Crochet Techniques

A stitch multiple tells you how many chains to start with. Here is how to read "chain a multiple of 4 + 2", do the arithmetic in five seconds, and stop running out of stitches halfway along the row.

A pattern says ch 1 on one row and ch 3 on the next, with no explanation. The number is not arbitrary: the turning chain replaces the height of the stitch you are about to work.

Amigurumi patterns rarely give a gauge, and that confuses people coming from garments. Here is what gauge actually controls in a stuffed piece, and the one test worth doing.

Some patterns are pictures, not sentences. Here is what the common crochet chart symbols mean, which way to read a chart, and why Japanese amigurumi patterns use them.

When your pattern says dec, it usually means the invisible decrease, not sc2tog. Here is the difference, why it matters, and how to work it.