The magic circle method is a technique used to create a flat circle without a hole in the center, perfect for amigurumi. However, it can keep curling upwards into a “bowl” despite multiple retries. This can be due to the yarn being too thick or the index finger creating the circle not being large enough. To prevent curling and keep the crochet stitches flat, several techniques can be employed.
If the circle is cupping, it means there are not enough stitches and need to increase more. Repeat the last few rounds of increases if needed. The magic circle method allows for a tightly closed shape, making it ideal for amigurumi.
To fix this, go up a hook size for the foundation row and then back down to your regular hook size. If the circle is ruffling, it means you have too many stitches. Modify your pattern as soon as you notice and do a round or two without stitches.
The cause of curling depends on the stitches used and the pattern. It is generally caused by too tight tension, often due to forgetting to add increases or not adding enough stitches. If there are too few stitches, the crochet circle will curl. Unravel the rounds where it got curly and try again.
📹 Master the Magic Ring (or use this little cheat!)
When you watch this episode of B.Hooked TV you’ll learn what the magic ring is, what it’s used for and what we think is the easiest …
📹 How to Crochet | 5 – A Flat Circle
… because I worked 6 sts in my magic ring, I will increase by 6 sts on each round. If you want to know even more about the perfect …
You do a great job of explaining this. I learned to crochet from my great-grandmother – she taught me an extremely simple magic circle cheat, and from what I can tell, there is no practical difference between the easy-cheat and the magic circle. It’s very easy to show but kind of hard to explain with words. You make a slip-knot just like you’d do to start a chain, except you turn the yarn direction around so that the end you pull to tighten the loop is the tail end of the yarn instead of the skein-side end. Once you’ve made the backward-facing slip knot, you should be able to tighten the loop size by pulling on the tail end. Make the loop big enough to work in it comfortably. After you’ve made the backward slip-not, turn the knot around so it’s facing the normal direction with the skein-side end in front. Put your hook through the big loop, yarn over, pull through the center of the loop, yarn over and pull through to make a chain, then make two more chains (for a double crochet). Yarn over, go through the center of the big loop again and make your appropriate number of double crochets all through the center of the big loop. Once you’ve finished, you can pull the tail end to tighten the center hole down to almost nothing. Magic! Hopefully that was understandable.
I’m making beanies again, after making afghans and throws for several months. Needed a magic circle refresher, and you’ve provided a good tutorial, very easy to follow. Hang in there, crocheters, it’s worth your time to learn this technique. I only threw one or two hooks and balls of yarn out the window before I caught on. 😂🧶
You just made my life incredibly better, I love to crochet ( 3 months now ) but always hated to start a new project. I can do the magic circle but no one ever said that I should be doing a dbl crochet in the magic circle. I always just made a single crochet, and I could never find my first stitch, or even the other stitches easily. Thank you so much!
This really adds a lot of clarity! Thank you so much 😊! I’ve watched several articles and nobody ever clarified 1) how to hold the yarn 2) wether or not to do a slip stitch and 3) how many chains to make! My ‘beginner’ pattern just said “start with a magic ring, crochet 6 double crochets into the circle.” This was so helpful, really!
I just learned a cheat too. I decided to use two threads to make a chain so I wouldn’t have to the single/double crochet that was messy and confusing. I don’t really know if it was single or double because I am still so new to crocheting but it was such a relief! But I am still having trouble rounding my word. Thanks for the help and understanding.
You are the only person that made me achieve the magic ring (should’ve been called the ring of doom but k). All the steps in the articles I watched were so easy to follow and everything went fine until I pulled the string and it didn’t fully close the circle. It was so frustrating. After a few hours of trying, searching, etcetera I came to your article and you really helped! The yarn took big place into doing it and your finger placements were really clear. Thanks!
This is a very clear explanation, and I think you for that. My only sticking point is, if having a lot of stitches done in the magic ring means you end up with a hole in the middle anyway, then what is the advantage to doing it this way as opposed to doing it the old way? Seems like the best thing would be to learn both methods, and decide which method to use based on how you start your crochet project; if you’re going to do a lot of stitches in the ring, then use the starting method that you’re most comfortable with because you’re going to have to close that gap anyway.
Thank you so very much. I had watched so many other articles each one so different. I am still having trouble finding a comfortable way to hold my thread. What I was missing was holding the thread and where the tail was and where the working thread went. It wasn’t till you said turn your pinky up for the working thread and I said what. When we started that is where the tail usually is. So my thread was backward and tail would not close the loop. In learning all the other stitches you start with rapping the end or tail around your pinky. No one had explained to do the magic ring it was opposite. Until I actually noticed, after perusal and backing your article at least 2 dozen times. However, thanks to you I had a closed ring the very first time the tread was wrapped correctly.
Oh. My. God. I literally just spent the last 3 1/2 hours going through articles trying to figure this stupid stitch out. It was SO ANNOYING AND FRUSTRATING, but I am extremely stubborn. Anyway, eventually I stumbled upon this article, and something about the way you explained / demonstrated starting the ring made it FINALLY CLICK FOR ME! I have several discarded attempts in a pile next to my left, and now one on my hook that doesn’t look terrible! I am going to keep coming back to this article until I have it down by muscle memory. Thank you so much!
