Learn how to make a single crochet invisible decrease and change the way your Amigurumi look!
Have you ever experienced getting ugly bumps and distortions in your Amigurumi when crocheting decreases?
With the invisible decrease, you can fix that!
What is an Invisible Decrease?
The invisible decrease is a way of crocheting a decrease so that the resulting stitch looks almost exactly like a regular single crochet, and the fabric is smooth and without ugly bumps and distortions.
The single crochet invisible decrease is particularly useful for Amigurumi, stuffed toys, and most things that you crochet in the round (where the right side of the fabric is always facing out).
However, for other projects, such as garments or any other flat project, you might want to stick to the regular single crochet decrease.
What is the difference between a decrease and an invisible decrease in Crochet?
Just like any decrease, the invisible decrease has the aim of reducing your stitch count by one stitch, but of course, the way you crochet the invisible decrease is different than the way you make a regular single crochet decrease.
For a regular single crochet decrease, you insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop. Then, you insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over, and pull up another loop. At this point, you have three loops on your hook. Now, you yarn over and pull the yarn through all three loops on your hook.
With the invisible decrease, you will only work through the front loops of the next two stitches and there are fewer “yarn over’s” involved, thus the decrease is less bulky.
So, let’s dive in and let’s learn how to make a single crochet invisible decrease with this easy step-by-step tutorial
Save this free crochet tutorial for later by pinning it to your best crochet board on Pinterest using this pin!
But first, let’s take a look at the abbreviations!
Abbreviations (US Terms)
In most crochet patterns, the abbreviation for the single crochet invisible decrease is Inv Dec or simply Dec.
Since the single crochet invisible decrease is mostly used in Amigurumi, and for Amigurumi you essentially use single crochets, the “single crochet” part of the name is lost in the abbreviation.
Is Sc2tog the same as an invisible decrease?
Sometimes, you might also find the abbreviation Sc2tog, but usually, that indicates a regular single crochet decrease!
How to Make a Single Crochet Invisible Decrease – Step-by-Step Tutorial
In this tutorial, we’ll see how to crochet an invisible decrease over the two stitches indicated by the pink arrows in the picture below.
Step 1
Insert your crochet hook in the front loop of the next stitch with a movement from the bottom-up.
Step 2
Now, twist your crochet hook downwards (see panel a in the photo below), and insert it into the front loop of the next stitch again with a bottom-up movement (photo b).
You now have three loops on your hook.
Step 3
Finally, yarn over and pull the yarn through all three loops on your hook.
Your single crochet invisible decrease is done!
Doesn’t it look just like one normal single crochet?! Now that you have learned this new technique, you can continue your crochet project without any holes or ugly distortions!
I hope you enjoyed this crochet tutorial. Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need any help or support. I am looking forward to chatting with you on Facebook and Instagram!
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