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Working in the round · Easy

Tubes

A crocheted tube is made in one of three ways. A chain is joined into a ring and worked in rounds, each closed with a slip stitch. Or the same ring is worked round and round in a spiral, with no joins. Or a flat piece is worked in rows and its two side edges are seamed together. In all three the number of stitches sets how wide the tube is, and the stitches are never increased once it is wide enough.

How to work it

  1. Chain the distance round the tube

    Make a chain as long as the distance round the tube. Every round will have the same number of stitches as this chain, so the chain sets the width: more chains for a wider tube, fewer for a narrower one.

  2. Join the chain into a ring

    A chain of twelve laid round in a ring, seen from above, with every chain lying the same way up. The ring is not yet closed: the loop on the hook is at the end of the chain, beside the first chain, which is marked. The slip stitch that closes the ring goes into that first chain.

    Bring the two ends of the chain together, making sure that the chain is not twisted: every chain should lie the same way up, all the way round. Then work a slip stitch into the first chain to close the ring.

  3. Way 1: joined rounds

    A tube of three rounds seen from the side and a little from above. Each round has the same number of stitches as the one below it, so the sides rise straight. Behind the top round, the far side of the same round shows as a faded line of stitch tops: the top of the tube is open.

    Chain up to the height of the stitch you are using, then work one stitch into every chain round the ring, without turning. Close the round with a slip stitch into the top of its first stitch. Begin every later round the same way and work one stitch into every stitch. With no increases the piece does not spread: it grows upward as the wall of a tube. Because the rounds are not turned, the right side faces outward.

  4. Way 2: a spiral

    Join the ring in the same way, but do not close the rounds. When a round is complete, work the next stitch straight into the first stitch of that round and keep going. Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round and move it up each time you come to it, because nothing else shows where a round begins. A spiral is most often worked in single crochet (UK double crochet).

  5. Way 3: a flat piece, seamed

    A flat piece of four rows. Its two side edges are marked with a line each, and an arrow curves up and over from each side edge toward the middle: the two edges are brought together and seamed, which turns the flat piece into a tube.

    Work a rectangle in rows: as wide as the distance round the tube, and as tall as the tube is long. Then bring the two side edges together and sew them, with mattress stitch or another seam.

  6. To close one end, start from a circle

    A tube with one closed end begins as a flat circle, worked in rounds with increases. When the circle is as wide as the tube should be, stop increasing and work one stitch into every stitch: the rounds that follow rise from the edge of the circle as the sides. The number of stitches in the last round of the circle is the number round the tube.

At a glance

Used for
cowls and ear warmers; socks; the sides of bags, baskets and hats
Width
Set by the number of stitches round the tube.
Length
Set by the number of rounds, or of rows in a seamed piece.
Joined rounds
Each round is closed with a slip stitch; a line shows where the rounds join.
A spiral
No joins; a stitch marker shows where a round begins.
A seamed piece
Worked flat in rows; one seam up the tube.
Increases
None, once the tube is as wide as it should be.

The three ways give three slightly different tubes. Joined rounds are level, and they leave a line up the tube where each round was joined and the next begun. A spiral has no such line, but it ends with a small step where the last round stops. A seamed piece has a sewn seam, and it can be worked in any stitch you already work in rows.

Rounds, joined or in a spiral, are worked with the same side facing you all the time, so the fabric shows the right side of every stitch on the outside. A flat piece is turned at the end of every row, and its fabric looks the same as any other piece worked in rows.

When it goes wrong

My tube has a twist in it.
The chain turned over before it was joined. Take the work back to the chain, lay the chain so that it is not twisted, and join it again.
My tube gets wider or narrower as it grows.
Count the stitches of a round. A tube has the same number in every round: a round with more is wider, and a round with fewer is narrower. A stitch marker in the first stitch of the round makes the count easier.
In a spiral, I cannot tell where the round ends.
Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round and move it up into the first stitch of each new round as you reach it.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Variations

Questions

How many chains do I need for a tube?
As many as there are stitches round the tube. The chain is as long as the distance round, and every round has that number of stitches.
Should I work a tube in joined rounds or in a spiral?
Joined rounds end level, so they suit a tube whose top edge should be even. A spiral has no line of joins and is most often worked in single crochet, but it ends with a small step.
Can I make a tube without working in the round?
Yes. Work a flat rectangle in rows, as wide as the distance round the tube, and seam its two side edges together.
How do I close the end of a tube?
Begin with a flat circle. When it is wide enough, stop increasing, and the next rounds become the sides.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides