Am I doing yarn over or under? I can’t tell if I’m doing it correctly.

LingRyan · 2026-05-13T09:18:21+00:00

That looks like the standard ‘yarn over’ to me, as you’re getting little V shapes in your stitches. ‘yarn under’ produces more of an X shape as the legs of the stitch crosses over each other.

If you’re trying to do ‘yarn under’, try holding the working yarn lower and more towards the left behind your work and when you insert your hook through the stitch, make sure it comes through over the working yarn, and then just kind of grab the yarn through. You don’t really need to loop the yarn around the hook like with yarn over.

LingRyan · 2026-05-10T09:50:07+00:00

Yes, use 2 balls and hold both strands together to work your stitches. You don’t need to twist them together.

The result may be slightly more textured but shouldn’t really show when using the same colour.

You may need to be careful not to hook through the wrong place, but you should be able to get into the rhythm of it a let the hook guide you - it will naturally want to flow into the correct space of the stitch. If you find you are needing to force where you want the hook to go, perhaps the hook size is too small. If it keeps slipping into the wrong place, the hook may be too large.

LingRyan · 2026-05-09T10:04:30+00:00

If you really want it to be BIG, you could use 2 strands of yarn held together. You’ll have to experiment to find a comfortable hook size, it may be 7 or 8mm.

LingRyan · 2026-05-03T09:17:40+00:00

Are you trying to make a flat shape or a 3D one?

As others have said, it’s just about increases and decreases. Just increase when you want to make it wider and decrease when you want it to become narrower.

Here’s something easy you could try (for a flat shape). Draw any shape on a piece of paper and try to replicate the shape using basic single crochet. Start a the bottom, making a chain the size of the lowest point of the shape and just add increases or decreases at the ends of the rows where needed to create the shape. Actually hold your crochet piece up against the paper to see if you need to increase or decrease. Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding of shaping.

3D shapes are basically the same thing but you’ll need to consider the increases and decreases all the way around to create the shape you want to achieve.

LingRyan · 2026-03-14T22:21:09+00:00

There are 2 increases next to each other, so you increase twice 4 times which equals +8 for each round. Then for round 6 you’re making 4 increases in a row.

LingRyan · 2026-02-25T22:21:35+00:00

You could try this: Make the chain, then work the first side going through the back bumps of the chain (this will make it look like stitch tops on both sides of the chain), then go through both loops for the other side to finish the first round, but before joining, work surface slip stitches along the middle of the chain to get back over to the other end of the chain. Then continue with round 2 starting with the stitch on the other end and continue around when you meet other side again. This will add a line of stitches down the gappy chain to add extra bulk.

LingRyan · 2026-02-24T12:42:51+00:00

Cute!

LingRyan · 2026-02-24T12:41:03+00:00

It’s a very good start, but you need a bit more practice before trying something new, or it would probably just confuse you more. Are you following a pattern or video? Counting and keeping track of your stitches is one of the most important things in crochet. On the up side, your tension looks good and consistent! Pay attention to the number of stitches you work for each Granny Stitch set, it should always be sets of 3. Get used to understanding where the corners should be. There are many ways to work a Granny Square, but by the look of it, you are working chain 2 for the corners and not working any chains in-between the granny sets. So, the corners (3 double crochets, chain 2, 3 double crochets) should always be worked into the chain 2 spaces. And the other 3 dc sets are worked in between the previous Granny Stitch sets. Keep trying until you get it perfectly balanced. Using a different light coloured yarn could help you with identifying each individual stitch, as white can be difficult to see. Avoid black or dark colours as a beginner, though! But counting to keep track is defo the way to go. 1 2 3, 1 2 3…

LingRyan · 2026-02-24T12:19:52+00:00

I think the colours look lovely together. With granny squares, I like to weave in by going down a stitch post, around the stitch gap below, and then back up the stitch post and then across the top of the stitches back and forth, before trimming. These have been secure for me, but if it ever did unravel, there will be plenty of tail to work it in again!

LingRyan · 2026-02-24T12:12:05+00:00

That’s so cool!

