crochet along

Making Stitches 2025 CAL Part Seven : July

~ Making Stitches ~ 1 Comment
July ‘Anyone for tennis?’ & Tutti Frutti squares

Hello there, sorry for the slight delay in getting this square out to you. This month I could’t decide which design to go with so you have a choice, ‘Anyone for tennis?’ inspired by Wimbledon with a tennis ball centre and strawberry border, or, sticking with the strawberries, the Tutti Frutti version complete with an orange slice in the middle. 

The only difference between the two squares is the central circle design and the colour choices for the rest of the square. 

As always, I have made these squares using my own stash of Stylecraft Special DK yarns, I have included the numbers for the shades I have used below, but please use any yarn you like. It’s a perfect way of using up any small odds and ends you have left over from other projects.

Each square in the Making Stitches 2025 CAL is made to a similar basic pattern and should have 120 stitches in the final round to make joining the squares together at the end a little bit easier.

You will need:

Using Stylecraft Special DK 

(A) Pistachio (1420) 

(B) White (1001)

(C) Green (1116)

(D) Matador (1010)

(E) Clementine (1725)

(F) Jaffa (1256)

Size 4mm crochet hook

Scissors

Stitch Marker

Yarn Needle

Abbreviations (in UK terms): blo = work in back loop only, ch = chain, dc = double crochet, dc5tog = double crochet 5 sts together, dtr = double treble crochet, fyo = final yarn over, htr = half treble crochet, mc = magic circle / magic ring, fpdtr = front post double treble, rep = repeat, RS = right side, slst = slip stitch, st = stitch, tr = treble crochet.

‘Anyone for Tennis?’ Square

‘Anyone for tennis?’ square

Tennis ball

Using Yarn A, make a MC.

Round 1 Ch2 (not counted as a st throughout), 12 tr into MC. Slst into top of ch2 to close the round. Pull the central yarn tail tight to close MC. (12tr)

Round 2 Ch2, 2tr into every st around. Slst into the top of the Ch2 (24tr)

Round 3 Ch2, (2tr in first st, 1tr in next st) rep around. Slst into top of Ch2 (36tr)

Round 4A Ch1, in flo, (2dc in first st, 1dc in next 2 sts) rep around. Slst into top of ch1. Fasten off and break yarn. (48dc)

Then, using Yarn B, either surface crochet or embroider the wavy line onto the ‘tennis ball’.

Round 4A complete
Beginning Round 4B
Round 4B complete
Round 5 complete

To make the square:

Using Yarn C, join into the blo of one of the sts in Round 3.

Round 4B Ch1, (2dc in 1st st, 1dc in next 2 sts) rep around. Slst into top of Ch1. (48dc)

Round 5 Ch1, (2dc in 1st st, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around. Slst into the top of ch1. (60dc)

Round 6 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 3 sts) rep around. Slst into top of the ch1. Fasten off and break yarn. (16 sts on each side = 64 sts)

Round 7 Join Yarn B into any st. Work 1dc into every st around and 1dc ch2 1dc into every corner space. Slst to top of 1ch. Fasten off and break yarn. (72dc)

Round 8 Join Yarn A into any st. Ch2, 1htr into every st around. Work 1htr 2ch 1htr into every ch space. Slst into top of ch2. Fasten off & break yarn. (80htr)

Round 6 complete
Round 7 complete
Round 8 complete

Round 9 Rejoin Yarn A into the 2nd last st before a corner, 2ch, 1htr in same st, and next st, (1htr 2ch 1htr into corner space, 1htr in next 2 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 2 sts) rep around until you reach the first st of the round and slst into to the top of the 2ch. (You should have 4 x 5tr clusters on each side and 18htr on each side).

Round 9 complete
Round 10 in progress
Round 10 complete

Round 10 Ch2, 1htr in the next 3 sts, (1htr 2ch 1htr into the corner space, 1htr into next 3 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo of last st, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 3 sts) rep around until you reach the first st of the round and slst into the top of the 2ch. (20htr & 4 dc5tog on each side).

Round 11 Ch2 1htr into every st around working 1htr 2ch 1htr into every ch space. Slst into top of 2ch to close round. Fasten off and break yarn. (26 htr on each side = 104htr).

