If you love making crocheted motif blankets, you probably know that it is difficult to join circular motifs together without leaving gaps. In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how to square off a circular crochet motif.

This works best if the number of stitches in your circle is divisible by four because we will be treating the circle as a square, dividing it into four “sides.” In this example, we have crocheted a 24-stitch circle using Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Blue Willow:

Before we move on to the next step, it may be helpful for you to look at this image of the finished shape you are trying to accomplish, as compared to the current shape of your piece:

For the above example, we’ll work a series of increases across each 6-stitch “side” to create the edges of the square by adding taller stitches to the areas on the circle which correspond to the corners of the square shown above.

To create the square outline, we have joined a contrasting color of Lamb’s Pride Worsted in High Seas and worked 1 round of single crochet around the circle (shown above) before working the following pattern:

*dc twice in 1 stitch, dc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc twice in 1 stitch, repeat from * three more times. 

Helpful Hint: A removable stitch marker is handy for marking the start of each round!

Helpful Hint: Don’t forget to block in Eucalan & use T-Pins to define each square edge!

If the number of stitches in your circle isn’t divisible by 4, then single crochet around the circle while evenly increasing the number of stitches necessary to reach a stitch count that is divisible by 4.

Also keep in mind that for larger or smaller circles, you will need to adjust the pattern by either adding a sc, hdc, or dc to the pattern. This may require a little experimentation one your part as you try out different types of stitches to get your ideal shape; the hdc and dc stitches create wedges which will build the corners when paired with the other wedges.

Example:
A circle with 42 stitches will need two more stitches to reach a stitch count that is divisible by four.

To do this, *work single crochet for 20 stitches, increase in the next stitch, ** then repeat from * to ** to the end of the round. You will now have 44 stitches, which is 4 sections of 11 stitches.

To square off the motif, work the following pattern:
*dc twice in 1 stitch, dc, hdc, sc5, hdc, dc, dc twice in 1 stitch, * 3 more times.

New to crochet, or need to refresh your memory on the abbreviations used above? Click here to brush up on the basics on the Crochet Concupiscence Blog.

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