How to Stagger Increases for a Perfect Circle

Learn how to stagger your amigurumi increases and decreases to create a perfect circle!

When starting a round amigurumi piece you usually begin with six stitches, and increase six times each round until the piece is big enough.For example:

R1. sc 6x into a magic ring (6sts)

R2. [inc] 6x (12sts)

R3. [sc 1, inc] 6x (18sts)

R4. [sc 2, inc] 6x (24sts)

R5. [sc 3, inc] 6x (30sts)

R6. [sc 4, inc] 6x (36sts)

But as you know, the end result isn’t really round it’s more of a hexagon, and you’ve probably noticed lines of increases, and the points of the hexagon that are noticeable even after stuffing!

So, why is this?Each round you’re increasing in the exact same spot which causes the increases to stack on top of each other, and as the circle grows the increases form a hexagonal shape. To fix this, all you have to do, is stagger your increases!

Here’s an example of rounds with staggered increases:

R1. sc 6x into a magic ring (6sts)

R2. [inc] 6x (12sts)

R3. [sc 1, inc] 6x (18sts)

R4. [inc, sc 2] 6x (24sts)

R5. [sc 3, inc] 6x (30sts)

R6. sc 1, inc, [sc 4, inc] 5x, sc 3 (36sts)

R7. [sc 5, inc] 6x (42sts)

R8. sc 2, inc, [sc 6, inc] 5x, sc 4 (48sts)

Staggering your increases distributes them evenly around, preventing them from ending up on top of each other. To do this, every even round you split the first group of single crochets into two parts, making less than half at the start, and the other half at the end, increasing once in the beginning.

For example: R6. [sc 4, inc] 6x (36sts)

Becomes: R6. sc 1, inc, [sc 4, inc] 5x, sc 3 (36sts)

Simple, right? Plus, you don’t have to worry about your stitch count changing!

Ahhh, just look at how much rounder it is!

See how the stitches aren’t on top of each other?

Just so you know, the odd rounds will stay the same, you don’t have to do anything to them. Also, round 4 isn’t anything fancy, the single crochets and increase simply switch places.

For example: R4. [sc 2, inc] 6x (24sts)

Becomes: R4. [inc, sc 2] 6x (24sts)

Here’s a side by side comparison: Now if you prefer, you can split the single crochets into equal halves, e.g., (sc 2, inc, [sc 4, inc] 5x, sc 2.)

But, in my opinion it wasn’t as round as the other method. Here’s what it looks like: But feel free to try both and see which one you like best!

Staggering also works for decreases, too! All you have to do is replace the increases with decreases.

For example: sc 1, dec, [sc 4, dec] 5x, sc 3 (30sts)

If you try this for yourself you will see a big difference even in smaller pieces, but even more so in bigger projects!

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment, I’ll be happy to help!

Have a wonderful day, and God bless you!