Santa Rosa Throw

By: Kim Biddix for yarnspirations.com/caron

Get a taste of the good life with this Santa Rosa Throw. This popcorn stitch afghan pattern feels as fantastic as it looks, thanks to natural yarn from Caron. This granny square blanket pattern blends light, luscious pinks with dark, chocolatey browns. Master the crochet popcorn stitch with this tutorial, and you'll want to use this technique in all your other crochet projects. The next time you feel like putting your feet up, cover them in this stylish and sophisticated Santa Rosa Throw.

Easy

Crochet HookI/9 or 5.5 mm hook

Yarn Weight(4) Medium Weight/Worsted Weight and Aran (16-20 stitches to 4 inches)

Materials:

Naturally Caron Country (75% Microdenier Acrylic/25% Merino Wool; 3oz/85g, 185yds/169m skein): 9 oz (A), 12 oz (B), 12 oz (C), 15 oz (D)
- Shown in: #0001 Rose Bisque (A); #0009Renaissance Rose (B); #0015 Deep Taupe (C); #0023 Chocolate Truffle (D)
US I-9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook, or size to obtain gauge.
Yarn needle

Size: Approximately 52"/132cm wide x 58"/147.5cm long

Gauge:

One square = 6 1/2 x 6 1/2"/16.5 x 16.5cm. Gauge is not critical for this project.

Abbreviations:

beg-popcorn: Beginning popcorn—Ch 3, 3 dc in indicated stitch or space, drop loop from hook, insert hook in top of the ch- 3, place dropped loop back on hook and draw through loop on hook.

popcorn: Work 4 dc in indicated stitch or space, drop loop from hook, insert hook in first dc of 4-dc group just made, place dropped loop back on hook and draw through loop on hook.

Square:

Make 72
With A, ch 4.
Round 1 (RS): Work 15 dc in 4th ch from hook (beginning ch counts as first dc); join with sl st in top of beginning ch, do not turn—16 dc.
Round 2: Ch 5 (counts as tr, ch 1), *tr in next dc, ch 1; repeat from * around; join with sl st in 4th ch of beginning ch, do not turn—16 tr and 16 ch-1 sps. Fasten off A.
Round 3: Join B with sl st in any ch-1 sp, ch 3, beg-popcorn in same ch-1 sp, ch 1, *popcorn in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; repeat from * around; join with sl st in top of beginning ch, do not turn—16 popcorn and 16 ch-1 sps. Fasten off B.
Round 4: Join C with sl st in any ch-1 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-1 sp (corner made), *3 dc in next 3 ch-1 sps, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-1 sp (corner made); repeat from * 2 more times, 3 dc in last 3 ch-1 sps; join with sl st in top of beginning ch, do not turn. Fasten off C.
Round 5: Join D with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 1, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp, *dc in each dc across to next corner ch-2 sp, (3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc) in corner ch-2 sp; repeat from * 2 more times, dc in each dc to end of round; join with sl st in top of beginning ch. Fasten off D.

Finishing:

Arrange squares into 8 rows of 9 squares each. With D, sew squares together as follows: hold neighboring squares with RS together and whipstitch through back loops only of stitches across to join side edge.

Edging:

With RS facing, join D with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp of throw, ch 1, working in back loops only, sc in each st and ch around; join with sl st in beginning ch. Fasten off.
Using yarn needle, weave in all ends.