Left Hand Double Crochet #8: DC Increase When Working in the Round

Hi, it's Deja from crocheteverafter.com and this tutorial is going to cover how to increase in double crochet when you're working in the round. So let's get started. I'll show you how to increase in double crochet when you're working in the round and I'm going to show you Depending on if you're working in spirals or if you're joining your round, how to work this first stitch for the first couple of stitches, I've made a round of 12 double crochets for my very first round. That's the math of creating a flat disc in double crochet. Because of the height of the stitch, you need 12 of them, and you need to increase every single row by 12 if you want your disc to remain flat. Once you want it to start to curl to create maybe a beanie or a bowl, then you'll just start double crocheting in every stitch around. So I'll show you that also. So if you've seen my tutorial on how to create a straight seam when working in double crochet in the round, you know that you always have to count your chain three as a stitch. So my chain 3 is made so that I have the proper height for my stitches around, but when you're working in the round you have to count it, otherwise you're going to have a slanted seam. So you can see my tutorial if that's not making sense. Now when I increase, because I'm increasing and I need to increase this round by 12 because I'm going to have to put two stitches in every stitch around. So that I have that flat disc, which means I'm going to have 24 stitches at the end of this round. Sometimes it can get a little confusing on where to insert your hook for the second stitch because it needs to be in the same stitch as your beginning chain 3. What you can do is count backwards if you're getting confused. If you should enter it here or here, wherever you may need to put it. Just count backwards from your round. So you can go 1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. You need to enter it into that 12th stitch because you're putting it in the same stitch as your chain 3. So right where I joined, I'm going to insert my hook in that little hole. So increasing just means putting more than one stitch in the stitch you just worked. I'm not going to say just 2 because sometimes you need to increase by more. Sometimes it may say 3 or 4 stitches or even more. Now I need to put two stitches in my next stitch. This one can also be a confusing stitch, because as you can see, it kind of is a little misshapen than the rest of my stitches. If you're getting confused on that, just count backwards again. But I know that I need to go under both of these loops, so I catch both loops, and I make my double crochet. And I have to make two in every stitch around, so I go back into that same stitch and make And that's how you're going to increase no matter if you're working in rows or rounds. You're just going to put the amount of stitches that your pattern tells you into the stitch it tells you to put them into. So this tutorial is helpful to know how to make that flat disc because every time you create a new row, you're going to have to increase by 12 stitches for that to work. And I'm going to put this aside because I have. One that is worked in spirals that I finished all 24 stitches because I want you to see how you work increases if you're not joining your rounds. So as you can see, there's kind of a weird jump here. That's because I worked this in spirals. I have a tutorial for working double crochet in spirals, but I've worked all 24 and now I'm back at the first stitch of my round. That's so much shorter because I had to work. But you can just count backwards to see that I have 24, and you'll see that this is my first of 24 stitches. So when you're increasing when working in a spiral, instead of joining and having that chain 3, all you have to do is just keep double crocheting. So you're going to put 2 double crochets in that first stitch. Always use your stitch marker to keep track, because it can get quite difficult, especially Especially in double crochet because your stitch counts get very high very quickly. That stitch marker is going to make it easier to count and keep track of my rows. Because I'm increasing by 12 stitches again, I don't do 2 in every stitch around because that would be way too many. I have to do it in every other stitch. So my next stitch is going to be just a regular double crochet, no increasing. I had 24 stitches, now I'm increasing by 12 again so I'll have 36, which means I have I have to do every other stitch I do two in two. And on the next round, what I would do is two double crochets in one stitch, and then a double crochet in my next two stitches, and it just gets, it goes up from there. The next round would be two double crochets in one stitch, and then a double crochet in the next three stitches. That's how you evenly space them around. So I keep on working. that continuous Round, because I'm working in a spiral, I don't have to stop and join and chain three. The only chain three I have is at the very beginning when I made my first round. So there's a little bit of a gap when you first join it, but after that it's just going to make a nice spiral all the way around. So depending on what you're working, if you're doing the spiral or the join, just remember that to increase, you're just putting a couple stitches in the next stitch.