How can I decrease popcorn stitches?

Hi everyone, :)

I’ve been trying my hand at crocheting for a while now, and my current goal is to crochet a ball of popcorn stitches. It’s going to be the base for a sheep. Since there are various different patterns online for crocheting popcorn stitches, I’ll briefly explain how I do it. Right now, I’m crocheting 4–5 half double crochets into a single stitch, briefly removing the loop from the hook, inserting the hook into the first stitch of the 4–5 half double crochets, and pulling the loop through that stitch. That’s how I join the half double crochets together. In the second round, I crocheted popcorn stitches both into the popcorn clusters and into the spaces between them; in the following round, I worked into each popcorn cluster and into some of the spaces, increasing in this way. Now I’ve crocheted 2–3 rounds with the same number of stitches, and I need to decrease again to close the ball, but if I decrease by simply skipping popcorn stitches, I end up with gaps in the crochet that are too large—and through which the filling might be visible.
I hope I’ve explained my problem clearly. What’s the best way to go about making a popcorn ball?
I’d really appreciate any help. :)
Best regards, moal

One more question first... does using this forum cost anything?

Best regards, moal

Hiya..

a photo would make it even easier to tell ... what yarn and hook size are you using?

and if I understand correctly, you crocheted ONLY popcorn stitches, with no other stitches in between?

That makes it very hard to decrease neatly.

My first tip would be - if you feel confident enough - to simply crochet a second half-ball identical to the first one, where you only increase stitches,

and then sew both halves together and, of course, stuff them before the seam is completely closed.

My second idea is a bit hard to explain right now .... hm .... and I'm not entirely sure whether it will work... for example, if you crochet a round of single crochet stitches and at the same time try to decrease stitches so that the number goes down. In the next round, you crochet popcorn stitches into the single crochets again, but not into the top loops - instead, around the single crochet like post double crochets.

That way, the single crochets should be covered, and you should have much smaller gaps.

If I have a bit of free time tomorrow, I'd be happy to try it out or look for a better solution ...

I usually work 1-2 "regular stitches" between the popcorn stitches, so the decreases aren't a problem.
 

And the forum is free :)

Great! Thanks! :)
I’d already thought of the idea with the two halves, but that changes the direction of the bumps, and it might not look quite right for a sheep. I’ll give it a try anyway, though. The second idea sounds plausible—I’ll try that out... Right now I’m crocheting with some leftover yarn to test it out; later I’ll use cotton yarn because—how could it be otherwise—I usually crochet toys for my cats, and this time I’d like to crochet a little sheep. :D
I’ll let you know what I end up making… and how. :D

Best regards, moal
 

I’ll quickly post a picture.

True, the direction is different then... Or you crochet an inner shell using only single crochet and place the popcorn piece over it

So basically, the idea of doing rounds of single crochet in between isn’t a bad one at all. I just think you need to do it consistently right from the start and not only when it’s time to decrease. Otherwise, I can imagine the overall look would turn out quite uneven. That’s why I unraveled everything again and tried the single crochet approach. The problem that’s coming up now is that the ball isn’t round, but rather quite pointy. (The single crochet stitches are "tighter" than the little popcorn stitches.) So I can’t work them in a 1:1 ratio, but have to figure out some kind of balanced proportion.
I’ll keep fiddling with it and report back if anyone’s interested.
I’d already thought about crocheting the whole thing over a finished ball, but somehow I wasn’t really satisfied with the result. :)

Kind regards, moal

Yeah, that’s where you have to get creative.... For my fish, I made 3-stitch popcorn stitches and always worked 1 single crochet in between. I’ll send you the link via private message so you can visualize it. You can also make the popcorn stitches there with 4 or 5 half double crochets.