How To Increase Crochet, Perfectly Every Time!

Learn how to increase crochet for beginners! As soon as you start to expand your crochet skills, you will want to start shaping your crochet fabric, moving away from basic squares and rectangles. This tutorial will show you the basic crochet increase and how to use it to create flat crochet circles.

What is a Crochet Increase?

A crochet increase is a technique used to add stitches to a row or round. Increasing makes your crochet fabric wider and is commonly used for shaping garments, amigurumi, hats, bags, and flat crochet circles. The most common crochet increase is made by working two stitches into the same stitch from the previous row or round. This adds one extra stitch to your stitch count.

What Does Inc Mean in Crochet? This means you need to increase a stitch by crocheting 2 stitches in the 1 stitch below.

The abbreviation for a crochet increase in patterns is sometimes written as inc or inc crochet, but more commonly, it is written as 2 sc in next sc (or whatever stitch you are working on). If you work crochet increases into your fabric, it will make parts of your item wider by adding stitches. In reverse, working crochet decreases, you will take stitches away, which will make the item narrower.

How To Increase Crochet (Step By Step)

All instructions are written in US crochet terminology.

This tutorial will show you how to increase crochet in single crochet stitches and double crochet, and how to apply this to other stitches. This is the standard increase method for a single crochet increase which will be abbreviated sc inc or 2sc crochet.

1. Crochet up to Increase

Read my article on single crochet decreases to learn more about decreasing and sc2tog.

Increase in Crochet Techniques

Increase Crochet with Other Stitches

Whichever stitch you happen to be working on for your crochet fabric, the increase is made in exactly the same way. You just work two of those stitches into one stitch in the row below. Double crochet increases (dc inc or 2 dc) are done in a similar way. You will still crochet 2 stitches into the 1 stitch in the row below.

You will have worked 2 double crochets into 1, thus increasing your stitches in the row by 1. The same formula given above applies if you need to increase multiple times in one row.

Increasing at the Beginning or End of Rows

You will often be instructed to do a crochet increase stitch at the beginning of a row, or every 2^nd row, for example. When you crochet increase stitches at the start of a row, your work will slant to the right. All you need to do is work your turning chain, which acts as your first dc, then work the next stitch into the very first stitch (instead of missing a stitch) so you effectively have 2 stitches in one stitch below.

It is just as easy to increase at the end of a row. You will simply work 2 stitches into the last stitch (i.e. The top of the turning chain) of the previous row. In this case, your work will slant to the left.

How To Increase Crochet In The Round

When working in the round and wanting a flat crochet circle, this is where the increases really are important! Those increases are absolutely essential for keeping your circle flat! You will need to increase at set intervals (see table below) to prevent the circle from becoming ruffled or forming a cup shape.

Increasing crochet in the round is an essential skill for amigurumi projects.

• Foundation: Form a magic ring, or ch3 and sl st to close the ring. (Using a chain will give a small hole in the center of your circle,)
• Round 1: Work 8 sc stitches into the ring. Sl st to close the end of the round.
• Round 2: Increase into every stitch by working 2 sc into each stitch. (16 stitches.)

• Round 3: Make 2 sc into the first stitch, 1 sc into the next stitch. Continue all the way around. You are now increasing into every 2^nd stitch.

• Round 4: Work 2 sc into 1^st st, then 1 sc into each of next 2 sts. Continue all the way around. You are now increasing into every 3^rd st.
• Round 5: Make 2 sc into first st,  then 1 sc  into each of next 3 sts. Repeat pattern all the way around. You are now increasing every 4^th st.
• Continue in this way, working 1 more stitch between each increase crochet stitch. Keep this sequence until your circle is the required size.

Formula For Round Crochet Increases

The taller the stitch you are using, the more stitches you will need in the first round. In each case, start with a magic ring or a chain circle, then start with the beginner crochet stitches. Here is the simple formula for increasing the different stitches. You can see that there are more increases with the taller stitches.

ROUNDS	SC	HDC	DC
Sts in round 1	7	11	14
Increases in round	7	11	14
Round 2	14	22	28
Round 3	21	33	42
Round 4	28	44	56
Round 5	35	55	70
Round 6	42	66	84

And so on…… You can see from this table that the number of increases is exactly the same in each round, (depending on the stitch chosen), but the number of stitches between increases grows every time.

Troubleshooting Increasing

Here are some common problems with increasing crochet and how to fix them:

Problem	Cause	Solution
Ruffled circle	Too many increases	Skip an increase round
Bowl-shaped circle	Too few increases	Repeat an increase round
Uneven shape	Missed increases	Count stitches each round
Visible increase points	Increases stacked	Stagger increases

Crochet Increase FAQs

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In Conclusion

Learning how to increase crochet is an essential skill for shaping garments, hats, bags, amigurumi, and crochet circles. Once you understand that an increase is simply two stitches worked into the same stitch, you can apply the technique to almost any crochet stitch. With practice, you’ll be able to use crochet increases confidently in both rows and rounds, opening the door to more advanced patterns and creative crochet projects.