I used to admire all these amigurumis I see on Instagram that have neat stitches that line up. You know what I'm talking about. The ones where the stitches look like little Xs and would line up one on top of another when working in rounds.
For the longest time, I wondered why my single crochet stitches looked different.
It wasn't until I learned that there was a different method of doing the single crochet stitches that changed my life forever: the yarn under single crochet.
Since learning the yarn under single crochet method, it has been my go-to method for making amigurumis. The overall amigurumi comes out slightly smaller, but the stitches are tighter and it's less likely for the stuffing to show.
I first introduced the yarn under single crochet method through the first part of my Mini Mimi doll crochet-along. Since then, I was always linking back to that post for the tutorial.
This method has changed the way that I crochet amigurumi and I really think it deserves its own blog post.
I won't lie, but it was very strange working with this method initially because I wasn't used to it. However, I found a way that would make it a little bit easier.
It turns out that to achieve the single crochet stitches that line up and look like X's the "yarn under" part is really only essential for the first part of the stitch.
Once you complete the first part of the stitch with yarn under, the second part (where you finish off the stitch) can be your usual yarn over and pull through both of the loops.
I found that this method felt a bit more natural to me than going yarn under both times I pull through the stitch.
Yarn Under Single Crochet Method
1. Insert the hook into the stitch.
2. Put the hook OVER the yarn (or the yarn under the hook) so that the yarn just catches on the hook.
3. Pull the hook with the yarn under it through the stitch so that you now have 2 loops on your hook.
4. With your yarn hand, wrap the yarn from the back to the front (yarn over) over the hook as you would normally do when finishing off a single crochet stitch.
5. Draw the hook with the wrapped yarn through both loops on the hook.
I really hope that you'll give this new crochet technique a try because it really does make a difference. Make sure you don't lose this blog post! Pin it for later!
Do you use the yarn under single crochet method for your own amigurumi? Let me know if you used my tutorial! Please share it with me on Instagram and/or use the #onceuponacheerio hashtag.
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This is an original tutorial written by Juli Anne of Once Upon a Cheerio. Please do not claim this tutorial as your own. If you wish to share this tutorial, you may link to this blog post but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for personal use but please DO NOT sell or distribute the tutorial.
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