Crochet Star Pattern
So, you found the PERFECT pattern for that afghan for Mom, but upon working it you find its just not working up correctly.
In many published patterns there are typos and mistakes. The company usually will be happy to give you the corrected instructions but sometimes the books may be out of print. I have some corrections to published patterns that I will share with you and also some tips for making those harder patterns easier.
Lets begin with a Leisure Arts booklet called Perfect Patches by Annis Clapp. In this booklet there are 5 adorable afghan patterns. The first pattern we will work on is called Butterfly Patch. I made this afghan for my granddaughter but changed the colors from pinks and oranges to lilacs and blues. Matched her room better! Instead of light weight yarn I used regular worsted weight and it worked up fine. You can continue to use a G hook or change the hook to H or even I depending on your likes and dislikes. Of course, a larger hook will make the afghan a little larger. I found that it wasn’t long enough for my likes so I added a row of plain granny squares between the butterfly row and the zigzag row on each end. This added the length I desired. I also changed the border to a deep, lacy border that I had used before on other afghans. My granddaughter is a teen so I wanted something more adult for her. This is an easy afghan to do and I found the pattern to be fully correct.
The next afghan I made from this booklet is called Big Wheels. This was a really fun afghan to work on and you can add many variations to it. We’ll get to that in a minute. The instructions for the solid squares and the triangle squares are correct and easy to do. I found the circle squares and the wheels to be kind of difficult to work up and it just didn’t look right. I changed the whole wheel and it worked up beautifully. I did NOT make any circle squares but instead I made the required amount (36) of white squares according to the solid square pattern. Then I made the wheels according to the directions except I used a G hook for the wheels. I then sewed the wheels to the white squares and they were perfect!! A friend of mine made this pattern and added a row at the bottom and sides and worked into the bottom 2 rows a stop light! It was adorable. She also added white squares and worked the child’s name into the squares!
The next booklet we’ll work on is Scrap Yarn Afghans leaflet number 101131 by House of White Birches. I have made many afghans from this leaflet and all are gorgeous! Some of these are join as you go and I don’t like that method. The first afghan in the leaflet is called Moonflowers and it is a join as you go. I changed the motifs so I could join them with a slip stitch. This is what I did. Round 1 – do as instructed in the pattern. Round 2 – ch3, dc ch3 dc in point, 4 dc spaced across side, 2dc ch3 2 dc in point, all the way around, sl st to top of ch3. Round 3 – Sl st to ch 3 sp, 3sc in ch 3 space, sc in each sc across, 3sc in ch3 sp, all the way around. Sl st to top on first sc, fasten off. Repeat for as many motifs as you are going to do then slip stitch them together. Turns our beautiful!
The next afghan we’ll look at in this leaflet is called Floral Quilt. I have made 4 or 5 of these and each one turns out different from the one before it and all are simply gorgeous. This is a really beautiful afghan to work up and its easy too. No pattern corrections in this pattern. The tips I would give you on this is to make sure you are varying your yarn colors so when you lay this out to sew together you don’t have too much of one color – or one color family. It works up prettier if you have many, many colors. The addition of some varigated adds beauty to this pattern too. This afghan works up to a full bed size with edges hanging over!
Let s move on to another Leisure Arts book. Herrschners Blue-Ribbon Afghans. The afghan on the cover, the beautiful Blue Star afghan has some corrections. These corrections were given to me by Leisure Arts. First there is a correction at the corner border. Here is the correction: Row 1: (rs) With rs facing, join B in sc 2 sts before any wedge tip with sl st, ch 1; sc in same sc; ch 1, sk next 2 sc, *(dc in next 3 sc, ch 1, sk next sc) 7 times, (cl, ch 2, cl) in next sc, (point) (ch 1, sk next sc, dc in next 3 sc) 6 times, (cl, ch 2, cl) in next sc (point), (Ch1, sk next sc, dc in next 3 sc) 7 times, ch 1, sk next 2 sc, sl st in next 2 sc. Row 10: Do Not Turn! Corrections for Row 4 & 5 of the HALF GRANNY BLOCK——— Row 4: Ch 4, turn; (cl in next ch 1 sp, ch) 3 times, (cl, ch 2, cl) in ch 2 sp, ch 1, (cl in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) twice, cl in next ch 1 sp, cl, dc in 3rd ch of beg ch-4, change to A; fasten of MC. Row 5: With A, ch 4, turn; (cl in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) 4 times, (cl, ch 2, cl) in ch-2 sp, ch 1, (cl in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) 3 times, cl in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, dc in 3rd ch of beg ch 4.
Garden Rows on page 5 corrections: Round 5: Ch2, (counts as first hdc), *3 sc in next ch 3 sp, hdc in next st, (hdc, 2 dc) in next ch-3 sp, (2 tr, ch 3, 2 tr) in next st, (corner made); 2 dc, hdc) in next ch-3 sp, ** hdc in next st; rep from * around, ending last rep at **; join with sl st to top of beg ch 2; fasten off. Round 7: The end of round 7 should be 24 cl (not 36) – 6 on each of 4 sides The horizontal strip should read: Join MC in any corner ch-3 sp with sl st, ch 1, sc in same sp, sc in each dc across to next corner ch-3 sp.
Country Quilt on page 12 corrections: Panel 1: at the end of rows 2-4 should read: change to MC in last st of last row
Pinwheel on page 22 corrections: Under pattern stitches: Beg tr-cl: says pull through all 4 lps on hook – should be; pull through all 3 lps on hook Rnd 12 says – sc in next 7 sc – should be: sc in next 10 sc
Floral Fantasy on page 38 corrections: Edging: Rnd 2 says: color B, should be color MC Rnd 4 says: color B; should be MC Rnd 5 says: color C, should be color B (multi)
Fan Stitch Favorite on page 45 corrections One-fan panel: Row 3 should say: K3, (K1, yo) 10 times, K3: 27 sts Two fan panel: Row 3 should say: K3, (K1, yo) 10 times, K7, (K1, yo) 10 times, K4. 54 sts
We’ll go over some more corrections in the next article. Gives you time to sift through all this info first. Below are some common abbreviations in crocheting
beg – begin or beginning bet – between bl lp(s) – back loop(s) BP – back post ch – chain(s) ch- refers to ch previously made cl – cluster cont – continue or continuing dc – double crochet dec – decrease dtr – double triple crochet ea – each foll – follow or following FP – front post ft lp(s) – front loop(s) grp(s) – group(s) hdc – half double crochet inc – increase
Until next time – HAPPY CROCHETING
LYNN