Autumn on My Mind

Here we are in October, with Halloween and Christmas on display all around us. The temperature is starting to fall, daylight is starting to get a little shorter, and I’m starting to dream of hot cocoa, falling leaves, brisk breezes, and rich autumnal colors. This is my absolute favorite time of year, and to get us all in the mood for Autumn, I’ve designed a very richly textured afghan block to herald in the season.

This afghan block was designed especially for the 2018 Crochet Block-a-Month CAL on Ravelry. I’ve been contributing designs every single year since inception of this forum, with the exceptions of 2008 and 2014. This group has always had a special place in my heart because this is where my obsession with afghan blocks blossomed and also where I’ve made some very special crochet friends. If you’d like a nice place to hang out with your hooks and yarn, then I recommend you drop in and see what it’s all about.

Click on link below:

2018 Crochet Block-a-Month CAL on Ravelry

Now let’s get down to business! The following pattern is rated Intermediate, and you will need to be mindful of stitch placements and where to join new rounds. For your convenience, I’ve included round by round photos – so hopefully your hooking experience will be most enjoyable.

© 2018 Melinda Miller – All rights reserved

MATERIALS & GUIDELINES

ANY WORSTED WEIGHT YARN

I USED CASCADE 220 SUPERWASH ARAN

A: Deep Jungle

B: Sunflower

C: Lemon

D: Pumpkin

E: Maroon

CROCHET HOOK SIZE J / 6.0 mm

STITCH MARKERS

TAPESTRY NEEDLE

ABBREVIATIONS:

Beg = beginning

Ch/s = chain/s

Dc= double crochet

Hdc = half double crochet

Hk = hook

Lp/s = loop/s

Pm = place marker

Prev = previous

Rep = repeat

Rm = remove marker

Rnd = round

Sc = single crochet

Sk = skip/skipped

Sl St = slip stitch

Sp/s = space/s

St/s = stitch/es

Tr = treble crochet

Yo = yarn over

SPECIAL STITCHES:

Beg V-st: [Ch 4 (counts as dc, ch-1), dc] in same st/sp.

Dtr (double treble crochet): Yo hk 3 times, insert hk in specified st, yo, pull up a lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hk] 4 times.

Fpdtr (front post double treble): Yo hk  3 times, insert hk from front to back and to front again around post of st indicated, yo and pull up a lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hk] 4 times.

Fpsc (front post single crochet): Insert hk from front to back and to front again around post of st indicated, yo and pull up a lp, complete as regular sc.

Pc (popcorn): Work 5 dc in same st, drop lp from hk, insert hk from front to back through top of first st made, place dropped lp on hk and pull through st.

Sc2tog (single crochet 2 stitches together): [Insert hk in next st, yo and pull up lp] twice, yo and draw through all lps on hk.

Shell: (5 tr, ch 2, 5 tr) in same st.

TrV-st: [(Tr, ch 1) 2 times, tr] in same st.

V-st: (Dc, ch 1, dc) in same st/sp.

NOTES:

1. When ending a Rnd, always join with a sl st to top of beg ch or to beg st - unless otherwise noted.

2. A ch-3 at beg of Rnd counts as the first dc.

3. When joining a new color to the prev Rnd, either join in the exact location indicated,

or to a mirror stitch.

INSTRUCTIONS

With A ch 4, join into a ring, or make a magic ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 3, 11 dc in ring, join. Finish off. (12 dc)

Rnd 2: Join B with sl st to any dc, ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, join. (24 dc)

Rnd 3: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in next st, [2 dc in next st, dc in next st] around, join. Finish off. (36 dc)

Rnd 4: Join A with sc to any dc, sc in next 2 sts, [fpdtr around post of Rnd 1 dc directly below, sc in next 3 dc] around omitting last 3 sc, join. (12 fpdtr, 36 sc)

Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in same st and in each st around, join. Finish off. (48 sc)

 
Note: In Rnds 6 & 10, push the dtr to front of work as it has a tendency to protrude to the back.

