We’ve talked about chains for crochet, but what if I told you that not everything was worked in a straight line?
Shocking, right?
Some things are worked in a circular manner, or at least they start out that way. You absolutely can chain and then connect the beginning and end of that chain, but there’s another method that is commonly used instead.
The magic ring or magic circle or magic loop (I’ve seen all of these terms).
Ooooo, ahhhh, magic!
So it’s not *really* magic, but much like a slip knot, it’s adjustable, which is where I think the name comes from.
The easiest way I think to start is by making a double loop around your fingers of your non-working hand with the end of the yarn, leaving a tail of about 4-5 inches. Insert your crochet hook into the circle, grab the bottom strand and pull it up above the circle. Don’t let go of the strands just yet.
The yarn on your hook is essentially your first loop. Instead of working into a chain, we are going to work into the circle, over both strands of yarn. Whatever stitch your pattern calls for, we are going to insert the hook into the circle and work it that way. It’s a little tricky at first, but you’ve got this!
Once you have all your first row stitches completed, you will pull on the end tail of the yarn to pull the stitches together into a circle. At this point, you’ll continue following your pattern, but you have completed a magic ring!
It sounds a little hard at first, but after a bit it becomes easier. We’ll talk about what to do with yarn tails a little later, so for now just let them hang.