Big Hug Square Crochet Blanket
Show someone you care with the Big Hug Square Crochet Blanket. Worked in worsted weight yarn with a K hook, this blanket made up of 81 crochet squares is the perfect project for one person or even many. You could crochet these crochet motifs with a bunch of people as a group project or even for a charity drive. It's an easy crochet blanket and you'll just need to know the cluster stitch and the puff stitch in order to work it up. The blanket itself is square with 9 squares on each side.
Notes1. Throw is made from 81 squares, arranged in 9 rows of 9 squares each and sewn together.
2. Refer to the assembly diagram for arrangement of squares.
Crochet HookK/10.5 or 6.5 mm hook
Yarn Weight(4) Medium Weight/Worsted Weight and Aran (16-20 stitches to 4 inches)
Crochet GaugeOne square measures about 8 x 8” [20.5 x 20.5 cm]. CHECK YOUR GAUGE. Use any size hook to obtain the gauge.
Finished SizeThrow measures about 72 x 72 inches [183 x 183 cm].
Materials List
- RED HEART® With Love®: 2 skeins each of 1505 Peacock A, 1308 Tan B, 1252 Mango C, 1502 Iced Aqua D, 1907 Boysenberry E, and 1538 Lilac F
- Susan Bates® Crochet Hook: 6.5mm [US K-10½]
- Yarn needle
Special Stitches
beg-Cl (beginning cluster) = Ch 3, yarn over, insert hook in indicated stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops on hook (2 loops remain on hook); [yarn over, insert hook in same stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops] 2 times, yarn over, draw through all 4 loops on hook.
Cl (4 double crochet cluster) = Yarn over, insert hook in indicated stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops on hook (2 loops remain on hook); [yarn over, insert hook in same stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops] 3 times, yarn over, draw through all 5 loops on hook.
puff = Insert hook in indicated stitch and pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook in same stitch and pull up a loop, yarn over and draw through all 4 loops on hook.
Square (make 81 – 13 with A, 12 each with B, C, and D, and 16 each with E and F)
Ch 5; join with slip st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1 (right side): Ch 3 (counts as first dc here and throughout), work 15 more dc in ring; join with slip st in top of beginning ch-3—16 dc.
Round 2: Ch 1, puff in same st as joining, *ch 1, puff in next st; repeat from * around, ch 1; join with slip st in first puff—16 puffs and 16 ch-1 spaces.
Round 3: Ch 3, Cl in same st as joining, *ch 2, skip next ch-1 sp, Cl in next dc; rep from * around to last ch-1 space, ch 2, sk last ch-1space; join with slip st in beg-Cl–16 clusters and 16 ch-2 spaces.
Round 4: Slip st in first ch-2 space, ch 4 (counts as tr), 2 tr in same space, *ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-2 space, ch 1, 3 hdc in next ch-2 space, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-2 space, ch 1 **, (3 tr, ch 2, 3 tr) in next ch-2 space (for corner); repeat from * around ending last repeat at **, 3 tr in same space as beginning, ch 2; join with slip st in top of beginning ch-4—Five 3-st groups across each of 4 sides between corner ch-2 spaces.
Round 5: Ch 3 (counts as dc), angle hook backwards slightly to work into last ch-space of previous round, 2 dc in last ch-space of previous round, *3 dc in each ch-1 space to next corner ch-space **, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in corner ch-space; repeat from * around ending last repeat at **, 3 dc in same space as beginning, ch 3; join with slip st in top of beginning ch-3—Six 3-dc groups across each of 4 sides.
Round 6: Ch 1, angle hook backwards slightly to work into last ch-space of previous round, 3 sc in last ch-space of previous round, *sc in each dc to next corner ch-3 space **, 5 sc in corner ch-3 space; repeat from * around ending last repeat at **, 2 sc in same space as beginning join with slip st in first sc—92 sc. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
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Assembly Diagram
Finishing
With right sides of all squares facing up, arrange squares as shown in Assembly Diagram. Sew squares together using the long tails; hold neighboring squares with right sides together and whip stitch through the outer loops only (so that the sewing stitches are not visible when the afghan is laid flat). Weave in ends.
Abbreviations
- A, B, C, etc.
- Color A, Color B, Color C etc
- ch
- chain
- hdc
- half double crochet
- dc
- double crochet
- sc
- single crochet
- st(s)
- stitch(es)
- tr
- treble (triple) crochet
- ( )
- work directions in parentheses into same st
- * or **
- repeat whatever follows the * or ** as indicated