September | 2025 | Making Stitches Blog

Hello there! Bit late getting this out to you again – it’s been quite a week what with back to school shenanigans and a trip up to Glasgow for a University Open Day. But here we are, well into September now and with everyone in my household back at school or university. Back when I first started this Summer Craft Challenge in 2016, I was staring down the barrel of a 10-week-long school summer break with 3 young children. It was a bit of a marathon keeping everyone entertained back then, but times have changed. My boys only get 6 weeks off now we live back here in England AND they are a lot more independent these days, so the summer school holidays don’t feel quite the same for me.

It was still fun to deliberately seek out some time for creativity (almost) every day during that 6-and-a-bit weeks this year. It was also great fun to be joined in the challenge by even more people as well. Thank you to everyone who joined me this summer, it was so nice to hear that the challenge had inspired some of you to dig out some wips and get them finished or try something new. Thank you for sharing what you have been working on this year!

Here’s a little look back at what I got up to during the sixth and final week (and a bit) of the school summer holidays:

In Week 5 I started making another heart for the North West & North Wales Paediatric Transport Service but ran out of stuffing! I made a quick trip out to the shops and restocked on my stuffing stash and was able to finish this one off!

By now, you may well be aware of a special project I worked on with Eleonora from Coastal Crochet called the Let’s Celebrate Wreath. Well before launching that I realised that the orange balloon I’d previous made for it was the wrong shade of yarn! Arghhh! At least I spotted it before it was too late!

On Bank Holiday Monday, I had to make an early morning dash to Snowdonia with son number 2. He needed to gather some evidence for a geography A-Level piece of work. The trip had been scheduled for earlier in the holiday but Storm Floris blew in (not the best conditions for climbing hills) so it was put off, then ill health got in the way so we were left with only one option – to drive to Wales on Bank Holiday Monday – not ideal.

We were up with the lark and he got the work done while I sat on a rock and crocheted!

Not much time for creativity on Day 39 – busy day back at work for me and I was a bit tired in the evening, so only managed one cube on my Hello Hooray Blog embroidery kit.

This Orla Square was made while watching Manchester United get knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby Town. The dark colour of the flower in my Orla Square was rather appropriate!

Day 41 and I suddenly realised we were hurtling towards the end of August and I still hadn’t completely decided what I was going to do for my September Square for the Making Stiches 2025 CAL – nothing like leaving it until the last minute eh?

This cream coloured square went on to become the middle of an apple. You can find the full square here.

Throughout this Summer Craft Challenge, I have been making these really fun Orla Squares. My aim is to create a garment with them, and, as I often do, I have set myself a potentially unrealistic target for finishing it! On Day 42 (Friday 29th), I laid all these beauties out and was trying to decide whether to go random with their colour placement or have some sort of pattern – I simply couldn’t decide!

Fast forward to Tuesday 2nd September. Week Six officially ended on Day 42, and I had planned to keep going every day until both of my younger boys were back at school, but the weekend was exceptionally busy and didn’t allow for any creativity, so as I climbed aboard a train bound for Glasgow on Tuesday afternoon with Son number 2, I was thrilled to have a good chunk of uninterrupted train crochet time!

Sadly, on our return journey from Glasgow on Wednesday 3rd, things didn’t quite go to plan. A damaged power line meant no trains south of Carlisle, so we had a rather stressful journey home, which took about 4 hours longer than it should have done. We arrived home on Thursday morning ready for a full return to school, university and work. I didn’t get any crochet done on the return leg, so just posted this collection of 9 squares I managed on the journey north.

And that’s it for my 2025 Summer Craft Challenge! It has genuinely flown by for me, I cannot quite believe that we are back in the old routine again. School’s back, Eldest has gone back to University and we had our first football match of the season this morning with Youngest. It’s as if it was all a dream, but at least I have lovely memories and a lot more crochet done and it was so lovely to spent my summer with you all.

