Crochet Perfect Circle Tutorial & Why this Technique Works

Crochet circles are a big part of the crochet world for many reasons – bags, baskets, coasters, amigurumi, you name it. What most of us find, though, is the standard or traditional way of crocheting circles actually makes more of a hexagon, not a crochet perfect circle.

So what’s the deal? Can we make a “perfect” circle? Can we avoid the accidental hexagon shape happening all together?

We can! In this tutorial, I’ll show you not only the super simple thing to change to make sure your work is a circle and not a hexagon, but also why the work becomes an accidental hexagon and why the change works.

This technique works for any way you work in the round – in joined rounds that are turned or not turned and in spiral rounds, too. It also works for any of the basic stitches in any of those techniques. Cool, right?

This image is a pinterest pin for this Crochet Perfect Circle tutorial. The pin has two pictures: a crocheted circle on the top and a crocheted circle that looks like a hexagon on the bottom. The text reads "How to crochet a perfect circle, not an accidental hexagon".

Just want to know HOW to crochet a perfect circle without all the information on why it becomes a hexagon in the standard technique and why the change works? No problem!
Click this blue hyperlink: Jump down to the “Perfect Circle Formula”.

The Basics of Crocheting a Flat Circle & WHY it Turns into a Hexagon

Before we get into what we are changing in the formula, it’s important to understand why the circle becomes a hexagon in the first place. When we know why the circle becomes a hexagon with the standard formula, we better understand how a small change to the formula will actually make a circle.

When we are crocheting flat circles, we start with a Magic Circle (or our preferred method to start working in the round) and typically begin with 6 single crochet (or 8 half double crochet or 12 double crochet).

We need to increase our stitch count by the same multiple of stitches as our first round to continue crocheting a circle that will remain flat and become wider versus becoming a tube or a cylinder.

For example: If you start with 6 single crochet, you will want to add 6 single crochet to each round. Our stitch count increases from 6 to 12 to 18 to 24, etc.

To achieve this, we work increases by placing 2 single crochet in a stitch evenly spaced in 6 stitches around.

What happens, though, is these increases shape our project and not into a the circle we’re looking for.

Placing 2 stitches into 1 stitch is going to create a bump. And, as we work rounds and the increases continue to stack on top of each other, these bumps become very obvious and make our shape into a hexagon instead of a circle.

Instead of making a circle, it makes a hexagon with 6 points, like this:

This image supports the text and visually shows how the increases stack in the standard crochet circle formula and why it turns into a hexagon.

In the image above, I’ve crocheted a circle using single crochet in joined and turned rounds. The circle is actually more of a hexagon shape. There are 6 “points” or bumps, which black arrows point to. Between these bumps are 1 single crochet in each stitch, which is what create the straight sides.

The increases have been highlighted on one of the 6 sides with V’s to show how these are stacked on top of each other.

What change do we make to the circle formula to create a crochet perfect circle?

To make the circle an actual circle instead of a hexagon, we stagger the increases.

What this does is makes the increases zig zag or offset (like in the photo below) so that they are not stacked on top of each other.

Each round will still have only 6 stitches in which we increase (2 single crochet in 1 stitch), but because we alternate where that increase is, we end up with what looks like 12 increase areas which gives us a much more circular shape.

Instead of 6 obvious and steep points of increase which create a hexagon shape, we create 12 softer, alternated points of increase which give us much more of a circle shape.

This image supports the text and visually shows how the increases are staggered in the crochet perfect circle formula and why it is more circular.

In the image above, I’ve crocheted a circle using single crochet in joined and turned rounds. You can see this example has a much more circular shape or a “crochet perfect circle”.

There are 12 “points” or bumps, which the alternating black and green dots indicate.

The increases have been highlighted with V’s to show how these increases have been staggered so they don’t stack on top of each other. Yellow V’s are odd numbered rounds and white V’s are even numbered rounds.

Why does staggering the increases work?

The first reason is: More points equals a more rounded shape. Consider Geometry: The more points we have radiating out from a center point, the more circular the shape becomes.

Think of the differences between a square, a hexagon, an octagon and a dodecagon (which is closer to what we’re making here, not a circle but it’s close enough!). See how as we add more points to the shape, it becomes more circular?

This image shows what a square, hexagon, octagon and dodecagon look like and supports the text to show how these become more circular as more points are added.

The second reason is: When we stagger the increases, this means our long stretch of “1 single crochet in each stitch” between the increases is also staggered.

This forces the stitches to pull on each other which helps the work avoid the obvious bump and be more circular.

