Beginner's Guide to

The Craft Yarn Council of America

Crochet Sampler Afghan

With A and size H hook, chain 50.

Note: Work this pattern firmly with H hook or change to smaller hook

• Foundation Row: Double crochet in 3rd [sic] chain from hook and in each chain to end. Chain 2, turn.
• Rows 1, 2 and 3: Skip first stitch, (yarn over, insert hook from front to back and again to front around post of next double crochet, yarn over, complete double crochet - front pst stitch completed), front post stitch around next 2 posts, * (yarn over, insert hook from back to front and again to back around post of next double crochet, yarn over, complete double crochet - back post stitch completed), back post stitch around next 3 posts, front post stitch around next 4 posts * . Repeat between * * end back post stitch around next 3 posts, half double crochet in turning chain. Chain 2, turn.
• Rows 4, 5 and 6: Skip first stitch, back post stitch around next 3 posts, * front post stitch around next 4 posts, back post stitch around next 4 posts * . Repeat between * * end front post stitch around next 3 posts, half doubl crochet in turning chain. Chain 2, turn.
• Repeat Rows 1 through 6 for pattern until piece measures 12" from beginning. Fasten off.

First, a couple of abbreviations.

• FPDC: Front Post Double Crochet. Yarn over, insert hook from front to back and again to front around post of next double crochet, yarn over, draw through two loops, yarn over, draw through two loops.
• BPDC: Back Post Double Crochet. Yarn over, insert hook from back to front and again to back around post of next double crochet, yarn over, draw through two loops, yarn over, draw through two loops.

With A and size H hook, chain 50.

• Foundation Row: DC in 4th ch from hk and in each ch to end. Turn. (48 sts)
• Rows 1, 2 and 3: Ch 2 (equivalent to HDC), sk first st, FPDC around next 3 posts, (BPDC around next 4 posts, FPDC around next 4 posts) across until 4 sts remain, BPDC around next 3 posts, HDC in turning ch. Turn.
• Rows 4, 5 and 6: Ch 2 (equivalent to HDC), sk first st, BPDC around next 3 posts, (FPDC around next 4 posts, BPDC around next 4 posts) across until 4 sts remain, BPDC around next 3 posts, HDC in turning chain. Turn.
• Repeat Rows 1 through 6 for pattern until piece measures 12" from beginning. Fasten off.

As usual with this series of articles, this chart is non-standard! In particular, it doesn't show the initial chain, and the turning chains are mushed in with their equivalent stitches. But I think that it is clearer this way - for this particular pattern.

An important point about this chart: read it from right to left on the odd-numbered rows, and from left to right on the even-numbered rows. Do not worry about whether you are on the "right" side of the fabric or the "wrong" side. The chart is targeted to whichever side you are working on - just read in a different direction for each row.

I teach crochet students that once they have learned the basics (single crochet, double crochet, and half double crochet), they will find that there are generally only 3 stitch variations that they will run into:

• How many yarn-overs at the beginning (single crochet has none, double and half double have one, triple/treble has two, and so on)
• Where to insert the hook (under both loops - the usual case, under front loop, under back loop, or as explained in this article, around posts)
• How to work the loops off (usually it is a "yarn over, draw through 2 loops until only one loop remains on the hook", but with half double crochet it is a "yarn over, draw through all 3 loops on the hook")

This square of the afghan is all about Double Crochet stitches around the posts of the Double Crochet stitches of the previous row. There are two different ways to work around the posts - from the front or from the back.

Front Post Double Crochet

Let us start with a Front Post Double Crochet. This photo shows that the initial yarn-over for the Double Crochet has been completed. And then the hook has been inserted under the post of the next DC in the row below. The motion is from front to back and then to the front again. The hook is ready for the next yarn-over.

This photo shows how it looks after the "yarn over and draw the loop through", marking the middle step of a double crochet.

And this photo shows the completed double crochet, having been worked around the post. It ends up looking like an extension of the DC of the row below. It provides a strong vertical line to the fabric.

Back Post Double Crochet

Now, let us talk about the Back Post Double Crochet. It is similar to the Front Post Double Crochet. The target post is the same as for a Front Post Double Crochet. The stitch is finished just like an ordinary Double Crochet.

The only difference is, again, where the hook is inserted. In this case, the motion is from back to front and then to the back again.

This photo shows the initial yarn-over completed, and the hook coming to the front from the back.

And this photo shows (if you look really closely) how the hook has been pushed to the back. It now has wrapped around the front of the post.

This photo shows what it looks like after the "yarn over and draw the loop through" - again, the middle step of a double crochet.

And this photo shows the completed double crochet. It is kind of hard to recognize that it is a double crochet, because it seems so short - and that is because it was worked around the post, which makes the base of the double crochet much lower than if it were worked into the normal top part of the stitch..

This photo shows that a second Back Post Double Crochet has been done. The key item to note in this photo is how the BPDCs produce a strong horizontal line. And it is the combination of the vertical and horizontal lines that produce the basketweave effect of this fabric.

Conclusion

The stitch pattern was really easy to memorize. The only challenge that I had was confirming when it was time to switch from starting with one post stitch to starting with the other post stitch. In the photo below, you can see that it is hard to tell how many Front Post rows have been done - you just see a very long vertical line, and it is unclear where the individual stitches started. However, by looking at the next block, you can see that there are, at this point, four strong horizontal lines. And you need three horizontal lines for that particular block (see the lower parts of the photo). But seeing four horizontal lines is good - if you do Front Post DCs in that section, they will hide the topmost horizontal line (actually, they will push that horizontal line to the back of the fabric). So this photo is telling us that we should start with a bunch of Back Post DCs.

The CYCA made a point of saying that the stitcher should crochet tightly or use a smaller hook. I used my normal hook and my normal tension (I have been known as a non-conformist!). I found that this pattern worked up tightly all by itself. In particular, I found that the resulting fabric was only 11 inches wide - not the expected 12 inches.

One additional note: I had a lot of trouble getting the correct number of double crochets in the foundation row, until I decided that the first double crochet needed to be worked into the FOURTH chain from the hook instead of the THIRD chain. I redid the initial chain and foundation row so many times! I knew that I needed a multiple of 8 double crochets (or equivalents) in that foundation row. But I kept ending up with one too many. So my version of the pattern shows what worked for me.

The resulting fabric is very dense and stiff, with a lot of texture. I think it would make a nice warm cardigan, although I would probably use a larger hook to make the fabric more fluid. Because it is reversible, I could see it as an afghan or a scarf (with matching tuque, of course).

Try it.