Increases and Decreases in Crochet and Knitting

Dear users, dear authors,
Would you like to share your thoughts on increases and decreases in crocheting and knitting?

When crocheting spiral rounds, I like to use the invisible decrease. This makes the stitch pattern much tighter and prevents holes from forming. Plus, you can’t see the decrease, so no stripes appear. For amigurumi, this is the best way to master this technique.

You can find videos on YouTube that show how it works.

Best regards, Diana

When crocheting increases, I use a system where the increases are staggered so that the result is a circle rather than a hexagon. 

So, for example, if the increases are to be made in steps of 6 (crocheting a circle), I do it as follows: 
1st rnd: 6 single crochet stitches (sc) in the magic ring
2nd rnd: double every stitch (st) = 12 sc
3rd rnd: 6 * (1 sc, inc.) = 18 sc 
4th rnd: 6 * (inc., 2 sc) = 24 sc
5th rnd: 6 * (3 sc, inc.) = 30 sc
6th rnd: 6 * (2 sc, inc.) = 36 sc
… and so on …

So the increase is shifted along each time and, whenever possible, you don’t increase into a doubled stitch from the previous round. However, this only works for truly round shapes/even increases, and not for, for example, shaped bodies where several increases in a row are needed, e.g. on the belly.