How To Do an Invisible Decrease

An invisible decrease is a neat way to decrease in amigurumi without leaving a bulky or obvious gap. It is commonly abbreviated as inv dec or even simply dec and is often used to shape heads, bodies, and other rounded pieces.

Step 1. Insert your hook into the front loop only of the next stitch. Then insert your hook into the front loop only of the stitch after that as well. You should now have 2 front loops on your hook and 3 loops in total on the hook. 

Step 2. Yarn over and pull through both front loops. With this, you turned 2 stitches you yarned through into 1.

Step 3. Then yarn over again and pull through the remaining loops on your hook, just as you would when finishing a normal single crochet. You will be left with just one loop on the hook. 

Congratulations! You have created your first invisible decrease stitch. 

Because you only work through the front loops, the decrease blends into the fabric and helps your amigurumi keep a cleaner shape. In our designs, we typically use invisible decreases unless otherwise instructed. You can see below the effect of decreasing stitches, which curves a pattern towards the inside. On the left we have decrease stiches compared to the right where there are only regular single stitches. 

It may feel a little awkward at first, but after a few tries, it becomes much easier and makes a big difference in how polished your finished piece looks.