Free tapestry crochet pattern – What is more autumnal than squirrels?
Tapestry crochet is a great technique. If you haven’t yet tried it you should give it a go. It allows you to create pictures and patterns with your crochet easily and looks great! Better yet, it usually only uses single crochets (double crochets in UK terms).
This squirrel square is a fun one and looks so cute when it is finished. There are also not a lot of colour changes in this design and you only need 3 colours. If you are making sure that your gauge is correct it will work out at 8″ square. This is perfect for a little wall hanging, a square for a blanket or pillow etc.
Inspiration behind the design
Last year, you may remember that I designed my acorn square. It was super cute. But I knew that I wanted it to be part of a little collection of fall themed squares. So for the last year I have been wanting to create a squirrel square that would go with it! This was the perfect opportunity to make the time and design another tapestry crochet project!
Construction of the design
This is a tapestry crochet project. It is worked in rows from the bottom up using single crochet (double crochet in UK terms).
When working a tapestry crochet project, there are a couple of hints and tips I can give you:
- To change colour, do not completely finish the sc of the last stitch of the previous colour. It looks much better and gives a cleaner edge if you work the single crochet stitch as follows; Insert hook into next st, yarn over and pull through. Change to the next colour here, yarn over and pull through both loops on the hook.
- If you are carrying your yarn, then make sure to work OVER the yarn you are not using. This means that the yarn is carried INSIDE the stitches and is hidden.
The Yarn
For my design and prototype I used Caron Simply Soft yarn. There was no particular reason for this other than I had plenty of it in my stash. I also had a good selection of colours to choose from. As a happy coincidence I used this yarn for my acorn square!
I know that a few people think that this yarn splits while you are working with it. If you find that this yarn splits then you may well get frustrated with it in a tapestry crochet project! I would substitute the yarn for an equivalent one available such as Stylecraft Special Aran, Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek, Bernat Premium or Mary Maxim Aran Irish Twist.
Because this pattern is a smaller one it makes for a great stash buster! So why not check out what you have in your stash and scrap buckets before considering buying more yarn?
Get the PDF pattern!
You can find the ad-free PDF Pattern for this one in all of my shops:
Pattern Information for the Squirrel Tapestry Crochet Square
Materials:
| · #4 weight yarn 3 colors – I used Caron Simply Soft in White Chocolate Persimmon · 5mm hook · Stitch markers to mark first and last stitches (optional but recommended if you are new to this technique) · Scissors · Tapestry needle · Blocking mats and pins (optional) |
Gauge:
| Using sc as your gauge stitch, 2’’x2’’ is 8 stitches x 10 rows |
Sizing:
Finished size once blocked is 8” square
Abbreviations used:
| · Ch(s) – chain(s) · St(s) – stitch(es) · Sc – single crochet · >> or << – indicates which way the row is worked – left to right or right to left |
Other notes:
| – Written in US terms. – This is a side to side graph and is worked left to right on the right side and right to left on the wrong side and from the bottom to the top. – To work out how much yarn you will need you will need to do a sample swatch and then measure how much yarn you used per stitch multiplying that by the number of stitches of that color and adding some for the tails to be worked in at the end. |
THE COZY FALL MAL
The Cozy Fall MAL runs throughout October 2022. It was designed both as a CAL and as a way of raising money for a fantastic cancer charity. Last year raised quite a bit of money for charity which was fantastic!
You can follow along each weekday and get the patterns as they are released, or purchase the bundle. 30% of all proceeds from the bundle go towards CURE Childhood Cancer. This charity supports families in whatever way they can when a child is diagnosed with cancer.
If you are interested in purchasing the bundle you can find out more by clicking the button below
The Pattern:
Starting chain: Ch33 and sc in second ch from hook to start row 1.