Huge thanks to everyone who has joined in with the Summer Craft Challenge this time – it has genuinely been so lovely to have company on this challenge. Included below are some of varied Instagram posts I’ve seen including crocheted rainbow fans by Sarah @Sarah.livelovecrochet, a lovely scrappy sock in the making by Kristina @crochet_at_holme, a beautiful festival cardigan modelled by Carol @nanaseamakes, fabulous mountain-top crochet with Zeli @yarnstorms, the final pocket of a cardigan being made by Sarah @sarahsheehangib, stunning felt fungi by Sandra @wilddaffodilwild, the cutest crocheted avocado made by Jothi @Jothiquestcrafts, a lovely crocheted rose brooch by Karen @seasidekaren & utterly stunning Persian Tiles by AnnMarie @crochetscot – Thank you all!

And that’s all for this week and this summer! Thanks again to everyone who’s joined in with the craft challenge to keep me company over the past six and a bit weeks! Anyone up for joining in next year? If so, watch this space!

Happy crafting!

Lindsay x

A crocheted square featuring a central apple design, surrounded by colorful building blocks with letters 'A', 'B', 'C' and numbers '1', '2', '3'. The square has a black border and green background, symbolizing a back-to-school theme.

Hello and welcome to Part 9 of the Making Stitches 2025 CAL!

In my world, at least for the next few years, September means ‘back to school’ and while it’s been a long time since anyone in our house was learning their abcs, I thought it would be fun to revisit those early years of Primary school with an ‘A for apple’ inspired square for September’s Making Stitches 2025 CAL square.

This fun square has an apple at its heart, and it’s surrounded by a blackboard inspired black border (sorry for anyone who hates crocheting with black yarn or anyone who is too young to remember blackboards in school!) and some alphabet and number building blocks.

The whole point of this CAL is to be a stash buster project to help you get rid of some of your odds and ends of yarn left over from previous projects. I am certainly using it for that purpose!

I have made my squares using my own stash of Stylecraft Special DK yarns and I have included the names and numbers of the shades I’ve used in case you want to replicate what I have done exactly, but you can use any yarn you like. The only thing you need to do is make sure it’s all the same weight, ie all DK or all Aran or whatever yarn you choose, and if you are making the whole project along with me, make sure all your squares are made using the same weight and the same size of crochet hook to make sure they all measure the same size so they can be joined together easily at the end.

Here’s the pattern for my September Making Stitches 2025 CAL square!

September : Back to School Square

I used Stylecraft Special DK in:

(A) Cream (1005)

(B) Matador (1010)

(D) Black (1002)

(E) Citron (1263)

(F) Aster (1003)

(G) Grass Green (1821)

(H) Walnut (1054)

Size 4mm crochet hook

Scissors

Stitch Marker

Yarn Needle

Abbreviations (in UK terms): blo = work in back loop only, ch = chain, dc = double crochet, dtr = double treble crochet, fptr = front post treble, fyo = final yarn over, htr = half treble crochet, mc = magic circle / magic ring, rep = repeat, RS = right side, slst = slip stitch, st = stitch, tr = treble crochet.

To make the square:

Using Yarn A, make a MC.
Round 1 Ch3 (counts as a st), 11 tr into MC. Slst into top of ch2 to close the round. Pull the central yarn tail tight to close MC. (12tr)

A close-up image of a small round crochet piece made with cream yarn, featuring a crochet hook adjacent to it on a wooden surface. — Round 1

A partially completed crocheted circle in cream yarn, resting on a wooden surface with a crochet hook nearby. — Round 1

Round 2 Ch3 1tr in same st, (2tr into next st) rep around. Slst into the top of the ch2. (24tr)

Round 3 Ch2,(2tr in next st, 1tr in next st) rep around. Change to Yarn B in fyo of last st. (36 tr)

A close-up view of a crochet project featuring a circular piece in cream with a red yarn strand being added. — 1st fptr

A close-up image of a hand holding a hook with a crochet project in progress, featuring cream-colored yarn with a red strand being added. — 1st fptr

