Making a Sphere

To create a MR, start by making a loop as you would when initiating a slip knot. Insert the hook from back to the front and wrap the yarn around the hook and pool the loop through loosely.  To make the first stitch in the MR, insert your hook into the MR and wrap yarn over and pull through. Wrap yarn over and pull through both hoops. This is your first stitch.

​

If your pattern says to create a MR with 6 stitches repeat this 6 times. Once you have the desired amount of stitches for your pattern, carefully pull the yarn tail to close the MR and pull the stitches together. Now, if you are anything like me, this has gone straight over your head, and you’ve thrown your yarn up the wall and had enough. But there are other ways of achieving the same outcome.

​

My personal favourite is the chain 2 method. Firstly, create a slip knot onto your hook. Then chain 2. Insert your hook into the 2nd stitch from the hook and crochet your desired number of stitches into your 2nd stitch. For example, if your pattern states 6sc into MR, you could chain 2 stitches, insert hook into 2nd stitch and crochet your 6sc into the 2nd stitch. This is my personal favourite as it is simple and easily doable on chenille yarn. One tip that I do have is to use a stitch marker to identify your initial stitch into the 2nd stitch as this can easily be lost as the stitches can get crowded.

​

Another alternative is the chain ring. Begin by creating a slip knot onto your hook and chain 4 stitches. After completing the chain, slip stitch into the first chain to create a loop. Once you have a loop, crochet the amount of stitches desired into this loop to create your MR. Again, I would recommend using a stitch marker to identify the first stitch into the loop so you know where to start your next round.

​

Once you’ve mastered this basic foundation for crocheting a round, you can start making spheres and balls, which you can then progress onto making heads and bodies for cute amigurumi animals and characters.