Love easy corner to corner projects? Try this Stag Afghan
This stag afghan is an easy corner to corner project …. really! It might be an afghan but until you get to the antlers there really is not a lot of colour changes at all! Once you reach the antlers there is not too many but by then you will be comfortable with the principle of colour changes.
I actually designed this one last year but life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of all of the best laid plans…
I wanted to start creating more patterns for the men in our lives. Outside of hats and scarves this can be a wee bit of a challenge. And you know that I do love a good easy corner to corner project!
Inspiration behind this design
The stag motif on this design was actually inspired by my stag placemat! (Head’s up – the placemat has a free chart on the blog). During the last half of 2021 I really was seeing a gap for patterns suitable for men. That is when I came up with the Just for Him event to try and highlight some of the great patterns there are out there and be inspired with some new designs.
I had also just designed the stag pillow (another free pattern on the blog) for the Furls Blog hop. And I wanted a matching afghan!
I knew that this pattern would look fantastic in the contrasting reds and blacks for a more masculine look. But I also know that this easy corner to corner afghan would look just as stunning in more neutral beiges and browns or even grey and pink for a really feminine version!
Take a look at the photos below — and you are right – there are two sizes for this one available!!
Construction of the design
This is an easy corner to corner crochet pattern. You can use double crochets (treble crochets in UK terms) or half double crochets (half treble crochets in UK terms) to create your afghan. Half double crochets will produce a slightly smaller project that double crochets but both look stunning!
When working corner to corner you generally start at the bottom right hand side of the chart and work up in diagonal rows to the top left hand side.
Please do not be intimidated by this if you are new to the technique! Some of my testers for this design used it as their first ever corner to corner project! And they turned out great! The biggest thing you need to look out for is to reduce from the correct side. If you reduce from the wrong side your motif will look stretched and a little ‘squiffy’ as I would say.
NEW TO CORNER TO CORNER?
I have a free learn to corner to corner course . It has helped a lot of crocheters to master corner to corner. Together we look at reading the patterns, as well as how to do the stitch, increases and decreases and colour changes. I will show you how to work both squares and rectangles too. We also make a couple of free pattern projects together!
The Yarn
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I used Paintbox Simply Aran for both versions of my afghans. This is a thicker #4 weight yarn so it makes a fabulously snuggly, tactile blanket! It is also lovely to work with and there are so many colours available (over 60!) in this collection. As it is 100% acrylic it is easy to wash and dry on low temperatures so you can throw it in the washing machine and not worry about it!
I am also going to throw it out there that in the last 5 years of using this yarn I have never had to cut the skein and rejoin it due to knots.
This Easy Corner to Corner pattern includes:
This is a premium pattern so there is not a free version available. The pdf versions include:
- Chart – in 2 sizes
- Written Instructions
- Colour Block Instructions
Get the PDF pattern!
You can find the ad-free PDF Pattern for this one in all of my shops:
The pattern specifics:
Materials:
| · Any #4 weight yarn of your choosing. I used Paintbox simply aran for mine. · 4.5mm hook · Scissors · Tapestry needle |
Gauge:
| This is actually not important with corner to corner blankets as long as you are consistent with your tension! |
Sizing:
I used double crochets for the bigger version. It turned out to be 53” tall by 41” wide
If you choose to make this with HDC c2c then the afghan will be smaller in both width and height.
Abbreviations used:
| · Ch(s) – chain(s) · St(s) – stitch(es) |
Other notes:
| – Written in US terms. This is a Corner to Corner pattern worked from the bottom right top the top left. The arrows at the beginning of the rows indicate which way you are working according to the graph. It is a reversible pattern so remember to crochet over any yarn you carry. 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. Color charts with stitch totals are listed under the picture graph on the next page. There is a bigger graph at the end of this pattern. |
The colour counts so you can measure yarn requirements:
Background colour – 3921 blocks (3209 for the smaller version)
Stag – 1519 blocks (1471 for the smaller version)
