Why is My Crochet Circle Wavy?

One of the most common questions in crochet is “Why is my crochet circle wavy?” Which can be frustrating, especially if you don’t know what to do.

If you’re anything like me, you want to know what you are doing wrong and how to correct it. Lets dive into the reasons on why your crochet circle is wavy and how to fix it.

Why is my crochet circle wavy?

You are doing a technique called ruffling. Where you strategically place multiple clusters of crochet stitches to make a ruffling (or wavy) effect.

You normally see this as borders to blankets or clothes.

In your case, because it wasn’t done intentionally it might’ve surprised you!

How do I fix this?

You can correct this in multiple ways. You may have to rippit (A crochet term where you have to rip or pull loose a part of your project due to a mistake made) to undo the technique.

After that, there are multiple ways to correct this error based on your crochet project.

Count, Adjust, Decrease

Count your stitches

When counting your stitches and doing the math, ensures that you are keeping the same amount of stitches in your rows.

For example, You make 10SC into a magic circle, then you increase in every SC, and you should have 20SC to end with. If you count and you now have 22, 25, or 30 .. Then that is an indication you placed too many stitches in this row.

Place a non-increasing row in between the increasing rows

This is one of my favorite techniques for your question of “why my crochet circle is wavy.” This technique helps to give breathing room for your circle to grow flat and not wavy. 

Make sure to count your stitches for extra assurance. This adjustment will make your project non-wavy and flat.

Gradually decrease the number of increase stitches in every row

This is another technique I love and swear by. This means to increase every row but decrease the amount of times you increase in each stitch.

For example, in my pattern Crochet Coaster Flower, it will say

“Row 1: Inc in every stitch, Row 2: Inc in every other stitch, Row 3: Inc in every third stitch.” This way the coaster will stay flat and won’t curve or stay wavy.

There you have it!

These are the easiest ways to keep your circle flat and not have your crochet circle be wavy. Check out some of my other crochet tips to help you get better at crochet!