Magic Circle with Super Fine yarn

[splent2112]

I'm trying to crochet a mini plush and the pattern calls for super fine yarn (they call it fingering yarn in the pattern)... however I'm stuck at the beginning with the magic circle. I've tried making it a few times and whenever I pull it together it's so small and tight that I don't even know how to expand from it. I've tried it with size C, E, and F hooks and the problem is the same. Am I doing the circle wrong?

I should add that it's a 6 stitch magic circle.

Edited March 15, 2021 by splent2112

[bgs]

I dont understand what you mean by " I don't even know how to expand from it".  You make your ring.  Do not pull it tight until you have made your 6 sc into the ring.  You make 6 sc into the ring.  You pull the ring tight----you control how tight you want it to be.  In fact you can leave it a little loose and cinch it in tighter later when you weave the end in.  The next round of stitches are made into the 6 sc.  Are you making your sc's so tight you cant work into them?

Edited March 15, 2021 by bgs

[Granny Square]

I use the adjustable ring with doily thread and tiny doily hooks all the time, so it's not a matter of hook size.  I agree there are a few moments at the beginning that are really awkward, tho, and practice helps.

When I first encountered the instructions I thought it looked complicated until I realized it was just a slip knot that wasn't tightened over your hook!

After you get the first real stitch on the ring, it's no different than working around a closed chain.  You just have to hold on to the yarn with your finger until then.

Make a slip knot, keep it open, hold on to it with your fingers (I think I use my middle finger of my right hand, and thumb and first finger of my left hand, mostly, doing this in my head) - you will be working around the open circle and the yarn tail (the yarn tail end should trailing to the left, if you are right handed). Chain 1 (hold on!), sc around the yarn tail and the ring--now it is secure you don't have to hold on to keep it from falling apart-- continue with the remaining stitches around the ring.  Later you can pull the yarn tail as tight as you want to close the hole and weave in the end.  There are otherwise to start a center-out thing, but for a toy, the advantage of the ring is you can pull it tight--you don't want the stuffing showing.

I usually leave the slip knot exaggeratedly open until I'm done, it helps me to hold onto it.

[Granny Square]

BGS and I hit post about the same time, I read the question more as "the ring is tight" versus "can't work into the stitches".  I hope between the 2 of us we answered your question?

[splent2112]

I THINK so. I think it's a bit of both... It's also really difficult to pull the yarn into the circle, like there's quite a bit of resistance, and then it's so tight I can't even see the stitches to feed into for building upon the circle. I'm going to try again later and if I still have a problem I'll take a picture.

[Granny Square]

When I do this on my doilies with thread, I make the circle so it's abut 1" in diameter, so I can grab hold of it with my left hand.  When you pull the tail end, it closes up so you can't even see daylight thru the hole.  That's part of the beauty of it, you aren't' having to shove stitches into a tiny hole.

[Granny Square]

Here is a quick example, #10 doily thread, open circle is about 1/2 inch (but could have been bigger to start with, or I could pulled it bigger to continue if I wanted to.  If this were medium #4 US yarn for a toy, I'd have made the loop probably 1" to accommodate the bigger yarn and hook).

You can see the tail trailing off to the left (bottom), and that I'm working over the tail.  

Edited March 15, 2021 by Granny Square

[splent2112]

Yeah I'm using #14 and I think I'm doing the stitch wrong, because they seem smaller and further apart. I bet that's why it's coming out so weird. I get the slip stitch to start it ok, but then I don't think I'm doing the single crochets correctly.

[Granny Square]

I did US double crochets as I thought they would stand out more from the loop part ...so sorry if I confused you by that, I was mostly trying to show the big loop which is easy to work into.  Here is a youtube tutorial, showing Magic /Adjustable ring in SC, maybe this will help?  Notice how she is keeping the loop big as she goes...

Edit, #14 thread?  Not familiar with that size of thread, it would be a bit smaller if it's on the same scale (pearl cotton is similar sized but different scale)  but either way, working with the adjustable ring with whatever thread or yarn thickness is the same process.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Granny Square

[Bailey4]

They've both given you great advice.  My suggestion is to look at a few videos and see which one shows you what you need to see.  I found the magic circle really confusing at first, now I don't know how I made things before I had it.  It has become that important to my crochet life.  What helped me was looking at different people working it until I found someone that showed me what I wasn't doing in their video and then it clicked.

You can make the loop really large when you are starting it.  So there never shouldn't be enough room for your stitches.  However, as I said it was awkward in the beginning figuring out how to get my stitches in the loop.  Now I do it without thinking.  However, I had to figure out what I wasn't doing to get here.

[splent2112]

2 hours ago, Granny Square said:

I did US double crochets as I thought they would stand out more from the loop part ...so sorry if I confused you by that, I was mostly trying to show the big loop which is easy to work into.  Here is a youtube tutorial, showing Magic /Adjustable ring in SC, maybe this will help?  Notice how she is keeping the loop big as she goes...

Edit, #14 thread?  Not familiar with that size of thread, it would be a bit smaller if it's on the same scale (pearl cotton is similar sized but different scale)  but either way, working with the adjustable ring with whatever thread or yarn thickness is the same process.

Maybe I'm wrong about the size of the thread, I have to look at it 😅

[splent2112]

It's Aunt Lydia's Thread. 

But it figured out my problem, I wasn't stitching the Magic Circle correctly. I was skipping the straggler and not stitching that into it, which is why it wouldn't tighten properly. Thanks for your help!!!!

[Granny Square]

 glad you figured it out!