Have you ever noticed that your crochet circles look more like hexagons by the time you finish 4-5 rounds? This happens because patterns tend to write increases in the same spot on each round. I am also guilty of this, mostly because I want to keep my patterns neat and increase legibility, but I wanted to dedicate a post to explaining why staggering your increases each round may improve the final look of your crocheted pieces.
The “hexagon”
In the photos above, I crocheted my circle in continuous rounds following a typical increase pattern:
R1: sc 6 into magic circle [6]
R2: inc in each stitch around [12]
R3: *inc 1, sc 1* repeat to end of round [18]
R4: *inc 1, sc 2* repeat to end of round [24]
R5: *inc 1, sc 3* repeat to end of round [30]
R6: *inc 1, sc 4* repeat to end of round [36]
R7: *inc 1, sc 5* repeat to end of round [42]
...
As you increase the number of rounds, the hexagon shape appears more and more obvious. Additionally, you can see spokes where the increases are happening, both from the front and back of the work.
The solution
Compare the two crochet circles below; both pieces were made with the same yarn and needle size. Hopefully you can see that there are no pinwheel-like spokes coming out from the middle of the circle in the first image. We can achieve this smoother crochet circle by staggering our increases in each round!
I’ve seen several different techniques and patterns to staggering your increases, but my my personal favourite after numerous tests can be found below. This technique balances out the complexity of remembering how many staggers you’ve done vs the smoothness of the final circle. Note that the first 3 rounds are the same between the two versions, but every subsequent even-numbered row will feature a stagger at the beginning and end of the round.
R1: sc 6 into magic circle [6]
R2: inc in each stitch around [12]
R3: *inc 1, sc 1* repeat to end of round [18]
R4: *sc 2, inc 1* repeat to end of round [24]
R5: *inc 1, sc 3* repeat to end of round [30]
R6: sc 3, *inc 1, sc 4* repeat until there is 1 stitch remaining, sc 1 [36]
R7: *inc 1, sc 5* repeat to end of round [42]
R8: sc 4, *inc 1, sc 6* repeat until there are 2 stitches remaining, sc 2 [48]
R9: *inc 1, sc 7* repeat to end of round [54]
...
The back of the work also looks much smoother! The spokes of the circle are increasing outwards evenly, rather than in a pinwheel-like manner.
Below is a handy chart which breaks down the pattern to follow if you would like to make more rounds. Note that this is built for a magic circle start of 6 single crochets. Please increase the number of repeats accordingly if you are starting with a different sized magic circle. The begins with and ends withrows do not need to be changed.
Round #
Begin With
Repeat 6x (or as needed)
End With
Round Stitch Count
1
sc 6 (into magic circle)
[6]
2
inc in each st around
[12]
3
inc 1, sc 1
[18]
4
sc 2, inc 1
[24]
5
inc 1, sc 3
[30]
6
sc 3, inc 1
sc 4, inc 1
sc 1
[36]
7
inc 1, sc 5
[42]
8
sc 4, inc 1
sc 6, inc 1
sc 2
[48]
9
inc 1, sc 7
[54]
10
sc 5, inc 1
sc 8, inc 1
sc 3
[60]
%% Flowchart
graph TD
A[Is the sc # in the repeat even]
A -->|No, e.g. sc 3, inc 1| C[Do *inc 1, sc #* until end of round]
C --> |e.g. *inc 1, sc 3* rep to end of round| H[Repeat for as many rounds of your circle as needed]
A -->|Yes, e.g. sc 6, inc 1| B[Start round with sc #/2 + 1]
B --> |e.g. 6/2 + 1 = 4, so sc 4| D[Next, inc 1]
D --> E[Continue with normal repeats until...]
E --> |e.g. *sc 6, inc 1* rep| F[...sc #/2 - 1 sts remain]
F --> |e.g. 6/2 - 1 = 2, so until 2 sts remain| G[Finish round by sc in remaining sts]
G --> H
H --> A
Magic circle starts are so common in crochet and especially amigurumi, so a small technique change can really improve your final look! Hope this helps the next time you start a new project. Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!
