Swirly Curls Crochet Block

Swirly Curls

 Welcome to my latest crochet block pattern! This post was written up as quickly as possible after my post showing off my finished block blew up beyond my expectations on Facebook! If you came from the Crochet Crowd Stitch Social or Moogly CAL groups on FB; hi! Good to see you again! To anyone else stumbling across this on their own; welcome to you, as well! Glad you could join us!

I started this block with help from my 7 year old daughter. The design came straight from her head and we worked very closely together through the whole creation process. I needed a "bonus" block for a blanket three years in the making. It was the last block I needed to fill in an extra row to go along with the 2019 version of the Moogly Crochet Along. I designed 4 bonus squares myself already and felt a severe "artist's block" when it came to coming up with an idea. Despite hours, days, weeks, months .... of going down the Pinterest rabbit hole, I was no closer to finishing my afghan. So I enlisted help. My daughter is incredible (only a slight bias) and jumped at the opportunity to offer her services. I gave her a blank piece of paper and sent her on her way. This is what she came up with for me.

We sat down together and went over every detail of her drawing and came up with a second sketch that included the three colors I would be using for the block. My drawing skills aren't much better than hers (she will surpass me VERY soon, I'm sure) but we were able to show a little better what she had in her head.

Once we had a "good" sketch and she believed I knew what she wanted, I was off to start the trial and error process of crochet creation! She was over my shoulder every step of the way as we figured out how to make a circle lay flat, decided how to create her curvy lines on the outside of the circle, and turning a circle into a square. By the time I finished crocheting the final border round, she was too excited to stand still! She was so proud of herself for coming up with the idea for my square, and I was somewhat surprised that I was able to interpret her sketch and turn it into a real crochet block!

I put a couple pictures up in some Facebook crochet groups to show off her design, and we were completely blown away by the response! I have never, in my life, had any of my posts reach more than 1300 reactions, let alone to get that many in less than 24 hours. As a result, here I sit now, trying to type up my pattern as quickly as possible so you all can get started making your own! My daughter and I are so excited and truly hope you incorporate her design in your own afghan samplers!

• I am in the process of testing my pattern and making sure everything is as clear as possible for crochet artists of all levels. This page is more of a quick version for those who want to get started NOW! When it is ready, I will have a fully polished version of this pattern available on my Etsy page as a downloadable PDF file. I will update here when it is available for purchase. The purchasable pattern will have a much more in depth explanation of each stitch and how the rows work up, better (and more) pictures, and be fully tested to ensure the pattern will work up properly as written. There may be errors in the pattern below which will be sorted and smoothed out for the PDF. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to comment below and I will answer as quickly as possible to clarify. The pattern below is usable as is, but I guarantee it WILL be worth it to spend the couple dollars it will cost to purchase the full pattern when it becomes available.

So, without further ado, here is the pattern I've come up with from my daughter's sketch:

Materials Needed:

    Hook - 5.5mm (I) 

    Yarn - 3 colors (A, B, and C) of medium (4) worsted weight acrylic

    Stitch markers - 4 to mark corners

    Yarn needle

   

Stitches and Terms Used (US terminology):

    ch - chain

    sl st - slip stitch 

    sc - single crochet

    hdc - half double crochet

    dc - double crochet

    tr - treble crochet

    str - standing treble crochet

    flo - front loop only

    blo - back loop only

    3rd loop - the horizontal bar on the back side of a half double crochet

    Candy Cane Border - this is the Circle Border round after Round 11. Sarah Zimmerman from Repeat Crafter Me created a fantastic Video Tutorial to follow. I will do my best to explain the process below.

Notes:

• If beginning ch of the row is counted, it WILL be noted in the pattern. If there is no note, assume it should not be included in the stitch count.
• Stitch counts will be found at the end of each row in parenthesis ().
• Measurements are shown after the stitch counts of some rows in curvy brackets{}.
• Instructions found between brackets [] will be completed in the same stitch or chain space.