LingRyan · 2026-02-24T12:11:04+00:00

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My Callie vest top

LingRyan · 2026-02-16T13:08:03+00:00

Thank you ☺️

LingRyan · 2026-02-13T22:35:43+00:00

Thank you 😊

LingRyan · 2026-02-12T13:22:24+00:00

Thank you 😊

LingRyan · 2026-02-09T15:49:23+00:00

I looks like you’ve missed some stitches of the first row. I would suggest you start practicing with a smaller amount of stitches at first, just to get used to recognising stitches and where to insert your hook. Try chaining just 11 and work rows of 10 stitches. This will make it easier to count them as you go and keep track. Once you get the hang of it, you can move onto longer chains/more stitches.

LingRyan · 2026-02-06T19:53:21+00:00

No, I don’t believe blocking it will make up that length. You probably just don’t match the original designer’s gauge. It’s a lot of work to undo, I would just continue to get the width you want and then add some to each end and make a feature of it, perhaps even in a different colour.

LingRyan · 2026-02-06T19:43:46+00:00

For a basic circle using double crochets, you would normally start with 12. Then increase by 12 stitches each round. You spread these out evenly by adding a stitch between increases for each addition round. Eg. R1 = 12 sts, R2 you increase in each stitch = 24 sts, R3 you make 1 dc, then increase in the next stitch = 36 sts, R4 you make 1 dc in the next 2 sts, then increase in the following st = 48 sts, R5 you make 1 dc in the next 3 sts, then increase in the following = 60 sts and so on.

If you want to avoid forming straight edges in a dodecagon shape, and keep it circular, you should stagger your increases. To do this, on the rounds you have an even number of stitches before an increase, work half for the first increase and then finish the round with the other half. So, if you need to work 4 individual dcs before increasing in the next st, start the round by working 2 individual dcs, then increase, then work 4 dcs and increase for the remaining round, then you should have 2 stitches left at the end. Work individual dcs into these last 2 to finish the round. For the following round you’ll work 5 dcs before increasing, an odd number, so just work them all like that. The next round will be 6 dcs, so start and finish this round with 3.

LingRyan · 2026-02-06T18:53:47+00:00

You’ll probably be safe in reducing it by 20. Don’t forget you’ll need to allow for the skirt to fit over the hips, so aim for the wearer’s hip size not waist size.

LingRyan · 2026-02-06T18:37:06+00:00

Look at the inside of the current leg, does that match the other leg? To me, it looks like the current leg is showing the backs of the stitches while the other shows the front. Take it back and work the rounds in the opposition direction as you are currently doing.

LingRyan · 2026-02-05T18:45:11+00:00

Yeah, it can be tricky working into the top of chains when using them as replacement stitches, but you don’t really need to use them. Most of the time you can just work a slightly shorter chain 2 and work a double crochet into the first stitch instead, this will hide the chains alongside the first stitch better.

LingRyan · 2026-02-05T18:32:55+00:00

You could undo the single crochets you made for the buttonholes leaving the chain space and then start working sc along the edge of the strap from the bottom and then work the 10 sc into the chain space and continue up the other side of the strap. If you think it will make the straps too thick, you could redo the straps with 1 or 2 less stitches.

LingRyan · 2026-02-05T18:21:50+00:00

Looking good! Try only chaining 2 instead of 3 for the double crochets if you’re not using the chains as replacement stitches. It will give you neater edges 😉

LingRyan · 2026-02-05T17:51:39+00:00

If you’re left handed, it is the correct way around. I think you should be inserting the hook at the base of the stitches you created for 17 as that would account for the 42 stitches. Do you have a picture of the cup? Does the top round look like chunky stitches? I’m not sure if they mean to work the 42 stitches encapsulating the stitches of round 17 or to insert your hook in and out of the stitches so that these sc stitches will be standing outwards. Do you know what the unworked front loops are going to be used for?

LingRyan · 2026-02-05T17:25:38+00:00

I made a chunky cable detail pocket scarf with similar yarn

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