Dizzy Corner Afghan Square

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am keeping with my tradition of celebrating with a blog pattern for my readers. Once again I wanted to have some fun with my favorite crochet technique: Spirals. I also wanted to play with some textures in this project and incorporated clusters and cross stitches for that aspect.

The result is my “Dizzy Corner Afghan Square”.

Working spirals can be a little tricky, and this spiral is made with 2 arms in 2 colors. I’ve used my favorite method of spiral making using stitch markers to help keep track of the increases and the ends of each round.

You mark each stitch of Round 1, using a different color stitch marker for the last stitch in each color.

In the following 4 rounds you work 1 stitch in each unmarked stitch and 2 stitches in each marked stitch, moving the stitch marker up to the 2nd stitch.

When you work a continuous spiral in crochet you will need a step-up and a step-down to get a perfect round. At the beginning of Round 1 the first stitch is a single crochet followed by 3 half double crochets to create the step-up.

Then Round 5 of the spiral ends with a step down. In the instructions for the pattern I have broken out the step-down instructions at the end of Round 5.

Dizzy Corner Afghan Square

Skill level: Intermediate

Finished Size:

12” square

Materials:

Yarn

Worsted wt (Sample uses Lion Brand Yarns “Vanna’s Choice” 100% Acrylic (5 oz/142g, 251 yd/230 m)

Color A: #159 Lemon (sample used approximately 22 yards/12 grams)

Color B: #112 Raspberry (sample used approximately 20 yards/11 grams)

Color C {primary color}: #171 Fern (sample used approximately 62 yards/35 grams)

Color D: # 098 Fisherman (sample used approximately 30 yards/17 grams)

Hook

J / 6mm

Notions

Yarn/tapestry needle

Stitch markers

Gauge

First 5 rounds of pattern = 4” across square

Abbreviations/Special Stitches

Standing Double Crochet (Standing dc): make slip knot in yarn and place loop snugly on shaft of hook, yo and insert hook into indicated st, yo, pull up a loop, (yo, pull thru 2 loops on hook) twice.

Standing Single Crochet (Standing sc): make slip knot in yarn and place loop snugly on shaft of hook, insert hook into indicated st, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull thru 2 loops on hook.

Loose slip stitch (loose slip st): Insert hook in indicated place, YO, pull up a loop thru place and loop on hook keeping loose like making a chain st.

Joining slip st (slip st): Insert hook in indicated place, YO, pull up a loop thru place and loop on hook, continue to pull up on working loop until original loop is tight.

Extended Double Crochet (Edc): YO, insert hook in indicated st or sp, YO pull up a loop, YO pull thru first loop on hook, (YO, pull thru 2 loops on hook) 2 times.

2 double crochet Cluster (Cl): (YO, insert hook in indicated st or sp, YO pull up a loop, YO pull thru 2 loops) 2 times, YO pull thru remaining loops on hook.

Double Crochet Cross Stitch (X-st): Skip one st, dc in next st, working around previously made dc, dc in skipped st. Each X-st uses 2 sts and creates 2 sts.

Pattern Notes:

Start square with an adjustable slip knot. Beginning tail tightens the loop on the hook.

Stitch counts at the end of each round and row are shown in italicized brackets at end of each round or row.

Square starts with a 2 color hdc spiral circle in one corner, then rounds to square the circle. Next 16 textured mitered rows are worked off 2 sides of that square, ending with 2 rounds of sc encasing entire afghan square.

When instructions specify “sl st loosely”, this means work those slip stitches similar to a chain stitch and do not pull the working loop to tighten them as in a joining slip stitch. You will be working into those loose slip stitches.

Instructions

Rnd 1 (RS): Begin with Color A, ch 2, (sc, 3 hdc) in second ch from hook, pull up long loop of color A and remove hook, insert hook in same ch as previous work, pull up a loop of Color B on shaft of hook, ch 1, (sc, 3 hdc) in same ch st, pull beginning tail of Color A to close center tightly. Place st markers in each st using a different color marker to indicate the last st of each color section. [1 sc, 3 hdc, in each color]

Rnd 2: Begin with Color A, *(2 hdc in marked st, move st marker up to second st worked) 4 times*, pull up loop of Color A, switch to Color B, Repeat from * to *. [8 hdc, in each color]

Rnd 3: Begin with Color A, *(hdc in next st, 2 hdc in marked st, move st marker up to second st worked) 4 times*, pull up loop of Color A, switch to color B, Repeat from * to *. [12 hdc, in each color]

Rnd 4: Begin with Color A, *(hdc in next 2 sts, 2 hdc in marked st, move st marker up to second st worked) 4 times*, pull up loop of Color A, switch to Color B, Repeat from * to *. [16 hdc, in each color]

Rnd 5: Begin with Color A, *(hdc in next 3 sts, 2 hdc in marked st, move st marker up to second st worked) 4 times*, pull up loop of Color A, switch to color B, Repeat from * to * once, [Count at this point is 20 hdc in each color]

step down: **hdc next st, sc next st, slip st loosely in back loop and back bar of next st, slip st tightly in back loop and back bar of next st**, fasten off Color B, switch back to Color A, Repeat from ** to ** once, fasten off Color A. [21 hdc, 1 sc, 2 slip st, in each color] 4”diameter.