Round 12 Join Yarn B into any st. Ch1 and work 1dc into every st around, 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of Ch1 to close round, fasten off and break yarn. (112 dc)

Round 13 Join Yarn C into any st. Rep Round 12. Fasten off and break yarn. (120 dc)

If you wish, you can use some Yarn A to sew the edge of the tennis ball flush to the square.

The Tutti Frutti Square…

July Tutti Frutti Square

If Tennis isn’t your thing and you fancy making a Tutti Frutti square inspired by cooling fruit juices, home grown strawberries or maybe even a tipsy fruit punch, here’s how to make one!

(The centre of the orange slice can be a bit fiddly, but I think it’s worth it to create clear segments for the orange.)

To make the orange slice

Using Yarn E, make a MC.

Round 1 Ch2 (not counted as a st throughout), 1tr into MC, changing to Yarn B in fyo, with Yarn B work 1tr into MC changing to Yarn E in fyo. Repeat until you have 6 orange tr and 6 white tr in the MC. Slst into top of ch2 to close the round. Pull the central yarn tail tight to close MC. (12tr)

Round 2 Rather thank working 2tr into every st around as in the tennis ball, in this round, we are making 3 tr into the orange sts of Round 1 and 1 fpdtr around the white tr sts in Round 1 to make the white pithy section stand proud of the orange segments. Work every st as described (3tr into each orange st & 1fpdtr around every white st) and slst into the top of the ch2 to close round. (24tr)

Round 1 complete
Round 2 in progress
Round 2 complete

Round 3 Ch 2 to begin. In this round, we are working 2tr into the first orange st of the segment , 1tr into the 2nd st, 2tr into the 3rd st of the segment changing to Yarn B with the fyo of the last st and 1fpdtr around the white st below from Round 2. Repeat around and slst into the top of the first 2ch to close the Round. (30tr & 6fpdtr).

Round 4 Join Yarn B into any st. 1ch, (2dc in the first st, 1dc in next 2 sts), rep around, slst into top of 1ch to close the round. Fasten off and break yarn. (48 dc).

Round 5A Work in the flo in this round. Join Yarn F into any st. 1ch, (2dc in flo of first st, 1dc in the next 3 sts), rep around. Slst into top of 1ch to close round. Fasten off and break yarn. (60dc)

Round 3 complete
Round 4 complete
Round 5A complete

To make the square: 

Using Yarn A, join into the blo of one of the sts in Round 4.

Round 5B Ch1, (2dc in 1st st, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around. Slst into the top of ch1. (60dc)

Round 6 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 3 sts) rep around. Sist into top of the ch1. Fasten off and break yarn. (16 sts on each side = 64 sts)

Round 5B in progress
Round 5B complete
Round 6

Round 7 Join Yarn B into any st. Work 1dc into every st around and 1dc ch2 1dc into every corner space. Slst to top of 1ch. Fasten off and break yarn. (72dc)

Round 8 Join Yarn A into any st. Ch2, 1htr into every st around. Work 1htr 2ch 1htr into every ch space. Slst into top of ch2. Fasten off & break yarn. (80htr)

Round 7
Round 8
Where to start Round 9

Round 9 Rejoin Yarn A into the 2nd last st before a corner, 2ch, 1htr in same st, and next st, (1htr 2ch 1htr into corner space, 1htr in next 2 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn D in fyo of last st, work 5tr into next st changing to Yarn A in fyo of last st, 1htr into next 2 sts) rep around until you reach the first st of the round and slst into to the top of the 2ch. (You should have 4 x 5tr clusters on each side and 18htr on each side).

Beginning of Round 9
1st side of Round 9
Round 9 complete

Round 10 Ch2, 1htr in the next 3 sts, (1htr 2ch 1htr into the corner space, 1htr into next 3 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo of last st, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr into next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 4 sts changing to Yarn C in fyo, dc5tog changing to Yarn A in fyo, 1htr in next 3 sts) rep around until you reach the first st of the round and slst into the top of the 2ch. (20htr & 4 dc5tog on each side).

Dc5tog in Round 10
First strawberry top complete
Round 10 complete

Round 11 Ch2 1htr into every st around working 1htr 2ch 1htr into every ch space. Slst into top of 2ch to close round. Fasten off and break yarn. (26 htr on each side = 104htr).