Rnd 6: Join C with sc to join, [dtr in next st, sc in next st] around omitting last sc, join. (24 dtr, 24 sc) 

 

Rnd 7: Rep Rnd 5. Finish off. (48 sc)

Rnd 8: Join D with sc to first sc to the right of join, [sk next 3 sc, Shell in next sc, sk next 3 sc, sc in next sc, ch 3, sk next 3 sc – pm in first of these 3 sk sc, sc in next sc] around omitting last sc, join. Finish off. (4 Shells, 8 sc, 4 ch-3)

Rnd 9: Join E with sl st to ch-2 sp of any Shell, ch 3, 8 dc in same sp, [Ch 7, sl st in marked sc on Rnd 7 enclosing Rnd 8 ch-3 and rm, ch 3, pc in next sk sc on Rnd 7enclosing same Rnd 8 ch-3, ch 3, sl st in next sk sc on Rnd 7 enclosing same Rnd 8 ch-3, ch 7, 9 dc in next ch-2 corner sp] around omitting last 9 dc, join. Finish off.

(4 pc, 8 ch-7, 36 dc)

Rnd 10: Join B with sc to first dc of any 9-dc group, [(dtr in next st, sc in next st) 4 times, sk next 2 tr on Rnd 8 Shell, (sc in next tr of same Shell enclosing the ch-7) 3 times, ch 2, pc in next ch-3 sp to right of pc, ch 2, (pc, ch 2, pc) in top of next pc, ch 2, pc in ch-3 sp to left of pc, ch 2, (sc in next tr of next Rnd 8 Shell enclosing the ch-7) 3 times, sc in next dc of 9-dc group] around omitting last sc, join. Finish off. (16 pc, 16 dtr, 20 ch-2, 44 sc)

Rnd 11: Join A with sc to join, [(2 sc in next st) 7 times, sc in next 4 sts, dtr in front of piece into same Rnd 7 sc with Rnd 9 pc, sc in next ch-2, (fpsc around top of next pc, 2 sc in next ch-2) 3 times, fpsc around top of next pc, sc in next ch-2 sp, dtr into same Rnd 7 sc with Rnd 9 pc, sc in next 4 sc] around omitting last sc, join. Finish off.

(8 dtr, 16 fpsc, 120 sc)

 Rnd 12: Join C with sl st 2 sts to the right of join, ch 5 (counts as tr and ch 1), (tr, ch 1, tr) in same st, [sk next 3 sts, hdc in next 5 sts, dc in next st, ch 1, dc in next st, hdc in next 5 sts, sk next 3 sts, TrV-st in next st, sk next 6 sts, sc in next 4 sts, sk next 6 sts, TrV-st in next st] around omitting last TrV-st, join with sl st to 4^th ch of beg ch-5. Finish off. (8 TrV-st, 4 corner ch-1, 8 dc, 40 hdc, 16 sc)

Rnd 13: Join D with sc to any ch-1 corner sp, (hdc, sc) in same sp, [sc in next 7 sts, (sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next st) 2 times, sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts, (sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next st) 2 times, sc in next 6 sts, (sc, hdc, sc) in next ch-1 sp] around omitting last corner group, join. (27 sc per side, 4 hdc)

 

Rnd 14: Sl st into next hdc, Beg V-st in same st, sk next st, [V-st in next st, sk next st] around, join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-4. Finish off. (56 V-st)

Rnd 15: Join B with sl st to the ch-1 sp of any V-St in a corner hdc, (Beg V-st, ch 1, V-st) in same sp, [(V-st in ch-1 sp of next V-st) to corner V-st, (V-st, ch 1, V-st) in same sp] around omitting last corner group, join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-4. Finish off.
(15 V-st per side, 4 ch-1 corner sp)

Rnd 16: Join C with sc to any ch-1 corner sp, (hdc, sc) in same sp, [sc in next dc, (sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next dc, sk next dc) 14 times, sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next dc, (sc, hdc, sc) in next ch-1 corner sp] around omitting last corner group, join. Finish off. (33 sc per side, 4 hdc)

Rnd 17: Join E with sc to any corner hdc, (hdc, sc) in same st, [sc in each st to next corner hdc, (sc, hdc, sc) in hdc] around omitting last corner group, join. Finish off. 
(35 sc per side, 4 hdc)

Weave in all ends, block.
© 2018 Melinda Miller – All rights reserved


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