The Flora Blanket Crochet-A-Long: Part Six

Welcome back for week six of the Fall Flora Blanket Crochet-A-Long! It’s our FINAL week!

Can you believe we have made it to the last week of the crochet-a-long!?! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some other crocheters and seeing the beautiful projects that you have all been working on. I can’t wait to see them all come together for the final reveal!

This week, we will continue joining the squares into the last few rows of the blanket and then we will be adding the edging! For this week’s progress, we will need the rest of our finished squares, our border color and a 5.0 mm hook.

As a reminder if you didn’t catch it last week, the joining technique for this fall Flora blanket crochet-a-long is slightly different from the join used in the original Flora Blanket. This crochet-a-long will not go over the original join method which is a little bit thicker than this CAL blanket. The edging for this crochet-a-long is also different. The original Flora blanket design includes three different edging options while this Flora crochet-a-long includes just one, textured option. See the differences in the blankets below:

The original Flora Blanket has a slightly thicker join with stitches worked in groups into the spaces.

If you’d rather use the original join technique or have your own copy of the pattern, use the code FLORACAL here to save now on the pdf pattern!

Is it too late to join?

Of course not – it is STILL never too late to join! You can start here for all of the details. This is where each part of the Flora blanket crochet-a-long will be posted weekly. You will want to start with the FAQ page and the Materials List page to get up to speed. Then, find each week posted on the main page! Pick your colors, your blanket size and use your Flora planning page to get an idea of your layout! While this is the final week of our crochet-a-long, the pattern will still remain posted for anyone who still wants to try it out!

WEEK SIX:

Alrighty, let’s finish up this beautiful blanket!

This week, you’ll continue with a 5.0 mm hook. Use this for joining the squares and for completing the edging. You will need your main color, or whatever color you’d like to join with, this week. For this blanket, my main color is Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn, Ivory. You will need your border color for the edging. My border color for this blanket is Hobby Lobby Soft and Sleek, Clay

To assemble the panels, you will work sc stitches along the edges of each square. When squares need to be connected to each other, you will work an sc stitch followed by a sl stitch. The is the “continuous join as you go” (CJAYG) method which allows you to crochet squares together rather than sewing them.

The squares will be joined working across in rows, from the right to the left. You will work row 1 across right to left and then all the way back across the bottom of the squares in the row. Then you’ll move down to Row 2, Row 3, etc. This diagram gives an idea of how the squares will be worked.

If you are unfamiliar with this technique, the easiest way to learn and understand the method is to watch a video. The video linked here reviews the CJAYG method and explains how we will be joining the squares for this crochet-a-long blanket.

If you are already familiar with this technique:

Join in the chain space of the top right most corner square with the joining color yarn. *Ch 1 and sc in the corner space. sc x 16 across the top of the square. sc x 1 in the corner sp*.

Turn to work down the left side of the square and repeat instructions from * to *

Join the next square in the bottom right corner and starting at the * follow the same instructions as above to work up the side of the square, making sure to sl st to the corresponding stitch on the adjoining square to join them together. Continue working in this pattern.

After all squares are joined together in rows, work up the right edge of all rows back to the top right corner. When you reach the corner, ch 1 after the last sc and sl st into the top of the first sc stitch.Do not cut yarn and tie off. You will continue to the edging instructions next week!

BLANKET LAYOUT

If you are following the blanket exactly as pictured, you will have 11 rows total to join. We joined rows 1-7 last week, so we will join rows 8-11 this week. You will need to join them in an exact manner in order to have the same layout as that of the crochet-a-long blanket pictured. To dictate which squares should be picked up and placed where, I will use “AC#” and “ac#.”

AC indicates the square is the accessory color. So AC1 would mean you are joining a square with a MC flower and a Mauve (or AC1) square background.
ac indicates the flower is the accessory color. So ac1 would mean you are joining a square with a Mauve (or AC1) flower and a MC background.

The below picture shows the left end of row one. In this row, the squares would’ve been worked from AC3, ac2, AC1.

This picture (left to right) shows AC1 (mauve), ac2 (cherry blossom) and AC3 (wheat).
Remember, squares are worked from *right to left*, so these would be joined in the opposite manner.

If you have chose different colors or combinations for your blanket, then make sure you layout your squares as you would like. Stack each row with the right most square of the row on the top!

Here’s the breakdown for this week:

SATURDAY:
- ROW 8: (start with) ac1, AC2, ac3, AC4, ac5, AC6, ac7, AC1, ac2
SUNDAY:
- ROW 9: (start with) AC3, ac4, AC5, ac6, AC7, ac1, AC2, ac3, AC4
MONDAY:
- ROW 10: (start with) ac5, AC6, ac7, AC1, ac2, AC3, ac4, AC5, ac6
TUESDAY:
- ROW 11: (start with) AC7, ac1, AC2, ac3, AC4, ac5, AC6, ac7, AC1

Once you join the last square of row 11, work across the bottom of the row all the way back to the right lower corner. When you reach this corner, instead of joining another row, you will now work allllll the way up the right-most side of the blanket. The stitch count will be the exact same working across the squares along the side as when working along the rows. Work all the way up to the right top corner to finish joining all of the squares. Woohoo! Now, to move onto the edging.

EDGING

The final step in this multi-week project is to add the edging. You are so close! The rest of week six will be used to add the edging to the squares (and weave in ends…if you didn’t do that along the way!).

The edging for this blanket consists of two rounds. You’ll need your border color and your 5.0 mm hook. I am not going to provide exact stitch counts for the edging as different people may have slightly different counts based on the number of squares they join. As long as you are following the basic instruction, the final stitch count shouldn’t matter!

To begin the edging, you should be in the top right-hand corner of the blanket.

Switch from the main color used for joining to the border color for the edging.

The first round of edging will be entirely hdc stitch. After joining your border color, ch 1 and place 3 hdc sts in the corner space. Now hdc across the top of the blanket. Place 3 hdc sts in the lefthand corner and then hdc down the side of the blanket. Continue in this manner around the entire blanket. Once you reach the beginning of the round, sl st to the top of the first st and ch 1.

The second round of edging will provide a nice, thick texture to the border. We will use the crab stitch for this round, which is a reverse sc stitch. It can be a little confusing at first, but picks up once you get the hang of it!

At the end of the first round, you should’ve joined with a sl st and ch 1. Now, without turning your work, work in the reverse direction as the first round. This will feel weird! But, just keep going! You will work back down the right side of the blanket, working the crab stitch into each stitch. If you aren’t familiar with this stitch, it is just a sc stitch – but in reverse. I like to think of it as a bit of a twisted sc stitch. It creates a ribbing texture to the edge of the blanket.

If you aren’t familiar with this technique, there is an excellent video from Aly @theturtletrunk on Instagram for any visual learners, OR here is a step-by-step photo tutorial!

The crab stitch is worked in the reverse direction as a typical stitch. Work towards the *right*.

Work in this manner all the way around the blanket. Sl st to the first space of round two and then cut yarn and tie off. That’s it! Weave in any pesky remaining ends and then cuddle up in your gorgeous fall blanket!

I sincerely hope you have loved joining in on this crochet-a-long. I appreciate all of you who have worked on such a large project alongside me! I would love to have your feedback on what worked well or could be better for this crochet-a-long. Please share your beautiful blankets with me when you are finished!

As always, thank you for supporting my small business and designs!