Round 12 Join Yarn B into any st. Ch1 and work 1dc into every st around, 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of Ch1 to close round, fasten off and break yarn. (112 dc)

Round 13 Join Yarn A into any st. Rep Round 12. Fasten off and break yarn. (120 dc)

Working 1htr into top of dc5tog on Round 11
Round 11 complete
Round 12 complete
Round 13 complete

And there you have it, a choice of two Making Stitches 2025 CAL squares for July. I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did!

If you do make one or both of these squares and want to share them online, please tag me in your social media posts using the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL and then I will be able to see them.

Thanks so much for joining me on this my first ever CAL, it’s been so much fun for me so far and so lovely to see some of my squares out there in the wild!

Happy hooking!

Lindsay x

Making Stitches 2025 CAL Part Five : May

~ Making Stitches ~ 5 Comments

Hello and happy May Day! I hope this finds you well and ready to join in with the latest instalment of the Making Stitches 2025 CAL.

I’m loving seeing so many lovely squares appearing online as I release these patterns each month. Thank you to everyone who has joined in along the way, and if you are new here, welcome! Please feel free to join in. There is no time limit on this CAL and the more the merrier!

Last month, I went for April showers as the theme, but I was torn about that. There were so many beautiful blossom trees in my neighbourhood doing their thing and I was undecided for ages about whether to go for blossom or rain showers. As it turned out we have enjoyed a lovely spell of dry weather in Manchester where I am, and it has been very un-April like. However, I am pleased to say there is still quite a lot of blossom knocking about as we head into May, so I’ve opted for blossom for this month’s theme – I hope you like it!

As I have said before, 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.

Each square is made to a similar basic pattern and should have 120 stitches in the final round to make joining easier at the end.

Let’s get blossoming…

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

2025 Making Stitches CAL Part Five : May – May Blossom

To make this square, I used Stylecraft Special DK  in (A) Pale Rose (1080), (B) Pistachio (1822),(C) Walnut (1054), (D) White (1001).

You will also need a 4mm crochet hook, scissors, a Stitch Marker, and a Yarn Needle.

Abbreviations (in UK terms): blo = work in back loop only, ch = chain, dc = double crochet, dtr = double treble, fyo = final yarn over, htr = half treble, mc = magic circle / magic ring, FLWR = Make a Flower (see NOTE in Round 2 of the border below), rep = repeat, slst = slip stitch, st = stitch, tr = treble.

Tension: Tension isn’t important for this project as long as you maintain the same tension throughout the project so all your squares are the same size. Once blocked this square will measure approximately 20cm x 20cm. The stitch count of the final round of each finished square will be 120 plus corner chain spaces.

Please note, this pattern is written in UK Crochet terms.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Central floral square

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

Using Yarn A, make a MC.

Round 1 Ch2 (not counted as a st throughout), 12 tr into MC. Slst into top of ch2 to close the round. Pull the central yarn tail tight to close MC. (12tr)

Round 2 Working in blo, ch2, 2htr into every st around, slst into top of Ch2. ( 24 htr)

Round 3 Working into blo, ch2, (2htr in next st, 1htr in next st) rep around, slst into top of Ch2. Fasten off & break yarn. (36 htr).

Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

Round 4 With Yarn B, join into any st. Working Into blo, ch2, (2htr in next st, 1htr into next 2 sts) rep around. Slst into top of ch2. (48 htr)

Round 5 Working through both loops, ch1, (2dc in next st, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around, Slst into top of ch1. (60dc)

Round 6 Ch1, (1dc in next 3 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr ch2 1dtr in the next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around, slst into top of 1ch. Fasten off and break yarn. (16 sts on each side = 64 sts)

To make your central flower:

Making the petals
Petals ready to be added to square

Row 1 With Yarn A, ch78, 1dc into 2nd ch from hook and 1dc in every ch across. Turn. (77dc)

Row 2 (Skip next 2 sts, 6dtr into 3rd st, skip next 2 sts, slst) 6 times, (skip next st, 5tr into next st, miss next st, slst into next st) 5 times, (skip next st, 5htr into next st, miss next st, slst into next st) 5 times. Fasten off and break yarn. (6 dtr clusters – big petals, 5 tr clusters – medium petals, 5 htr clusters – small petals). 

