Popcorn Hearts by Julie Yeager

Welcome to the Block of the Week Crochet-a-Long with JulieAnny 2019! We will feature a free 12″ afghan block each week through November (48 squares) and then join and border our afghans in December. Free pattern will be revealed here on the blog each Monday (sign-up for blog notifications so you do not miss a week.)

I have the pleasure of the cooperation of almost 40 talented crochet designers in this year-long project, and will also offer a few patterns myself. Chat and share photos on my Ravelry board and/or my Facebook Crochet-A-Long group.

Each square in this CAL will have approximately 39-41 stitches per side on the final round to fit together. This will result in a 12″ square in worsted weight or a 10″ square in dk weight. Forty-eight blocks will produce at least two large size afghans if you use worsted or aran weight yarn and a H or I hook. Using dk yarn or thinner will result in a smaller afghan. Use whatever yarn and hook you like to achieve a pleasant fabric.

To get started, I would recommend about 3000 yards worsted or aran weight yarn for a 24-block afghan. You will need more if you do all 48!

If you purchase yarn through any of my links, I will receive a commission. If you need help with color coordination, check out pre-made palettes at Wool Warehouse and Deramores. Look for good prices at Michaels, Joann, Lion Brand, Hobby Lobby, Red Heart, Annies, Amazon, and Consumer Crafts.

One more piece of business, if you would like to Crochet-Along with my custom heavy-duty canvas tote bag, see here for more information.

Paid version of Popcorn Hearts to save in your Ravelry library here.

For a Print-Friendly version, click on the title of this post and a new window will open up. A “Print-Friendly” button will appear at the end of the post. Click on “Print-Friendly” and you can save to PDF or print pattern.

Popcorn Hearts

by Julie Yeager Designs

Materials  

Yarn:  A:  Bright Blue, 100 yd; B: Cream, 40 yd; C: Bright Green, 40 yd

Hook:  H (5.0 mm)  crochet hook or whatever size works with your yarn

Size:  12” Square but a little larger or smaller is fine as long as you like how it feels. All blocks in the Crochet Along will have a final round stitch count of 39-41 to fit together.

Pattern uses American crochet terms. Ch-3 counts as dc.

Abbreviations

beg – beginning BLO – back loop only ch – chain dc –  double crochet FPtr – front post treble crochet RS – right side sc – single crochet sk – skip sl – slip sp – space st – stitch tr – treble crochet WS – wrong side  

Beg PC – beginning popcorn st (ch 3, 3 dc in same st, remove hook and place hook from front to back through top ch of beg ch-3, grab working loop and pull through, ch 1 to tighten PC*)  

PC – popcorn st (4 dc in same st, remove hook and place hook from front to back through loop of first dc, grab working loop and pull through, ch 1 to tighten PC*)  

Berry Stitch:  YO, insert hook in next st, pull yarn through, YO, pull yarn through one loop, YO, insert hook in same st, pull yarn through, YO, pull yarn through all five loops, ch 1 to tighten*.

*Ch-1 that tightens the PC and the Berry does not count as a stitch.

Round 1:  With A, ch 4, join with sl st to form ring, ch 1, 8 sc in ring, sl st to first sc. (8 sc)

Round 2:  Ch 1, 2 sc in each sc, sl st to first sc. (16 sc)

Round 3:  Sl st in next st, Beg PC in same st, ch 2, sk next sc, (PC in next sc, ch 2, sk next sc) seven times, sl st to top of first PC, fasten off. (8 PC, 8 ch-2 sp)

Round 4: Join B with sc in any ch-2 sp, (ch 1, PC, ch 1, sc) in same sp, [(sc, ch 1, PC, ch 1, sc) in next ch-2 sp] seven times, sl st to first sc. (8 PC, 16 sc, 16 ch-1 sp)

Round 5:  Sl st in ch-1 sp, Beg PC in same sp, ch 1, sc in top of next PC, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, (PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sc in top of next PC, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1) seven times, sl st to top of BegPC, fasten off.  (16 PC, 8 sc, 24 ch-1 sp)

