Crochet :: Apache Tears FREE Pattern

Apache Tears | Sarah London

Beautifully textured, captivating and fascinating!

I’m referring to the strikingly mesmerizing Apache Tears crochet pattern.

I’ve had quite a few enquiries in regards to this pattern, so today I thought I’d share my tips and technique with you. It’s not a complicated pattern so let’s get started!

Yarn | Sarah London

The following are the ‘basic’ rules when working this pattern:

  • Each row is worked from the right side.
  • Each row is worked from right to left.
  • Ensure to leave a 6 inch tail of yarn when beginning and ending a row.
  • To begin each row, form a slip knot on your hook and commence row.
  • Work all dc in the back loop of stitches.
  • Work all dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, whilst missing the dc behind on current row.

The pattern may also be customized to your own preferences, producing a dense fabric!

When it comes to customizing it all boils down to . . . the spacing . . . you can choose to customize your blanket by working 8 dc, 6 dc or 4 dc etc.

To explain let’s have a look at a few samples I’ve hooked.

Apache Tears | Sarah London

Sample 1: Spacing of 8 dc 

With Red, ch 37.

1st Row: Work 1 dc into second ch from hook, work 1 dc into each stitch across. Fasten off.

2nd Row: Work 1 dc into each stitch across. Fasten off.

3rd Row: Work 1 dc into each stitch across. Fasten off.

4th Row: Work 1 dc into each stitch across. Fasten off.

5th Row: Work 1 dc into each stitch across. Fasten off.

6th Row: Work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc. Fasten off.

7th Row: With blue, work 1 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 7 dc. Fasten off.

8th Row: With violet, work 2 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 6 dc. Fasten off.

9th Row: With aqua, work 3 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 5 dc. Fasten off.

10th Row: With pink, work 4 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 4 dc. Fasten off.

11th Row: With yellow, work 5 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 3 dc. Fasten off.

12th Row: With green, work 6 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 2 dc. Fasten off.

13th Row: With hot pink, work 7 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 1 dc. Fasten off.

14th Row: With orange, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below, work 8 dc, work 1 dtr in the front loop of stitch 3 rows below. Fasten off.

Repeat rows 6 – 14.

Finish with 6 rows of dc in red.

Fasten off.

Apache Tears | Sarah London

Apache Tears | Sarah London

Sample 2: Spacing of 6 dc

IMG_1515

Apache Tears | Sarah London

Sample 3: Spacing of 4 dc

Notice how compacted the texture of the fabric becomes as you decrease the number of dc worked between each dtr.

Once you have decided your ‘spacing’ preference you’ll need to calculate your foundation chain. Below you’ll find my formulas for easy reference!

Spacing of 8 dc + 1 = 9

Chain a multiple of 9 + 1

Select 9 colours and repeat.

*****

Spacing of 6 dc + 1 = 7

Chain a multiple of 7 + 1

Select 7 colours and repeat.

*****

Spacing of 4 dc + 1 = 5

Chain a multiple of 5 + 1

Select 5 colours and repeat.

Yarn | Sarah London

The basic pattern that I’ve written for you at the beginning of this post can be easily tweaked to work a blanket with spacing of 6 or 4 dc.

Any questions, or if anything needs a little more clarification just leave a comment below.

Raid your yarn stash and get hooking! I’m looking forward to seeing some beautiful, textured, colourful blankets!

73 Comments on “Crochet :: Apache Tears FREE Pattern

  1. Thanks a lot for this wonderful pattern 🙂 But … do you know, where I can buy some more time and a few more hands to do all the great projects I wanna do?

  2. lovely….congratulations from me in Brazil… thanks

  3. This is so beautiful. I am N.A. and live on a reservation, I have a love for color and the first picture is a hit with me. love Carol

  4. Beautiful. Are these written in English terms. Or American. Is the dc an American. Dctr a dc. Thanks so. Much.

  5. Pingback: New, free pattern from Sarah London

  6. Thank you for the pattern….Your work is very beautiful!!!!

  7. I need to tell you Im a senior with doubts of if I can do’s BUT this site and all my CT friends talking about you I am going to do this as your a intriquing , talented person . THANK YOU so much for sharing. Susan M J

  8. Question: is the pattern written in European crochet terms or American?

  9. But, but, but – what does one do with all those tails you say to leave??? Leave them as a kind of fringe?

  10. This is lovely, thanks for sharing with us!!

  11. Are you using UK or US terms for your stitches? What size hook did you use, please?

  12. Can you explain the spacing? I’m new to crocheting and have no idea what that is.

  13. Thanks for sharing this lovely pattern. I am always looking for new and interesting ways to crochet with colours and this looks like just the stitch to do the trick of using up all my scraps.

  14. The pattern is written in Australian/UK terms.

    To convert to American terminology:
    Dc = Sc
    Dtr = Tr

  15. In regards to the tails, yes, traditionally they are left as a fringe. Naturally of course you can opt to weave them in.