Round 4 Work in the blo in this round With Yarn B, make 3 fptr around the ch3 of Round 2. Then count up to the 13th st of Round 2 and mark it with a stitch marker – this is where the next group of fptr sts will be worked. [Miss the next 2 sts, 1dc in next st, (2dc in next st, 1dc in next 2 sts) 5 times] make 3 fptr around the st marked with the marker, then repeat the section in [brackets]. Slst into top of ch1. Fasten off and break yarn. (48dc)

Round 5 Work into the blo of this round Join Yarn c into the central st of one of the 3fptr groups. Ch1, (2dc in next st, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around. (60 dc)

A close-up view of a crocheted apple with a red border and a creamy center, featuring a crochet hook placed on top. — Join Yarn C in middle fptr

A crocheted apple motif featuring red and green yarn, with a beige interior, designed for a back-to-school themed project. — Join Yarn C in middle fptr

Round 6 With Yarn D ch1, 1dc in next 3 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr + 2ch + 1dtr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 6 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr + 2ch + 1dtr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 3 sts changing to Yarn B in fyo of 3rd st, with Yarn B 1dc in next 3 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr + 2ch + 1dtr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 6 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr + 2ch + 1dtr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 st, 1dc in next 3 sts slst into top of ch1 to close round. Fasten off and break yarn. You now have your main square. (64 sts)

At this point, it is time to make your building blocks – you will need 6 in total, 2 in red, 2 in blue and 2 in yellow.

Close-up of a red crocheted square in progress, with a crochet hook resting on top, set against a wooden surface. — Turning the first corner at the end of Row 4

A small red crocheted square displayed on a wooden surface. — Turning the first corner at the end of Row 4

To make a building block:

Using Yarn B, E & F make six blocks.

Row 1 Ch5, 1dc in 2nd ch from hook and back along the chain, turn. (4dc)

Row 2 Ch1, 1dc in next 4 sts, turn. (4dc)

Rows 3 & 4 Rep Row 2. At the end of Row 4, make 2 dc in final st to turn the corner, turn square 90 degrees, work along the side of the square working 1dc into every row end, work 2dc into the corner, turn square 90 degrees, 1dc into each of the foundation chains along the bottom of the square, then turn the corner again and work back up the other side. Slst into the first st of Row 4. Fasten off and break yarn, weave in your ends.

Once you have 6 building blocks made, embroider them in chain st using Yarn D with A,B,C,1,2 & 3.

A crocheted square featuring a central apple design, surrounded by a green border, with colorful crocheted building blocks labeled 'A', 'B', 'C', and '1', '2', '3', alongside a crochet hook. — Border Round 1 complete

A colorful crochet square featuring a central apple design, surrounded by a green border and a black outline. Accompanying the square are small building blocks labeled with letters A, B, C in red, yellow, and blue. — Border Round 1 complete

To make the border:

Border Round 1 Work in the blo in this round. Join Yarn D into any st on one of the sides of the main square (not the top or the bottom). Work 1dc into every st around and 1dc ch2 1dc into every corner space. Slst to top of 1ch. (72dc)

Border Round 2 ch2 & 1htr in every st to the corner, in corner space work 1htr + 2ch + 1htr, then 1htr in the next st.m Take the first building block you need to join (as I started the round on the right hand side of the square, in the case of the picture below it is ‘C’) hold the building block and the main square right sides together and join the building block to the main square working into the blo of the building block’s bottom edge and 1htr into the next st on the main square joining both together. Work 1htr through the remaining sts along the edge of the building block and through the next 3 sts of the main square. Then work 1htr into the next 2 sts on the main square before repeating the join with the next building block (block ‘B’ below), once you have worked 1htr into each of the 4 sts along the base of that block, work 1htr into the next 2 sts and join the next block (block ‘A’ below) the same way, work 1htr in the final st on the main square, 1htr + 2ch + 1htr into the corner space, work 1htr in every st along the side of the main square and repeat the process of joining the blocks (1,2 & 3 below) along the bottom of the main square. Work 1htr + 2ch + 1htr in the corner and 1htr into the remaining unworked sts up the side to the beginning of the round. Slst into the top of the ch2 to close the round. (80 htr)

A crocheted square featuring a stylized apple design at its center, surrounded by a green and black border, with colorful crocheted alphabet blocks labeled 'A', 'B', and 'C' placed above it.

