Cottage Square Free Crochet Pattern for 2021 Moogly CAL
I am so excited to bring you the Cottage Square Free Crochet Pattern for the 2021 Moogly CAL. Yes, you read it… Stitch & Hustle is once again part of the annual Moogly CAL! I have long admired the Moogly CAL for it’s genius way of making an afghan seem less overwhelming. It is just ONE SQUARE AT A TIME! It is so special to be part of this amazing CAL once again.
Tamara & I met several years ago when our inbound flights to an event had similar arrival times. We decided to share a taxi… and a fabulous yarny friendship was born. Being able to share a square for her annual CAL is just a delight and I hope you love it!
And don’t forget to show off your finished squares!!!!
The beauty of my Cottage Square Free Crochet Pattern for the 2021 Moogly CAL is that you can customize it in many ways. If you are using 4 colors, you can easily add a round of trim in a fourth color or play around with the color order like Tamar did for her Square.
You can also make it 2 colors if that is your Jam. Or just one. Whatever your color scheme, the beauty of this square is that there are lots of opportunities to make it your very own style.
The Cottage Square is transformative and I love that. For me, that was super fun to design and make. Watch as your circle becomes hexagon then becomes square all with some magical stitch placement.
Let’s chat about Gauge before we get going.
Gauge matters to the point that you need consistency. But if you have gauge issues you can add rounds of the trim. I designed this square specifically so that you would be able to make it not only the 12'“ square that is called for in the Moogly Afghan CAL, but also continue to make these in many sizes to enjoy for various projects.
Moogly also has some wonderful tips to make your square just the size you need for your project. Check it out here.
MATERIALS:
Red Heart With Love Yarn
COLOR A: Light Grey
COLOR B: BlueBell
COLOR C: Celtic
Crochet Hook Size US J / 6mm
PROJECT STITCH ABBREVIATIONS:
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
tr – treble crochet
ps – puff stitch (see below)
ch – chain loop
sl st – slip stitch
st(s) – stitch(es)
sk - skip
SPECIAL PATTERN STITCH -Puff Stitch (PS) :
Wrap yarn over hook; insert hook into ch sp, wrap yarn over hook & pull through leaving 3 loops on hook
Wrap yarn over hook; insert hook into same ch sp, wrap yarn over hook & pull through leaving 5 loops on hook
Wrap yarn over hook and pull through ALL 5 loops to create the “puff” stitch
PATTERN NOTES:
This is designed for the MOOGLY 2021 CAL hosted by Moogly Blog.
Yarn Support for this design was provided by Red Heart / Yarnspirations
Your finished square will measure 12” x 12” after blocking. If you find you are a snug stitchter, you can repeat the last 2 rounds in any color you like to meet the 12” square size for the CAL.
When joining colors, it is best to join them with a “anchoring sc” that will NOT count as a st and is not mentioned in the pattern.
For Rounds 1- 8 it is best to carry the yarn as you change colors to avoid too many ends to weave in.
Begin with Color A in magic circle. If you do not know magic circle, you can chain 4, sl st together and then begin:
Round 1: ch 1 (does NOT act as a st), 12 sc, sl st to first sc.
COLOR B
Round 2: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), [ps, ch 1, ps] in same st, *sk 1 st, [ps, ch 1, ps] in next st*, repeat * to * around, sk st, sl st to top of first ps. Sl st into ch 1. (Total 18 sts – 12 ps, 6 ch)
COLOR A:
Round 3: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), 3sc in ch 1, * 3 sc in between next 2 ps, 3 sc in next ch 1*, repeat * to * around, sl st to first sc. (total 36 sts)
COLOR C
Round 4: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), * ps, ch 2, sk 1 st*; Repeat * to * around, sl st to first ps. (18 ps, 18 ch 2 spaces)
COLOR A:
Round 5: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), * (2sc, ch 1, 2sc) in next ch-sp (creating corners), 2 sc in ch-2 sp, sk ps, 2 sc in ch-2 sp*, Repeat * to * around, sl st to first sc. (48 sc, 6 corner ch spaces)
COLOR B:
Round 6: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), sc in each st across to corner sp, *(sc, ch 1, sc) in ch-2 sp, sc across to next corner, *Repeat * to * around, sl st to first st. (66 sts)
COLOR C
Round 7: Repeat round 6. (78 sts)
The Hex center is now complete. Move on to set up squaring it off!
JOIN COLOR A IN ANY HEX CORNER:
Round 8: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), (sc, ch 1, sc) in same, ch 5, sk 5 sts, sc, ch 5, sk 6 sts, *(sc, ch 1, sc) in corner, ch 5, sk 5 sts, sc, ch 5, sk 6 sts*, *Repeat * to * around, sl st to first st.
Round 9: sl st in 1st ch of ch 5 from Round 8; ch 4 (counts as 1st tr), (3 tr, ch 2, 4 tr) in same ch-sp, sk 2 sc corner, *5 dc in next ch-sp, ch 1, 5 dc in next ch-sp, (4 tr, ch 2, 4 tr) in next ch-sp, (dc, dc, hdc, hdc, hdc) in next ch-sp, sc in next sc, (hdc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc) in next ch-sp*, (4 tr, ch 2, 4 tr) in next ch-sp, rep from * to *, sl st to top of ch 4. (84 sts)
Fasten Off Color A
COLOR B:
Round 10: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), *dc to corner (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in corner*; Repeat * to * around, dc to last st, sl st to first dc. (100 sts)
COLOR C
Round 11: ch 1 (does NOT act as st), *dc to corner (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in corner*; Repeat * to * around, dc to last st, sl st to first dc. (116 sts)
ADDITONAL BORDER OPTION FOR LARGER SQUARES:
***Join your yarn at the 2nd stitch of the last Round.***
ROUND 1: ch 1, * sc across to corner, (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in corner; sc in every other st across side to corner;* repeat * to * once more, sc, sl st to top of first sc.
ROUND 2: ch 1, * sc across to corner, (2 sc, ch 1, 2 sc) in corner, * Repeat * to * all way around to ch1, sl st to top of first sc Fasten off.
SHOWN BELOW WITH ADDITIONAL BORDER ROUNDS AND IN 4 COLORS
This square is served best with Wet Blocking