Closing the top of a toy or shaping a hat needs decreases that sit evenly. The calculator below is set for 42 stitches and 6 decreases, worked in the round.
sc2tog uses two stitches
A single crochet decrease (sc2tog) joins two stitches into one. So 6 decreases use 12 of your 42 stitches, and 30 stitches are worked as plain single crochet. The line below places the 6 decreases at equal distances.
In amigurumi this is called an invisible decrease when you work it through the front loops only. The spacing stays the same. Only the way you work each sc2tog changes.
Closing a shape
To close a ball or the top of a hat, you decrease round after round until few stitches are left. Run the calculator once for each round, using the stitch count you have at the start of that round. The totals shown under the line tell you the count for the next round.
Check the count
After the round, count your stitches. If you have the number shown in the result, the round is right. If you are off by one, look for a decrease that landed in the wrong place, not a missed stitch.
The same case on a flat row
With 42 stitches and 6 decreases on a flat row, the line is:
sc 3, sc2tog, sc 4, sc2tog, (sc 5, sc2tog) 4 times, sc 3.
Check: 6 sc2tog and 30 sc. You end with 36 stitches.
Nearby counts for 42 stitches
Other decrease counts for the same 42 stitches, in the round. The calculator wrote each line.
| Stitches | Remove | Pattern line | You get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | −4 | (sc 8, sc2tog) twice, (sc 9, sc2tog) twice | 38 |
| 42 | −5 | (sc 6, sc2tog) 3 times, (sc 7, sc2tog) twice | 37 |
| 42 | −6 | (sc 5, sc2tog) 6 times | 36 |
| 42 | −7 | (sc 4, sc2tog) 7 times | 35 |
| 42 | −8 | (sc 3, sc2tog) 6 times, (sc 4, sc2tog) twice | 34 |
Questions
Where do crochet decreases go in a round?
Spread them at equal distances. For 42 stitches and 6 decreases, you work the same short run of sc between each sc2tog.
How many decreases can I work in one round?
At most half of the stitches, because each sc2tog uses two. Most patterns use far fewer, so the shape closes gradually.