16-Circles Square

How long since the last post!!!! Four months!!!! What a shame.

I’ll put here some granny squares I designed. All of this began some 10 years ago, when I found the CrochetPartners mailgroup. Maybe it’s the bigger and older crochet list in the Internet.

Back then I joined the Friendship Granny Square Exchange — a swap of 6” worsted-weight yarn granny squares. American crocheters have lots of granny afghan books and patterns, but here in Brazil afghans aren’t a crochet tradition so new patterns are almost non-existant. Then I designed mine, or I would be restricted to the old traditional 3-dc blocks granny.

The square I’m posting today wasn’t the first one I designed — this one is from 1997 — but it’s the one I’m most proud of. The step-by-step pictures were made by my friend Vera Lucia Krauss, known in Brazilian crochet circles as Veralu49, senior crochet- and tricot-sorceress. Many many thanks, Veralu!!!! To make the unusual construction of the pattern more easily understandable, Veralu used different colors for each half-row, but each circle series is made with one and only color.

1st. row (4 circles):

With color 1, chain 22.

In the 4th chain from hook, *3dc; skip 2 st, 1 ss (one quarter circle made), skip 2 st*; repeat from * to * twice more, 3dc in the next chain.




Remove hook from loop, insert hook in the last stitch of the beginning chain (that is now the "head" of the first dc of the first dc group), 12 dc in the same st of the previous 3 dc.






Now you work in the other side of the chain, inserting the hook in the same stitches of the first half-row. Where you made a slip stitch, you will make a new slip stitch inserting the hook through the chain AND the first slip stich.

So, make #ss in the next ss, 11dc in the next 3dc-group#, repeat from # to # three times more, close with a ss, finish off.

2nd row (12 circles):

With color 2, chain 70.





In the 4th chain from hook, *3dc in the same st (a quarter circle made); skip 2 st, 1 ss, skip 2 st, 3 dc in the next st, remove hook from loop, insert it in the 4th dc of the upper left circle of the first row, 4dc in the same stitch you made the previous 3dc (1 half-circle made), skip two base chains, ss, skip two st; make another half-circle, joining it to the second circle of the first row, skip 2 st, ss, skip 2 st*; repeat from * to * three times more, making the last ss in the first quarter circle.




Make 8 dc in the same st you made the previous 3 dc to complete a circle; go on making 7 dc in each half-circle, ss in the ss of the previous half-row (remember to always insert the hook through the ss AND the ch of the previous half-row) and 11 dc at the corners (you will end up with four color 1 circles surrounded by 12 color 2 circles).





Last row:

With color 3, fix the yarn to the 4th stitch of one of the external circles, 5ch, skip 3 dc of the same circle, sc in the next st, 5 ch, sc in the fourth dc of the next circle, 5ch, and keep working this way (making 2 sc with a 5-ch loop in-between in the corners) until you make all the way round. Then make a dc row, with 2dc, 2ch, 2dc at the corners.




I love this square.

There are some videos made by the amazing Brazilian crochet teacher Elaine Tripiano. She talks in Portuguese and if it sounds confusing to you please turn off the sound and watch what she's doing.

Follow the links to the four installments: first part ; second part ; third part ; fourth part. I hope it helps.