Many people seem to have a bit of a confusion in figuring out what is a shift stitch and how is it worked in amigurumi? So I thought I’d explain it with this tutorial so that I can refer to it again whenever people send me an email asking for help in the future.
In my Coraline’s doll 2 – New Look pattern , you will find instructions to keep the work symmetrically.
But what does it mean?
Shift stitch is an extra stitch(s) you work at the end of a round to make your work look symmetrical (if you thread marker moves right), or unravel a stitch(s) at the end of a round (if you thread marker moves left).
Sometimes during a work of the spiral amigurumi, you need to keep the work symmetrically. As work tends to twist to the right you need to adjust position of the marker periodically (beginning of the round).
Usally you have to do shift stitches every 3-5 rounds, but it depending on the yarn, hook and you gauge.
If you notice that marker moves right, you need to work one extra stitch in the end of the round and move marker for one stitch (now 2nd st of the round becomes 1st). this is shift stitch.
If you are left handed, you get a slant to the left, so at the end of the row you will stop a stitch from the marker and move it over, making the last stitch become the first.
Always use the marker to work the rounds and if it starts to tilt then you need to make a shift stitch. That said, your work may not have a pronounced slant, so you may not need to work any stitches in turn.
The shift stitch is normally not included in the round description, but in some patterns it is clearly indicated in the notes of the pattern or in the rounds “now work 1 shift stitch“. In other patterns it is not included in the description of the rounds, but it is stated that it is necessary to keep the work symmetrical or to keep the mark straight in the notes of the pattern.
In my Coraline pattern, for example, I specify like this: “make 1 more SC with …. color for symmetry”. This is the same as the term “shift stitch”.
How to check if it’s time to shift stitch?
To check if it’s time to work shift stitch we have to alternatives: fold your work in half and check if marker still goes straight or use a yarn that marks a straight line (as pictured above).
NOTE: you may think this is a increase, but it isn’t. This way you don’t increase or decrease the amount of stitches. The stitches count remains the same.
This post is great refernce for you who bought my Coraline doll 2 new look!
You can purchase my pieces and recipes via the Etsy shop by clicking on here.
- Then, follow the first post in the series The Amigurumi manual and crochet that has news coming!
That’s all there is to it! Hope this clears up any remaining confusion about a shift stitch and symmetrical work in amigurumi round.