To join the flower to the square begin at the end of the petal row with the largest petals. Align the large end petal with the front loops of Round 3 and, using Yarn A, sew it into place. The chains along the bottom of the petal row won’t align exactly with the number of loops available on Round 3, but try your best to make sure that all 6 large petals are arranged evenly around this round before beginning to join the middle sized petals to the front loops of round 2. Continue in this fashion, stopping to arrange the petals around and sewing them to the nearest available front loops. You want to end up with the centre of the spiral of petals finishing into the centre of the MC. Make sure your petals are attached securely and weave in your ends. It’s entirely up to you, but I also like to stitch around the edges of the outer petals so that these lie flat to the square allowing the smaller middle petals to stand proud.

Begin joining 1st large petal in front loop of Round 3
Make sure all 6 large petals go around the outer round
Attach middle sized petals into front loops of Round 2
Flower petals are all attached

Making the border

Border Round 1 Join Yarn C into any st. Ch1, 1dc into every st around & in each of the 4 corner spaces work 1dc 2ch 1dc to turn the corner. Slst into top of Ch1, fasten off and break yarn. (18st on each side = 72sts)

NOTE: To make a flower (FLWR): Work 2tr into next st, you will be using the central space between the two sts in much the same way as a MC and work the petals in around the space. Rotate your work clockwise by 90 degrees, Ch2, 1tr along the stem of the 2nd tr, ch2, slst into the gap (this makes the first petal) rep to make 2nd petal. Rotate your work by 180 degrees & slst onto the first of the 2 tr sts. Make 2 more petals as before on this st, then rotate your work by 90 degrees again and work a final petal into the top of the two tr sts. Slst to close the flower and then you are ready to move on with the next st.

Work into the space between the two trebles to form the first petal
Repeat the process to make the 2nd petal
2nd petal is compete
Slip stitch onto 1st tr
Begin making 3rd petal here
Making 4th petal
All 5 petals are complete, slst to close the flower before moving on

Border Round 2 Join Yarn D into the last st before a corner space. Ch 3 and 1tr into that same st, work 1tr 2ch 1tr into the corner space. 1tr into the first st of that round then (make a FLWR (as described above), 1tr into next 4 sts) four times, 1tr in next st, 1tr 2ch 1tr into corner space. Rep around so there are 4 blossom flowers on each side. At end of 4th side, slst into top of ch3. Fasten off & break yarn. (16tr & 4 FLWRs = 20 sts on each side = 80 sts)

The first side of blossoms are complete
The end of Border Round 2

Border Round 3 Join Yarn C into any st, ch1 and work 1dc into every st around & 1dc 2ch 1dc into each corner space. At end of round, slst into top of 1dc, fasten off and break yarn. (88dc)

Border Round 3 complete
The back of the square after Border Round 3

Border Round 4 Join Yarn B into any st, rep Border Round 3. Fasten off and break yarn. (96dc).

Border Round 5 Join Yarn A into any st, rep Border Round 3. Fasten off and break yarn. (104dc)

Border Round 4
Border Round 5

Border Round 6 Join Yarn D into last st before a corner space. Ch2 only, 1htr 2ch 1htr into corner space. (Miss next st, 1htr 1ch 1htr into next st) repeat along that side until the corner and make 1htr 2ch 1htr into the corner space. Work all 4 sides like this. When you get back to where you started with the ch2, work 1htr into that same st, ch1 and slst into the top of the ch2. Fasten off and break yarn. (28htr on each side = 112 htr)

Beginning Border Round 6
Finishing the final V-stitch on Border Round 6
Image shows the Making Stitches 2025 CAL May Blossom square
Border Round 6 complete

Border Round 7 Join Yarn A into any st. Work 1ht into the space between every st of the previous round & 1htr 2ch 1htr into each corner space. Fasten off and break yarn. (120 htr)

Initially I opted for more vibrant colours when I did my first trial run (below) I had been inspired by a beautiful deep pink camellia in my back garden and forget-me-nots for the border.

Here are all 5 of the Making Stitches 2025 CAL squares together. I’m really pleased with them all!

