How to Crochet in a Continuous Round

Crocheting in a continuous round is a versatile technique that allows you to create beautiful and seamless projects such as amigurumi, hats, and circular motifs. Unlike crocheting in rows, where you turn your work at the end of each row, crocheting in a continuous round allows you to create a seamless, spiral pattern. In this blog post, I’ll guide you through how to crochet in a continuous round.

Materials You Will Need for This Tutorial

Before we dive into the technique, gather these essential materials and tools:

1. Yarn: Choose your preferred yarn type and color. For this tutorial I used Lion Brand’s (paid link) Feels Like Butta in the color Lemon.
2. Crochet Hook: Select the appropriate hook size for your chosen yarn.
3. Scissors: To cut your yarn when needed.
4. Stitch Marker: This will help you keep track of your rounds.
5. Yarn Needle: Useful for weaving in loose ends.

Crochet Stitches and Abbreviations

**US terms are used**

Make sure you are familiar with the following stitches and abbreviations. This list is short for this tutorial, but keep in mind you can do this technique with double crochet, half double crochet, etc. It does not have to be single crochet stitches.

Magic ring = mr

Single crochet = sc

Chain = ch

Slip stitch = sl st

Round = rnd

Increase = inc

Steps to Crochet in a Continuous Round

Make a Magic Ring (mr). If you haven’t learned how to make a magic ring yet, I found this great short video on YouTube.

Rnd 1: Place the desired amount of stitches into the magic ring. In this tutorial, I started with 6 single crochets (sc). Pull the tail of the mr to tighten the ring.

Rnd 2: Here is where the continuous round varies from the “slip stitch to join” way of working in the round. Do not slip stitch. Just keep moving around the circle continuing in the same direction. Place 1 sc in the first stitch and insert your stitch marker into this stitch. Now place a second single crochet into this same stitch. Keep working around the circle placing 2 sc’s in each stitch. At the end of this round you should have 12 stitches.

Rnd 3: Remove the stitch marker, place your first sc in the first stitch and place your stitch marker in this stitch. Now continue on by placing 2 sc’s in the next stitch. Since we are on round 3, the pattern is sc, inc, sc, inc. Repeat this pattern 5 more times until you have 18 stitches around.

Rnd 4: Remove the stitch marker, place 1 sc into the first stitch and place your stitch marker in this stitch. Continue on by placing 1 sc in the next stitch then inc in the next stitch. The pattern for round 4 is sc, sc, inc. Repeat this pattern 5 more times until you have 24 stitches around. You can make a bigger circle from here if you just keep increasing every row by 6. For example, Round 5 would be sc, sc, sc, inc x 6 around to make a total of 30 stitches for the round. Round 6 would be sc, sc ,sc ,sc, inc x 6 for a total of 36 stitches around. When you reach the desired size of your circle, that is when you will slip stitch into the first stitch and fasten off.

Tips for Working In the Round

Working in a continuous round is fairly simple once you get the hang of it. The above steps outline how it is done, but there are a few extra tips I would like to share with you to make it even simpler.

Tip #1 For Crocheting in a Continuous Round

For a circle shape, you always want to increase each round by the number of stitches you first placed in the magic ring. So, in this tutorial, we started with 6 sc’s. In this case, we know the next round should have 12 stitches, the next round 18 stitches, the next round 24 stitches, the next round 30 stitches, and so on.

Tip #2 For Crocheting in a Continuous Round

An easy way to know how many stitches you need in a round is to take the number of stitches in the first round (how many stitches you placed in the magic ring) and multiply it by which round you are on. For example, if you are on round 4, then multiply 6 x 4 = 24 stitches. This isn’t always the case if you need to do any rounds without increases such as mentioned in Tip#3 below, but it is a good general rule while working your increase rounds. This tip will also not work for decrease rounds.

Tip #3 For Working in a Continuous Round

If you notice that your work is starting to ripple or look wavy, it means you have too many stitches. Instead of frogging (ripping apart your work), you can fix this by just doing a round or 2 without increases until it is flat again, then continue your increases from where you left off.

Conclusion

As you’ve learned in this tutorial, the key to crocheting in continuous rounds is to forgo the traditional join at the end of each round, which will create a smooth, spiral-like appearance. Remember to use a stitch marker to keep track of your starting stitch in each round and stay vigilant in counting your stitches to maintain the correct stitch count.

Crocheting in a continuous round may take a bit of practice, but with each stitch, you’ll refine your technique and open the door to endless creative opportunities. So, whether you’re crafting a whimsical amigurumi character or a cozy beanie, embrace the versatility of continuous rounds, let your creativity flow, and enjoy the satisfaction of creating seamless, circular wonders with your crochet hook.

Happy Crocheting!