How to Crochet a Perfect Circle

To crochet a perfect circle, we are going to stagger our increases. This is much easier than it sounds, I promise!

All we will do is shift stitches over every other round. This works by dividing the number of single crochet stitches we work between increases in half, working 1 half of these stitches at the start of the round and 1 half of these stitches at the end of the round.

This is easiest to achieve in rounds that have an even amount of stitches between the increases and is most typically used in this technique.

Let’s take a look at 2 “standard” rounds (or how a circle is traditionally worked):

“Standard” Round: [1 sc 5 sts, 2 sc next]. Repeat 6 times.
“Standard” Round: [1 sc 6 sts, 2 sc next]. Repeat 6 times.

So, how do we stagger the increases?

For the second round, in which we have an even number of single crochet to work between increases, we would divide the number of single crochet in half. We will work 1 half of these stitches at the start of the round, work the increase, work the repeat in brackets 5 times and then finish working the other half of the stitches at the end of the round.

“Standard” Round: [1 sc 5 sts, 2 sc next]. Repeat 6 times.
“Staggered” Round: 1 sc 3 sts, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 6 sts, 2 sc next]. Repeat 5 times. 3 sts remain. 1 sc 3 sts.

The Perfect Crochet Circle Formula

This formula is written as if we are working in joined and turned rounds.

Whether you’re working in joined rounds that are turned, joined rounds that are not turned or in spiral rounds, this formula will work. Remember to adjust the formula as necessary for the technique you’re using (For example: Remove “Ch 1, turn” and “Sl st to close” if you’re working in spiral rounds).

Abbreviations Used:

Ch – Chain
Sc – Single Crochet
Sl St – Slip Stitch
St(s) – Stitch(es)
[…] – Repeats are within brackets
1 sc 6 sts – Place 1 single crochet into each of the next 6 sts.
2 sc next st – Place 2 single crochet into the next stitch.

Crochet Perfect Circle Formula
Create a Magic Circle (click for photo and video tutorial)
Round 1 – In Magic Circle, ch 1 (does not count as a stitch here or throughout). Place 6 sc into circle. Sl st to first sc made to close. Pull tail tight. *(6)*
Round 2 – Ch 1, turn. 2 sc in each st around. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(12)*
Round 3 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 1 st, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(18)*
Round 4 – Ch 1, turn. 1 sc first st, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 2 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 5x total. 1 st remains. 1 sc last st. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(24)*
Round 5 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 3 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(30)*
Round 6 – Ch 1, turn. 1 sc each of the first 2 sts, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 4 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 5x total. 2 sts remain. 1 sc each of the 2 remaining sts. Sl st to first sc made to close. (36)
Round 7 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 5 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(42)*
Round 8 – Ch 1, turn. 1 sc each of the first 3 sts, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 6 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 5x total. 3 sts remain. 1 sc each of the 3 remaining sts. Sl st to first sc made to close. (48)
Round 9 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 7 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(54)*
Round 10 – Ch 1, turn. 1 sc each of the first 4 sts, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 8 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 5x total. 4 sts remain. 1 sc each of the 4 remaining sts. Sl st to first sc made to close. (60)
Round 11 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 9 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(66)*
Round 12 – Ch 1, turn. 1 sc each of the first 5 sts, 2 sc next st. [1 sc 10 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 5x total. 5 sts remain. 1 sc each of the 5 remaining sts. Sl st to first sc made to close. (72)
Round 13 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 11 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(78)*

What you’ll notice in the formula above is how the increases are staggered.

Starting with Round 4, we begin our round with half of the single crochet stitches we need to create between increases. We work the remaining single crochets of the requirement at the end of the round.

Otherwise, the round is worked similarly to the “standard” method.

The result of this formula is a crocheted piece that looks much more like a circle than a hexagon:

This image shows a crochet perfect circle worked in burgundy yarn.

By staggering the increases, we’ve created 12 “points” instead of 6 which gives us a shape that resembles a perfect crochet circle much better than only 6 points would.

This image shows a crochet perfect circle worked in burgundy yarn. There are yellow and white highlights to show where the staggered increases are.

Lines in the image above indicate the offset increases. White lines are the staggered increase rounds and yellow lines are the standard increase rounds.

Compare to: The Standard Crochet Circle Formula

This formula is written as if we are working in joined and turned rounds.

Whether you’re working in joined rounds that are turned, joined rounds that are not turned or in spiral rounds, this formula will work. Remember to adjust the formula as necessary for the technique you’re using (for example: Remove “Ch 1, turn” and “Sl st to close” if you’re working in spiral rounds).