Round 6:  Join A with sc in any Round 5 ch-1 sp that lines up over a PC in Round 3.  FPtr around top of PC in Round 3, sc in same sp as first sc. [Sk PC, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in sc, sc in ch-1 sp, sk PC, (sc, FPtr around PC in Round 3, sc) in ch-1 sp] seven times, sk PC, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in sc, sc in ch-1 sp, sk PC, sl st to first sc. (8 FPtr, 40 sc)

Round 7:  Sl st into next st, Beg PC in same FPtr, (ch 1, dc in next 5 st, ch 1, PC in FPtr) seven times, ch 1, dc in next 5 st, ch 1, sl st to top of Beg PC. (8 PC, 40 dc, 16 ch-1 sp)

Round 8:  Ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1), (PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk dc, dc in next 4 st, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, dc in top of PC, ch 1) seven times, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk dc, dc in next 4 st, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4. (16 PC, 40 dc, 32 ch-1 sp)

Round 9:  Beg PC in same st as join, [ch 1, dc in top of PC, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk 1 dc, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next dc, sc in top of PC, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in next dc, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in top of PC, sc in next 2 dc, hdc in next 2 st, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, dc in top of PC, ch 1, PC in dc] three times, ch 1, dc in top of PC, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk 1 dc, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next dc, sc in top of PC, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in next dc, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in top of PC, sc in next 2 dc, hdc in next 2 st, ch 1, PC in ch-1 sp, ch 1, dc in top of PC, ch 1, sl st in top of Beg PC. (12 PC, 8 dc, 16 hdc, 32 sc, 24 ch-1 sp)

Round 10: Ch 4(counts as dc and ch-1) 2 dc in same st, [dc in next ch-1 sp, dc in next dc, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in PC, sk ch-1 sp, sc in next 12 st, sk ch-1 sp, sc in PC, sc in ch-1 sp, dc in next dc, dc in next ch-1 sp, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc in corner PC)] three times, dc in next ch-1 sp, dc in next dc, sc in ch-1 sp, sc in PC, sk ch-1 sp, sc in next 12 st, sk ch-1 sp, sc in PC, sc in ch-1 sp, dc in next dc, dc in next ch-1 sp, dc in same st as beg, sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4, fasten off. (25 st per side)

Round 11: Join B with sc in any ch-1 sp, sc in same sp, (sc in next 24 st, 3 sc in ch-1) three times, sc in next 24 st, sc in same sp as beg, sl st to first sc, fasten off.  (27 st per side)

Round 12: Work in BLO.  Join C with sc in second sc of any 3-sc corner, sc in same st, (sc in next 26 st, 3 sc in next st) three times, sc in next 26 st, sc in same st as beg, sl st to first sc, ch 1, turn work. (29 st per side)

Round 13 (WS): (Hint:  In this and the next round, since we are now looking at the stitches backwards, work into the two loops “after” the stitch instead of before.) Sc in same st as join, sc in next st, [(Berry st in next st, sc in next st) 13 times, sc in next st, 3 sc in next st, sc in next st] three times, (Berry st in next st, sc in next st) 13 times, sc in next st, 2 sc in same st as first st, sl st to first sc, fasten off. Turn work.  (Each side has 3 sc in corner, 1 sc before the berries, 13 berries with sc between, then 2 sc at end, for 31 per side.)

Round 14 (RS): Join B with sc in second sc of any 3-sc corner, sc in same st, (sc in next 30 st, skipping the ch-1’s that tighten the berry, 3 sc in next st) three times, sc in next 30 st, sc in same st as beg, sl st to first sc, fasten off.  (33 st per side)

Round 15: Work in BLO only.  Join A with sl st in 2nd sc of any corner, ch 4 (counts as dc and ch-1), 2 dc in same st, [dc in next 32 st, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next st] three times, dc in next 32 st, dc in same st as beg st, sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4, fasten off. (37 st per side)

Round 16: Join C with sc in any ch-1 sp, sc in same sp, (sc in next 36 st, 3 sc in ch-1) three times, sc in next 36 st, sc in same sp as beg, sl st to first sc, fasten off.  (39 st per side)

Copyright 2019 Julie Yeager Designs Please do not post this pattern on the internet. Posting a link to my website – www.julieyeagerdesigns.com, or to my Ravelry store – where you can see all my patterns – http://www.ravelry.com/stores/Julie-yeager-designs, is appreciated. Contact me via e-mail at [email protected]