How to Crochet in Continuous Rounds

Crochet projects don’t have to be flat rectangles! Today, we’ll learn how to crochet in continuous rounds with an open center. This versatile technique can be used to crochet simple items like coffee sleeves or hair scrunchies (both are coming soon!), as well as more advanced projects like sweaters and sleeves.

grey crocheted cylinder on a white background with a purple hook and text "how to crochet continuous rounds - beginner crochet tutorial from you should craft"

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For those of you following along with the Newbie Series, this lesson is Day Eight. If you’re not following along but would love to learn how to crochet with daily tutorials, beginner patterns, and round-ups sent to your inbox — sign up here:

After today’s lesson, you’ll be able to:

crochet the slip stitch
identify the slip stitch in charts and patterns
single crochet in continuous rounds
describe the difference between “rows” and “rounds”

Table of Contents

Identifying the Slip Stitch in Rows and Patterns

When crocheting in an open round, we join a chain using a new stitch — the slip stitch.

In patterns, the slip stitch is abbreviated as “sl st.” The beginning of a pattern that’s worked in continuous rounds might read:

ch 30, join to first ch with sl st

Stitch charts use a period (filled circle) or filled oval to represent slip stitches. The chart below represents a starting ch 30, joined with a slip stitch. There is also a round of 30 single crochets.

sample stitch chart for crocheting in the round

Supplies / Materials

You can crochet in the round with any hook/yarn, so use whatever you have on hand. If you’re following along with the Newbie Series, I recommend using your worsted weight acrylic and an H 5.0 mm hook so you can get on head start on tomorrow’s pattern. You’ll also need one stitch marker.

For the tutorial video and pictures, I used:

Notes about Working in Continuous Rounds

Working in continuous rounds is similar to crocheting in rows, except for a few minor differences:

Rows are called “rounds”
You don’t turn your work
Round 1 is the only round that starts with a chain. For all other rounds, we crochet right on top of first stitch of the previous round