3 Basic Crochet Shapes
The sculptural qualities of crochet are amazing! With crochet, any shape is possible - you can take off in any direction, add or subtract any stitches you like, go wild! That said, there are several basic shapes most crocheters will eventually use, beyond the straight line. These shapes are the building blocks of hats, bags, toys, amigurumi, finger puppets, and so much more. So let's round five of them up today and pin them all down in one place!
image: http://www.mooglyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Five-Basic-Crochet-Shapes.jpg
1. CIRCLES:
image: http://www.mooglyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Crochet-Circles.jpg
Circles are how you start a hat, some bags, spheres, and more. There are two common ways to start - with a magic circle, or with a short chain that is joined. From there, you work the crochet stitches into the center space. Most of the time, if you are using sc, you'll start with 6sc. If you are using dc, you'll likely start with 12dc. Exceptions abound, of course, but almost all of them follow the same formula.
Work X sts into the center.
Work 2 sts into each st of the previous round.
Work *1 st into the next st, then 2 sts into the next st* repeating around.
Work *1 st into the next 2 sts, then 2 sts into the next st* repeating around.
Work *1 st into the next 3 sts, then 2 sts into the next st* repeating around.
Continue adding another st before increasing in each round, until desired size is achieved.
CONES:
image: http://www.mooglyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Crochet-Cone.jpg
The cone is easy as pie, though the first few rounds of crocheting are as tight as they come. Start with just a few stitches in a magic circle, then instead of increasing in each stitch in the next round as you would for a flat circle, increase only 1 to 3 stitches each row. The more increases you make each round, the wider your finished cone will be. This one started with 3sc in the circle, then increased just 1 stitch per round for 7 rounds, with 10 total stitches in the last round.
5. CYLINDERS:
image: http://www.mooglyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Crochet-Cylinder.jpg
Cylinders are used in amigurumi a lot - legs, arms, tails, you name it. They also make perfect finger puppet bases! Making a cylinder is very simple:
Work standard circle increase rows until desired width is achieved.
Work even until desired length is achieved.
The above cylinder is one I use when making finger puppets: 5sc in the magic circle, increase to 10sc in the second round, then work even for about 8 rounds (or more) until the puppet is as tall as I want it to be.
Read more at http://www.mooglyblog.com/how-to-make-5-basic-crochet-shapes-free-patterns-and-links/#1ciqwbJZQX2sHHeJ.99
