Crochet Tips for Beginners

My circle keeps curving up (or ruffling) instead of lying flat. Why?

It's all about how many increases you make per round. Too few increases and the fabric cups inward (like a bowl). Too many and the edges ruffle and wave.

The Rule of Thumb

• Single crochet circles: Start with 6 sc in a magic ring. Add 6 sc every round (R1 = 6, R2 = 12, R3 = 18, etc.).
• Double crochet circles: Start with 12 dc in a magic ring. Add 12 dc every round.

Space your increases evenly AND stagger them round to round. Don't stack increases directly above each other — that makes hexagon corners, not a smooth circle.

See it in action — our flat circle chart shows exactly where each increase goes, round by round:

My stitches are too tight (or too loose). How do I fix my tension?

Tension comes from how tightly you hold the yarn in your non-hook hand. Too tight = hard to insert hook, fabric stiff. Too loose = gaps between stitches, floppy fabric.

• Try a larger hook if too tight, smaller if too loose.
• Practice on a swatch before starting a project — chain 20, work 10 rows of sc.
• Consistent tension matters more than tight or loose — aim for even stitches.

I keep losing count of my stitches. How do I stay on track?

Use a stitch marker at the first stitch of every round (for circular work) or count after every row (for flat work). If your count is off, undo back to where it was correct rather than trying to fix it mid-row.

Our stitch counter tracks your position stitch by stitch as you work — try it with any pattern:

I keep losing count on increase rounds like [4 sc, inc] × 5. How do I stop frogging?

Increase rounds are the #1 frustration in amigurumi. You're counting "1, 2, 3, 4, increase" over and over, and somewhere around stitch 20 you lose track. Stitch markers fall out. You start over. Again.

The fix: Pre-mark with contrast yarn

1. Before starting the round, thread a contrasting color yarn (pink, red — anything visible) on a tapestry needle.
2. Starting from the round start, sew through every Nth stitch around the piece (for [4 sc, inc], sew every 5th stitch).
3. The round start itself is your first marker — you can skip counting from there.
4. Now just sc until you hit the contrast yarn — that's your increase spot. No counting needed. Pull the yarn out when the round is done.

Pink yarn marks every 5th stitch — just sc until you see it, then increase

Why this works better than stitch markers:

• The yarn stays put — unlike clip markers that fall out of tight amigurumi stitches
• You can see it from both sides of the work
• Works for any repeat: [3 sc, inc], [5 sc, inc], [7 sc, dec] — just change the spacing

Try this technique on an amigurumi pattern with our interactive stitch counter: