Which hook for the perfect circle

Above is the perfect flat circle. You can find the formula for it in the previous posts.

I've covered several things that can go wrong with the flat circle in previous posts.


This time I will talk about hook size

Sometimes the wrong sized hook can also have an effect of the flatness of the circle.

The above image shows the perfect flat circle worked with 8 ply yarn, and a 4 mm hook. It sits perfectly flat, and after 5 rows of  tr (dc US) it measures approximately 11 mm

In general, a too small hook will make the circle smaller.   Here the same yarn is used with a 2 mm hook. This time the circle measures 8.5 mm

And a too large hook will make it larger. Here a 6 mm hook was used. It now measures 13.5 mm

But the wrong sized hook can have a slight effect on waving or curling as well.

The above image shows a slight bit of curling. This was the circle made with the 2 mm hook

Here is the circle made with the 6 mm hook. There is only a tiny bit of waving

If for any reason the circle is wavy, the general way to fix it is to make LESS increases, but if that is not possible, or too difficult, a SMALLER hook can be used.

On the other hand, if the circle is curling up, you need to use MORE increases, and again, if that is not possible, or too difficult, you could try a LARGER hook

Here is a chart of the most common recommended hooks to yarn weight

Australia	UK	USA	Hook Size (mm)
2 ply	2 ply	Lace	0.75 – 3.0 mm
3 ply	3 ply	Sock/ Fingering	2.25 – 3.5 mm
4 ply	4 ply	Fingering/Sports	2.5 – 3.5 mm
8 ply	Double Knitting	Light Worsted	3.5 – 4.5 mm
10 ply	Aran	Worsted	5.5 mm – 6.5 mm
16 ply	Bulky	Chunky	6.5 mm – 9.0 mm
20 ply	Chunky	Bulky	9.0 mm & above

More posts on making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html



When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html

When a circle is not a circle

One of the main ways of creating a corner is by working 2 sts (or more) in the same stitch, with 1 or 2 chains between.

This is why a circle can start to look like a 8 pointed shape or octagon. Each of the increase stitches can become like a corner. This seems to be especially true for sc.

To avoid this you can stagger the increases.

Eg: Do the first 3 rows as a normal circle. In the next row, work half the single sts first, work as normal, then work the other half

Row 1: Magic circle, 8 sc in circle. (8 stitches)

Row 2: 2 sc in each stitch around (16 stitches)

Row 3: *1 sc in next st, 2 sc in next st. Repeat from * to end (24 stitches)

Row 4: 1 sc in 1^st st, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to last st , 1 sc in last st (32 stitches)

Row 5: *1 sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end (40 stitches)

Row 6: 1 sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 4 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to second last st, 1 sc in each of last 2 sts (48 stitches)

Row 7: *1 sc in each of next 5 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end (56 stitches)

Row 8: 1 sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 6 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to second last st, 1 sc in each of last 3 sts (64 stitches)

The next image shows the improvement when working the stitches staggered

More on posts making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html


When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

When crocheting in a circle, if there were never any increases, the crochet would form a tube.


To make a flat circle, you need to increase stitches. See my other post for the formula:  http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

There is a formula to create a flat circle, but not all patterns use the formula, or use the formula the same way. Or your tension may be different. This may cause the circle to go wrong. 

Sometimes it's actually part of the pattern design, and nothing to worry about.

The main problems that can happen are waving or curling

WAVING

If your circle is all wavy like the images above. The problem is that the outer edges are increasing in size more than needed.

This can happen if there are too many increases in the rows.

The answer is to reduce the increase stitches in each row. You could also try a smaller hook in the outer rows to try to "tighten" it

The above image shows the waving from earlier on. Try to fix it before it goes too far

CURLING

Curling is when the edges curl up into a bowl. The problem here is that the outer edges are not being increased enough.

To fix this problem, you need to increase some stitches evenly along the rows.

Sometimes a larger hook can help if used along the outer edges

Next week I'll talk about others things that can go wrong with the circle

More posts on making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html



When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html

Making a Flat Circle

Often when crocheting you will want to create a lovely circle that will sit nice and flat

Some people say there is a secret formula to creating the perfect flat circle. But it's not really a secret, it's just a clever way to evenly increase around to keep it flat

When crocheting in a circle, if there were never any increases, the crochet would form a tube. 

To make it a flat circle, you need to increase stitches in each row

Here is the formula to use.

Formula

Increase by the starting number of stitches in every row.

Here's an example or the number increase:

Row 1: 12 stitches.

Row 2: 12 + 12 total 24 stitches,

Row 3: 24 + 12 total 36 stitches

Row 4: 36 + 12 total 48 stitches

Row 5: 48 + 12 total 60 stitches

Row 6: 60 + 12 total 72 stitches

The usual way to create this into a circle is by crocheting like this:

Row 1: Magic circle, 12 dc in circle. (12 stitches)

Row 2: 2 dc in each stitch around (24 stitches)

Row 3: 1 dc in next st, 2 dc in next st (36 stitches)

Row 4: 1 dc in each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in next stitch (48 stitches)

Row 5: 1 dc in each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in next stitch (60 stitches)

Row 6: 1 dc in each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in next stitch (72 stitches)

When making a circle in dc (tr UK/Aus) the most common number of starting stitches is 12, but it can be anything between 10 to 14 stitches for best results.

But use less for sc (dc in UK/Aus), 6 to 10 stitches works best

Next week I will explain what to do when things go wrong with the flat circle.

More posts on making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html



When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html