Many Many Thanks ! 💖 I’m a beginner to crochet and I mean Beginner 😖 😄 you have made the magic ring look easy ….. I have picked it up so quickly 👏 I have tried to follow other tutorials to no avail 🤐 I have walked off gave myself a good talking to then tried over and over again …… so Thank you again ❤
Hi Brittany: Thank you so much for B.Hooked TV. I’m already a fan of your YouTube article website and your blog and think this new format is great! I’m a self-taught crocheter who learned to crochet using size 10 thread and tiny steel crochet hooks. I’ve been working on the magic ring a lot and can see some progress! I’ve been successful at making the ring but I still find it somewhat challenging, to say the least! Your tutorial is really helpful. I like it that you were so very thorough with your explanation of exactly how to place your fingers. I think that’s the key to being successful in making the magic ring. I will definitely try your method! My biggest problem is with reading and understanding crochet charts. I learned to crochet by reading written patterns and the crochet charts look like a foreign language to me! Lol If you have the time, maybe you could do a little tutorial on reading charts. That would really be helpful to me. Thanks!
I, too, felt so good when I finally got it. I also advise to keep trying until you do, but your little cheat will help someone who gets a little frustrated. This is an excellent lesson for you to get it. Good luck to those. What I can’t do and have walked away from is the foundationless chain thingy. I forget what it’s called, lol, I’ll go back and try again, but right now I can’t.
In the tutorial you might consider pointing out it the tail (ending or working tail ) is on top or bottom or bottom during each step. For example when you are holding onto the ring after you’ve made your first chain, when you’ve dropped the ring to get a more comfortable position, when you start to secure the ring. Not knowing which tail is top or bottom can sabotage you when you start to pull the tail because it can twist preventing closure. Also fore people who tend to make stitches tight, closure can be difficult. Keeping those stitches looser creates greater success especially for those doing the magic ring for the first time.
I’m finding that with crooked fingers and arthritis it’s just really ridiculously hard. I AM tired tonight and fighting sciatica pain so I may have to try again tomorrow. But thank you for your help and encouragement! Knowing that I’m not the only one having a hard time with this makes me feel a bit better I’m really excited to start crocheting again after soooo many years. I’m 64 and my grandmother taught me when I was a girl. I had a family and got into other crafting like painting, which I did at night while the wild three were sleeping. I had to totally give up crosstitch because counting with three little ones, two with ADHD, was just impossible lolol. But I remember my grandfather always had busy work in her lap when I went to visit and I’d like to be more like that. Unfortunately I’m having a hard time sitting and I can’t master the magic hoop lying down! I’ve tried numerous times. It’s just led to frustration. If you have any advice for people whose fingers are not as nimble or straight as they once were, please do a article on it! I’d be grateful! God bless you and yours.
Do you have any suggestions when the pattern calls for only 3 sc in your magic ring? I just can’t get it to work. I’m just starting Amurgurami but have used magic ring for years but almost always with 6 or more stitches for row 1 – never 3. Also I’m using a 3 mm hook. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I love this tutorial! I was specifically looking for a “how to make magic ring” tutorial. I had already made one with a pattern I was making but wasn’t confident on how to do it again. A few articles came up before yours and I watched each for a few minutes before I decided they were terrible. Yours is so clear and I appreciate the “why you’d use it” part of the article and the details of where to put my fingers at all times while making this magic ring and crocheting into it and tightening it up and weaving in the tail. The cheat is nice too! I will definitely perusal more of your articles. Your comments about struggling to do the magic ring are so kind and encouraging.
Take the slight of hand and complication of a magic circle out. Make any slip knot, leaving the working tail long enough to sc over. Go into the slip knot loop and sc, for instance x 6. Do this Over the loop strand and the non working tail both. Once done pull gently on the non working yarn tail. Walla. Magic circle . Yes. It stays. I do all kinds of crochet including amigarumi which is mostly a bunch of circles, increases and decreases to pattern. I use this way always. I don’t understand complicated. But of course you can do all the fancy finger work if you prefere…I guess I just like magic to be simple!
Hi, i tried one day, domt remember how long and couldnt get it. Also working with a bulky 7 just made it that much harder. Do a regular circle will i still only make 4 chains? I have to have 10 double crochets in the circle. Thank you so very much for your help if you see this and answer. Thank you again.
Hi Brittany! Gave you a like of course… It’s a habit I’ve gotten myself into.. I do it first thing so I don’t forget. I already have mastered the magic ring, but your episode and technique was very good. Also, I liked that little cheat you did with using the ch 4 instead.. good to know! You sound like you’re from PA. I can hear the accent in some of the words you say. Thanks for another great episode of B. Hooked TV. 🌼🙂🌼
I can do the magic ring without even thinking about it. It’s like anything that your brain and your hands need to learn together but, yes, it takes practice. To me, the secret is to keep trying and, if this article doesn’t work for you (although it’s excellent!) find another on how to do it. You WILL get it and you will be so happy you did!
i finally found something i will never get i quit and will never bother again and i couldn’t be bothered with your cheaters method so no magic loop for me. i will stick with rounding off a square and going around in circles around it which is much easier please add that to a article for an alternate way of doing round projects like coasters please i am sure many would be happy with that when they cannot get the magic loop or your cheat method as i could not.
Do you girls get paid by the seconds or by the word? Im asking bc i wonder why you all are so verbose? Do you have a monetary purpose for wasting our time and data? Would you ever consider just showing the task slowly and carefully? Do you read the comments? Clearly viewers have complained many times of having to watch multiple articles of a simple task bc the presenter droned on and on, mostly unnecessarily, when a clear demonstration would have, and should have, been presented so that they could move on w their project instead of looking for more articles to learn the procedure.