Starting spiral in hex (hat brim)

[annemarietome]

Hi. I make crochet hats. Body of hat is dc’s. At the start of the brim I do hdc’s into the back loop for 1 row (makes for a neat edge to the fold) then hdc’s for the rest of the brim. My problem is when I have completed the first row of hdc’s(into back loop) I don’t know how to transition to continuing in a spiral without ending up with a hole at that point. Can you possibly help me?

[bgs]

Can you show us a photo?  I did a mini mock up to try to see.  My worst gap is from my ch 2 that starts the round of hdc.  There are a lot of variables at play here.  One would be how you are making your turning chain.  There are different ways to compensate for the turning ch.  Some patterns I have worked have you ch 2 and then hdc in same place and and when you join you join in the hdc not in ch 2.  Your tension can affect it.  Mine tends to be on tighter side so have worked on loosening up over the years but there are times when I make a special effort to snug thing up more to avoid gaps and working back loop is one of those times for me as it tends to stretch out the top of the stitch I am working into.

[Granny Square]

I agree with Bgs, play with the turning chain or even eliminate it; I often make a stacked SC + SSC in place of a DC turning chain, and don't use a chain 1 for the both SCs.

I worked a whole (colorwork) hat in the back loop because doing so made the stitches line up on top of each other, not skew to the right as they usually do if you work in a spiral (this pattern is the first time I learned this trick).  I was dubious and made a swatch (in SC) - see below - and it works!  No holes because there was no transition from stitch types.  It does make the stitch look different, tho, but on the other hand it might inspire you to add colorwork to your designs, and if nothing else there would be no transition so no hole.  If you are interested, this is the pattern I mentioned (hmm, it isn't free any more).

 https://www.whistleandivy.com/crochet-neva-hat-crochet-olympics-team-hat/  both the grey and red stitches are stacked on top of each other in a spiral, but the grey stitches are made 'as usual' and the red is BLO.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Granny Square