THE PATTERN

Round 1: With Color A, ch 3, 12 dc in 3rd ch from hook, sl st to top of 1st dc to join. Finish off Color A (12)

Round 2: Join Color B with sl st to 1st dc of Round 1, ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in same stitch, 2 dc in each stitch around, sl st to top of ch 3 to join. (24)

Round 3: Ch 1, sc in same stitch, 2 sc in next stitch, repeat *sc in next, 2 sc in next* 11 times, sl st to 1st sc to join. Drop Color B. Do NOT finish off Color B. Push loop to the back to carry the yarn to round 5. (36) {3 1/2" across}

Round 4: Join Color A with sl st to 1st sc of Round 3, ch 1, hdc in same stitch, and each stitch around, sl st to top of 1st hdc. Finish off Color A. (36)

Round 5: Pick up Color B, sl st to 3rd loop of 1st hdc of Round 4. Work all in 3rd loop for this row. Ch 2 (does not count as dc) dc in same stitch, dc in next, 2 dc in next, repeat *dc in next 2, 2 dc in next* 11 times, sl st to top of 1st dc to join. (48) {5 3/4" across}

Round 6: Ch 1, sc in same stitch, sc in next 2, 2 sc in next, repeat *sc in next 3, 2 sc in next* 11 times, sl st to top of 1st sc to join. Drop Color B. Do NOT finish off Color B. Push loop to the back to carry the yarn to round 8. (60)

Round 7: Join Color A with sl st to 1st sc of Round 6. Repeat Round 4. (60)

Round 8: Pick up Color B, sl st to 3rd loop of 1st hdc of round 7. Work all in 3rd loop for this row. Ch 2, dc in same stitch, dc in next 3, 2 dc in next, repeat *dc in next 4, 2 dc in next* 11 times, sl st to top of 1st dc to join. (72)

Round 9: Ch 1, sc in same stitch, sc in next 4, 2 sc in next, repeat *sc in next 5, 2 sc in next* 11 times, sl st to top of 1st sc to join. Drop Color B. Do NOT finish off Color B. Push loop to the back to carry the yarn to round 11. (84)

Round 10: Join Color A with sl st to 1st sc of Round 9. Repeat Round 4. Finish off Color A. (84)

Round 11: Pick up Color B, sl st to 3rd loop of 1st hdc of round 10. Work all in 3rd loop for this row. Ch 1, sc in same stitch, sc in each stitch around. Place stitch markers in blo every 21 stitches. Do NOT finish off Color B. (84) {circle should measure 9 1/2" across}

Circle Border: Work in flo of Round 11. With Color B, sl st to flo of 1st sc of Round 11, ch 4, drop loop. Join Color A with sl st to flo of next stitch of Round 11, ch 4, drop loop and push to back. Pick up Color B, sc in next, ch 4, drop loop and push to back. Pick up Color A, sc in next, ch 4, drop loop and push to back. Continue around, alternating colors to create a candy cane stripe, until you reach the final stitches of Round 11. With Color B, complete the final sc into round 11, ch 4, sl st to base of starting Color B ch 4, finish off Color B. With Color A, complete the final sc into round 11, ch 4, sl st to base of starting Color A ch 4, finish off Color A. (42 loops of each Color A and Color B)

Round 12: Work in blo of Round 11. Join Color C with str at any stitch marker, [tr, ch 2, 2 tr] in same stitch repeat *tr next 3, dc next 3, hdc next 2, sc next 4, hdc next 2, dc next 3, tr next 3, [2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr] in stitch marker* 3 times, tr next 3, dc next 3, hdc next 2, sc next 4, hdc next 2, dc next 3, tr next 3, sl st to top of str to join. (24 per side plus 4 corner ch 2 spaces)

Round 13: Ch 1, hdc in same stitch, hdc in next, repeat *[hdc, dc, ch 2, dc, hdc] in corner ch 2 space, hdc next 5, sc next 14, hdc next 5* 3 times, [hdc, dc, ch 2, dc, hdc] in corner ch 2 space, hdc next 5, sc next 14, hdc 3, sl st to top of 1st hdc to join. (28 per side plus 4 corner ch 2 spaces)

Round 14: Ch 1, hdc in same stitch, hdc to corner, repeat *[hdc, ch 2, hdc] in corner ch 2 space, hdc each stitch across* 4 times, sl st to top of 1st hdc to join. (30 per side plus 4 corner ch 2 spaces)

Round 15: Repeat Round 14. Finish off Color C. (32 per side plus 4 corner ch 2 spaces)

Round 16: Join Color B with sl st to any hdc, ch 1, sc to corner, repeat *[sc, ch 2, sc] in corner ch 2 space, sc in every stitch* 4 times, sl st to top of 1st sc to join. Finish off Color B. (34 per side plus 4 corner ch 2 spaces) {finished size 12" square}