Counting In The Round Crochet Cheat

So, if you are like me, counting in the round can become tedious and almost impossible at times with kids running around the house. I came up with a cheat that I am sure has been done before, but I figured I would share it in case there are newbies who stumble across this post. It has taken the "thinking" out of counting in the round and made it much easier to put my work down at any point in the process without worrying about missing a stitch. It works especially well the bigger the piece becomes.

First, you will need the same number of stitch markers as the number of increases you plan to do each round. Make sure at least one of the markers is completely different from the rest. If your series is 6-12-18-24-30-etc, you will need six stitch markers. If your series is 8-16-24-32-40-etc, you will need eight stitch markers. Once you have figured that part out, the rest is easy.

Place the unique stitch marker at the beginning of the round so you will know where to count rows, then count the number of stitches to the next increase. Place a stitch marker in the stitch you want to increase and then repeat around until you reach the beginning. If you counted correctly, you will have the same number of stitches left between the last stitch marker and the one marking the beginning. Magically, this will be the last time you have to count (except keeping track of rows) unless you are working with a pattern that requires different increments to give an added effect.



Now, just crochet one stitch (whatever type you are using) in each unmarked stitch and increase in the marked stitches. Remember to move the marker to the second stitch of each increase and it will continue marking the increase for the next round until you are done.

Voila! No more keeping track of when and where to increase, and no more losing count because little Johnny or Sarah is running around like a wild banchee. Hope this is helpful to some!

Happy hooking!