Working in the Round
c2005, 2008 Sandra Petit, http://www.crochetcabana.com

When I say "working in rounds" I am talking about where you start with a circle or ring in the middle and your piece grows outward, getting larger, until it is the size you need. I am going to show you how to increase rounds while still keeping your circle flat. On the next page, we'll discuss what you can do with those circles, specifically how to make a basic hat. When working in the round, most commonly you do not turn but rather continue working from the right or front side of the work. There are exceptions to this, but that is general.

First you need to make your initial circle, or ring. There are a few ways you can do this. One method is to use the first chain as your center circle or ring. In other words, if you are working in single crochet, you would chain 2, then work the necessary single crochets in the second chain from hook. If you are working in double crochet, you would chain 3 or 4 and work your double crochets in the third or fourth chain from hook (in other words, the first chain you made) as the first chains will be your first dc. Another is to use an adjustable circle that you can close almost completely, leaving no definable hole in the center. A third method is to make a small foundation chain and join with a slip stitch to make the ring. You can close this a little when you sew in the beginning strand, but you cannot fully close the hole - at least I can't. I will demonstrate the latter two here. Neither is better or worse, just different methods for different needs.

Pauline Turner's book How to Crochet has a chart which gives the basic information on how to keep your circle flat. This is handy to have in chart form. Basically, to keep your circle flat you need to work an increase each round which is equal to the number you began with. In other words, if you work 12 dc into the ring on the first round, you will increase 12 dc each succeeding round.

For example, on your first round, you might have 12 stitches - the beginning ch-3 and 11 dc. To make an increase of 12 dc, you will have to put two stitches in each of the double crochets of your first round, giving you 24 dc. Now you need to increase another 12 dc to keep the circle flat. That means you need 36 total dc (24 + 12). So you will put an increase every other stitch. In other words, you work (1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st) all around. Then in order to increase 12 in the next round, since you have already added 12 stitches, you will need to put your increase in every third stitch. Remember that your ch 3 to bring up to height counts as one stitch, and an increase means to work 2 dc in one stitch.

You would have this:
Round 1: 12 dc in ring
Round 2: increase in every stitch -- 2 dc in every dc of round one for for a total of 24 dc
Round 3: increase in every other stitch -- 1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st around for for a total of 36 dc
Round 4: increase in every third stitch -- 1 dc in each of next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next st around for a total of 48
Round 5: increase in every fourth stitch -- 1 dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in next st around for a total of 60

You would continue in this fashion until your circle is as large as you want it to be.

If you are using a different stitch you will work a different number of beginning stitches into your ring. The taller the stitch, the more stitches you need to work in the center ring. Commonly used for the first round when working in sc is 6 sc in ring. When working in hdc it is 8 hdc in ring. When working in dc, it is 12 dc in ring, and when working in triple crochet it is 24 tr in ring. Of course, you are free to change that up if you like. Different people have different tensions and what works for one may not work for another.

To keep your piece flat, you increase the same number as that first round on each succeeding round. Keeping in mind that every round has a larger number of stitches, you would have to work your increases further and further apart until you get to the size you want your project to be.

Here is the picture tutorial so you can see exactly what to do. The yarn used in the tutorial is Red Heart Bikini, a very bright, colorful variegated yarn, fun to work with. Read from left to right, top to bottom. Click on thumbnails to see a larger picture.

Note: I have been told it is a little hard to see what's happening here with the variegated yarn. I know better as I always tell beginners to use a light, solid color yarn when learning. I have redone the first part of the tutorial with a solid color yarn. Round 3 and above is still in the variegated. I do love that yarn! :-)

Method 1: Adjustable Ring

Step one: First make a loop with your yarn. Doesn't matter which one is on top as long as the strand coming from the skein is there at the left. This is what you will be grabbing to make your stitch.	Insert hook in center of loop made. yarn over with the strand coming from your skein	pull through
Yarn over (different yarn), pull through to make your first chain	make two more chains (for a ch-3).  You are bringing your stitch to height so if you normally do a ch-2 to get to the proper height for a double crochet, then just make one more chain here. This counts as the first dc.	Now you will make your second dc. Yarn over, insert hk into the center of the ring and complete a dc as normal
continue making dc, working around the loop which makes up your ring until you have 12 stitches including your beginning ch-3,	grab hold of the beginning strand, the one you placed behind the strand coming from the skein in step one	when you pull on that beginning strand it will close up the hole in the center. You can pull it as tightly as you want, or leave a hole. Your choice.
join your last dc to your beginning ch-2 or ch-3 with a slip stitch Here's a view worked in variegated yarn Teresa has a wonderful video at YouTube which demonstrates how to join your rounds. I highly recommend viewing it if you are having trouble. http://www.youtube.com/crochet	Rnd 2: chain up 2 or 3 to bring to height,	make a dc in the SAME stitch. You're going to increase in every stitch on this round to make your 12 dc increase. An increase is working two stitches into one stitch Continue around, working 2 dc in each dc from round one. You will have 24 dc when you finish round 2. Join with a slip stitch to the first dc of round 2. Here it is in the variegated:
Rnd 3: You will increase every other stitch on this rnd to maintain an increase of 12 stitches. To do this, you chain up for height (remember this counts as your first dc), then in the NEXT stitch, you work your increase of 2 dc. (In other words, you will be working an increase in every second stitch)	The pattern for rnd 3 is (1 dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch) around. You will join with a slip stitch to the first dc of the round. You will have 36 stitches in this round.	Rnd 4: You need a constant increase of 12 stitches. Since you've added 12 to the last round, that means you have to make your increase later. So you will increase in every third stitch. Chain 2 or 3 for height (counts as your first dc), dc in the next stitch, then work your increase -- 2 dc in next stitch. that will be your pattern for round 4 (dc, dc, 2 dc)
You will have 48 dc on round four. Join last dc to first dc with a slip stitch	Rnd 5: Again, you have to increase 12, so you will increase in every fourth st first, chain up for height (2 or 3), then dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in next st Your pattern will be (dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc) You will have 60 stitches around at the end of the rnd	Join with a slip stitch to the beginning dc You can continue this pattern until your circle is the diameter you want. Just continue to increase 12 each round. For example, the sixth round would have an increase in every fifth stitch, the seventh round in the sixth stitch etc. This is because your first increase came in the second round. Rnd 1: 12 dc Rnd 2: increase in every stitch (24) Rnd 3: inc every 2nd st (36) Rnd 4: inc every 3rd st (48) Rnd 5: inc every 4th st (60)

join with a slip stitch to first chain to create a circle or ring	chain 2 or 3 for height	yo as you would for any dc, then insert hook into the center hole made by your foundation chain, yo and bring yarn back through hole, then continue to complete a dc as normal
work 11 dc, giving a total of 12 stitches counting your beginning chains as a dc Continue rounds as in method one above	Here is the back view after working two rounds. The orange strand is the beginning strand which will need to be sewn in	thread the strand into a large eye needle (I like #16, but the size is not critical) Insert needle in the stitches at the back, and sew them in, going around the first round. You can tighten it some by pulling through firmly. The hole will not close completely.