Crochet and Rotate

Have you been confused before on what a pattern means when they say rotate or go around?

What it actually means is crocheting on the other side of the foundation chain. This is a great method for creating leaves or ears like I made for Rabbit above.

So here I’ll just briefly show what ‘Crochet and Rotate’ or ‘crochet and go around’ refers to. It’s a similar method I use for many of the rabbits I have made previously.

Step 1) Creating the basic foundation chain

This is mostly basic when you start off with a slip knot and make a whole foundation chain. In this example, I made ch9, which I have named as the first round.

Round 1: Ch9

If you are unsure of how to make basic crochet stitches like slip knot or foundation chain, you can check out my free 30-page ebook on how to do this.

Step 2) Crochet along the foundation chain

What you choose to crochet along the foundation chain is up to you, based on what the patterns says or whichever shape you would like to conjure up.

In this case, I’m starting with a single crochet of 2 (sc2) to start off with, in round 2.

Step 3) Complete until the end of the row

To complete this first row along the foundation chain, I have named it round 2. To create a taller effect in the middle and narrower effect at the ends, I have used single crochet at ends and half double and double crochet in middle.

Round 2: Sc2, hdc1, dc2, hdc1, sc2, go around chain

Step 4) Rotate the whole row!

So you see the part where I mentioned to go around the chain - it refers to the arrows in the pictures above.

In the top 2 images, the foundation chain part is at the bottom, while in 3rd image, it’s on the left and in the last picture, the foundation chain part has gone to the top.

Step 5) Continue crocheting on the other side of the foundation chain

As I mentioned earlier, the foundation chain part is now facing upwards and you can continue to crochet on the other half of the foundation chain.

In this case, as we continue crocheting on the other side of the row, I have named it round 3.

Round 3: Sc2, hdc1, dc2, hdc1, sc2

It’s essentially the same as round 2, to create a symmetrical side, identical to the original row on the foundation chain.

The final piece! It consists of the foundation chain, the first row crocheted on and then the subsequent row crocheted on the other side!

You can see how this method can be used to make leaves or ears. I have done this for my Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh and also my past rabbits like Peter Rabbit and Bugs Bunny.

My final Rabbit and his ears! I made a yellow version of the ears which were bigger and a smaller pink version (which I shrank down, which I’ll talk about how to later this month when I made Kanga and Roo so stay tuned).

This is how he turned out! The full pattern is here by the way.

Of course you can always make round 2 and 3 asymmetrical, it will just product a different effect. Which is why it’s so much fun to make Amigurumis because you can keep testing out new shapes to see how they turn out!