I hope you are all ready for Part 1 of the Round Again Blanket CAL. This is the first of 6 parts of the CAL and introduces the simple circle. This is not at all difficult provided you know how to work in the round and count stitches. There are only 4 rounds and I made quite a few of these, however they are very quick to make. They will help you to see how some of your variegated scrap sock yarns look in the round and I recommend you make one of these circles for each of your different scrap yarns. Don’t forget there is a paid for pattern on Ravelry which is also being released in parts and has a US crochet terms available too.

When you have made a few circles in different yarns, measure each of them.   They should all be roughly the same size at around 9cm across.  If you are using sock yarn of different wool blends or meterage you may find that the motifs vary a little in size; provided this variation isn’t too great then it won’t really matter.  But some may vary significantly so you may need to adjust. I found small variations, mainly only a mm or so, but a few were a bit too big.  I adjusted these by reducing the height changing the stitches on the final round, for example I used half treble (US half double crochet) rather than treble (US double crochet) on the final round; this was much quicker than frogging the whole circle and trying a smaller hook!

If you find the odd one is a bit small you may find working larger stitches on the final round will adjust sufficiently.

You may also wish to weigh them.  Knowing how much yarn is used for each motif may help you decide which to make with your remaining yarn. I found each Circle 1 used about 3g/12m of sock yarn.

The pattern here is written in UK crochet terms and these are the abbreviations used

ch chain

tr treble

ss slip stitch

Pattern

Foundation: 4ch, join into a ring with a ss.

Round 1:  3ch (counts as 1tr), 15tr in ring, ss in 3^rd ch from start to join.  [16tr]

Round 2:  3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in st at base of ch, 2tr in each st around, ss in 3^rd ch from start to join.  [32tr]

Round 3: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr in next st, *1tr in next st, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3^rd ch from start to join.  [48tr]

Round 4: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in next st, 2tr in next st, *1tr in each of next 2 sts, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3^rd ch from start to join, break yarn and fasten off.  [64tr]

I made 52 of these for my blanket.

I would love to see photos of your little circles, please share them on Facebook and Ravelry.

Next week in Part 2 I will be giving some very simple variations to Circle 1.

Until then, happy crocheting xxx

All photos and patterns are copyright.