The basic crochet oval instructions below will teach you how to make an oval. You can use crochet thread or yarn of any weight and work with hooks of any size to create a variety of different types of crochet ovals. Play with this to make a great range of different items. Abbreviations for crocheting styles are key to understand. Some of the terms you will encounter include:
Ch: ChainSl st: Slip stitchSc: Single crochetHdc: Half double crochetDc: Double crochetTr (or trc): triple (or treble) crochet
The longer your crochet chain, the longer the starting center of your oval. You can choose starting chains of various sizes, for this reason, making them smaller for a smaller beginning oval or larger to get a bigger oval to start with. There will be a slight difference in the subsequent instructions when you change the size of your starting chain. You will be substituting the number of your starting chain and the number of stitches you would be working along the straight sections accordingly. The increases in the end curves would still be done the same way. Here’s a glance at the increases you’ve done so far so you can get a sense of the pattern, beginning with round three:
1 sc, 21 sc, (2+1)*3, 20 sc, (2+1)*23 sc, (2+2)*2, 20 sc, (2+2)*3, 20 sc1 sc, 21 sc, (2+3)*3, 21 sc, (2+3)*25 sc, (2+4)*2, 20 sc, ((2+4)*3, 19 sc1 sc, 22 sc, (2+5)*3, 21 sc, (2+5)*2
You can see that the increases go up every time (2 sc, sc in next 2 then 2 sc, sc in next 3, etc) from round to round. Odd-numbered rounds begin with one sc followed by a group of them (beginning with twenty-one and increasing over the rows). Odd-numbered rounds end with an increase. Even-numbered rounds begin with a small number of sc stitches (three then five and increasing so on). They end with the long group (beginning with 20 stitches, the length of the chain). For example, if you are on a round where you would be putting seven stitches in between each increase, you can vary the stitches in between the increases so that they won’t be all lined up in the same place. To illustrate:
Instead of 7 sc between increases on that round, do 5, 11, 5. In other words (sc in next 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 11 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 5 sc).Or, instead of 7 sc between increases on that round, do 6, 9, 6. In other words, (sc in next 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 9 sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next 6 sc).
You can vary it any way you want. Whatever number you subtract from the first or third number, add that to the center number.
