crochet 101 :: begin crochet in the round

Crochet 101 is a series of crochet tutorials where I will teach you how to complete the basic stitches needed to crochet.

Hi :)

In the Crochet 101 series, we have learned how to:

• Make a slip knot
• Chain stitch
• Slip stitch (part II)
• Single crochet (part II)
• Half double crochet (part II)
• Double crochet (part II)
• Treble crochet (part II)
• Crochet in the back loop (part II)
• Crochet in the front loop (part II)
• Switch colors (part II)
and
• Fasten off and weave in ends

Almost at the end!

This one is kind of a long one so let's move on to lesson 20:

Crochet in the round is most commonly used when making hats, mittens, granny squares and amigurumi (to name a few).

This tutorial will show you 3 ways to start projects that are worked in the round. 

I prefer to use the magic loop method because it hides the hole left in the middle when doing the alternative starting in the round methods. I realize that a magic loop might be a little difficult to make for a beginner, so I am also going to show you the 2 other ways of staring your crochet projects in the round. 

(We are learning this technique because our first project will be crocheted in the round.) 

*This tutorial assumes that you already know how to: chain stitch, slip stitch and double crochet.

If you do not know any of these, please click the links in the list of completed tutorials above and they will take you to that tutorial.

Let's get started!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will need:

*Yarn
*Hook

In this post, I show you where to look for what type of hook you will need for your yarn.

We'll begin by learning:

A magic loop/magic ring is an adjustable ring used for crocheting in the round. It allows you to tighten up the center of the first round of stitches to get rid of the hole that would otherwise be seen if you had started your project with the center ring method.

This is the method I prefer to use, so we will learn it first.
I start the magic loop exactly how I start the slip knot, only a few steps are completed with the crochet hook instead of my fingers.

Step 1:

Lay the yarn in your hand with the tail facing you. Hold in place with your thumb and wrap the working yarn end up and over your pointer finger. (See the purple arrow in the picture above.)

Step 2:

(The blue arrow in the above picture shows what we did in step 1.) Next, fold your pinkie and ring finger, leaving the middle and pointer fingers pointing straight. Continue to wrap the working yarn under your middle finger and up and over your pointer finger, making sure to cross over the yarn tail. (See the purple arrow in the picture above.)

Step 3:

Turn your hand over so as to see the top side of your fingers. (The blue arrow in the picture above shows step 1.) Continue with wrapping the working yarn over your pointer and middle fingers (shown with the purple arrow in the picture above) and hold the yarn with either your ring or pinkie finger while you complete the next step.

Step 4:

Insert your hook under the first yarn loop.

Step 5:

Grab the second yarn loop with the hook.

Step 6:

Pull the second loop under the first loop.

It should look like this.

Step 7:

Slide your hook down  a bit so the loop doesn't fall off of the hook.

Step 8:

Turn your hook 90 degrees so that the hook is straight up and down.

Step 9:

Hold on to the loop that is around your fingers and start to slide your middle and pointer fingers out of the loop.

It should look like this.

Step 10:

Grab the working yarn, still holding on to the loop that just came off of your fingers.

Yarn over.

Step 11:

Pull the yarn through.

Tighten the loop a bit and you're ready to begin your project.

We will be learning how to move on the the next step when we begin our project since this is the method I will be using to start the project.

Below is a video I made to show these steps in action. I have slowed the video down so that every step is seen. I have also added music to the video because I filmed this video with my phone and I have no idea how to mute the background while recording. Feel free to mute if piano is not your thing lol

Enjoy!

These next 2 methods are a little easier to do... Feel free to start your projects whichever way feels more comfortable for you.

A center ring is used for crocheting in the round. There are 2 variations of this method: 

The first method is to make several chain stitches and join together with a slip stitch to form a ring. Stitches are then worked into the hole created by the ring.

The second method is to chain 1 + the number of chains needed for the turning chain (ex: double crochet has a chain 3 turning chain, so I would chain 4 to start this method). Stitches are then worked into the very first chain and the remaining chains act as the first stitch

::FIRST METHOD::

Step 1:

 Chain 4 (or 5 depending on what your pattern calls for).

Step 2:

 Insert your hook into the first chain.

Step 3:

 Yarn over.

Step 4:

 Pull through the loop.

 2 loops on your hook.

 Pull the yarn through the last loop.

 You have now completed your center ring by slip stitching into the first chain to connect the chain, making a circle.

Now we can start our first round of double crochet.

 It's a little hard to see the middle of the circle because it is so small, but the center of the ring is where the stitches are going to be made for round 1.

Step 5:

 Chain 3. (Because we are working double crochet stitches.)
You would chain however many chains needed to work the stitch your pattern calls for.

Now we continue to work our first round of double crochets.
Step 6:

 Yarn over.

Step 7:

 Insert your hook into the center of the ring (not into any of the chains).

Step 8:

 Yarn over.

Step 9:

 Pull the yarn through.

Step 10:

 Yarn over.

Step 11:

 Pull through 2 loops.

Step 12:

 Yarn over.

Step 13:

 Pull through the last 2 loops on the hook.

Repeat steps 6-13 for however many stitches the pattern calls for.

Here I've made 3 double crochets.

You can see the center of the ring gets more visible the more stitches that are worked into it. 

Below are 2 videos I made to show these steps in action. I have slowed the videos down so that every step is seen. I have also added music to the videos because I filmed the videos with my phone and I have no idea how to mute the background while recording. Feel free to mute if piano is not your thing lol

Enjoy!

*This first video shows how to: make your starting chain and how to connect the ends to make the ring.

*This second video shows how to: chain up and how to work the stitches into the center of the ring.

Okay, moving right along...

::SECOND METHOD::

Step 1:

 Start by making your slip knot.

Step 2:

 Chain 1, then chain the number of chains needed for the stitch's turning chain.
(We are making double crochets, so we will chain 3, making our starting chain a chain of 4.)

Instead of connecting the chain to make a ring like in the first method, we will be working all of our stitches for round 1 into the first chain.

Step 3:

 Yarn over.

Step 4:

Insert your hook into the first chain and yarn over.

Step 5: 

 Pull the yarn through.

Step 6:

 Yarn over.

Step 7:

 Pull through 2 loops.

Step 8:

 Yarn over.

Step 9:

Pull through the last 2 loops on the hook.

Repeat steps 3-9 for as many stitches as the pattern calls for. I have shown just the 2 stitches in the pictures above, but in the video below, I show how to make an extra stitch for a total of 3 double crochets.

Below is a video I made to show these steps in action. I have slowed the video down so that every step is seen. I have also added music to the video because I filmed this video with my phone and I have no idea how to mute the background while recording. Feel free to mute if piano is not your thing lol

Enjoy!

That's a lot of info for this week, (5 lessons split into 2 posts!) but we're finished with all of the stitches and techniques in this series!
*does happy dance*

Next week we will be learning:
How to read yarn labels
(What the heck are all those symbols?! What hook do I need for this yarn?!)

and

How to read a written crochet pattern
(What in the heck does ''ch 4, sl st to join, ch 3, 2 dc...'' mean?!)

Then we will be moving on to our first project!! I can't wait!
Keep practicing!

Be sure to come back here tomorrow for a regularly scheduled post :)

See you then, friend!