Dr. Tripod or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Counting

Welcome, my human minions! Counting sure is a lot of fun! When you're five and you only have to count to ten... But, when crocheting in a spiral, it can be a source of endless fury and frustration!

It's round 7, single crochet number 23, someone asks you a question like „Where's the litter box?” and suddenly:

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What's the solution? Stitch counters, special apps to keep track etc. However, there is only one way of making crochet counting easier – don't count at all! Counting is for pussies and kittens! Here are a few tips to help you become a real pro. And my human slave has prepared a few photos to help.

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1. The round pointer

When crocheting in a round, there is a natural “round pointer” which shows you exactly where the beginning of every round is. All you have to do is follow it.

 

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2. Learn to see the increases

The easiest way of avoiding counting the whole round is to only count the number of stitches between INCs. This way, you'll rarely have to count higher that 6 and that's something that even mere humans can do. However, you do have to practise “seeing” the INCs:

3. How many single crochets between the increases?

When gradually increasing, you don't really have to follow a pattern to know how many crochets there should be between the increases. Just count the number of finished rounds and detract one. This simple equation tells exactly how many SC you need. Here's an example of how to use this advice when someone distracts you and you need to figure out what to do next.

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There are five finished rounds here. Just detract one and you know that the next round is 4SC and INC all around. So here, you have one more SC to make, then INCrease and repeat 4SC, INC until the end of this round.

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That's all for now. If you have any other counting related problems, leave a comment, maybe sacrifice a small animal and your new cat overlord, Tripod, might just give you the answer;)

Read, enjoy and obey,

Tripod