Connected Squares Blanket – Free Crochet Pattern!

Welcome back to the Guest Blogger series on KnitterKnotter! Here, you will find free patterns shared by some very talented bloggers from around the world!

The first time I tried the C2C technique was when I made the Polar Bear Cub blanket by RepeatCrafterMe. When I started designing, I drifted towards Tunisian Crochet and never ended up making another C2C project. Even though I have made only one C2C project myself, I have always been amazed by the beautiful patterns you can make with it. In this post, I am happy to share the Connected Squares Blanket by Amy Ziehn. Check out her other patterns in her Ravelry and LoveCrafts stores and you can also follow her on Instagram.

** All the pictures in this blog post are provided by Amy.

Click here to pin this pattern for later —>>

Meet the designer

I am Amy, a British expat living in Melbourne, Australia. I am a part time nurse and a full time Mum of three. I have been a crafty person all my life. My childhood was spent knitting, tatting and doing cross stitch and tapestries. I learnt to crochet while on maternity leave with my eldest child and haven’t looked back since then. Rarely a day goes by now without me picking up a hook and yarn. I ventured into designing 18 months ago and I have loved seeing my deigns come to life.

Inspiration for the pattern

The first time I created a blanket using the C2C stitch I fell in love with it. I loved the simple rhythm of the stitches but also how versatile it was. I love designing graphs that can be used to create amazing blankets in the C2C stitch. These graphs mostly use color work to create a pattern or picture within the blanket. I particularly love the look of geometric patterns and this is what inspired this pattern.

About the pattern and the yarn

The Connected Squares Blanket uses the C2C stitch in two different colors to create this geometric pattern. Using two high contrast colors will make the pattern stand out more. However, similar colors will produce a more subtle look. This pattern assumes a basic knowledge of the corner to corner technique. While information is given in the pattern to the C2C stitches used, a full C2C tutorial is not provided.

The yarn used is Spot Saver USA Style. This is a yarn specific to Spotlight, Australia. It is an acrylic yarn that comes in a great colour range. It is a fantastic yarn for family blankets as it is easy to care for.

Pattern

This pattern is available for free on the KnitterKnotter blog. I would love to see your projects on Instagram! Tag your posts with:
@knitterknotter #knitterknotter @craftybritabroad

The ad-free PDF version of this pattern comes with written instructions and ‘easy to read’ charts in 3 sizes – Small, Medium, and Large. The instructions in this blog post are for the Medium blanket 50″ (130 cms) x 40″ (97 cms).

Purchase PDF from Ravelry

Purchase PDF from LoveCrafts

What you will need (with clickable affiliate links)

Worsted Weight yarn in 3 different colors
- I used Spot Saver USA Style 200g/312m. This is a yarn specific to Spotlight, Australia. Any worsted weight acrylic yarn can be used as a substitute. The yarn should preferably have a similar meterage/yardage per grams in order to produce a similar sized blanket.
  - Main colors: White (A) 480g/750m and Peacock (B) 503g/785m
  - The border color is Aqua (C) 97g/152m
5mm crochet hook
Scissors
Tapestry needle

Experience level

Intermediate

Gauge

10 cms / 4″ = 5.75 C2C stitches

Sizing

Small: 32″ (80 cms) x 40″ (100 cms)
Medium: 40″ (97 cms) x 50″ (130 cms)
Large: 47″ (120 cms) x 60″ (150 cms)
The Small and Large sizes are included in the PDF version of this pattern. Scroll down to see the instructions for the Medium size in this blog post.

Abbreviations

C2C – corner to corner
ch/s – chain/s
st/es – stitch/es
dc – double crochet
sl st – slip stitch
ch sp – chain space
dec – decrease
inc – increase
sk – skip
sc – single crochet
inv jn – invisible join
sdc – standing dc

Special Stitches

C2C increase (C2C Inc)– ch 6, dc into the 4^th chain from the hook, dc in the next 2 chs, turn work and sl st into the ch-3 of the previous worked stitch. This stitch is done at the beginning of each row on the side or sides that are increasing.
C2C stitch (C2C st) – ch 3, 3 dc sts in the same ch sp. This stitch is used for all the other stitches in the row after the first stitch.
C2C decrease (C2C Dec) – at the beginning of a decrease row turn work, sl st into the top of the next 3 dc sts and into the ch sp. Work the next C2C stitch.

Pattern Notes

The pattern is written in US terms.
The graph alone can be used to create the blanket. One square on the graph represents one C2C stitch.
The blanket is worked from the bottom right corner of the graph and is worked up one row and down the next.
All odd rows start at the bottom of the graph and work upwards diagonally and all even rows start from the right side of the graph and work down diagonally.
Color changes occur on the last yarn over of the 3^rd dc of the C2C stitch before the color change on the graph. Small yarn balls or bobbins were used for each section of the row in that particular color. This prevents the dark color showing through the stitches if the yarn is carried along.

Instructions (Body)

Row 1: Starting with B, ch 6, dc in to the 4^th ch from the hook, dc in the next 2 chs (C2C Inc).
Change color as per the graph.

Row 2: Ch 6, dc into the 4^th ch from the hook, dc in the next 2 chs, turn work and sl st into ch-3 from previous row, 3 dc in ch-3 sp (C2C Inc, C2C st).

Row 3: Ch 6, dc into the 4^th ch from the hook, dc in the next 2 chs, turn work and (sl st into ch-3 from previous row, 3 dc in ch-3 sp) twice (C2C Inc, 2 C2C sts).

Rows 4-52: Repeat row 3 increasing by one st each row.
The blanket will now start decreasing on one side while continuing to increase on the other. Each odd row will start with decreasing.

Row 53: Turn work, sl st in top of each dc of last C2C from previous row, sl st into ch-3, ch 3, 3 dc in ch-3 from previous row (C2C dec), continue working C2C sts to end of row (52 C2C sts).

Row 54: Repeat row 2

Row 55: Repeat row 53

Rows 56-67: Repeat rows 2 and 53 alternately (52 C2C sts).
Both sides of the blanket will now decrease so each row will start with decreasing. Each row will have one less stitch than the row before.

Rows 68-118: Repeat row 53 to end of blanket.

Cut yarn throughout the blanket as you finish a color section. Weave in all the ends making sure to weave the ends all on the same side of the blanket. There is no right or wrong side of the blanket. The wrong side will be the side you weaved in the ends on.

Instructions (Border)

The blanket will now be worked in rounds. Round 1 of the border needs to have a total number of stitches dividable by 4 to make round 2 work correctly. If you find the border ruffles you can decrease the amount of stitches in the round or use a smaller hook size.

Round 1: Attach border color (C) to the first dc at the beginning of a short row using a sdc, 2 dc in same st, 128 dc sts, 5 dc in the corner, 166 dc sts, 5 dc in the corner, 128 dc, 5 dc in the corner, 166 dc, 2 dc in the same st as the beginning sdc, sl st to sdc.

Round 2: Ch1, sc in same st, ch 3, 3 dc in same st, *sk 3 sts, sc in next st, ch 3, 3 dc in same st; repeat from * till end of round, sc in same st as first sc, cut yarn and inv jn to first sc.

Weave in the last few ends. The blanket can be steam blocked if you feel it needs to be pulled into shape but blocking is not essential.

Disclosure

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