To prepare for working round to square, remove every other st marker leaving 4 markers equally spaced around circle.

Rnd 6: With RS facing attach Color C yarn with a standing dc in any marked st, 2 Edc in same st, *skip 2 sts, hdc next st, hdc & sc next st, sc next st, sc & hdc next st, hdc next st, skip 2 sts, (2 Edc, dc, ch 2, dc, 2 Edc) nextmarked st, move marker to ch-2 sp just made*; Repeat from * to * 2 times; skip 2 sts, hdc next st, hdc & sc next st, sc next st, sc & hdc next st, hdc next st, skip 2 sts, (2 Edc, dc) in first worked st, ch 2, slip st to first dc of Rnd. [16 Edc, 8 dc, 16 hdc, 12 sc, 4 ch-2 sp]

Rnd 7: Ch 1, *sc in next 13 sts, (sc, ch 2, sc) in marked ch-2 sp*; Repeat from * to * 3 times, slip st to first st of Rnd, fasten off Color C. [60 sc]

Row 8: With RS facing attach Color D with a standing sc in corner ch-2 sp, sc next 15 sts, (sc, ch 2, sc) in next corner ch-2 sp, sc next 15 sts, sc in next corner ch-2 sp. [34 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 9: Ch 1, turn, sc in first st, *Cl next st, sc next st*; Repeat from * to * until work in st before corner ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in ch-2 sp, sc next st, Repeat from * to * until work in last st of previous row. [16 Cl, 1 ch-2 sp, 18 sc]

Row 10: Ch 1, turn, sc in first st, sc in each st until work in last st before corner ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in corner ch-2 sp, sc in each st until work in last st of previous row. Fasten off Color D. [38 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 11: With RS facing attach Color C with standing dc, dc in each st toward corner until work in last st before ch-2 sp, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-2 sp, dc in each st away from corner until work in last st of previous row, Fasten off Color C. [42 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 12: With RS facing attach Color A with standing sc, Repeat Row 10. [42 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 13: Turn, sc in first st, ch 2, *X-st over next 2 sts*, Repeat from * to * 9 times, dc next st, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-2 sp, dc next st, Repeat from * to * 10 times, dc in last st of previous row. [20 X-sts, 8 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 14: Repeat Row 10 in Color A, Fasten off Color A. [50 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 15: With RS facing attach Color C with standing dc, Repeat Row 11, Fasten off Color C. [54 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 16: With RS facing attach Color B with standing sc, Repeat Row 10. [56 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 17: Ch 1, turn, (sc next st, dc next st) 14 times, (sc, ch 2, sc) in ch-2 corner space, (dc next st, sc next st) 14 times. [28 dc, 30 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 18: Ch 1, turn, Repeat Row 10, Fasten off Color B. [60 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 19: With RS facing attach Color C with standing dc, Repeat Row 11, Fasten off Color C. [64 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 20: With RS facing attach Color D with standing sc, Repeat Row 10. [66 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 21: Turn, sc in first st, ch 2, *X-st over next 2 sts*, Repeat from * to * 15 times, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in ch-2 sp, Repeat from * to * 16 times, dc in last st of previous row. [32 X-sts, 6 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Row 22: Repeat Row 10, Fasten off Color D. [72 sc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Weave in all tails so far.

Row 23: With RS facing attach Color C with standing dc, Repeat Row 11, DO NOT fasten off Color C. [76 dc, 1 ch-2 sp]

Edging Rounds

Rnd 1: With RS facing turn work counter clockwise to work along edges of Rows, ch 1, 2 sc in side of Row 23, sc in side of Row 22, 2 sc in side of Row 21, sc in side of Row 20, 2 sc in side of Row 19, sc in side of Row 18, sc in side of Row 17, sc in side of Row 16, 2 sc in side of Row 15, sc in side of Row 14, 2 sc in side of Row 13, sc in side of Row 12, 2 sc in side of Row 11, sc in side of Row 10, sc in side of Row 9, sc in side of Row 8, sc in corner ch-2 sp of beginning square, sc in next 15 sts,

(sc, ch 2, sc) in next corner ch-2 sp,

sc in next 15 sts, sc in next corner ch-2 sp of beginning square, sc in side of Row 8, sc in side of Row 9, sc in side of Row 10, 2 sc in side of Row 11, sc in side of Row 12, 2 sc in side of Row 13, sc in side of Row 14, 2 sc in side of Row 15, sc in side of Row 16, sc in side of Row 17, sc in side of Row 18, 2 sc in side of Row 19, sc in side of Row 20, 2 sc in side of Row 21, sc in side of Row 22, 2 sc in side of Row 23,

ch 2, turn and sc in top of first st of Row 23, sc in next 37 sts,

(sc, ch 2, sc) in next corner ch-2 sp,

sc in next 38 sts, ch 2, slip st to first sc of Rnd 1. [156 sc, 4 ch-2 sp]

Rnd 2: Ch 1, *sc in each st until work in last st before ch-2 sp, (sc, ch 2, sc) in ch-2 sp*; Repeat from * to * 3 times, slip st to first sc of Rnd 2, fasten off. [164 sc, 4 ch-2 sp]

Finishing

Weave in tails and block.