Crochet Standard Circle Formula
Create a Magic Circle (click for photo and video tutorial)
Round 1 – In Magic Circle, ch 1 (does not count as a stitch here or throughout). Place 6 sc into circle. Sl st to first sc made to close. Pull tail tight. *(6)*
Round 2 – Ch 1, turn. 2 sc in each st around. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(12)*
Round 3 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 1 st, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(18)*
Round 4 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 2 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(24)*
Round 5 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 3 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(30)*
Round 6 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 4 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. (36)
Round 7 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 5 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(42)*
Round 8 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 6 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close.(48)
Round 9 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 7 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(54)*
Round 10 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 8 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close.(60)
Round 11 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 9 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(66)*
Round 12 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 10 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. (72)
Round 13 – Ch 1, turn. [1 sc 11 sts, 2 sc next st]. Repeat inside brackets 6x total. Sl st to first sc made to close. *(78)*

What you’ll notice in the formula above is the increases are NOT staggered.

Using this formula, regardless of what technique you’re using in your circle, will always result in your increases stacking and will create the 6 points that make the “circle” look more like a hexagon.

The result of this formula is a crocheted piece that looks like this:

This image shows a circle worked using the standard formula. The work looks like a hexagon, not a circle.

By stacking the increases, we only have 6 points in our “circle”. This means we also have long sides of just 1 single crochet after another. Because the increases are not staggered, the areas where we place 1 single crochet in each stitch between increases create flat sides, almost as if we were working in rows.

This image supports the text and shows where the increases stacked and made the work look like a hexagon, not a crochet perfect circle.

You said this works in rounds that are not turned… Are you sure?

Yep! It sure does.

Here’s an example of what the work would look like if we worked in joined rounds that were NOT turned and we did NOT stagger the increases (meaning we used the “standard” formula):

This image shows the standard formula used in rounds that are not turned, as stated in the text.

Using the standard formula makes our increases stack even if we work in rounds that are closed but not turned. In the image above, you can see the stacked increases in white and yellow V highlights. Arrows point to the 6 points that make this more hexagon shaped than circle shaped.

Here’s an example of what the work would look like if we worked in joined rounds that were NOT turned and we DID stagger the increases (meaning we used the “perfect circle” formula):

This image shows a crochet perfect circle in rounds that are not turned using the perfect circle formula, as stated in the text.

Using the crochet perfect circle formula makes our increases stagger even if we work in rounds that are closed but not turned.

In the image above, you can see the staggered increases in white and yellow V highlights. Alternating black and green dots indicate the 12 points that help make this project more circular shaped.

And this works in spiral rounds? Are you sure?

Yep, sure am! The result will look similar to the pictures shown in the “joined but not turned” example, there just won’t be a seam.

Final thoughts on the Crochet Perfect Circle technique

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using the standard technique for crocheting circles. Depending on what your goal is for your project, you may not even need a “perfect” circle.

Crochet perfect circles can be the goal for some things, though. As an example, I’m currently working on a crochet basket pattern that absolutely needs a perfect circle for the bottom. I tested using the “standard” technique and the basket pulled up on the bottom in 6 different places – yikes!

If you’ve ended up on this tutorial, you’re very likely already familiar with crocheting in the round and crocheting flat circles like this. So what I tell you next might make you eye-roll but hear me out…

Practice making circles using both the standard and the crochet perfect circle method.

Which do you like better? Which would you use for what type of project?

Pay attention to where the increases go, how they stagger or stack, and what that does to the project.

These sort of little investigative projects that we absolutely will take apart when we are done can help build our knowledge of crochet in general and this can help us be better crocheters with technical knowledge behind us as we continue on in our hobby.

This image is a pinterest pin you can use to pin this crochet perfect circle tutorial to pinterest.

Did you enjoy this tutorial on how to crochet a perfect circle?
Share it with others and Pin it to Pinterest!

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today!

Don’t forget to join my Facebook Group so we can chat all about your creations! We are a group for crocheters of all experiences, all interests and love to hang out together. Come join the fun!

Facebook | FB Community | Instagram | Pinterest

Shannon | Designer & Editor

Shannon helps crocheters find their next project and build their skills with in depth tutorials and crochet patterns on her blog, theloopholefox.com.

With more than a decade of crochet experience, Shannon knows that understanding why we do something matters just as much as how we do it. She teaches new techniques and crochet stitches in depth so you can crochet with confidence.