A close-up of a hand holding a crochet hook working on a colorful crochet square featuring an apple design, with building blocks labeled 'A' and 'B' in the background.

Border Round 3 Ch2, 1htr in every st around. 1htr + 2ch + 1htr in the corner spaces. Slst into the top of the ch2 to close the round. (22 sts on each side = 88 sts in round)

Border Round 4 Rep Border Round 3 (24 sts on each side = 96 sts in round)

Border Round 5 Rep Border Round 3 (26 sts on each side = 104 sts in round)

Border Round 6 Rep Border Round 3 (28 sts on each side = 112 sts in round)

Border Round 7 Ch1 1dc in every st around, 1dc + 2ch + 1dc in the corner spaces. However, when you reach the top of each of the building blocks, join the top edge by working your dc through the blo of the building block and the border row behind it. Work 1dc into the top of each 4 st along the top of each block and 1dc into the next 2 sts to keep the blocks straight and to mirror what you did in the joining row of Border Row 2. At the end of the round, slst into the top of the ch1, fasten off and break yarn. (30 sts on each side = 120 sts in round).

Close-up of a hand holding a crochet hook, working on a colorful crochet piece featuring an apple design surrounded by other colored yarns.

Crocheted square featuring an apple design at the center, surrounded by a colorful border of building blocks labeled with letters 'A', 'B', 'C' and numbers '1', '2', '3'. The square has a black background with green, red, and yellow accents.

Then, with yarn C, you can surface crochet around the sts in Border Round 7 to give a green stripe around the edge of the square. When you get to the corner spaces, slst around the corner edge to keep the green embellishment nice and square. Note: be careful not to make your surface crochet too tight, so the square doesn’t get pulled out of shape.

A close-up of a hand holding a crochet hook while crocheting with colorful yarns, showcasing a partially completed crochet square. — Surface crochet

Close-up of a crocheting process featuring colorful building block motifs in red, yellow, and black with a green yarn being added, on a wooden surface. — Surface crochet

To make your apple leaf:

With Yarn G, Ch7, 1dc in 2nd ch from hook, 1htr in next ch, 1tr in next ch, 1htr in next ch, 1dc in next ch, slst into final ch. Fasten off and leave yarn tail to sew the apple leaf in place. Sew your leaf onto your apple.

Then, with Yarn H embroider 4 apple pips in the centre of the apple.

A colorful crocheted square featuring a red apple in the center, surrounded by black borders and blocks displaying letters 'A, B, C' and numbers '1, 2, 3'. A small green leaf is placed next to the square. — Embroidering on an apple pip

Close-up of a crocheted apple with a green leaf, surrounded by colorful alphabet blocks, showing a needle and brown yarn stitching in the apple. — Embroidering on an apple pip

So there you have it, your Making Stitches 2025 CAL September Back to School square is completed. I hope you enjoy making one, or maybe even more than one!

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined in with the CAL during August – it was a two square month with the Seaside Holiday Square and the Bonus Granny Square Day Square. It was so lovely to see them appearing on Instagram over the last few weeks! In particular, thanks to Annette from @etenamakes, Kristina from @crochet_at_holme, Judith from @judithlouise21 & Sarah from @sarahsheehangib – you can see their squares here.

Whether you are caught up in the ‘back to school’ chaos or not, I hope September is a good month for you.

Happy hooking!

Lindsay x

PS If you do decide to make a September Back to School square, please, if you share it online, I would love it if you could use the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL so I can see any squares when they appear!