How to Increase in Crochet (Single Crochet Increase for Amigurumi)

You need a size H/5mm hook, worsted weight yarn, scissors, a small set of stitch markers, and an in-progress amigurumi piece or a small round swatch to practice on. Vanessa uses a cotton yarn because the stitches sit crisp and you can see them clearly. A wool blend works too.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=30

Increases add stitches to a round so the piece grows outward instead of staying tube-shaped. Every time your pattern says inc, you are doing exactly the move below.

Look at the top of your last row. Each stitch shows up as a small two-loop V, lying flat across the work. That V is your target. When a pattern says inc in next stitch, the V on top of the next stitch is the one you mean.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=47

Two single crochets are going to go into this single V. That is the whole secret. The hook moves are exactly the same as a normal sc - you are just doing two of them into one base instead of moving on to the next stitch.

Slide your hook front-to-back under both loops of the V. The hook should pass cleanly through with the yarn waiting on the back side of your work. You are doing the same insertion as a regular single crochet here - nothing special yet.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=70

Some patterns work increases through the back loop only or the front loop only for a different texture. Unless your pattern says so, default to going under both loops like Vanessa shows. That is what inc means in standard amigurumi notation.

Yarn over and pull up a loop. You should now have two loops sitting on your hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops in one motion. That is one regular single crochet done.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=85

If your pattern were calling for a regular sc here, you would move on to the next V. For an increase, you stay put. The next step is where the increase actually happens - going back into the same stitch a second time.

This is the move that makes it an increase. Insert your hook back into the same V you just worked into, not the next one over. Two stitches are about to share one base, and that is the whole point.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=105

Take a beat before you yarn over. Going into the wrong stitch is the most common beginner mistake, and it shows up later as a misshapen round. Confirm you are in the same V where the single crochet you just made is sitting, then continue.

Yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over again, and pull through both loops. The second single crochet is now finished and sitting next to the first one on top of the shared V.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=115

That is the entire increase. Two single crochets, one shared base, stitch count of the round goes up by one. If your pattern says inc 6 times around, you do this same move six times at evenly spaced points in the round.

Look across the row. You should see two single crochets stacked above the same base stitch - that is the visible signature of an increase. The fabric will start to splay outward at that point, which is exactly what you want for a round that needs to grow.

Watch: youtu.be/G5xU-aK1gMU?t=120

From here, work whatever your pattern says next - another increase, plain single crochets, or move to the next round. Most amigurumi rounds use a pattern like sc, inc, sc, inc to evenly add stitches around the circle. The next move you will need is the opposite of this one - check how to decrease in crochet for shaping the top of the piece.