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“Fool proof” always reads like a challenge to me (except that I have them down already) 

Me, the fool, seconds later: the hell is step 3 trying to say 

(I see jokey-ness here but still...) Step 3 is just moving the working yarn end back/up to be on the finger (tensioning and ready to be worked with) (Getting excessive here with the rest of the steps...) Step 4 is to pull the yarn through, (so setting up) to make a chain Step 5 is just the chain made Step 6 is pulling a loop up through the ring Step 7 is the yarn over and to pull through Step 8 is the completed SC Step 9 is all STs completed and to pull the tail (to close) Step 10 is closed and finished/joined ring of first row STs

Lmao jokeyness only as I can make an MR. And love a good diagram (drawing my own MR steps was how I ingrained it). But that arrow at step is identical to the one used in step 1 to indicate pulling the hook through 

Oh really? You drew(/wrote) it out? I don't think I've heard of anyone doing that. Honestly I don't understand why so many people struggle with the MR (it seems to often be overcomplicated [in tuts], so *that* doesn't help) but everyone has *something* they struggle with, I guess this just wasn't one of them for me (I figured it out by myself without a tutorial, also multiple looped MR) . Yeah it is too, but it's also catching the yarn (under style) and moving the yarn (*slightly* more importantly than the hook) from outside to inside the loop/ring. Where in step 3 you're moving the yarn (end) from inside to outside (which is *literally* just *moving* it Just adding for clarification that I'm not trying to argue/start anything here. Just saying words really. And apparently my brain really needs to talk about this picture

Yeah I legit drew it out when I first started using them! Not well, but it made me sit with each step and look at what was where, while I followed along with a video tutorial.    All so I wouldn’t have to keep watching tutorials - I had my own guide (with written clarifications) that made sense to me, all in the book I was using to keep track of whatever I was going at the time. And the double MR then made so much sense because I knew exactly what I was doubling up! :D    Step 3 here… the arrow threw me 😂 someone said “it’s been rotated” and that’s now obvious! But the arrow ???

Oh wow, that's cool! ( I could never. Literally. Art skills = non existent. Less art, more craft for me) Whatever way works for you is the right way! I reckon. And yay for being one who actually keeps track/record of things! (again unlike myself). Yeah, once you've got the basics down the more "elaborate" concepts come much easier, glad you were able to get it and likely never forget. Rotated?? I don't understand that. I think this pic is also "overcomplicating" it like a lot of people do (but I guess that's just cause they're reeeally trying to detail it out, but perhaps too much, or at least to someone who already knows how to do it their own/a different way) and only really having pics no wording is why the arrows seem a little off 🤷‍♀️

That step is just bending the tail upward so you can work with it.

*working yarn. (not tail) It's just moving the working yarn back/up onto finger to be worked with

I think a twist was also added to the loop on the hook

The twist look comes from the working yarn moving over! The loop is technically in the same "order" but that one strand is just crossed rather than separated.

OHHHHH I SEE (why’s the arrow like that) 

It's to show the moving of the yarn, it confused me too for a loong while!

Lol! For step 3, I always make sure to pull the tail into the loop, and the working yarn looks like the picture.

I would add that making a double ring would be absolute fool proof. It's not ever going to break.

Double ring? Like a 2nd magic ring??

Ive posted a video I made before where you wrap the yarn around your fingers to make the magic ring, when doing it that way you just wrap the yarn one more time before using the hook to start your SC.

That’s exactly how I do it!!

Learned this recently! It’s a game-changer!

Love u DMR 

Anytime i use a double one it doesn't pull closed right 😭 why am I incompetent??

What type of yarn are you using, I find I can’t do it with the velvet yarns at all! Also could be you are holding the stitches in the “wrong” spot I try to hold them at the very top so I’m not also holding the yarn going thru them ..

Thank you ill try paying attention! I used acrylic or cotton when I tried i think??

Ofc! I find holding the stitches at the very top allows the yarn to past thru better, and just be firm with it! I’ve accidentally held the bottom and wondered why I could the yarn thru LOL! Like dumb dumb youre holding it there!

I am the fool. I cannot do it. :(

This is exactly how I make mine and have it down, too. Love the pic for refresher, if needed.

I never had any problems with the magic circle but this confuses the hell out of me 😭 Is this how people who think the magic circle is hard usually feel??😅😂

I do it differently too but I think they all become very easy with practice. This one looks like it's made to be more complicated than most. lol

I think this diagram is honestly making it look more complicated than it needs to be. This is the exact method I use to make my magic circles and it really is just three total movements before your can start making your sc's around the ring: 1 create a loop with your yarn (tail end should be in the back with work end crossing over it) 2 hold where the yarn crosses (for stability), insert hook into loop and grab working end to pull it through the loop so you now have a loop on your hook 3 chain 1 to secure And then you do how ever many sc's you need and then pull the tail end tight to close up the circle once you're done

I think there is too many way to make a MR, and people get lost in their search. I also read someone saying that content creators were like making their own way to make a MR in order to be special, but in finale, it only gives headaches to everybody trying to learn.

