How to crochet a circle (flat circles and increase charts)

You want a flat circle for a coaster, a hat crown or the bottom of a basket, and yours keeps turning into a bowl or a wavy frill. Here is how to crochet a circle that stays flat: an increase chart for single, half double and double crochet with the stitch total for every round, joined or continuous rounds, how to make a circle the size you want, and how to fix one that curls, ruffles or turns into a hexagon.

The rule behind every flat circle

Each round sits further out than the one before, so it needs more stitches to go around. A flat circle adds the same number of stitches every round, and that number is the one you started with. Those new stitches come from increases, spread evenly, with one more plain stitch between them each round.

Taller stitches sit further out per round, so they start with more:

• Single crochet: start with 6, add 6 every round.
• Half double crochet: start with 8 or 10, add the same every round.
• Double crochet: start with 12, add 12 every round.

This post uses US terms. In UK terms a single crochet is a double crochet (dc), a half double is a half treble (htr), and a double crochet is a treble (tr). The full table is in crochet terms and abbreviations: a US and UK chart.

Every circle here starts in a magic ring. If you have not made one yet, the steps are in how to make a magic ring. "Inc" means two stitches in the same stitch, and how to increase in crochet shows how to work one in each stitch.

How to crochet a flat circle in single crochet

To check any round: each repeat uses the plain stitches plus one more for the increase, and makes one extra. Round 10 uses 9 stitches six times, which is all 54 from round 9, and makes 10 six times, which is 60.

How to crochet a circle in half double crochet

Half double circles start with 8 or 10 stitches. Ten gives each round a little more room, so if an 8 stitch circle starts to cup, try 10. Here inc means 2 hdc in the same stitch, and you work each repeat 8 or 10 times.

Patterns differ on whether the chain at the start of a half double round counts as a stitch. The totals in this table count only real hdc stitches, so check your pattern's notes and follow its numbers if they differ.

How to crochet a circle in double crochet

Does the chain 3 count as a stitch?

Double crochet rounds start with a chain to reach the height of the stitches, and patterns handle it in one of two ways.

• The ch 3 counts as the first dc. Round 1 is ch 3, then 11 dc in the ring, joined to the top of the ch 3: 12 stitches. In round 2 the ch 3 already stands in the first stitch, so you work 1 dc in that same stitch to finish its increase, then 2 dc in every other stitch: 24.
• The chain does not count. You chain 2 or 3, work all 12 dc into the ring, and join to the top of the first real dc. The next round starts the same way, and you work into the first stitch as usual.

The mistake to watch: when the ch 3 counts, it already sits in the first stitch. In a round where that stitch gets no increase, skip it and start in the next stitch. Working into it anyway adds one stitch every round.

Joined or continuous rounds

The stitch totals are the same either way.

• Joined rounds end with a slip stitch into the first stitch, then a chain to start the next round. They leave a seam, but the edge stays even, so they suit half double and double crochet circles and color stripes. Join into the first real stitch, not into a chain that does not count.
• Continuous rounds go round in a spiral without joining. There is no seam, which is why single crochet circles and amigurumi are usually worked this way. Put a marker in the first stitch of every round, because there is nothing else to show where a round starts.

A spiral ends with a small step at the edge. To soften it, slip stitch into the next stitch before you fasten off.

How to size a crochet circle

Each round adds about one stitch height on each side of the circle, so the diameter grows by about two stitch heights every round. That is why a double crochet circle grows much faster than a single crochet one.

Your yarn and hook decide the real numbers, so measure your own:

1. Work 4 rounds.
2. Measure straight across the circle, through the center.
3. Divide by 4. That is roughly how much each round adds.
4. Divide the size you want by that number.

For example, if 4 rounds measure 2 inches across, each round adds about 0.5 inch, and a 6 inch circle needs about 12 rounds. It is an estimate, so measure again a few rounds before the end.

Why your circle curls, ruffles or turns into a hexagon

It curls into a bowl

The circle has too few stitches for its size. Count the round against the chart; a missed increase is the usual cause. If the count is right, your stitches may be tight for the yarn, so go up a hook size. A half double circle that cups on 8 stitches often lies flat on 10.

It ruffles like a wave

The circle has too many stitches. Look for an extra increase, often at the end of the round where it is easy to work one twice. If the count is right, go down a hook size.

It turns into a hexagon

If every round puts its increases in the same places, they stack into corners: six in single crochet, twelve in double. Move them around from round to round. Round 5 in single crochet is normally (sc in next 3 sts, inc) x 6. Staggered, it reads:

sc in next st, inc, *sc in next 3 sts, inc; rep from * 4 more times, sc in next 2 sts. (30 sts)

That uses 2 stitches, then 4 stitches five times, then 2: all 24 from round 4. It makes 3, then 5 five times, then 2: 30. The increases land between last round's.

Frequently asked questions

How many stitches do you start a crochet circle with?

Six for single crochet, 8 or 10 for half double crochet, and 12 for double crochet. Your pattern's number wins if it says something different.

Why is my crochet circle not flat?

It has the wrong number of stitches for its size. Too few and it curls up, too many and it ruffles. Count each round against the chart, then change hook size if the count is right.

What is the formula for a crochet circle?

Take the number you start with. Round n has that number times n stitches, so round 7 in single crochet has 6 x 7 = 42. Each round repeats the increase that same number of times, with n minus 2 plain stitches before each increase from round 3 on.

How do I make a crochet circle bigger?

Keep going with the same rule. Add one more plain stitch between the increases each round, and the circle keeps growing flat.

Where Rowpin helps

A circle is ten rounds that look almost the same. (sc in next 6 sts, inc) and (sc in next 7 sts, inc) are one word apart, and if you lose your place for one round, the next one gets the wrong number of plain stitches. That is how most curls and ruffles start.

Rowpin, the iPhone and iPad row counter app i built for crochet and knitting, keeps your place. You open your own pattern, a PDF, a photo, a scan or a web page, and Rowpin finds the numbered rows and rounds on it, right on your device, with no AI. As you tap + the round you are on is highlighted on your pattern, and when the pattern gives a stitch count for the round, like "(42 sts)", Rowpin shows it, so you can check before you start the next one. You can count from the Lock Screen or a Home Screen widget without unlocking your phone.

Rowpin is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. It needs Rowpin Plus, a subscription with a 7-day free trial.

Rowpin is not in the EU yet. Join the list to hear when it is. There is also a free row counter that works in your browser today.

Thank you for reading. Tschüss 🤓