Striped Crochet Shorts | Free Pattern & Video Tutorial

These striped crochet shorts are super cute and will become a wardrobe staple this spring and summer! They are beginner-friendly and easily customizable: make them any size or make the stripes thinner or wider.

Follow along with this free written pattern, or watch the video tutorial to make your very own striped crochet shorts!

striped crochet shorts close up edited scaled

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Crochet Shorts Tutorial

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You can follow along with my YouTube video to make your own crochet shorts! I have timestamps included to help you jump to any point you need to!

Pattern Information

Materials

150 grams/270 yards of light weight yarn
- Color A = K+C Essential Cotton in “Cream”
- Color B = K+C Essential Cotton in “Gulf Side”
4.5mm Clover Amour crochet hook
(optional) Secondary crochet hook, one size down (4mm Clover Amour crochet hook)
Scissors
Yarn needle
Stitch markers
(optional) Tape measure

Crochet Abbreviations

blo = back loop only

ch = chain

hdc = half double crochet

sl st = slip stitch

st = stitch

Gauge

14 rows of 14.5 half double crochets makes a 10 x 10 centimeter (4″ x 4″) square

Dimensions

*includes instructions to adjust sizing

I wear a size small or 2 in US women’s sizing, and the shorts are fitted on me.

Waistband: 5 centimeters wide x 34 centimeters long (2 x 13.4 inches)

Before leg holes: 43 centimeters wide (16.9 inches)

Leg hole: 23 centimeters wide (9.1 inches)

Overall: 34-43 centimeters wide x 22 centimeters long (13.4-16.9 x 8.7 inches)

Notes and Tips

This pattern is written using US crochet terms
The number in (parentheses) at the end of each row is the stitch count after finishing that row
Italicized notes tell you what to change to adjust the size
Change colors by pulling the new color through the three loops of the last half double crochet in the old color
The chain 1 at the beginning of each round does NOT count as a half double crochet
The slip stitch at the end of each round goes into the first stitch of that round

Crochet Shorts Pattern

Crochet Waistband

(Optional) Use the 4mm hook for the ribbing.

Foundation: With color A, make a slipknot, ch11

Note: Do fewer chains for a thinner waistband, or more chains for a wider waistband.

Row 1: hdc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across (10)

Rows 2-72: ch1, turn, hdc blo across (10)

Note: Do fewer rows for a smaller waistband, or more rows for a larger waistband. It will be stretchy, so make it shorter than your actual measurement!

Connect first and last rows together: ch1, turn, bring the first row up to line up with the last row, sl st blo across

Body

Use the 5mm hook for the rest of the shorts.

Rotate the ribbing to work along the side of the rows. Switch to color B. Leave color A attached, and pick it back up for the next stripe.

Round 1: ch1, hdc into the side of each row and each ridge, sl st (3 per every 2 rows) (108)

Rounds 2-3: ch1, turn, hdc around until last st, hdc2 in last st, sl st (109, 110)

Switch colors by pulling color A through the three loops in the last half double crochet of Round 3.

Rounds 4-21: [ch1, turn, hdc around until last st, hdc2 in last st, sl st], switching colors after every third round

(111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128)

Note: Do fewer rounds for a lower waistband (low-rise), or more rounds for a higher waistband (high-rise).

Legs

Count the number of stitches in your last round. If it’s an odd number, remove 1 hdc.

Fasten off the yarn used for the last stripe before the legs unless you’ll use that color for the first round of the legs.

Note: If you have a different number of stitches from me in your last round, divide it by 2 (128/2 = 64), and mark that stitch.

Mark the 64th stitch from the right side of the slip stitch.

Split legs: ch10, sl st across to the st to the left of the st marker

Round 1: ch1, hdc around until other side of ch, hdc across ch, sl st (74)

Rounds 2-3: ch1, turn, hdc around, sl st (74)

Note: Repeat these rounds to make it longer, switching colors after every 3 rounds.

Fasten off.

Attach the correct color yarn to continue the stripe pattern to the stitch with the stitch marker. The crotch portion of the shorts should be to the left of your hook, with the rest of the leg hole to the right of your hook.

Round 1: ch1, hdc in the st after the st marker, hdc across ch, hdc around, sl st (74)