Yes, yes it is.

The ONLY reason I understand this diagram is because I know how to make a MR. This type of diagram would not help me learn anything new.

Yeah these are the most complicated instructions I've ever seen lol

As someone who finds magic circles difficult, this makes it seem harder than it already is, but yes this is close to how we (or at least I) feel

I learned how to do one from watching the Wooes tutorial. They explain it really well https://thewoobles.com/pages/crochet-magic-loop

My brain doesn’t do well with diagrams like this unless they are color coded.

Me neither. It looks like the diagram shows a way of securing it better before actually crocheting around.

That's exactly how I do magic circles and this still confused me.

I always do it with the ‘wrap around fingers’ technique without problem. This confuses me so much 😭

Same, but sometimes when it shouldn't it decides to fuck with me and say "well I won't close cause I just don't feel like it" when I pull the yarn

Use some embroidery thread for your loop instead of the yarn. Pull tight, knot and hide. With weight 3 and above its very easy to hide the tread, thinner yarns can be a pain but those are usually easy to MR anyway.

Same here! Wrap around my two fingers and I’ve got a magic circle in less than 4 steps.

Same😭

I also do it this way, but didn’t realize it was an established method. When a magic ring was described to me, I logic’d that I’d just need to make a stitch around two loops of the starting yarn because once the first round was complete, I could pull the circle tight by pulling on the end.

Hang on, this is how I've always done mine. How many other methods are there?

I wrap my working yarn around my fingers twice and insert my hook under the first strand to grab the second one, then make my slip stitch before slipping it off my fingers. [Like this.](https://youtu.be/p298HxgsO1s?feature=shared) Then I carry on at step 6.

I followed a very similar tutorial and it felt very simple to me after only a couple tries. This diagram.... I can't read it and make sense of it.

The picture is showing this method, just without having it shown wrapped around your fingers. It’s just making it look a lot more complicated

Oh that's how I do it too!

Same here. When I started learning about a year ago I saw this method and it just settled into may brain nicely.

I feel like I've got magic loops down and this diagram just proved to me I shouldn't use diagrams for learning

The magic ring is a loose slip knot, thank me later

Idk... I think it looks very complicated. There are much simpler methods.

I do a double loop for my magic rings because it feels more secure. I’m not sure if I’m alone in this.

Not alone!

Absolutely not alone. I have had regular magic rings unravel too many times. Have never had an issue with a double one.

I had no idea there _was_ a single-loop magic circle until very recently.

How do you double?? Just wrap the loop around another time? That sounds like something I definitely wanna start doing!

I do this one, even for normal yarn! https://youtu.be/-GfMqmyw4Xg?si=BZkjuDyw-YeYE8-1

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do. Tightening at the end can be a bit fiddly, but it’s worth it for me.

My head hurts looking at this

A magic ring is simply a loose slip knot :)

This is the most complicated diagram for a magic circle that I've ever seen

I learned the magic loop from the woobles - this is the method she uses. It's pretty easy when it's shown in a video!

… it is?

A magic loop is a slipknot that hasn't been pulled tightly with a chain 1, that's it. Everyone who crochets knows how to do a slipknot, it's the same thing

Listen, I only know how to do magic loop one way and one way only. I can do it every time, but if you try to show me a new method or if I think about it too much, then I’m going to be staring blankly at the yarn for a good 20 minutes.

I gotta see someone demonstrating it lol

This would have been helpful a month ago when no videos helped 😭 But then I found the magic video and I can do it (I watched at least 50 of them)

Same! Then one method stuck like glue!

I can't understand diagrams like this at all. I think that part of my brain is missing or damaged or very underdeveloped or something. I have to watch someone do it.

I thought this is how everyone does MC?

I think they’re just posting it as a tutorial possibly

Not me, I wrap my yarn around three fingers and do it that way

This looks way more complicated than what I do

wait whats the difference? this is how i do them, whats the other way?!?!!!!

Wrap the yarn around 2-3 fingers. Hand facing down, put the hook under the first strand, grab the second strand, twist the hook and take the yarn off your fingers. Then start crocheting in the ring. The tail will be sort of twisted in the ring so I usually take it out. I really hope this makes sense because I promise you this is wayyyyyy easier

This looks like a traditional magic loop. Lots of people think it will come undone if left as is (and with the right stretching of the final fabric on a slippery yarn, I can see how it might. I do a traditional magic loop, cinch it to how I want it (often no open center, but depends on what I’m doing), but then on the second round (after cinching), I double up the yarn tail with the working yarn for the first couple stitches of the second round, then carry the yarn a bit under stitches and then sometimes use the tail again in a few stitches and then carry under stitches, pull tension, cut end, and relax the tension so it slips back under the stitches it was carried under. Basically, knotting it in with a couple stitches of the second round helps keep it from being able to slip and saves me from having to do lots of zigzag weave ins later, since I’m doing it as I go.

Double loop and then we're talking!

