When making a round amigurumi piece, you usually start with six stitches and then increase by six stitches every round, until the piece is big enough. But if you increase in the same spot every round, you will end up with a hexagon and the increases will be quite prominent even after stuffing.
For example:
1: mr, sc 6 (6)
2: inc x 6 (12)
3: (sc, inc) x 6 (18)
4: (sc 2, inc) x 6 (24)
5: (sc 3, inc) x 6 (30)
6: (sc 4, inc) x 6 (36)
As you can see here, the increases are stacked on top of one another and the piece looks more like a hexagon than a circle. And for some patterns, that might be exactly the result you want.
But more often you'll want your amigurumi to be nice and round, like a teddy bear's head for example. This is why you should try to arrange the increases more evenly around the piece.
This is how I do it: on every even round, I divide the first group of single crochet stitches into two parts and make one less than half at the beginning and the rest at the end of the round. This way you still have the same exact number of stitches, but you will be switching the place where you increase every other round.
For example:
1: mr, sc 6 (6)
2: inc x 6 (12)
3: (sc, inc) x 6 (18)
4: (inc, sc 2) x 6 (24)
5: (sc 3, inc) x 6 (30)
6: sc, inc, (sc 4, inc) x 5, sc 3 (36)
7: (sc 5, inc) x 6 (42)
8: sc 2, inc, (sc 6, inc) x 5, sc 4 (48)
As you can see from the photos, it will make a huge difference, even on these small pieces and more so when making larger toys.
You should do the same when decreasing or you will have a row of decreases clearly showing. As with increases, the larger the piece, the more prominent the decreases will be. And, unlike with increasing, where you can sometimes shape the piece with stuffing, the row of decreases will be very clear, even if you do get your piece to look round.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me or leave a comment below, I am always happy to help.