Making Stitches 2025 CAL squares to date

Thank you to everyone who has joined in so far and shared their makes on social media with the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL, it was so lovely over the past few weeks to see lots of April Showers squares appearing. I can’t wait to see what you make of the blossom square!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

If you make a May Blossom square, and you share it online, please either tag me in your post or use the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL so I can see what you have done!

Happy blossoming!

Lindsay x

Making Stitches 2025 CAL Part Three : March

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to March! Happy St David’s Day and happy first day of meteorological spring! What better time than to crochet ourselves some spring flowers?

March Spring Flowers

The days are getting longer in my part of the world, you can see the leaf buds beginning to form on the trees and there are plenty of spring flowering bulbs around. Crocus seem to be at their best right now and my first daffodil flower opened yesterday just in time for this pattern release! March to me, says spring, early spring no doubt, but spring nonetheless!

As with the previous two squares for the Making Stitches 2025 CAL, the colours I have used are not prescriptive. I have made them using my own stash of Stylecraft Special DK yarns and I will include 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.

So, without further ado, here goes…

2025 Making Stitches CAL Part Three : March – Spring Flowers Square

The Spring Flowers March Square

This pattern is meant to be a stash buster project however, if you would like to use the same yarn as I did, here’s what I used to make this square: Stylecraft Special DK in (A) Clementine (1853), (B) Citron (1263), (C) Meadow (1065), (D) Violet (1277).

Abbreviations (in UK terms): blo = work in back loop only, ch = chain, dc = double crochet, dtr = double treble crochet, flo = work in front loop only, fyo = final yarn over, htr = half treble crochet, mc = magic circle / magic ring, rep = repeat, slst = slip stitch, st = stitch, tr = treble crochet, trtr = triple treble.
Tension: Tension isn’t important for this project as long as you maintain the same tension throughout the project so all your squares are the same size. Once blocked this square will measure approximately 20cm x 20cm. The stitch count of the final round of each finished square will be 120 plus corner chain spaces.

NOTE: The floral buds of the ‘tulip stitch’ in Round 9 are made by making 5tr into the centre of the V stitch created in Round 8. Once you complete the 5th tr, take your hook out of the working loop and insert it into the top of the 1st tr from front to back, then back through the working loop and close the bud with a slst.

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Once the 5th tr is complete remove your hook from the working loop
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Put your hook through the top of the 1st treble form front to back and then back through the working loop
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Close the tulip bud with a slip stitch and repeat around

Central Daffodil motif:

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Round 1
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Round 2
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Round 3A (Trumpet)
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Round 4A (Frill)

Using Yarn A, make a MC.

Round 1 Ch2 (not counted as a st throughout), 12 tr into MC. Slst into top of ch2 to close the round. (12tr)

Round 2 Ch1, 2dc in every st around. Slst into top of ch1. (24dc)

Round 3A (Trumpet) Ch1, working into the flo, 1htr into every st around. Slst into top of ch1. (24htr)

Round 4A (Frill) (1dc & 1htr into first st, slst into next st)rep around. Fasten off. This will result in a frill with 12 ‘lumps’.

Round 3B (Petals) Join Yarn B into blo of one of the sts in Round 2. (Ch6, 1dc in 2nd ch from hook, 1htr in next ch, 1tr in next ch, 1trtr in next ch, 1trtr in last ch. Miss next 3 blo in Round 2 and Slst into blo of 5th st). Rep around until you have 5 petals ending with a slst into the same blo where you began. Fasten off.

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 3B First 6ch
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Slst to join bottom of 1st petal
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
2 petals complete
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 3B compete with 5 petals

Round 3C (Beginning the square) Join Yarn C into one of the back loops of Round 2, ch2, (2tr in blo of 1st st, 1tr in blo of next st) rep around – making sure you work into all 24 sts even the ones where the petals are attached with a slst. Slst into top of 2ch. (36tr)

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Beginning Round 3C
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Working into one of the back loops which have already been worked in Round 3B
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 3C Complete

Round 4 Ch2, (2tr in first st, 1tr into next 2 sts) rep around. Slst into top of ch1. (48tr)

Round 5 Ch1, (2dc in first st, 1dc into next 3 sts) rep around. Slst into top of ch1. (60dc)

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 4 from the back once ends have been woven in
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 4
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 5

Round 6 (It’s time to square your circle) Ch1, (1dc in next 3 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr + ch2 + 1dtr in next st, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 3 sts) rep around. Slst into top of ch1 and fasten off. (64 sts)

At this stage you can neatly sew the petals of the daffodil in place attaching them to the background square. I used the yellow yarn and very small stitches so they aren’t obvious. Once they are sewn into place and stop curling up, they look much more like a daffodil!

