Block 6: Blooming Lace Square {Photo Tutorial}

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It’s Week 6 of the Official CCC Social Group CAL (crochet-along) and this week’s block is
Blooming Lace by the talented Melinda Miller from MoCrochet. This is the fourth Melinda
Miller block. I think Kimberly Slifer, who coordinates the CAL, just might have a favourite.

If you are not familiar with the Block a Week CAL, but would like to join in, you can find
all the relevant information HERE.

The Blooming Lace Crochet Square is classed as intermediate, but just like all the other
Melinda Miller squares we have used so far, it is very simple. There is one speciality

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stitch (the Double Treble Cluster), for which I have provided a photo tutorial. The pattern
also uses a V-stitch, which is just two double crochet stitches separated by a chain stitch.

Blooming Lace Crochet Square Photo Tutorial

Pattern
You can find the pattern here on Ravelry.

Suggested Materials
5 mm Clover Amour Crochet Hook (US H/8 UK 6)
Worsted weight yarn

Size
Using the hook and yarn specified, your square should be a nice even 12″ when you
are done.
Using a 4 mm crochet hook (US G/6 UK 8) and double knit yarn, as I have done,
your finished square will be about 8.5″ big.

My Yarn and Colour Choices

I am using Stylecraft Special DK.

Saffron (Rounds 1, 8, 9 and 10)

Shrimp (Round 2)
Pomegranate (Round 3)
Sherbet (Round 4)
Cloud Blue (Round 5)
Aspen (Round 6)
Turquoise (Round 7)
Meadow (Rounds 11 and 12)

Notes
The initial ch st’s in each round are counted as a stitch. Sometimes the pattern
indicates this, sometimes it does not. The only ones that DO NOT count as stitches
are the ch-1’s at the beginning of Rounds 6- 8. That is why the pattern tells you to
sc in the same st as the ch-1 in Rounds 6-8 and why you join to the first sc at the
end of the Rounds 6-8, not the ch st.
Some of the rounds do not include stitch counts so I have added them below.

Help With The Blooming Lace Crochet Square

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Like I have already mentioned, you can find the pattern here. The tips and tricks below
are supplementary to the pattern, meaning that they will only help you with the pattern
should you get stuck. This photo-walkthrough is NOT the actual pattern.

Thank you very much to Melinda Miller for giving us permission to do this photo-tutorial
for her Blooming Lace Square. And a special thank you to Kimberly Slifer for letting me
do these tutorials and for obtaining the necessary permission.

Round 1
You can start this round with a magic ring stead of the initial ch-4. If you are not familiar
with working into a magic ring, this video tutorial from The Crochet Crowd is very good.

So if you would like to start with a magic ring then change the instructions for Round 1 as
follows: Start with a magic ring. Ch 3 (Photo 1) and then make 14 dc’s into the magic ring
(Photo 2). Pull the ring tight and then join to the top of the initial ch-3 with a sl st ( Photo
3). Make sure that you don’t accidentally join to the top of the first dc, because you will
be a stitch short if you do.

Stitch count: 15 dc’s. Remember that the initial ch-3 counts as a dc.

Round 2
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Stitch count: 30 dc’s

Round 3

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In Round 3 you will be making Double
treble clusters/double triple clusters
(DTRCL). Each dtrcl (what a mouthful!) is
formed by partially completing 3 double
treble stitches (dtr) and then pulling a
loop through the top of all 3. This is much
easier to understand when you do it, so
grab your hook and let’s do Round 3.

Whenever I join new yarn, I always start

with a slip knot already on my hook. I
know it makes a little visible knot, but
once you work your tails away it really
won’t be visible and it ads extra security.

Hint: Make Round 3 in a lighter colour

than Round 4. If you scroll down to the photo for Round 5 you will see that the ch-6
spaces between clusters will be slightly visible through the stitches of Round 4 and this
really shows up when Round 3 is a darker colour than Round 4.

Initial Double Treble Cluster

To make the initial double treble cluster, you will need to join your yarn to any dc with a
sl st. Then ch 5. This ch-5 will count as your first dtr.

Yarn over 3 times. Insert your hook into the next st, yarn over and pull up a loop. You
should now have 5 loops on your hook. *Yarn over and pull through 2 loops* three
times. You should now have 2 loops on your hook. One of these loops will be the last ch
from the ch-5 and one will be the last unworked loop of the dtr.

Yarn over 3 times, insert your hook into the next st and pull up a loop {6 loops on hook}.
*Yarn over and pull through 2 loops* three times. You should now have 3 loops on your
hook. Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops. This is your initial dtrcl completed (see
photo collage below).

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When you have made the initial double
treble cluster, ch 6 and then make a
subsequent double treble cluster as
instructed below. This ch-6 is not part of
the dtrcl. It just creates a space between
clusters.

Subsequent Double Treble Clusters

Yarn over 3 times. Insert your hook into the next st, yarn over and pull up a loop {5 loops
on hook}. *Yarn over and pull through 2 loops* three times. You should now have 2
loops on your hook (one loop from the first dtr and one loop from the last ch of the ch-
6).

Yarn over 3 times. Insert your hook into the next st, yarn over and pull up a loop {6 loops
on hook}. *Yarn over and pull through 2 loops* three times. You should now have 3
loops on your hook (one loop from each dtr and one loop from the last ch of the ch-6).

Yarn over 3 times. Insert your hook into the next st, yarn over and pull up a loop {7 loops
on hook}. *Yarn over and pull through 2 loops* three times. You should now have 4
loops on your hook (one loop from each dtr and one loop from the last ch of the ch-6).

