Crochet Showstopper Afghan Square
Create a stunning afghan square that will steal the show with your crochet skills. Crafted with intricate stitches and vibrant colors, this crochet showstopper will be the centerpiece of any blanket or throw. The combination of different crochet techniques will make this square a true work of art, showcasing your talent and creativity. This afghan square is not just a simple piece of crochet work, but a masterpiece that will impress anyone who sees it. The attention to detail and the precision of each stitch will make this square stand out from the rest. Whether you choose to display it on its own or incorporate it into a larger project, this showstopper afghan square will surely become a cherished item in your collection.
MATERIALS & GUIDELINES
YARN – Cascade Yarns Anthem
A = Fuchsia Rose, B = Cream, C = Pink, D = Rose Shadow
WEIGHT – 4 / Worsted
SKILL LEVEL – Intermediate
HOOK – I / 5.5 mm
FINISHED SIZE – 12” X 12”
OTHER – Tapestry Needle, Scissors
ABBREVIATIONS
Beg = beginning
Ch/s = chain/s
Dc = double crochet
Dtr = double treble crochet
Hdc = half double crochet
Hk = hook
Lp/s = loop/s
Rep = repeat
Sc = single crochet
Sl st = slip stitch
Sp/s = space/s
St/s = stitch/es
Tr = treble crochet
Yo = yarn over
SPECIAL STITCHES
BegDcCl (beginning cluster): Ch 2, keeping last lp of each dc on hk, 2 dc in st or sp indicated, yo, draw through all 3 lps on hk.
Bpsc (back post single crochet): Insert hk from back to front to back around post of st indicated, yo and pull up lp, yo and draw through 2 lps on hk.
Cl-Group: [Dtrcl, ch 4, (Trcl, ch 4) twice, Dtrcl] in same st.
DcCl (cluster): Keeping last lp of each dc on hook, 3 dc in st indicated, yo, draw through all 4 lps on hook.
Dc2tog (double crochet 2 stitches together): Yo, insert hk in st indicated, yo and pull up lp, yo and draw through 2 lps, (2 lps on hk), rep into next st indicated until 3 lps on hk, yo and draw through all lps on hk.
Dtr (double treble crochet): Yo 3 times, insert hk in specified st, yo, pull up a lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hk] 4 times.
Dtrcl (double treble cluster): Keeping last lp of each dtr on hk, 2 dtr in st indicated, yo and draw through all 3 lps on hk.
Dtr2tog (double treble 2 stitches together): Yo 3 times, insert hk in st indicated, yo and pull up lp, (yo and draw through 2 lps) twice (2 lps on hk), rep into next st indicated until 3 lps on hk, yo and draw through all 3 lps on hk.
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.
Fpdtr (front post double treble crochet): Yo 3 times and insert hk from front to back and to front again around post of st indicated, yo and pull up a lp, complete as regular dtr.
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.
Sc Join: Insert hk first into ch-lp or st indicated, and then into st indicated, complete a sc.
Trefoil: Ch 6, sl st in 6th ch from hk, ch 8, sl st in 8th ch from hk, ch 6, sl st in 6th ch from hk, sl st in side of sc just made.
TrCl (treble cluster): Keeping last lp of each tr on hook, 2 tr in st indicated, yo, draw through all 3 lps on hook.
INSTRUCTIONS
All Rnds are worked on the RS, unless indicated to turn to WS.
Rnd 1: With A ch 4, join to form a ring, or make a Magic Ring, BegDcCl in ring, ch 4, (DcCl in ring, ch 4) 3 times, join with sl st to top of BegDcCl. Finish off. (4 DcCl, 4 ch-4)
Rnd 2: Join B with sc to top of any DcCl, [(hdc, dc, tr, ch 1, tr, dc, hdc) in next ch-4 sp, sc in top of next DcCl] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (4 sc, 8 hdc, 8 dc, 8 tr, 4 ch-1)
Rnd 3: Find any ch-1 sp, count 2 sts over before sp (tr and dc), join C with sc to the dc, [ch 3, sk next (tr, ch-1, tr), sc in next dc, place ch-3 just made behind (tr, ch-1, tr), ch 2, sk next hdc, Pc in next sc, ch 2, sk next hdc, sc in next dc] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (4 Pc, 8 sc, 8 ch-2, 4 ch-3)
Rnd 4: Join D with sc to any Rnd 2 ch-1 sp, keeping the Rnd 3 ch-3 behind, [Trefoil in same st, Fpdtr around top of next Rnd 1 DcCl, 3 sc in next ch-2 sp, fpsc around top of next Rnd 3 Pc, 3 sc in next ch-2 sp, Fpdtr around top of same Rnd 1 DcCl, sc in next Rnd 2 ch-1 sp keeping the Rnd 3 ch-3 behind] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (28 sc, 8 Fpdtr, 4 fpsc, 4 Trefoils)
Rnd 5: Join B with sc to any fpsc, [working behind Trefoil, (tr, 3 dc, ch-1, 3 dc, tr) in next Rnd 3 ch-3 sp, sc in next fpsc] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to first sc .(4 ch-1, 24 dc, 8 tr, 4 sc)
Rnd 6: Ch 4 (count as tr), (tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in same st, [dc in next 2 sts, hdc in next st, sc in next st, sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next 2 sts, (2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr) in next st] around omitting last (2 tr, ch 2, 2 tr), join with sl st to top of beg ch-4. (52 sts, 4 ch-2)