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 6
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 7
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 8

Round 7 Join Yarn A in any st. Ch1, 1dc into every st around and work 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of ch1 and fasten off. (72 dc)

Round 8 Join Yarn C in a corner space, ch5 + 1tr into that corner space, *miss 1st st, 1tr + 1ch + 1tr into 2nd st, (miss 2 sts, 1tr + 1ch + 1tr in next st) repeat along the first side to the corner space, 1tr 2ch 1tr into the corner space, repeat from * on next 3 sides (missing the final 1tr 2ch 1tr as this has already been formed at the start of the round) slst into the 3rd of the starting 5ch. Fasten off. There should be 6 V stitches on each side plus one in each corner by the end of the round.

Round 9 Join Yarn D in the centre of the first V stitch of a side created in Round 8 (on the right as you look at it) . Ch2 & 5tr into that V stitch. Once you have competed the 5th tr, remove the hook from the working loop and insert it into the top of the 1st tr from front to back, then back through the working loop and close the top of the flower bud with a slst. *Ch2 and make the next flower bud in the next V stitch (5tr, remove hook from loop, insert it into top of first tr from front to back and then back through the working loop. Close the bud with a slst. Ch2) repeat until you have 6 buds along the side and you have reached the corner space. Work another flower bud as before, ch4, and make a 2nd flower bud into the same corner space V stitch. Repeat the process from * along the three remaining sides of the square. Slst into the top of the first bud and fasten off. (32 buds)

(I am aware that the photos below don’t show the row beginning the V stitch I suggested above – please ignore that fact and stick to the written instructions!)

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Once the 5th tr is complete remove your hook from the working loop
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Put your hook through the top of the 1st treble and then back through the working loop
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Square creation
Close the tulip bud with a slip stitch and repeat around
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Close Round 9 with a slst into the top of the first bud
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 9 compete

Round 10 Join Yarn C in a corner space. Ch1, (2dc 2ch 2dc into the corner space, work 1dc into the top of the first bud, work 2dc into the ch space, repeat along the side with 1dc in each bud and 2dc into each ch space). Rep on each side and slst into the top of the 1st dc. Fasten off. (104 dc)

Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Working a dc into the top of a flower bud in Round 10
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 11
Making Stitches 2025 CAL March Process photo
Round 12

Round 11 Join Yarn A in any st, ch1 and 1dc into every st around working 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of ch1 and fasten off. (112 dc)

Round 12 Join Yarn B into any st, ch1 and 1dc into every st around working 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of ch1 and fasten off. (120 dc).

Your square is complete now. Weave in the ends and block it to make a nice neat square.

You can alter the colours you choose for the outer rows

I chose purple for the flower bud row with the intention that they should look like crocus flowers, but you could use any colour you want to – I think the combination of rounds 8 & 9 are know as a ‘tulip stitch’ and they do look rather like tulips. As tulips come in all shades of pink, red, purple, yellow, white and even black you can go wild!

It was so lovely over the past few weeks to see lots of February ‘All You Need is Love’ squares appearing on my phone – a few of which appeared within 24 hours of publishing the pattern which utterly blew me away! If you are joining in and making a March square, please do use the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL so I can see if any ‘Spring Flower’ squares start blooming all over the place!

Some of the February ‘All You Need is Love’ Squares which popped up on my phone during February!

If you have been inspired by my daffodil square design and fancy hooking up some more daffs, you might be interested in my Up the Garden Path patterns for Dave & Cariad. You can find a free pattern for Dave on my blog here or a paid-for pattern for this lovely pair over in my Etsy shop here.

Whatever you’re up to this month, I hope it is filled with creativity and spring flowers for you.

Enjoy!

