The Kinship Square

When I received the opportunity to design a crochet afghan square for the Friendship Blanket CAL, I was beyond excited. Not only is it always a pleasure to work with other crochet designers and build new or stronger friendships with them, but Helen of Sunflower Cottage Crochet specifically requested that we create texture in our squares. You know I LOVE texture! With yarn and hook in hand, I set off designing the Kinship Square, packed full of beginner friendly texture using the even moss stitch.

I absolutely love a good texture in crochet and I think it’s even better when we can create said texture in such a way that beginners also find it accessible, fun and relatively easy. Specifically when designing this square, I also wanted the end result to be a light weight but dense stitch pattern.

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The Even Moss Stitch was the perfect way to meet both Helen’s requirements and my own personal requirements. This stitch adds a ton of texture, is pretty easy once you get started and is lightweight but warm – so your blanket shouldn’t have a sudden heavy part to it!

Need to know a little more about The Friendship Blanket CAL?

The Friendship Blanket CAL was an event hosted by Helen and Sara of Sunflower Cottage Crochet. They’ve invited a bunch of lovely designers to design 9 inch x 9 inch squares that will end up being sewn together to create a lovely afghan (or anything else you can think of!). There are 41 squares total and you won’t want to miss any of them!

You can find more in depth information on my blog post for The Friendship Blanket CAL. This includes all the squares that have been released so far as well as information you might need such as yarn, hook sizes, where to find the patterns and a bundle if you’d prefer to get all the squares at once for a small price.

If you need any help working this stitch, you can check out my blog post for how to work the Even Moss Stitch. This blog post includes both a video and a photo tutorial, so you can feel confident creating this square.

Additionally, if you’d like to work your Kinship Square and the other crochet afghan squares in this CAL with a fun and supportive group, you can join my Facebook group where the Fox Family hangs out, supports each other and have good laughs all around. 🙂

Okay, okay, tired of me talking about how great this crochet afghan square is and ready to just get the pattern already!?

SKILL LEVEL

Easy – This pattern requires knowledge of how to chain, slip stitch, single crochet and half double crochet.

MATERIALS & TOOLS

• You will need approximately 1.5 oz or 80 yards of Medium (4) yarn.
• I used: Red Heart Super Saver in Light Blue
  • Red Heart Super Saver is on the lighter side of the medium weight yarn. If you’re using a heavier weight yarn, you may need to alter the pattern. See the notes section for more information.
• 5 mm hook – I used my gorgeous Furls Streamline Swirl in Cookies and Cream
• Scissors
• Tapestry Needle
• Stitch Markers, if you prefer them

GAUGE

14 stitches x 17 rows as written in pattern = approximately 4 inches x 4 inches.

FINISHED SIZE

Approximately 9 inches x 9 inches square

ABBREVIATIONS

In US terms;

• ch – chain
• sl st – slip stitch
• sc – single crochet
• hdc – half double crochet

NOTES

• Be sure to match gauge before starting the crochet afghan square to ensure your square will be 9″ x 9″. Follow the pattern as written for 14 sts and 17 rows. You should have approximately 4″ x 4″.
  • If you do not, try a larger or smaller hook as necessary.
• I used Red Heart Super Saver which is on the lighter side of the medium (4) weights. If you are using a heavier (4) weight, you will likely need to alter the pattern to have less stitches so that your square isn’t too big.
• This stitch pattern requires an ODD number of stitches. If you need to change the stitch count because your square will be too big or too small, that is totally fine. Just make sure you have an odd number of stitches so that the stitch pattern works correctly.
  • Because we start our first row in the second chain from the hook, you will want to chain an even amount of chains for an odd number of stitches.
  • You can find more information on my Even Moss Stitch Photo and Video Tutorial.
• Ch 1 at the beginning of the row never counts as a stitch. Always place your first stitch of the row in the same stitch you chained out of.
• Make sure you only work into the top of the half double crochets as you normally would, not in all three loops.

How to Make this Crochet Afghan Square

ch 30 (for 29 stitches throughout)

R1 – sl st in 2nd ch from hook. Alternate 1 hdc and 1 sl st across the row. You should end the row on a sl st.

R2 – ch 1, turn. sl st in the sl st. Alternate 1 hdc and 1 sl st across the row. You should end the row on a sl st.

*You should always be placing 1 sl st in a sl st and 1 hdc in a hdc.

R3 through 38 (or as many rows as needed to achieve size) – Repeat R2

BORDER

Place 1 sc in each stitch around the crochet afghan square for a simple sc border.

In detail:

ch 1, turn. Place 1 sc in each stitch across the row. At the end of the row, ch 2, turn your work 90 degrees to work along the raw edge and place 1 sc in the side of each sl st . At the end, ch 2. Repeat the previous steps until you’ve worked all the way around the square. Finish off, weave ends.

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That’s it for this one! I hope you love how this textured crochet afghan square works up and I hope you love all the other squares that come with the Friendship Blanket CAL. Don’t forget – if you have any questions or need any help, you’re welcome to reach out to me and I’ll be happy to assist! I am most active in my Facebook Group, so you’re likely to find me there. We’d love to have you join us!

One of my greatest joys is seeing your finished crochet projects from my patterns or tutorials, so when you post to Instagram, don’t forget to tag me so I can show you some love! I’m @theloopholefoxcrochet. You can also share pictures on my recent posts on Facebook or within my Facebook group!

Want to use your new Even Moss Stitch skills on something other than an afghan square?
Check out my patterns that use this stitch to create lovely, fun texture:
The Arctic Beanie
Adorable Little Pumpkins