Read Crochet Patterns: Two-Rounds-Per-Color Granny Squares – Round 3

How to Read a Crochet Pattern for the Third Round of a Two-Rounds-Per-Color Granny Square

This is the fourth in a series of articles on the details of how to make a Two-Rounds-Per-Color Granny Square, one that looks like this when it is done.

Here is a list of the previous articles in this series:

1. Overview of what is involved in a Granny Square
2. The first article on how to make a Granny Square: how to make the initial ring, into which the first round will be worked.
3. The second article on how to make a Two-Rounds-Per-Color Granny Square: working the first round.
4. The third article on how to make a Two-Rounds-Per-Color Granny Square: working the second round.

This article will explain how to work the third round. The third round will look like this when it is done:

Remember, from the third article on how to make this Granny Square, this is what it looks like after the end of Round 2:

It's time to get started on the instructions.

Two Colors Per Round Granny Squares: Round 3

Here are the instructions:

Rnd 3: Join B with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next corner ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; rep from * 2 more times; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Unlike for the previous round, there are now THREE ways to figure out what's happening, before picking up your hook and yarn.

First, here are the Whats and the Wheres:

• The Whats: Slip stitch, ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 1) repeated, join
• The Wheres: in any corner ch-2 space, in same ch-2 space, (in next ch-2 space, in next ch-1 space) repeated

So essentially, in this round, you work groups of 3 dc's separated by either ch 1 or ch 2. And these are going to be worked in the ch-1 or ch-2 spaces formed from the previous round. Remember, the first 3-dc group is actually a "ch 3, 2 dc". And there is a join with a slip stitch at the beginning, and a join at the end.

Second, here is the pattern broken down by Beginning, Repeat, and Ending (remember that this is an important skill to learn in order to read crochet patterns).

The Beginning: Join B with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, The Repeat: *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next corner ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; rep from * 2 more times; The Ending: join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off.

Third, here is another view of the instructions for both Round 2 and Round 3, in which the differences between the two sets of instructions are highlighted. This analysis shows you that FOR THIS PATTERN the new round is somewhat different from the old round, but there are some similarities.

The beginning and ending sections are quite different, so there is not a lot of merit in comparing them. But look at the Repeat section (I have isolated the sections in this graphic). The Repeat has an extra bit - a 3-DC group and a Chain 1.

And, of course, there is a color change. In this pattern, Round 3 starts a new color, called B.

How to Crochet the Instructions

Here’s where the good stuff is: how to crochet this round of the Granny Square, with photos.

The Beginning

Here are the instructions for the beginning of the round:

The Beginning: Join B with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1,

Let's start with the join. Usually, when I do this, I just insert the hook under that ch-2 space and grab a loop of yarn (leaving a 6-inch of 15-cm tail, of course). I don't make a real Slip Stitch. By the way, keep that tail BEHIND your project - some of my students pull it to the front for some reason!

It is pretty loose at this stage, but it will be tightened up fairly quickly - as soon as you work the "ch 3":

Remember that this beginning Chain 3 counts as a Double Crochet. This explains why the corner group for this corner then continues with "(2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp". Yes, you were used to doing corner groups that looked like (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the previous round. But for the beginning of this round, that opening Chain 3 becomes the first Double Crochet.

So this first corner group looks like this after it is done:

But after you fill in the corner space, you have a bit more to do: ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1,. The next ch-1 sp is the little side space created in the previous round.

So work a chain 1, then 3 double crochet stitches into that space, and then work that dangling chain 1.

This photo shows a completed Beginning (up to the * that marks the beginning of the Repeat). Note the chain 1 by the hook.

You can now probably see that the Beginning is one fourth of the entire round.

Now, on to the repeats.

The Repeat

Now we're into the Repeated section:

The Repeat: *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next corner ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; rep from * 2 more times;

The first part of the repeat, the (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next corner ch-2 sp, ch 1,, is the same as the repeat in the previous round, discussed in the third article on how to make a two-rounds-per-color Granny Square.

The last part of the Repeat, the 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1 is identical to the last part of the Beginning section. See how easy this is working out!

Anyway, here is what the first instance of the repeated section looks like - remember that Chain 1 at the end!

Notice that there are two corner groups and two side groups shown, one each from the Beginning and the Repeat.

And the round is about halfway done!

But we need to do that Repeated section twice more.

This shows the second Repeat completed (including the dangling chain 1 at the end):

This shows all three Repeats done (plus the beginning, of course).

The repeats are all done. Now it's time to finish off the round.

The Ending

And here are the instructions for the Ending:

The Ending: join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off.

This is the same as the Ending in the Round 1, discussed in the first article on how to make a Granny Square.

So here is the result, the end of Round 3:

You can see that the little project is looking quite square now. In the corners are chain-2 spaces, and along the sides are now two chain-1 spaces.

To Be Continued

The final article on how to make a two-rounds-per-color Granny Square will explain how to work Round 4 and subsequent rounds. It's just a bit more complex - but at the same time, pretty easy to understand!