Yarn over and pull through all 4 loops. This is your subsequent dtrcl completed (see
photo collage below). You will make each of the remaining 8 clusters in the same way,
remembering to ch 6 between each cluster.

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When you have made all 10 clusters, each spaced by a ch-6 space, join to the fifth chain
of the initial ch-5 with a sl st.

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And this is what your “square” should look like at this point:

Stitch count: 10 dtrcl’s

Round 4
Round 4 is very straightforward. At the end of this round your square might pull up into
a bowl. Or not. I suspect that my tension was way too loose when I made the clusters in
Round 3. Either way, your square will be fine in the end. Mine just might need a little bit
more blocking than most.

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Stitch count: 60 hdc’s

Round 5

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Stitch count: 72 st’s

Round 6
In this round your square, which has been circular until now, will actually start becoming
a square.

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Stitch counts:

Total: 80 st’s
Per Side: 20 stitches on each side (17 between corners and 3 in each corner)

Round 7
Round 7 is basically a repetition of Round 6. Something you might find useful to know is
that each stitch should fall in a similar stitch from the previous round. By that I mean
that each sc should fall in a sc from the previous round, each hdc should fall in an hdc,
etc. This is a handy tip as it will help you catch a mistake before you have completed the
round.

At the end of this round you might notice that your corners bulge a bit. This should
correct when you block your square.

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Stitch counts:

Total: 96 stitches
Per Side: 24 stitches on each side (19 between corners and 5 in each corner)

Round 8

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Stitch counts:

Total: 104 stitches

Per Side: 26 stitches on each side (23 between corners and 3 in each corner)

Round 9
In this round you will use the V-stitch. The V-stitch is basically 2 dc’s separated by a chain
stitch. In each corner you will work (v-stitch, ch-1, v-stitch, ch-1) which is the same as:
*dc, ch-1* x 4.

In Photo 1 below you can see that the corner contains 4 dc’s, each separated by a ch st.
Remember that the initial ch-4 counts as a dc and ch-1. The sides are worked as a *dc,
ch-1* mesh, skipping one st below each ch st. When you get to the next corner, you
need to work *dc, ch-1* x 4 into the second sc of the three corner sc’s (indicated with an
arrow in Photo 2 below).
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In Photo 3 I have indicated the stitch right after the corner with an arrow. Although you
will be skipping this stitch, it is important to know that it is the next stitch. If you miss it,
and skip 2 st’s, your stitch count will be off. Please see this tutorial for help with
identifying the next stitch after a corner. This is where most people miss a stitch.

This is what Round 9 should look like when you’re done. You can see from the pins that
my block was not cooperating!

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Stitch counts:

Total: 64 dc’s and 64 ch-1 spaces

Per Side: 16 dc’s and 16 ch-1 spaces on each side (12 between corners and 4 in
each corner)

Round 10
Round 10 is easy as Pie (or is it Pi?)! You basically work a *dc, ch-1* mesh into the ch-1
spaces in the previous round. Each corner should fall between the 2 v-stitches of the
corner in the previous round.

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When you’ve completed Round 10, this is what it should look like:

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Stitch counts:

Total: 76 dc’s and 76 ch-1 spaces

Per Side: 19 dc’s and 19 ch-1 spaces on each side (15 between corners and 4 in
each corner)

Round 11
At the beginning of this round, the instructions tell you to join your yarn to any corner
stitch. This means that you should attach your yarn to any corner ch-1 space. Once you
have made your corner, you will need to dc in the next st. The loops of this stitch will be
hidden by the corner stitches. Make sure that you pull the corner stitches aside and
make your first dc into the top of the first dc after the corner. See this tutorial if you are
unsure which loops belong to which stitch.

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Be careful. It is very easy to skip a stitch in this round! I did. And points to the person
who can spot my mistake :) I will give you a hint: it is visible in the photo below…

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Stitch counts:

Total: 164 stitches and 4 x ch-2 spaces

Per Side: 41 stitches on each side (37 dc’s between corners and (4 dc + ch-2 space)
in each corner)

At this point your square will be big enough and your stitch count will tally with Odyssey,
which is the largest square. Feel free to continue with Round 12 if you feel you need to,
though.

Round 12
Handy hint: after the initial ch-3 of Round 12, you will need to make 1 dc before you get
to the first corner. There should be 41 dc’s between corners in this round (see stitch
counts below).

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Stitch counts:

Total: 180 stitches and 4 x ch-2 spaces

Per Side: 45 stitches on each side (41 dc’s between corners and (4 dc + ch-2 space)
in each corner)

Join the Block a Week CAL

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If you would like to be part of the Block a week CAL on Facebook, please join the Official
CCC Social Group (you must be logged into Facebook to do so) so that you can access
and utilize the support and encouragement of all the lovely ladies on there.

You can also join the Block a Week CAL Flickr Group so that you can inspire others and
be inspired yourself.

For those of you who do not like Facebook, you can always follow along with me here. I
will be posting the blocks every week.

Remember to subscribe to my Weekly Newsletter if you would like to be kept in the loop.
You can also like my Facebook page or follow me on Bloglovin, Google+, Pinterest,
Twitter, or Instagram.

More Blogs Following the CAL

San from Loopsan – using Stylecraft in sophisticated Parchment, Denim, Mocha
and Meadow
Lou Mander from Tea, Crochet and Me – using Stylecraft in White, Mocha and
Raspberry

Happy Hooking!

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