Join Crochet Rounds Without a Slip Stitch

Slip stitch joins can leave an unsightly seam in your crochet circles. Learn how to join crochet rounds without a slip stitch, and minimize that seam!

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Joining crochet rounds with a slip stitch

The traditional way to join crochet rounds is to make a slip stitch into the first stitch of the round. This extra stitch makes a bit of a bump, and over several rounds that bump can be very visible.

Joining crochet rounds without a slip stitch

To eliminate that bump, we need to join without creating that extra stitch. We need to connect the working loop from the last stitch to the top of the first stitch, without any extra stitches in between.

Start by pulling your working loop up big, and then remove your hook from the loop. Now insert your hook into the first stitch of the round. You can go in either direction – back to front or front to back.

Remove working loop from hook and insert hook into first stitch

Put the working loop back on your hook, and pull it through that first stitch.

pull working loop through first stitch to join

That’s it! Your round is joined and you’re ready to start your next round, with no extra slip stitch bump.

Back to front or front to back

I said you could insert your hook in either direction, but it does make a very slight difference which direction you choose.

Inserting your hook from front to back will pull the first stitch of the round ever so slightly in front of the last stitch of the round. Conversely, inserting your hook from back to front will pull the last stitch of the round slightly in front of the first stitch of the round.

In this swatch, I went back to front on rnd 2, and front to back on rnds 3 and 4. Can you tell the difference?