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Finishing · Beginner

Turning corners

To turn a corner when you crochet round the edge of a flat piece, work three stitches into the corner stitch in place of one. The extra stitches are an increase: they give the round the room to go round the corner and lie flat. Without them the corner curls.

How to work it

  1. Work up to the corner

    Work along the edge, spacing the stitches evenly, until the next stitch is the corner stitch: the last stitch of that edge.

  2. Three stitches in the corner stitch

    The upper left corner of a flat piece, drawn as a plain shape, with a round of single crochet worked round its edge: along the top, round the corner and down the side. Three stitches, marked, are worked into the corner: their three feet meet at the corner of the piece, and their tops lie along the top edge, across the point of the corner, and down the side.

    Work three single crochet (UK double crochet) into the corner stitch. The first lies along the edge you came by, the second sits on the point of the corner, and the third starts the next edge.

  3. Go on along the next edge

    Work along the next edge to the next corner, and turn it in the same way. A square or a rectangle has four corners to turn.

  4. On the next round

    Every round turns its corners again: three stitches into the corner stitch, which is now the middle one of the three stitches made there on the round before.

At a glance

Used for
a border worked round a blanket or a square; a square or a rectangle worked in rounds from the middle
In single crochet
3 stitches in the corner stitch
In other borders
The number can differ. A pattern for a taller or a fancier border gives its own corner: more stitches in the corner stitch, or stitches with chains between them.
A corner made with chains
Some borders turn the corner with a stitch, a few chains and another stitch, all in the corner. On the next round the corner is worked into that chain space.
Too few stitches
The corner pulls in, and curls or cups.
Too many stitches
The edge waves and ruffles.
What a corner adds
Three stitches in the place of one: 2 more stitches at each corner, 8 more in each round of a square.

Only the corners change. Along the edges between them the round keeps one stitch in each stitch; at each corner it gains two.

A square worked in rounds from its middle turns its corners in the same way. Every round has three single crochet in each of its four corners and one in every stitch between them, so each side is two stitches longer than on the round before.

Look at the corners as the round grows. A border that lies flat is right. If a corner curls, it has too few stitches or they are too tight; if the edge ripples, it has too many.

When it goes wrong

My corners curl up.
The corner has too few stitches, or the stitches are too tight. Pull the corner out and work three stitches into the corner stitch.
My border is wavy.
It has too many stitches. Go back and work fewer along the edge, and no more than the pattern's number in each corner.

Questions

How many stitches go in a corner?
Three, for a round of single crochet. A pattern with taller stitches or a fancy border gives its own number.
Which stitch is the corner stitch on the next round?
The middle one of the three stitches you made in the corner. The three new stitches go into it.
How do I crochet a square in rounds?
Work round and round, with three single crochet in each of the four corners and one single crochet in every stitch between them. Each round has 8 stitches more than the one before.

Where to go next

Stitches

Patterns