I have a big confession to make. I don't like crocheting in rows! I know, I know, that's all we've been learning and I don't even enjoy it. My main reasoning for not enjoying crocheting in rows is because knitting lends itself to row work far better than crochet ever could and I personally think knitted fabric looks nicer for garments or what-not.
The reason I really love crochet is it's ability to easily work in the round. Of course, you can work in the round with knitting, but it's not super easy. You have to use double-ended needles which aren't easy for beginners and you can't really see how your progress is going while the yarn is on the needles. Since crochet is worked stitch by stitch you can form your piece as you go. Once you learn how to work in the round, your crochet ability will greatly increase, you'll be able to make hats, booties, dolls, and more just by learning the basics of this technique.
We're going to start working in the round by making a circle. Circles can be a little confusing but I think you all can do it! I've worked really hard to help you all be able to read crocheted fabric for this very lesson. Being able to see increases is extremely helpful when you are working in the round.
The graphic below will give you a visual of the pattern we just learned. (please note this circle starts with 8 stitches not 12 like we did in the video but it follows the same increasing pattern. Also these aren't the proper crochet symbols we'll learn in a later lesson, just a rudimentary visual for you to follow)
Making a circle the way I showed you is (I believe) the easiest way to start working in the round. There are also ways to make a circle by working in a spiral but I find this a little difficult to work with in the beginning so I am going to save it for the beyond the basics crochet school. But for any of your over-achievers out there, here's a pretty good tutorial on how to make the spiral circle. For the spiral, you don't connect at the end of the round so it makes a seamless looking circle. It's more aesthetically pleasing but a little harder to work with.
Like I said in the intro, making a circle is the basis for making tons of different patterns. And while an author will write this process into the pattern it will be much better if you understand the process.
Credits - Chalkboard backgrounds: Kitschy Digitals by Danielle Thompson Chalkboard Paper Kit. Fonts used: school script dashed, Rudiment and Homemade Apple.
