I`m trying to crochet my first hat and I have a question: my “circle” of crocheting is getting kind of rippled looking - it doesn’t seem to be shaping into a hat at all. What am I doing wrong.
Also, for all you expert crocheters, do you count each stitch in every round?? And do you just do this in your head. So far I’ve been trying to keep track of stuff on paper, but it seems kind of tedious. I’m assuming that once I get better I won’t have to do this anymore, but maybe I’m wrong.
If you do a turning chain at the beginning of a round, you don’t also make a st in the next st after that unless you’re supposed to increase. As to the rippling, I’m not sure I understand; maybe your gauge is too tight and you need to go up a hook size or two.
It would be helpful if you could add a link to the pattern and a picture of your work so far, but it sounds to me like you are crocheting your hat starting at the crown and going around and around, adding stitches in each row. If you keep crocheting two stitches in each stitch on each round, you will end up with too many stitches and will get a rippled look and a piece that will be way too loose for a hat. Increasing should be something like in THIS HAT PATTERN, but maybe more rows if it’s not a baby hat, in order for it to work out to be a fitted hat.
Also when crocheting in the round, no matter how experienced you might be, it is still important to count stitches. Once you’ve done it a few times, you may be able to tell by looking when to increase, but counting ensures accurate crocheting every time.
Hope this helps!
MGM
Thanks. I’ll try to count my stitches more carefully and see if that helps. If I continue to have the problem I’ll come back and post pictures.
Ahh, that would make sense. I do a sc version of this - in the first round you do 2 sts in each st around. The next round you do 1 st, then 2 in the next st, repeat. The round after that, you add a st between the incs (2 sts in one), and every round after that you would add another between the incs until it’s the size you want. Then you work each st individually until it’s the length you want. It also helps to put a marker of some kind on the first st of the round and move it up; that way you don’t lose track of where you are. So if you know that the next round you do 3 dc, 2 in one, 3 dc, 2 in one, you really only have to count the 3 and 2 sts and at the end of the round you end up with the 2 in one inc in the last st.