how to increase crochet in the round

3 min read 04-02-2025

Increasing in crochet creates beautiful shaping and allows you to make items like hats, amigurumi, and more. This guide will teach you various methods for increasing in the round, ensuring you create seamless, professional-looking projects. Whether you're a beginner or experienced crocheter, mastering increases is essential for expanding your crochet capabilities. We will cover several techniques to help you confidently tackle any pattern requiring increases.

Understanding Increases in Crochet

Increasing stitches involves creating an extra stitch in a round, expanding the circumference of your work. This is crucial for creating the three-dimensional shapes common in many crochet projects. Unlike increasing in rows where you might just add stitches at the beginning or end, increasing in the round requires more strategic placement.

Methods for Increasing in the Round

The Invisible Increase

The invisible increase is a clever technique that creates nearly seamless increases, minimizing visible gaps in your work. It's perfect for projects where a smooth, clean finish is paramount, like amigurumi.

Yarn over: Yarn over your hook as if to make a chain stitch.
Insert hook: Insert your hook into the next stitch.
Yarn over and draw through: Yarn over and pull the yarn through the stitch, creating a loop on your hook.
Yarn over and draw through two loops: Yarn over and draw through the two loops on your hook. This completes one increase.

Repeat this process as needed throughout your round to add the required number of increases.

The Standard Increase

The standard increase is a simple and straightforward method, ideal for beginners. While not as invisible as the previous method, it's easy to learn and effective for many projects.

Two single crochet (sc) in one stitch: Work two single crochet stitches into a single stitch. This creates one increase.

Working Two Double Crochet (dc) in One Stitch

Similar to the standard increase, this method uses double crochet stitches instead of single crochet stitches. It's useful for projects that need a larger increase or are worked in double crochet.

Two double crochet (dc) in one stitch: Work two double crochet stitches into the same stitch. This is also an effective way to increase.

Increasing with Different Stitch Patterns

The specific increase technique you use might depend on the overall stitch pattern. Some patterns require a specific increase method to maintain the pattern's integrity. Always refer to the pattern instructions for guidance. If your pattern uses half double crochet (hdc) you would work two hdc in one stitch for an increase.

Planning Your Increases

Careful planning is key to successful increases. Patterns typically indicate where increases should be placed. Evenly spacing increases is crucial for even shaping. If you're not following a pattern, consider dividing your stitch count to determine the placement of your increases for a balanced increase. For example, to increase by 6 stitches in a round of 30 stitches, you could increase every 5 stitches.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Uneven increases: Ensure you're following the instructions carefully and evenly distributing your increases. Double-check your stitch counts.

Tight increases: Try using a larger hook size or a looser tension to prevent tight increases that distort the fabric.

Gaps in increases: Using invisible increase techniques can help minimize these gaps.

Conclusion

Mastering how to increase in the round opens up a world of possibilities for crocheters. By practicing these techniques and understanding the principles of even distribution, you can create beautiful, well-shaped projects. Remember that consistent practice is key to perfecting your increases, so keep crocheting!

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