  16. Thank you so much. It’s a gorgeous pattern. I’m thinking a shawl.

  17. Absolutely beautiful. I so want to make this but am having a problem grasping the technique. Will you explain further. Thanks. Linda Miller

  18. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

  19. Pingback: Hello, welcome and Thank You! |

  20. Absolutely Stunning! I will definitely give it a try if I have some time left 😉
    Great pattern and thanks for sharing!
    Cheers,
    Barbara

  21. Gracias por compartir este hermoso trabajo, lo voy a intentar!!

  22. Espectacular trabajo. Puedes poner algún gráfico para guiarnos mejor? Saludos desde Argentina y Felicitaciones!!!!.Susana

  23. Confused. Row 6 of the pattern stitch states to start with Dtr then dc 8, but the picture shows the first Dtr is not at the edge. Not sure if I’m missing something or not.

  24. Pingback: Favorite Pinterest Finds: Stitches! | HodgePodge Crochet

  25. Pingback: A New Obsession — “Apache Tears” Crochet Stitch | Knitted Dreams Crocheted Desires

  26. Thank you so much for this pattern! I tried it and found it to be easy to work but has a complicated feel.

  27. Will you be doing a video on this , it’s gorgeous

  28. This is gorgeous, I can’t wait to make a lap blanket out of this! Thanks for the beautiful pattern!

  29. This is beautiful, thank you for posting it. And thank you for the clarification; I’m in the US and I thought some of those stitches looked like our scs but it’s good to be sure. I am looking forward to trying this.

  30. beautiful! I am looking forward to giving this pattern a try soon!

  31. Could you give me an idea of how many chains I would need for a baby blanket using a spacing of 6? And also a full size blanket using a spacing of both 6 and 8? I’m not being lazy, I just am not sure how to figure the number of chains needed for those sizes.

    Thank you

  32. For Apache Tears – could you repeat the pattern in a form that is easy to print and save please.

  33. Found this pattern, and your blog, via a Lion Brand post to their FB page. Thanks so much for sharing this pattern for free. It will go on my wish list and I am subscribing to your blog. Regards from California, USA!

  34. Looking awesome..think I will add that to my already growing list of to-do projects. Let’s see that makes about 6,,,,,Thanks for sharing..

  35. Wow, thats gorgeous, Wow running out of words that is the prettiest I have ever seen.

  36. What a beautiful pattern! Thank you for sharing!

  37. Sarah your work is stunning. I am so glad Lion Brand shared your link so I could see how fabulous your work is. Awesome.

  38. This is absolutely gorgeous. As soon as it cools off here in New Mexico I’ll be making 2 of these. 1 for myself & 1 for a silent auction for a literacy group. I love this pattern! Thank you for sharing.

  39. I’ve just made some of this to try out the stitch and use up some wool and I love it! I’ll definitely be making a larger version of this as an afghan. Thanks for sharing this pattern xxx

  40. Tank you for sharing this lovely pattern. I gave it a try just to find out how it’s done and it wasn’t difficult at all. I so enjoyed making it. Greetings from Stockholm

  41. omg!!!!this is beautiful and i have been crochting for many years but i am afraid to do this.it looks hard

  42. You are very ,very gifted. Have you considered posting this on your You Tube channel. Surely an instant hit!

  43. My goodness that is cute. I think I will work the 4 space look into a baby blanket. I am due in March so as soon as I know boy or girl I will be getting started. This is adorable by the way.

  44. I am very much in love with this pattern. I made Scarf out of this with 6 dc spacing. It came out very well. I am really happy. Thanks a ton! I love all your work. You are simply amazing! Happy New Year!Thanks again. 🙂 🙂 🙂

  45. Soo excited to try, thank you for the pattern

  46. Thank you for this pattern. It brought joy to my heart upon seeing it. I live in the Philadelphia area and have a mixed heritage background (like many folks 🙂 This is one way I can express myself plus I love color!

  47. Wow! I am so happy you have shared this pattern! It looks so complicated, but is so easy! You’ve gotta love a pattern like that. Thank yo so much for sharing!!!

  48. What an absolutely fascinating design! I say it on Pinterest. It really caught my eye and I will look forward to trying it out. I also like your choice of name…Apache Tear! It really gives me goosebumps to look at it.

  49. I haven’t crocheted in years but am going to make this. My question is how do I figure out the amount of yarn to buy in order to make a 6 foot afagan in 6 colors? Thank you! Betty P

  50. can I do it lefthanded with the pattern going the other way

  51. Wow! What a spectacular idea. I am interested in linking you post to both my FaceBook, and my website. If this is not possible that is ok too.

    From one Auzzie to another
    Happy Hooking!

  52. Pingback: Pinteresting Projects: free colorful crochet tutorials • LoveCrochet Blog

  53. How many skeins of yard is need for a large afghan (adult size) if I choose 6 or 7 different colors?
    Thank You

  54. Great pattern. What if I wanted to use 11 colours and repeat the colours ever 3 rows to create an arrow-like effect. How would the pattern change?

  55. This is a Beautiful pattern I’m not the best at crocheting but this one I’m going to try to learn. Thanks for Sharing.

  56. I love this pattern, I have been looking for this pattern for a long time ago. Thanks again for your pattern.Sha

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