Almost every amigurumi figure, hat crown and round coaster begins the same way: a small number of stitches worked into a closed centre. The magic ring, also called an adjustable ring or magic loop, is the usual way to get there because the centre can be pulled completely shut. A chain joined into a circle always leaves a hole, however small.
Making the ring
- Wrap the yarn twice around two fingers of your left hand, so the working yarn crosses the tail in an X. The tail should be at least 10 cm long; longer is easier.
- Slide the loops off your fingers without letting them fall apart, and pinch the crossing point with your thumb and finger.
- Insert the hook under both strands of the ring, catch the working yarn, and pull a loop back through the ring.
- Chain 1 to lock the loop. This chain does not count as a stitch.
- Work your first round of single crochet into the ring, going over both the ring and the tail so they are enclosed by each stitch. Six is the usual first round.
- When the stitches are in, pull the tail. One strand of the ring will slide and the others will gather. Keep pulling until the centre disappears, then pull the tail once more to be sure it is tight.
If you pull the tail and nothing moves, you pulled the wrong strand. Two strands run through the ring: the one attached to the stitches that does not move, and the one that does. Try the other one.
Why six stitches
Each round of a flat circle needs about six more stitches than the one before, because the circumference of a circle grows by roughly 6.28 times the extra radius and a single crochet row adds about one stitch of radius. That is why the standard sequence is 6, 12, 18, 24 and so on. A ring of six is the smallest that lies flat. Starting with fewer makes a point; starting with more makes a dish with a large hole that the ring cannot close.
The same ring works for a pointed piece, such as a nose or a cone. Begin with four or five stitches and increase less often, and the piece will rise instead of spreading.
Counting the first round
It helps to count the stitches in the ring before you close it, and to keep counting at the end of round two. A common slip is working into the tail instead of over it, which makes the ring unable to close. Another is a missing stitch in round one that only shows up when round two has 11 stitches instead of 12. Mark the first stitch of each round with a removable stitch marker and count against the number in brackets at the end of the pattern line.
The chain-2 alternative
Some yarns do not suit a magic ring. Slippery cotton and mercerised cotton can work loose. Very thick yarn makes a ring that will not close tightly. Fuzzy yarn makes it hard to see which strand to pull. In those cases, use the chain-2 start:
- Chain 2.
- Work 6 single crochet into the second chain from the hook.
- Join or continue in a spiral as the pattern directs.
The centre will have a tiny hole, but for most projects it is covered by stuffing and is not seen. To close it, thread the tail onto a yarn needle and run it through the front loops of the first round, then pull tight, the same way you close the last round.
Securing the ring
A ring that has been pulled tight can still loosen when the piece is stuffed, since the stuffing pushes outward. After you have tightened it, weave the starting tail through a few stitches on the wrong side, or tie it to the working yarn from the first round with a small knot. Do this before you cut the tail short. Leave the ends 3 cm long at the very least until you are sure nothing is shifting.
Which hook and yarn
A slightly smaller hook than the yarn label suggests makes a ring that closes fully and does not show gaps. The hook database lists the metric, US and UK size for each hook so you can see which size is one step down. For the ring itself, use the same hook as the rest of the piece; changing hooks between the ring and round one changes the tension of the first round.
Other pieces that start with a ring
- Flat circles: coasters, rugs and mats, 6 stitches increasing by 6 each round.
- Hats worked from the crown: the top is a flat circle until it reaches the width of the head.
- Flowers and motifs: a ring of double crochet or treble stitches gives petals a clean centre.
- Tubes and arms: begin with 6 and stop increasing once the piece is wide enough; the rest is worked straight.
The ball calculator in the tools section gives round-by-round counts for a sphere of any size at your gauge, so you can practise a ring and see each round reach the right stitch count. The stitch database has an entry for the magic ring and for the increase, with the abbreviations used in patterns on this site.