The greatest thing that ever happened to crocheting in the round is the magic ring. In a pattern, the symbol for a magic ring looks like this:
When you're asked to make a magic ring, it generally means you're working on the round, and is often used for toys and amis. But it can be useful for other stuff too, like pillow covers, potholders, and a myriad of other things. Rather than working into a chain ring, you work into an adjustable ring that can be pulled shut for a much tighter closure that won't show any stuffing or filling once it's closed.
Here's a tutorial from an old, out-of-print Japanese ami book that gives you an idea of how this works.
1. Wrap the yarn around your finger (I usually use two or three fingers) three times, with the yarn from the ball laying in your palm and the tail hanging behind your hand.
2. Insert hook into ring and grab yarn from the live strand coming from ball and pull through the ring.
3. YO and pull through. That is your first ch stitch.
Continue working into the ring just like you would into a ch ring. When you're done with your first round, pull the tail until the hole is closed and snug. Magic!
This works best for circular items. I wouldn't use it for anything that ends up being a square, like a granny square, because once that center hole is pulled closed it'll make the stitches around it circular as well and will not be flexible enough to imply a square shape.
(There are English versions of this technique that you can find on YouTube, but I find the Japanese version easier to control and more sturdy.)
Enjoy!
ek
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| source: http://smoochpanda.blogspot.com |
Here's a tutorial from an old, out-of-print Japanese ami book that gives you an idea of how this works.
1. Wrap the yarn around your finger (I usually use two or three fingers) three times, with the yarn from the ball laying in your palm and the tail hanging behind your hand.
2. Insert hook into ring and grab yarn from the live strand coming from ball and pull through the ring.
3. YO and pull through. That is your first ch stitch.
Continue working into the ring just like you would into a ch ring. When you're done with your first round, pull the tail until the hole is closed and snug. Magic!
This works best for circular items. I wouldn't use it for anything that ends up being a square, like a granny square, because once that center hole is pulled closed it'll make the stitches around it circular as well and will not be flexible enough to imply a square shape.
(There are English versions of this technique that you can find on YouTube, but I find the Japanese version easier to control and more sturdy.)
Enjoy!
ek
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