In Lily's Tutorial, to crochet something in rounds, you probably will be asked to crochet in joined rounds - chain at the beginning and slip stitch at the end for every round. However, in most other public crochet tutorials, especially for crocheting amigurumi, you might be taught to crochet in continuous rounds for the most time.
The Difference between Joined Rounds and Continuous Rounds
Joined Rounds
At the end of each round, you will slip stitch to the first stitch of the round & chain however many the pattern tells you to begin the next round.
Continuous Rounds
You will not slip stitch at the end of each round. You will work continuously in the round, using a stitch marker to keep track of your last (or first) stitch.
So, why do we teach you crochet in joined rounds which seems more complicated? Here are some reasons:
- To crochet in continuous rounds, there will always be a step jump at the end of the round. To crochet in joined rounds using the chain method, every round will be smooth without stairs.
2. Though there is a crochet technique, invisible fasten-off, that can weaken the step jump when you crochet in continuous rounds with single crochet, we use a lot of different stitches to crochet flowers. If we crochet in continuous rounds with half double crochet stitch and double crochet stitch (these 2 stitches are taller than single crochet), there will be a more significant step jump in the end, which would affect the look of the finished work.
3. When you crochet an amigurumi, you will decrease the stitches round by round until it becomes a very small round in the end. The step jump might be hidden at the bottom and get invisible. However, when you crochet flowers, the step jump of the last round might be exposed if you crochet in continuous rounds, as the patterns of flowers might have no decrease stitches to make the round get small in the end.
4. For some projects, the finished work might be tilting a bit if you crochet in continuous rounds. Crochet it in joined rounds could make them look better.
The flowerpot from the tulip flowerpot project
The vase from the forget-me-not vase project
The vase from the small rose with vase project
This is why we teach you to crochet in joined rounds in our video tutorial. If you have questions or other opinions, please leave a comment. We are very happy to explore anything new about crochet with you. :)