← Row 1 [RS]: (w) x 32
→ Row 2 [WS]: (w) x 5, (B) x 12, (w) x 15
← Row 3 [RS]: (w) x 12, (B) x 4, (LB) x 10, (B) x 1, (w) x 5
→ Row 4 [WS]: (w) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 13, (B) x 3, (w) x 10
← Row 5 [RS]: (w) x 9, (B) x 2, (LB) x 13, (B) x 4, (w) x 4
→ Row 6 [WS]: (w) x 5, (B) x 5, (LB) x 12, (B) x 2, (w) x 8
← Row 7 [RS]: (w) x 7, (B) x 2, (LB) x 14, (B) x 1, (w) x 8
→ Row 8 [WS]: (w) x 8, (B) x 1, (LB) x 14, (B) x 5, (w) x 4
← Row 9 [RS]: (w) x 3, (B) x 2, (LB) x 1, (B) x 2, (LB) x 15, (B) x 2, (w) x 7
→ Row 10 [WS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 8, (LB) x 15, (B) x 2, (LB) x 1, (B) x 2, (w) x 3
← Row 11 [RS]: (w) x 2, (B) x 2, (LB) x 2, (B) x 1, (LB) x 16, (B) x 1, (LB) x 6, (B) x 1, (w) x 1
→ Row 12 [WS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 2, (LB) x 5, (B) x 2, (LB) x 15, (B) x 1, (LB) x 2, (B) x 2, (w) x 2
← Row 13 [RS]: (w) x 2, (B) x 1, (LB) x 3, (B) x 1, (LB) x 15, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 3, (w) x 2
→ Row 14 [WS]: (w) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 2, (LB) x 13, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 2, (w) x 1
← Row 15 [RS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 2, (LB) x 12, (B) x 3, (LB) x 3, (B) x 2, (w) x 4
→ Row 16 [WS]: (w) x 5, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 4, (LB) x 10, (B) x 1, (LB) x 5, (B) x 1, (w) x 1
← Row 17 [RS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 1, (LB) x 5, (B) x 2, (LB) x 6, (B) x 5, (LB) x 4, (B) x 8
→ Row 18 [WS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 5, (B) x 3, (LB) x 6, (B) x 1, (LB) x 6, (B) x 2, (LB) x 5, (B) x 2, (w) x 1
← Row 19 [RS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 2, (LB) x 6, (B) x 2, (LB) x 13, (B) x 1, (LB) x 6, (B) x 1
→ Row 20 [WS]: (B) x 2, (LB) x 17, (B) x 3, (LB) x 7, (B) x 1, (w) x 2
← Row 21 [RS]: (w) x 2, (B) x 1, (LB) x 8, (B) x 9, (LB) x 9, (B) x 2, (w) x 1
→ Row 22 [WS]: (w) x 2, (B) x 2, (LB) x 5, (B) x 4, (w) x 3, (B) x 3, (LB) x 9, (B) x 2, (w) x 2
← Row 23 [RS]: (w) x 3, (B) x 1, (LB) x 11, (B) x 2, (w) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 4, (B) x 2, (w) x 3
→ Row 24 [WS]: (w) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 2, (B) x 2, (w) x 4, (B) x 3, (LB) x 11, (B) x 4
← Row 25 [RS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 2, (B) x 2, (LB) x 11, (B) x 2, (w) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 1, (B) x 2, (w) x 5
→ Row 26 [WS]: (w) x 6, (B) x 4, (w) x 4, (B) x 1, (LB) x 11, (B) x 2, (LB) x 3, (B) x 1
← Row 27 [RS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 4, (B) x 2, (LB) x 10, (B) x 1, (w) x 5, (B) x 2, (w) x 7
→ Row 28 [WS]: (w) x 14, (B) x 1, (LB) x 9, (B) x 2, (LB) x 5, (B) x 1
← Row 29 [RS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 6, (B) x 2, (LB) x 8, (B) x 1, (w) x 14
→ Row 30 [WS]: (w) x 14, (B) x 1, (LB) x 7, (B) x 2, (LB) x 7, (B) x 1
← Row 31 [RS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 16, (B) x 1, (w) x 14
→ Row 32 [WS]: (w) x 14, (B) x 1, (LB) x 16, (B) x 1
← Row 33 [RS]: (B) x 1, (LB) x 15, (B) x 2, (w) x 14
→ Row 34 [WS]: (w) x 14, (B) x 3, (LB) x 13, (B) x 2
← Row 35 [RS]: (w) x 1, (B) x 2, (LB) x 12, (B) x 2, (w) x 15
→ Row 36 [WS]: (w) x 16, (B) x 3, (LB) x 9, (B) x 3, (w) x 1
← Row 37 [RS]: (w) x 3, (B) x 3, (LB) x 5, (B) x 4, (w) x 17
→ Row 38 [WS]: (w) x 19, (B) x 9, (w) x 4
← Row 39 [RS]: (w) x 7, (B) x 3, (w) x 22
→ Row 40 [WS]: (w) x 32
Don’t forget to tag me in your tapestry crochet Squirrel Square makes!