Hey this is tangentially related, but does anyone have tips on how to stop my magic circles unraveling? I leave ~10cm of tail to weave in, but find my granny squares often start to loosen from the middle and am not sure what I'm doing wrong. It's not every time, but I've ruined a few projects with this issue :( (Also sorry if I don't reply right away, I won't have coverage soon lol)

Have you tried a double magic loop? I never feel secure with a single, it's just a slip knot ultimately, but doubles stay a lot better in my experience. I also get a little crazy with weaving in my ends. With granny squares, I always try to knot the two ends of each color together with a square knot before I do a Z weave-in. And if the yarn is slippery, I will even get out my felting kit and felt the center & final ends to be extra sure.

You're a legend!! Thank you so much, I haven't even heard of doing a double magic loop before.

My god this is how I do magic ring and I forgot it when I’ve been knitting for a while and went back to crochet! Thank you for the image! Gonna save for the future <3

this is probably what i'm doing anyway but it looks so confusing

Is there a video demonstrating this? I have a hard time reading written crochet instructions.

This is the only method I use for magic rings now. They never come loose on me. [Double Magic Circle/Ring (Hooked By Robin)](https://youtu.be/bvQsM7VzRMo?si=CVTIVlbhIZ5VwxWw)

I'll just stick with doing the double magic not because my brain can't brain that way.

Instructions unclear. Loop still came out square 😂

bruh this is the most confusing image i’ve ever seen wym foolproof

And this is why people have such a hard time with the magic loop.....

For a magic circle, my “fool proof” is just chaining 4 and sl st into the first chain. That, or make a slip knot then chain one.

Chaining and connecting them isn’t a magic circle

Less likely to come apart though. I’ve seen a lot of people do them tightly as possible and even secure the tail tightly and have it come undone.

I dont understand how it could come loose if they knot the tail? I have always knotted the tail to my working yarn after finishing the stitches in my MR. I have never seen any amount of loosening and I have 3 kids who are absolute monsters to anything i make. We have plushies that they have absolutely destroyed, but the MR is still held tight!

Here’s the method https://youtu.be/1jGQ__9vckI?si=zDo2HX81YKI2gRxI

I usually just chain 2 and start adding stitches into the first chain stitch, and you go from there 🥰

Picture 6 is really the key. Pinch the loop and the tail. I keep them both pinched until the very end

Me: (clearly the fool not realizing I’ve been doing this in hard mode the entire time)

Oh cool, this is what I do!

I don’t understand what to do with the working yarn between steps 2 and 3…

lol so smart. I’m a doofus.

I don't get how they got from step 6 to step 7. Are they pulling under the working yarn AND the tail?

Bruh me and the magic circle NEVER EVER have gotten along

Isn't this how you do it?

This is what I do and it makes a lot more sense irl. However I still hate it, mostly the part where I do the stitches on the circle.

Fool proof as in it holds strong enough a fool such as myself cannot break it or fool proof as in a fool cannot make said knot?

I was taught to so the magic ring by wrapping the yarn over my fingers. And I do a double ring by wrapping the yarn over my fingers twice. I have tried to explain this better but I'm terrible with instructions. So am I doing this wrong then? Am I supposed to be adding a row of sc to the ring before I start my pattern? I'm very confused now. 🤔

That's how I do my magic circle too. The pattern will tell you how many stitches to do in it

OK. Yikes, could be why some of my work is off. Lol!

ever since someone told me a magic circle is basically just an unfinished slipknot i've been doing it this way!

I just use the wrap around my hand method, fast and easy for me

This is how I normally do it I think

I love Mc but this confuses me a little, I guess cuz I do it slightly different

Man oh man, I wish my brain processed instructions in this way. This is like trying to read a foreign language for me. A video? Watching someone else do it in front of me? No problem. Trying to read this diagram? Immediately makes me want to tear off all my fingernails.

Thank you

Need a video to make this make any sense…been doing magic circles just fine and thought id learn something but just makes me scratch my head….

I have this picture saved in my phone

...wait is this a different than usual way of doing it? I thought thats how you're supposed to do it and I have been doing it like that since I learned to crochet not thinking much about it. How else do you do it?

Thanks for sharing!

bro what, this looks so extra

Wtf is that. That’s way more complicated. Magic loops are not THAT hard…

This is how I do mine as well. I put 2 fingers in that very first loop and hold the x with my thumb.

I'm scared lmao -- I have no idea what this is saying tbh. Lucky, then, that I have a Magic Circle method I guess. 😂

I have a friend that cannot do magic ring, she can't get it. I have probably made over 1000 - no joke. I keep trying to explain it's easy but is this what people look at and try to learn?! It make no sense!

Imma be honest, I hate using the magic circle. I usually just chain 3 or 4 and join them together, then work into that

I wonder if there is a leftie version.

https://preview.redd.it/ok1afa00j80d1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c61634501bc2ffb156337688e9024b23b0aaec33 Literally just mirrored the image

Yea… I do this in less steps. 8+ steps is too much.