the top corner of the right side edge, in the top of the last stitch of Row 27. Ch 1. Working down the side, make 2 sc around the post of each end stitch (the turning ch or the last dc) of every row, from Row 27 down to Row 1. (54 sc) Fasten off.
Left side edge
With RS facing, join Color A with a sl st at the bottom corner of the left side edge, at the base of the first stitch of Row 1. Ch 1. Working up the side, make 2 sc around the post of each row’s end stitch, from Row 1 up to Row 27. (54 sc) Fasten off.
Why the math works: There are 27 rows on each side, and each row-end gets 2 sc, so each side gets 27 × 2 = 54 sc. One dc is about as tall as two sc, so 54 sc at 4 sc per inch covers 13.5 in (34.3 cm). That matches the panel height, and the edge won’t ruffle or pull in. Each sc edge adds 0.25 in (0.6 cm) of width, so 7.25 in + 0.25 in + 0.25 in = 7.75 in (19.7 cm).
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends inside stitches of the same color. Run each tail back and forth at least 2 in (5.1 cm).
- Spray the panel until it is evenly damp. For acrylic, steam it lightly from about 1 in (2.5 cm) above instead, without touching the yarn.
- Lay it RS up on the blocking mat.
- Pin the four corners so the side edges are 13.5 in (34.3 cm) long and 7.75 in (19.7 cm) apart.
- Pin each peak point and each valley point along the top and bottom so the zigzags are sharp and even.
- Use a ruler to check that the two valleys sit at the same level and the center peak is centered.
- Leave it to dry completely before you unpin it.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Every row has 29 sts. Spot-check a few rows by counting one repeat.
- There are 9 stripes, 3 rows each, starting and ending with Color A.
- Each eyelet row has 7 ch-1 sps: 2 per slope plus 1 at the center peak.
- The valleys line up vertically all the way up the panel, and so does the center peak.
- The side edges are straight, with 54 sc on each side.
- The panel measures 7.75 in × 13.5 in (19.7 cm × 34.3 cm) after blocking.
- No ends show on the RS.
Troubleshooting
Peaks drift sideways: You probably miscounted a slope. Each slope has exactly 5 sts between the valley and the peak. Use markers in the valleys and count every row.
Side edges slope inward: You skipped the first stitch or missed the 2 dc in the turning ch. Each row should start with 2 dc in the first st and end with 2 dc in the top of the turning ch.
Eyelets look uneven: Keep the ch-1 loose and the same size every time. Don’t tug the yarn after the chain.
Valleys look bulky: Pull each partial loop of the dc3tog up evenly, and keep the final yarn over snug.
Border ruffles or puckers: Re-check that you have 2 sc per row-end, not 3 or 1. If it still ruffles, go down one hook size for the border only.
Color changes show a bump: Change color on the last yarn over of the previous row, not at the start of the new row.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap. Press out the water in a towel without wringing, and dry flat, re-pinning the peaks if needed.
Final Notes
The measurement chain is simple. A 32-chain foundation gives 29 stitches, which is two 3.5 in (8.9 cm) repeats plus an edge stitch, for a width of 7.25 in (18.4 cm). Twenty-seven rows at 8 rows per 4 in (10.2 cm) give 13.5 in (34.3 cm) of height. Fifty-four sc on each side match that height exactly, and two 0.25 in (0.6 cm) edges bring the finished width to 7.75 in (19.7 cm).
If your gauge matches at Row 3, the rest of the panel will follow. Count 29 stitches, line up your valleys, and block the points crisp.
Happy crocheting!