Magic circle – how to start crocheting amigurumi patterns

First of all you need yarn and a hook. I generally prefer to use a 100% cotton yarn and a 3mm crochet hook.

The beginning of an amigurumi pattern usually looks something like this
R1: 5sc in magic circle (5)
And this tutorial will show you how to get through this first round
1. Make a loose knot
2. Insert your hook into the knot
3. Tighten the knot around the needle
4. Place the end of the yarn with the rest of the skein over your left finger, and the yarn over the hook
5. Drag the yarn through the hoop that is in your needle
6. It should now look like this
7. Do the same as in stage 4 and 5, drag the yarn through the new hoop on your needle
8. Where the arrow is pointing, pull the yarn a little loose so that you get a larger hole, as illustrated in stage 9. 
9. Using the hoop you have just created by pulling the yarn, this is the hoop in which you are now to crochet 5 sc in
10. Put your hook through the hoop, and hook onto some yarn and drag it through the hoop
11. When you have dragged the yarn through the hoop, hook yarn onto the needle again, and drag that through both of the hoops on your needle. 
12. Dragging the yarn through both hoops as described in stage 11.
12. Now you have done 1sc in magic circle. To complete this round, do as many sc in the magic circle as instructed on your pattern, meaning you repeat stages 9-11 as many times as you have to. What is important to remember is that all the sc you do in this round are in the same hoop, that the arrow is pointing to
13. Here I have done 5sc in magic circle. To finish the first round all you have to do is tighten the magic circle – by pulling the yarn. 
14. The magic circle is closed, and the arrow is pointing to the hoop in which you start your next round, usually a “2in1”
15. The start of the second round
Next tutorial: Single Crochet (sc)