Lindsay x

🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷🌼🌷

The 3 Making Stitches 2025 CAL blocks so far…

Happy New Year! Anyone fancy a 2025 CAL? Part One: January

~ Making Stitches ~ 4 Comments

Happy New Year! 2025 is upon us and rather than make some resolutions I probably will struggle to maintain, I thought I’d do something I’ve been thinking about for years – hosting a crochet-along or CAL.

This New Year is a special one for me – 2025 marks this little blog’s 10th birthday (officially later on in the summer time).

It felt appropriate to mark this significant year with some crafty fun, and what better than a year-long CAL? So each month I’ll be sharing a granny square pattern which is pertinent to that particular month. My plan is to use this opportunity to use some of my considerable stash of DK yarn – Stylecraft Special DK specifically which I have left over from quite a few previous projects. By the end of the year, I am hoping the finished blanket will be a riot of colour.

A selection of CALs I have taken part in

I have taken part in quite a few CALs myself in the past with Lucy from Attic 24, Eleonora from Coastal Crochet and the special Pandemonium CAL during the Covid lockdowns with The Crochet Sanctuary ladies Lisa & Lynda-Rose. I completely take my hat off to them with their ability to get patterns out every week for a period of often a few months. I know with my schedule of work and juggling everything else that there’s no way I could maintain a weekly CAL, so I’m going to be releasing patterns on a monthly basis at the start of each month.

Each square will be themed to the month it’s released in in some way, so this month being January when it’s often very cold and frosty and we even get a bit of snow, I’ve opted for a snowflake…

If you’d like to join me, I’d love that. There’s no pressure on time, this is an open ended CAL, I intend to publish 12 squares throughout the year, and the joining method & border will appear at some point along the way. I’ll let you into a little secret – I haven’t designed all of the squares yet, so I don’t know what the finished blanket will look like. I feel very much that we don’t know what lies ahead this year for us, so in much the same way, this blanket will be a voyage into the unknown.

My pledge to you will be to release a square pattern at the start of each month and although this is meant to be a stash busting project to use up some of the excess yarn I have in my secret hiding spaces around Making Stitches Towers, I will share the yarn shades I am using if you would like to replicate the yarn I have used.

What do you reckon? Fancy joining me with a new blanket CAL for 2025?

I’d love it if you joined in. If you do and you are on social media, please tag any photos of your growing collection of squares with the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL as I’d love to see what people make along the way.

So, here goes, here’s the first section of the 2025 CAL!

2025 CAL Part One : January – Snowflake Square

I used: Stylecraft Special DK yarn in white (1001), aster (1003), silver (1203) & denim (1302), 4mm crochet hook, yarn needle, scissors & a stitch marker.

Tension: Tension isn’t important for this project as long as you maintain the same tension throughout the project so all your squares are the same size. Once blocked this square will measure approximately 20cm x 20cm. The stitch count of the final round of each finished square will be 120 plus corner chain spaces.

Abbreviations (in UK terms): ch = chain, dc = double crochet, dtr = double treble crochet, htr = half treble crochet, mc = magic circle / magic ring, rep = repeat, slst = slip stitch, st = stitch, tr = treble crochet.

Pattern:

We begin with the snowflake.

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Beginning Round 4
End of Round 4

Round 1 Ch2 (not counted as a st throughout), 12 tr into MC, join round with a slst into top of ch2. (12 tr)
Round 2 Ch1, 2dc in front loop only of every st around, closing the round with a slst. (24 dc)
Round 3 work in front loop only – 1dc, 1htr, 2tr, 1dtr 4ch picot 1dtr, 2tr, 1htr, 1dc, 1slst Repeat twice
Round 4 Work in back loop of Round 2, slst ch7 slst into 4th ch to form a picot & 1dtr in first back loop, 2tr, 1htr, 1dc, slst, 1dc, 1htr, 2tr, *1dtr 4 ch picot 1dtr, 2tr, 1htr, 1dc, slst, 1dc, 1htr, 2tr repeat from * then slst into 4th ch of first ch7.

Beginning of Round 5
Completion of 3 picots on first ‘arm’
Slip stitching through two layers to join the ‘arms’
Slip stitching around the second arm
Snowflake is complete

Round 5 Work a slst around the edge of all the sts on the snowflake. At the 6 picots work 5ch and slst into the picot 3 times into each one to form the 3 ‘lumps’ on the end of each ‘arm’. Where the two layers of the ‘arms’ of the snowflake meet, work through both layers to join them before moving on to go around the next ‘arm’. Work all the way around and fasten off white yarn and break yarn. 

