Introduction

This article is all about the magic ring. When I started crocheting, I had a lot of difficulty with this technique. However, with time, I managed to find tips that helped me become more consistent and stop breaking so many strands of chenille yarn!

I will also show you how to make a small amigurumi ball!

If you just want the step-by-step instructions for the magic ring, go to the “Making the magic ring” section.

What you need to know for this tutorial

• Chaining
• Single crochet

What materials you need to know for this tutorial

• Yarn
• Hook
• Stitch markers
• Fiberfill

The Basics of the Magic Ring

The magic ring is similar to a foundation chain, which I’m sure many of you started your projects with. It’s used to work in the round, which I will discuss in more detail later in this article. Another great point for the magic ring is that it can be tightened, keeping the stuffing inside and helping to form round shapes.

The magic ring is a ring of yarn with a loose end that can be used to pull it closed. The idea is to make a foundation round inside it, then close it afterwards, turning it into a kind of circle that you can use for your next round.

Working in the round

Working in the round differs from working in rows, we will almost never turn our work. There are usually two options when finishing a round :

• Joining with a slip stitch, chaining and continuing
• Just starting the round in the next stitch (not joining)

For amigurumi projects, you want to take the second approach as the first one will be noticeable. Now, we need to keep track of our rows. The next section contains two methods that are quite common.

Making the magic ring

Now it is time to make the magic ring:

Here is a gallery of images of these steps using chenille yarn:

The magic ring is finished! Now all we need to do is start a project with it. In the next section, I will show you how to make a simple sphere. In the next section, I will also explain how to close the ring.

Making your Sphere Using a Magic Ring

Here we will be starting with a magic ring and working in the round. The first step is to make your magic ring, then the first round can start! In the first round, make sure that the loose piece of yarn is on the right and that you are crocheting using both loops. Like this:

R1 : 6 sc in the magic ring. (6)

Now close the magic ring (I will put a little section explaining it at the end of this one).

For this tutorial I will cut the tail short so that it is not in the way, I usually leave around 3 inches of yarn tail.

R2 : 6 inc. (12) (inc are just 2 sc in the same stitch!)

R3 : (sc, inc) x 6. (18)

R4 : (2 sc, inc) x 6. (24)

R5 : (3 sc, inc) x 6. (30)

R6-R10 : 36 sc. (36)

R11 : (3 sc, dec) x 6. (24)

dec in most of my patterns are invisible decreases. They are made like this:

• Put your hook thought the front loops of the next two stitches.
  
• Yarn over pull through two.
  
• Yarn over pull through two.
  

R12 : (2 sc, dec) x 6. (18)

R13 : (1 sc, dec) x 6. (12)

Stuff to get a round shape.

R14 : 6 dec. (6)

Sew shut. Here’s the steps I use to sew it shut:

• Cut the yarn and leave a tail of about 6 inches
• Pull the yarn on the hook through and pull it slightly tight
  
• Add a little bit of stuffing if you want (I usually do)
• Put the yarn on a yarn needle. Go through all the loops on the front (6), starting from the inside and moving to the outside.
  
• Pull on the yarn tail to close the hole and got through the ball a couple of times to secure the tail, then cut it.
  

The sphere is now done!

Closing the magic ring

1. Look at the beginning of your round where there is a loose tail.
   
2. Take the right loop (the one that seems “connected” to the loose tail).
3. Grabbing the base firmly with your fingers, pull on this loop (the other one will get shorter and it will create one big loop).
   
4. This is what it should look like now:
   
5. Grabbing the base where it starts from, pull on the yarn tail (the new long loop created in step 3 will now get sorter).
   
6. Cut the yarn tail leaving about 3 inches.
   

Cut the yarn tail leaving about 3 inches. You’re all done! Now it’s time to move on to another crochet pattern! I recommend my no-sew ghost, which works up quickly and isn’t overly difficult.

Tips for Chenille Yarn

Chenille yarn can be difficult to work with using smaller hooks, and this is exactly what we need to do in order to make amigurumi. I can’t even count the number of times I tried to close my magic ring and broke the yarn. To avoid this as much as possible, I have four major tips (the tips will use a 4-weight yarn for clarity):

Your chain one at the end should be loose

When making the ring, make sure that the last step where you pull through under the two loops, you don’t make it too tight. The left image show you a scenario where it is too tight and on the right it is the tension you should aim for :

Don’t twist the ring

When doing your first row, it is important that you don’t twist the two loops that make up your magic ring. Twisting them will create some tension and make it harder to close it without breaking it

Keep the first loop a little loose

When you want to close the loop, the first loop needs to be fairly loose. If you tight it too much, the second strand you need to pull will get trapped and be impossible to pull without breaking your yarn. You need to find the sweet spot where it is loose, but where the stuffing can’t get out.

Don’t make your first row too tight

Like all the tips above, this is to prevent having too much friction when closing the ring and prevent your yarn from breaking. The left image show you a scenario where it is too tight and on the right it is the tension you should aim for :

I know it seems very hard, but hopefully these four tips will help you master the magic ring in no time!

Conclusion

The magic ring is hard to do in the beginning, but with practice it becomes a lot easier, so don’t get discouraged at first, it took me a long time to find the perfect way to do it.

I hope this tutorial was helpful! I tried to put as many details as I in this tutorial, but if you have any questions, you can reach out on my Instagram page (@filmignoncrochet)!