The Island Stroll CAL 2022

SistersInStitch + Yarn and Colors

“Come away with me and take a stroll by the sea and listen to the song of the ocean on the
docks. 
Lets saunter in the sunlight and feel the summer slowly arrive, and take a walk in the deep woods of the island. Let’s exhale and take some time to simply be, to relax and create. Let’s travel in the mind to the Swedish archipelago and all the beauty it has to show.”

Blanket: Part 10: The Joining & Border: Part 1

whoop whoop!

The tenth (and second to last) week has arrived and the time has come to join all of our beautiful squares and octagons together and begin the first rounds of the beautiful border.

This week is focusing on simpler stitches so be ready for lots of single- and half double crochets, and as always: lots and lots of fun.

Let’s begin!

A little note before we begin:

For this week we will be using different patterns for the blanket and pillow, if you are making the pillow you’ll get to “The Triangles” pattern by clicking here

Below you will find the downloadable blanket pattern files: one in color and one as a printer friendly version. As we only know how to speak English (and Swedish) here at SistersInStitch: the pattern are written in US-terms and the comprehensive stitch by stitch tutorials will be shown in that too. 

In the Island Stroll CAL: Stitch Guide you will find techniques, abbreviation and terminology lists to help you out a long the way, and they are including UK and Swedish shortenings! 

Downloadable recourses

If you wish to view the pattern on your device: this is the file for you. 

If you wish to print or just read the pattern without colors, this is the file for you.

All the tips, tricks and stitch descriptions that you’ll need throughout the CAL. 

And as always, when the CAL is finished; the pattern and tutorials will all stay available here on SistersInStitch so that you can crochet whenever the time is right for you.

Now grab your yarn, scroll on down and let’s begin the crochet fun.. 

The Video Tutorial

The Written Pattern

Part 10: The Joining

Colorways: (Sunlight/Sea/Woods) 

Let’s join all of our beautiful squares and octagons. We are starting our joining process with the centre octagon and joining one side of all the pieces to it. When all pieces are attached with one side to the centre octagon: we join the aligning sides to the pieces two by two. Octagon to Thumbelina, then Thumbelina to octagon, see illustration below.

You are working with your centre octagon facing towards you during the entire joining; adding every other Thumbelina square and Octagon at a time. Make sure you have them lined up right and use several stitch markers to keep the sides together whilst working, too few might stretch the attached stitches of the blanket!

The Placements

Begin by placing the Island Lily octagon as seen in the picture below: with the square shape leaning to the right. 

Then place the L.A. Sunflower octagon in the same leaning pose next to the top right side; and then the Ponding Lily octagon to the bottom right in the same way. These three octagons should now all be leaning in the same way, see the orange marking.

Continue by placing the A Little Something octagon as seen in the picture on the top left of the Island Lily octagon, and the Oh I Adore octagon to the bottom right: both with the square shapes leaning to the left as seen in the green marking.

Lastly you will place your four Thumbelina squares in the squared spaces between the octagons. After that you are ready to begin the centre join! Use stitch markers to keep them in place, or leave them on the surface and simply pic them up one by one as you go.

Note! Work with your Island Lily octagon facing towards you during the entire joining; whilst adding every other Thumbelina square and octagon at a time facing away from you.

Step 1. Centre join (Mustard/Denim/Pea Green) Working all stitches through both pieces; begin with a standing st in a top right ch2-sp of your Island Lily octagon and a bottom ch2-sp of the Thumbelina square:

1 sc around the next ch2-sp + ch 1, *(1 sc + ch 1 in the next st, skip the next st) x 14 times, 1 sc + ch 2 around the next ch2-sp of the same two pieces, 1 sc around the Island Lily octagon and the ch2-sp of the next piece + ch 1; rep from * til end, close with an invisible join to the second st

Check point. The 5th and 10th sc, made after a corner, should fall in a FPdc of the Island Lily octagon

– Per repetition: 16 sc, 1 ch2-sp, 15 ch1-sps

Note! We are now about to join all the short sides together (the light pink in the illustration on page 1). Keep going counter clockwise for all eight short side joins to make sure that the stitch heads leaning toward the same side.

The order to join:

1 and 2 together (Thumbelina to A Little Something) ,

then 2 and 3 together (A Little Something to Thumbelina),

then 3 and 4 together (Thumbelina to Ponding Lily),

then 4 and 5 together (Ponding Lily to Thumbelina),

then 5 and 6 together (Thumbelina to Oh I Adore),

then 6 and 7 together (Oh I Adore to Thumbelina),

then 7 and 8 together (Thumbelina to The L.A. Sunflower),

and then finally 8 and 1 together (The L.A. Sunflower to Thumbelina).

Step 2. Short side join (Mustard/Denim/Pea Green) Working all stitches through both pieces; begin with a standing st around the inner ch2-sps of piece 1 and 2:

1 sc around the next ch2-sp + ch1, (1 sc in the next st + ch 1, skip the next st) x 14 times. Please note that we are not working in the last ch2-sps but instead ends in the last hdc of the short side. Cut of the yarn and repeat for the next seven short sides. Leave your working ends loose for now, we will fasten it off and hide well during the border rnds. 

– Per short side: 15 sc, 15 ch1-sps

Fasten off your starting end by going through the closest single crochet of the centre join and back through the chain stitch and down the centre of your last made single crochet. Secure on the backside and be carful so it doesn’t show on the front. The video tutorial is really helpful here.

The Border: Part 1 

rnd 1 (Mustard/Denim/Pea Green) Begin with a standing st in the top right corner ch-2sp of the L.A. Sunflower octagon:

*(3 hdc around the next ch2-sp, skip the next st, 1 hdc in the next 26 sts) x 2 times, 3 hdc around the next ch2-sp, skip the next st, (1 hdc in the next 25 sts, 1 hdc4tog over the next 4 sts i.e. the next hdc + ch2-sp + ch2-sp + hdc) x 2 times, (1 hdc in the next 26 sts, 3 hdc around the next ch2-sp, skip the next st) x 2 times; rep from * til end, close with an invisible join to the second st

– Per side: 108 hdc, 2 hdc4tog

rnd 2 (Mustard/Denim/Pea Green) Begin around any given st:

*1 BPsc around each st across; rep from * til end, close with an invisible join to the second st

– 440 BPsc

rnd 3 (Pearl/Ecru/Eucalyptus) Begin in any given third corner BPsc placed before a slope:

*1 sc in the next 23 sts, ch 1, skip the next 4 sts, (1 hdc in the next st, ch 1, skip the next st) x 12 times, 1 hdc in the next st, ch 1, skip the next 4 sts, 1 sc in the next 112 sts; rep from * til end, close with an invisible join to the second st

– Per side: 135 sc, 14 ch1-sps, 13 hdc

Well done!

Your square is finished and you have completed part 10 of the Island Stroll CAL, we hope you had lot’s of fun making it. If you share on social media: please use our official hashtag #IslandStrollCAL cause we would love to see it!

Head on over to our eleventh and last part: 

The Border: Part 2!

Head on over to our eleventh and last part: The Border: Part 2!

We Are All: SistersInStitch