And ...we're back! Time to add a border to our Crochet Along Afghan Sampler. Simple. Contemporary. Complimentary.
Welcome back! It's time to add a border to your newly joined squares ...and finish this baby! All along I knew I wanted a simple flat border to bind the squares together and add a frame without competing with the various stitches of the squares. A simple half-double crochet in the round fits the bill. I deviated from my original plan in that I originally crocheted five rounds and then realized the wider border didn't fit the proportion of the nine-inch squares; so I pulled it back to three rounds (odd numbers just feel right to me when it comes to borders).
If you're just now finding this, we've been crocheting a contemporary afghan sampler; hooking one stitch into two separate squares each month. Of course you can join in at any time and finish a blanket on your own schedule. You can stitch the squares in any order, but you'll need them stitched and joined together before you move on to this post. Be sure to read Square 1, January first -- it explains the color scheme and overall process.
ADD THE BORDER
By now you should have all twenty squares joined (if you missed that, go here first). It's time to add a border. This border is a simple half-double crochet (US crochet terms) worked around the edge; no counting, YAY! Now I know there are some perfectionist and detail-oriented people out there that would really like the numbers and counts for this. But I'm sorry to say I really didn't count.
Round 1: Working in Color B (here that is Caron Simply Soft in Light Country Blue) or the border color of your choice, create one chain (or slip knot) on your size H/8 (5.00MM) crochet hook; insert the hook from the front of your afghan into the first available stitch (not the chain-1 space at the corner) and single crochet. Single crochet to the end of the row (across all four squares); into the chain-1 space work 1 single crochet, 1 chain, 1 single crochet; then continue single crochet down the column (across all five squares). Repeat the single crochet around, inserting 1 single crochet, 1 chain, and 1 single crochet into each of the four outside corners of the afghan.
Round 2: Continuing around without turning, chain 2; half-double crochet in each stitch around the entire afghan; into each of the corners of the afghan work 1 half-double crochet, 1 chain, and 1 half double crochet into the chain-1 space of Round 1; at the fourth and final corner you will find your original chain 2: work 1 half-double crochet into the first chain, and then work a single crochet into the second chain.
Round 3 & 4: Repeat Round 2; after the final single crochet of Round 4, finish off your yarn and weave in your ends. YOU. ARE. DONE!
THANK YOU
I'm going to go ahead and shoot myself out of a cannon in celebration for you! For me! For all of us! I'm so glad you stuck with me on this crochet-along, through delays and misprints and all. Thank you with all sincerity.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Looking for the rest of the squares? Click on the Crochet Along tab a the top of this site!Other questions? Size? Rows? Border Count? Visit Frequently Asked Questions!
Ren Murphy writes for The Inspired Wren.
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