Anniversary Mandala by Julie Yeager

Welcome to Week One of our Anniversary Mandala CAL. Come Crochet Along and create your own unique mandala blanket in time for gift-giving. Instructions will be published here on the blog over the next three weeks (Oct 29, Nov 5, and Nov 12.) One gigantic skein of Caron Anniversary Cakes will result in a 50″ round blanket, just the right size for snuggling on the couch. Purchase yarn through my links and I will get a small commission, thanks! Michaels is having a 20% off sale through the end of the month, and also a buy one, get one at 50% sale this week.

I also worked the pattern in an aran weight yarn, Scheepjes Riverwashed XL, and it measures about 36″ across. I am working on an expansion for the blanket, details soon.

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You can use the Print Friendly button to print the pattern. I am publishing the full pattern on Ravelry and Etsy as a paid pattern if you would like to have a downloadable PDF.

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Anniversary Mandala by Julie Yeager

Materials  

Yarn: Caron Anniversary Cakes (100% Acrylic, 35.3 oz/1000 g, 1061 yds/970 m), Yarn Weight #6 (Super Bulky) :  1 skein Peach Part-ay  

Hook: L (8.0 mm)  crochet hook

Size: 50” (127 cm) diameter circle in super bulky weight;  36” (92 cm) in aran weight

Gauge: 10 ¼” (26 cm) after 6 rounds in super bulky weight; 8 ¼” (21 cm) in aran weight

Pattern uses U.S. crochet terms. 

Color A:  Magenta Color B: Burgundy Color C: Peach Color D: Orange

Abbreviations and Special Stitches

Ch – chain sl – slip st – stitch hdc – half-double crochet sc – single crochet sp – space dc – double crochet FPsc – front post single crochet

BCL2 – beginning cluster (2-dc cluster)(can substitute ch-2 with standing dc) – Ch 2, yo, insert hook in designated sp, yo and pull through, (yo and pull through 2 loops) twice

CL2 – Cluster (2-dc cluster) – (yo, insert hook in designated sp, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops) x 2, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook

BCL3 – beginning cluster (3-dc cluster)(can substitute ch-2 with standing dc – Ch 2, (yo, insert hook in designated sp, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops) x 2, yo and pull through all 3 loops on hook

CL3 – Cluster (3-dc cluster) – (yo, insert hook in designated sp, yo and pull through, yo and pull through 2 loops) x 3, yo and pull through all 4 loops on hook

Join with sc: (Standing stitch) With slip knot on hook, insert hook into designated stitch, grab yarn, pull through, (two loops on hook,) yarn over, pull through two loops

Join with dc: (Standing stitch) – Also can be used for BCL stitches – With slip knot on hook, yarn over (being careful to keep this yo in place), insert hook into designated stitch, grab yarn, pull through (three loops on hook,) (yarn over, pull through two loops) twice

V-stitch: (dc, ch 2, dc) in same st or sp

NOTE:  I designed this mandala for one cake of Caron Anniversary Cakes yarn.  I chose to cut the yarn after each color change, but I designed it to have very little waste.  If you choose not to cut the yarn it will look a little different but have the same general look.  For Round 1, I  began with the start of a new color. Starting with Round 23, the skein was beginning to collapse so I balled up the remaining yarn and used two sections of each color in sequence.  In this colorway, the two orange colors are so similar I used them as one color.  If you use a different colorway keep in mind that I did not cut the yarn between color 4 and 5 (the two very similar oranges.)

Tip: *Working with the cake yarn, the round will end with a little left of the color you are using.  I either cut the yarn or worked a slip stitch in the back loops for 10 or 20 stitches to hide, then started with the new color.  Of course, you can ignore color changes (where I indicate “fasten off”)  and just keep working for a very similar look.

WEEK 1

Round 1:  With Color A, ch 4, join with sl st to form ring, ch 1, 12 hdc in ring, sl st to first hdc. (12 hdc)

Round 2:  BCL2 in first st, ch 2, [(CL2, ch 2) in next st] eleven times, sl st to top of BCL2.  (12 CL2, 12 ch-2 sp)

Round 3:  Sl st in ch-2 sp,  BCL3, ch 3 in same sp, [(CL3, ch 3) in next ch-2 sp] eleven times, sl st to top of BCL3.  (12 CL3, 12 ch-3 sp)

Round 4:  Sl st in ch-3 sp, ch 1, (2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc)  in same sp, [(2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) in next ch-3 sp] eleven times, sl st to first sc.  (48 sc, 12 ch-2 sp) 

Round 5: Sl st in next st and in ch-2 sp, (BCL3, ch 2, CL3, ch 2) in same sp, [(CL3, ch 2) twice in next ch-2 sp] eleven times, sl st to top of BCL3.  (24 CL3, 24 ch-2 sp)

Round 6:  Sl st in ch-2 sp, ch 5 (counts as dc and ch-2), dc in same sp, (V-stitch in next ch-2 sp) 23 times, sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-5, fasten off and switch to next color OR keep going by slip stitching to the next start point. (48 dc, 24 ch-2 sp)

Round 7: Join Color B with sc in a “sp” between V-groups.  (Not technically a space since it is not a chain space) [Ch 3, sc in next “sp” between V-groups] 23 times, ch 3, sl st to first sc. (24 sc, 24 ch-3 sp)

Round 8: Sl st in ch-3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, (4 dc in next ch-3 sp) 23 times, sl st to top of beg ch-3. (96 dc) 

Round 9: Sl st to third dc of 4-dc group, BCL2 in same st, ch 2, [sk 1 st, (CL2, ch 2) in next st] 47 times, sl st to first BCL2, fasten off. (48 CL2, 48 ch-2 sp)

Round 10: Join Color C with sl st in any ch-2 sp, (BCL3, ch 3) in same sp, [(CL3, ch 3) in next ch-2 sp] 47 times, sl st to first st. (48 CL3, 48 ch-3 sp)

Round 11: Sl st in ch-3 sp, ch 1, (sc, ch 2, sc) in same sp, [(sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch-3 sp] 47 times, sl st to first sc, fasten off. (96 sc, 48 ch-2 sp)

Round 12: Join Color D with sl st in any ch-2 sp, (BCL2, ch 2, CL2, ch 2) in same sp, [(CL2, ch 2, CL2, ch 2) in next ch-2 sp] 47 times, sl st to top of BCL2. (96 CL2, 96 ch-2 sp)

Round 12: Join Color D with sl st in any ch-2 sp, (BCL2, ch 2, CL2, ch 1) in same sp, [(CL2, ch 2, CL2, ch 1) in next ch-2 sp] 47 times, sl st to top of BCL2. (96 CL2, 48 ch-2 sp, 48 ch-1 sp)

Round 13: Sl st in ch-2 sp, ch 2 (counts as hdc), hdc in same sp, (hdc in next ch-2 sp, 2 hdc in next ch-2 sp) 47 times, hdc in next ch-2 sp, sl st to top of beg ch-2. (144 hdc)

Round 13: Sl st in ch-2 sp, ch 2 (counts as hdc), hdc in same sp, (hdc in next ch-1 sp, 2 hdc in next ch-2 sp) 47 times, hdc in next ch-1 sp, sl st to top of beg ch-2. (144 hdc)

Round 14: Note:  The FPsc is always around the single hdc and the (sc, ch 2, sc) is always between the two hdc in one ch-2 sp.  Ch 1, [(sc, ch 2, sc) in “sp” between 2 hdc, sk hdc, FPsc in next hdc] 48 times, sl st to first sc, fasten off. (96 sc, 48 FPsc, 48 ch-2 sp)

Copyright 2020 Julie Yeager Designs