Rnd 7: Ch 1, sc in same and next st, [(sc, hdc, sc) in next ch-2 corner sp, sc in next 13 sts] around omitting last 2 sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (64 sts)
Rnd 8: Join C with sc to the 2nd sc after any corner hdc, [ch 4, sk next 2 sc, Pc in next sc, ch 4, sk next 2 sc, sc join into ch-8 of Trefoil and next sc, ch 4, sk next 2 sc, Pc in next sc, ch 4, sk next 2 sc, sc in next sc, ch 4, sk next (sc, hdc, sc), sc in next sc] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (8 Pc, 12 sc, 20 ch-4)
Rnd 9: Join A with sl st to any sc join, [7 sc in next ch-4 sp, fpsc around top of next Pc, Cl-Group in hdc of next Rnd 7 corner keeping Rnd 8 ch-4 behind, fpsc around top of next Pc, 7 sc in next ch-4 sp, sl st in next sc join] around, placing last sl st in same st as first sl st. Finish off. (4 Cl-Groups, 56 sc, 4 sl st, 8 fpsc)
Rnd 10: Join D with sl st in the center of the 2nd (corner) ch-4 sp of any Cl-Group, ch 3 (count as dc) – or join with a standing dc, 2 hdc in same sp, [fpsc around top of next DcCl, 4 sc in next ch-4 sp, fpsc around top of next DtrCl, sc in next fpsc, working behind Rnd 9, dtr in next 2 sk sc on Rnd 7, dtr2tog placing 1st leg in same st as last dtr and 2nd leg in next sk sc, dtr in same sc as 2nd leg, dtr in next sk sc, sc in next fpsc, fpsc around top of next DtrCl, 4 sc in next ch-4 sp, fpsc around top of next DtrCl, (2 hdc, dc, 2 hdc) in next ch-4 sp] around omitting last (2 hdc, dc, 2 hdc), 2 hdc in beg ch-4 sp to complete first corner, join with sl st to top of beg ch-3. (23 sts per side, 1 dc per corner)
Note: Carefully count sts in next Rnd. Working 9 tr into one st can stretch it out, causing the next sts to “shrink” and may be hard to see. There will be 9 tr in each corner dc.
Rnd 11: Ch 4 (count as tr), 4 tr in same st, [sk next 3 sts, sc in next st, sk next 3 sts, 9 tr in next st] around omitting last 9 tr, 4 tr in beg st, join with sl st to top of beg ch-4. (108 tr, 12 sc)
Rnd 12: Ch 1, [Bpsc in same and each tr, sk all sc] around, join with sl st to first Bpsc. Finish off. (108 Bpsc)
Rnd 13: Join B with sc to the 3rd Bpsc of any 9-Tr corner group, sc in next st, [(hdc, dc, hdc) in next st for corner, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next st, (dc2tog, dc in next st, hdc in next next st, sc in next 3 sts, hdc in next st, dc in next st) twice, dc2tog, hdc in next st, sc in next 2 sts] around omitting last 2 sc, join with sl st to first sc. Finish off. (25 sts per side, 1 dc per corner)
Rnd 14: Join C with sl st to the 1st st after any corner dc, [(ch 4, sk next 3 sts, Pc in next dc2tog, ch 4, sk next 3 sts, sl st in next st) 3 times, ch 2, sk next corner dc, sl st in next st] around placing last sl st in same st as beg sl st. Finish off. (3 Pc per side, 6 ch-4 per side, 4 sl st per side, 1 ch-2 per corner).
Rnd 15: Keeping Rnd 14 ch-2 behind, join A with sc to any Rnd 13 corner dc, [Trefoil in same st, sl st into same st as next sl st – working over it, (7 sc in next Rnd 14 ch-4, fpsc around top of next Pc, 7 sc in next ch-4, sl st over next sl st as before) 3 times, sc in next Rnd 13 corner dc keeping Rnd 14 ch-2 behind] around omitting last sc, join with sl st to beg sc. Finish off. TURN TO WS. (4 sl st per side, 42 sc per side, 3 fpsc per side, 1 sc and 1 Trefoil per corner)
Note: The next Rnd is worked on the WS in order to counteract the natural slant of stitches and to keep stitches lined up properly.
Rnd 16: WORKING ON WS OF RND 13, join B with sl st to the 1st sk st after any corner, ch 5 (count as dtr), (dtr, tr) in same st, [(tr, dc) in next sk st, dc in next sk st, ch 1, (dc in next 3 sk sts, ch 1) 4 times, dc in next sk st, (dc, tr) in next sk st,, (tr, 2 dtr) in next sk st, ch 1, working around corner, (2 dtr, tr ) in next sk st] around omitting last ch-1 and (2 dtr, tr), join with hdc to top of beg ch-5. TURN TO RS. (24 sts per side, 5 ch-1 per side, 1 ch-1 per corner)
Rnd 17: WORKING ON RS, Ch 1, (hdc, sc) in same corner sp, [sc in next 6 sts, (sc join into Bpsc of Rnd 15 and ch-1 sp of Rnd 16, sc in next 3 sts, sc in next ch-1 sp, sc in next 3 sts) twice, sc join as before, sc in next 6 sts, (sc, hdc, sc) in next corner ch-1 sp] around omitting last (sc, hdc, sc), sc in beg ch-1 sp to complete first corner, join with sl st to top of beg hdc.(31 sts per side, 1 hdc per corner)
Rnd 18: Ch 1, [(sc, sc join in ch-8 of Trefoil, sc) in same st, sc in next 31 sts] around, join with sl st to beg sc. (33 sc per side, 1 sc join per corner)
Rnd 19: Ch 1, hdc in same st, [(hdc, dc, hdc) in next st, hdc in next 33 sts] around omitting last hdc, join with sl st to beg hdc. Finish off. (37 hdc per side, 1 dc per corner)
Weave in all ends, block as desired.