Now the snowflake is complete, it’s time to work on the square.

Round 2
End of Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Round 1 This is Round 1 of the snowflake
Round 2 With aster blue yarn, join yarn into one of the back loops of Round 1. Ch2 2tr into that first st, 2Tr in every back loop around, slst into top of ch2 to close round, (24tr)
Round 3 Ch2, 2tr, 1tr rep around, slst into top of ch2 to close round. (36 tr)
Round 4 Ch2, 2tr, 1tr, 1tr rep around. slst into top of ch2 to close round. (48 tr)
Round 5 Ch2, 2dc, 1dc, 1dc, 1dc rep around, slst into top of ch2 to close round. (60 dc)

Round 6 turning the circle into a square
End of Round 6
Round 7
Round 8

Round 6 Ch1, 1dc in next 6 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1dtr 2ch 1dtr in next st to form corner of square, 1tr in next 2 sts, 1htr in next 2 sts, 1dc in next 6dc, repeat around. It’s useful to mark the first dc with a stitch marker so you know where to stop! Slst into top of first ch1 to close the round. (64 sts)
Round 7 Join white into any st, 1dc into every stitch around and work 1dc 2ch 1dc into each corner space. (Each side will have 18 sts – 72dc in total)
Round 8 Join silver grey into any st with 2ch, 1htr into every st around working 1htr 2ch 1htr into each corner space. Fasten off. (Each side will have 20 htr – 80 htr in total). At this stage it’s a good idea to stitch the arms of the snowflake into place using white yarn to hide the stitches.

Beginning of Round 9
Round 9 finished
Beginning of bobbles on Round 10
Round 10 bobbles finished
Round 11

Round 9 Join denim blue yarn into the last st of one of the edges before the corner chain space. Work 1dc in that last st, then 1dc 2ch 1dc into the corner chain space and 1dc around as before with 1dc 2ch 1dc into each corner. Slst into the top of the first st to close the round. (Each side will have 22 dc – 88 dc in total).

Round 10 Ch1, 1dc, 1dc 2ch 1dc into corner space and work 1dc into first 4 sts of the next side. Make a 4tr bobble into the next st using white yarn, closing the bobble with denim to give a clean effect (see instructions below if you are unfamiliar with bobbles). Using denim, work 1dc into next 4 sts then repeat with a white bobble, repeat this process across that edge until you have 4 bobbles and end with 4dc in denim before turning the corner. Repeat the process all the way around with 4dc, bobble, 4dc, bobble, 4dc, bobble, 4dc, bobble, 4dc on each side until you come to the last side where you work the remaining stitches after that last bobble and slst into the top of the first st to close the round. (Total of 80 dc and 16 bobbles).

To make a 4tr bobble:

Yarn over hook (white yarn in this case), insert hook into st, yarn over, pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops on hook – repeat this another 3 times so you have 5 loops on your hook and all are worked into the same st. Yarn over with denim yarn and pull through all of the white loops to close the bobble. If the bobble is poking through the back of the work, gently poke it back through to the front. If you would like a bigger bobble, try it with 5 treble stitches instead.

Round 11 Ch1, 1dc into every st around working 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Fasten off and break yarn. (26dc on each side and 104 dc in total).

Round 12 With silver yarn, join into any st, ch2 and 1htr into every st around, working 1htr 2ch 1htr into every corner space. Slst into top of first st to close round and fasten off yarn. (28htr on each side and 112 htr in total).

Round 13 With white yarn, join in any st, 1ch and 1dc into every st around, working 1dc 2ch 1dc into every corner space. Slst into top of first st and fasten off, weave in all the ends. (30 dc on each side ad 120 st in total.

Round 12
Round 13
A finished snowflake square

And that is the end of this first part of the Making Stitches 2025 CAL. If you are joining in with the CAL, please do let me know, tag me on Instagram @making_stitches_blog and use the hashtag #MakingStitches2025CAL so I can see how you’re getting on.

I can’t wait to see this blanket develop over the coming months! I hope you enjoy it too.

I hope the start of 2025 is a great one for you! Happy making!

Lindsay x