How to Figure an Increase in the Round With Crochet

Increasing in the round is when you add a stitch to a row around a circle.

Crochet terms, or the instructions you use in a pattern to make your project, are often obscure and intimidating at first glance, but simple in practice. "Increasing in the round" is one of those terms. A "round" is a circle; instead of working in straight rows, you work around a circle that you begin by joining the end of the beginning chain to the first chain. "Increasing" is what you do when you add extra stitches to a particular round. This technique can be used to expand a project and to keep the edges from curling up.

Things You'll Need

• Knitting yarn
• Crochet hook

Instructions

1. Make a chain of four and loop it by joining the last chain to the first chain with a slip stitch.

2. Work six single crochets into the round. In the next round, increase by working two single crochets into each stitch. You will have twelve stitches.

3. In the next round, increase by making one single crochet in a stitch, and making two single crochets in a stitch. You will have 18 stitches.

4. Increase in the fourth round by following this repeating pattern: one single crochet in a stitch, one single crochet in a stitch, two single crochets in a stitch. You will have 24 stitches.

5. Continue in each following round by adding one single crochet before the increase (the two single crochets in one stitch). In the fifth round you will have 30 stitches, or three single crochets before the increase, and in the tenth round you will have 60 stitches, or eight single crochets before the increase. Stop increasing in the round when your circle is large enough.

Tips & Warnings

• A quick calculation of how many stitches to make in a round is to multiply the number of the round you are working by six. For example, if you are working the eighth round, multiply eight by six, and you will work forty-eight stitches.

• Single crochets are not the only stitch you can use. You can use a double crochet or any other stitch with this formula.

• Use your judgment about how the piece looks to decide whether to increase and how much to increase. One reason to stop increasing is if you are making the bottom of a round bag, and you want to start making the sides. When you stop increasing every round, the sides of the bag will begin to form.