Avalon

Avalon

Avalon is the last of four 6" squares designed as a part of the Legends of King Arthur series.  Each of these squares will be named after a place associated with the Legends and will represent the phases of Arthur's journey:  birth, life, death, and eternity.  

Avalon is the mystical island that a mortally wounded Arthur is taken to following the battle of Camlann.  Most tales have him being whisked away by Morgana.  While some stories have him dying and being buried on the island, others leave his destiny unknown, and still others have him recovering.  Regardless, our final square in the Legends of King Arthur series appropriately represents Arthur's final destination and eternity.

This pattern, like the Legends themselves, is not for the faint of heart.  It is features INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED construction techniques.

Special thanks to the following Ravelry members for testing this square:

MawMawsGarden, Wuzzel, danika2407, ranthenae, and hrdnglynne.  

I appreciate the time and effort you put into testing this square and, in many cases, the entire series!

The free version of the pattern follows, or you can download a PDF for a nominal fee through my Ravelry store, here.  I hope you enjoy this little square!

- Lisa

Materials:

·      Size H/5 mm crochet hook;

·      Tapestry needle for weaving in ends;

·       Worsted weight yarns in the brand/color of your choice. if making the full Legends of King Arthur Blanket, make 3 squares.    I used the following colors - note Land version expressed as letters and Celtic version as numbers:

	Avalon by Land A	Avalon by Land B	Avalon by Land C
A	Aubergine	Burnt Pumpkin	Mixed Berry
B	Red	Sungold	Purple
C	Greybeard	Graphite	Greybeard
D	Burnt Pumpkin	Mid Green	Sungold
E	Sungold	Red	Burnt Pumpkin
F	Mid Green	Mixed Berry	Red
G	Mixed Berry	Aubergine	Mid Green
H	Graphite	Greybeard	Graphite

	Celtic Colorway A	Celtic Colorway B	Celtic Colorway C
1	Antique Teal	Navy	Forest
2	Navy	Forest	Antique Teal
3	Grey beard	Grey Beard	Grey Beard
4	Sea Blue	Sea Blue	Sea Blue
5	Forest	Antique Teal	Navy
6	Light Sage	Light Sage	Light Sage

All yarns Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn

Note about selecting colors:  For the Celtic Colorway colors 3, 4, and 6 remain the same in all 3 squares.  This creates a nice unity and can be helpful in planning.

Hook Size/Gauge:

Using an H size hook I was able to obtain a 6” square.

Basic Terms/Abbreviations Used (US):

• BPsc – back post single crochet
• ch – chain
• dc – double crochet
• FPdc – front post double crochet
• FPsc – front post single crochet
• hdc – half double crochet
• sc – single crochet
• slst – slip stitch                                                          
• tr – triple crochet
• yo – yarn over  

For reference ease, special stitches are defined in the rounds they are used in. In-round notes are blue.

Beginning Loop:

With color A/1, ch 4.  Join with a slst to first ch – beginning loop made.

Round 1:

Ch 3 – counts as 1^st dc. (15 dc) in beginning loop.  Join with a slst to 3^rd chain of beginning ch-3 and fasten off.  16 dc.

Round 2:

Join color B/2 with a standing dc in any stitch.  [Ch 2, skip the next stitch, dc in the next stitch] 7 times.  Ch 2, join with a slst to beginning dc.  DO NOT fasten off.  8 dc and 8 ch-2 spaces.  Your piece may cup a bit in these early rounds.

Round 3:

Ch 3 – counts as 1^st dc. Dc in the same stitch as join.  [ch 3, skip the ch-2 space, (2 dc) in the next stitch] 7 times.  Ch 3, skip the last ch-2 space, join with a slst to 3^rd chain of beginning ch-3 and fasten off.  16 dc and 8 ch-3 spaces.

Round 4:

In the prior rounds, we built a small ‘ladder’ of ch-spaces between our dcs.  In the next couple of rounds, we will be working into these spaces and into the skipped Round 1 stitches beneath these chains.  Take a moment to familiarize yourself with these chain spaces before beginning this round – see photo below – round numbers appear to the right of the corresponding chains and a stitch marker depicts the skipped Round 1 stitch.

Join color C/3 with a standing sc in the first dc of any 2-dc set. *Hdc in the same stitch, ch 2, (hdc, sc) in the next stitch. Ch 2, skip the next {ch 3 space}.  Working toward the center of your square ‘down the ladder’ of ch-spaces from prior rounds and in front of your other  round chains and stitches -  sc in the Round 2 ch-space, sc in the skipped stitch from Round 1 directly below your chains.  Working toward the edge of your square ‘up the ladder’ of ch-spaces from prior rounds and in front of your other round chains and stitches – sc in the next Round 2 ch-space again.  Returning to Round 3, ch 2, sc in the first dc of the next 2-dc set.*  Repeat *to * 7 more times, omitting last sc on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning sc and fasten off, or alternatively, use an invisible join as these stitches will remain visible on the surface of your square.  40 scs, 16 hdcs, 8 ch-2 spaces, and 16 traveling ch-2 spaces.

Round 5:

In this round, we will be skipping all our Round 4 stitches and working in the chain spaces from Rounds 2 and 3 only.

Special Stitch – 3 dc popcorn – 3dc pop – (3 dc) in indicated stitch or space.  Drop loop from hook.  Insert hook from front to back through beginning dc, pick up dropped loop and pull through.  Ch 1 to close.  For pattern purposes closing ch does not count toward subsequent chains.

Join color D/4 with a standing sc in any Round 3 ch-3 space. *Working in front of your other Round chains and stitches, between the 2 stitches already there – 3dc pop in the Round 2 ch-space, sc in the Round 3 ch-3 space again.  Ch 3, pull your chain behind the Round 4 stitches at the top of the next ‘petal,’ sc in the next Round 3 ch-3 space.*  Repeat * to * 7 more times, omitting last sc on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning sc and fasten off.  16 sc, 8 3dc pop, and 8 ch-3 spaces.

Round 6:

Join color E/5 with a standing hdc in any ch-3 space.  (Dc, ch 1, dc, hdc) in the same space – corner made.  *Hdc in the next stitch, FPhdc around the next pop, sc in the next stitch.  (Sc, ch 2, sc) in the next ch-3 space.  Sc in the next stitch, FPhdc around the next pop, hdc in the last stitch of side.  (Hdc, dc, ch 1, dc, hdc) in the next ch-3 space – corner made.*  Repeat * to * 3 more times, omitting corner sequence on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning hdc and fasten off.  12 stitches and 1 ch-2 space per side.

Round 7:

In this round we will be working through the ch-2 spaces from Round 4 located at the top of each petal, and in the Round 6 spaces directly behind them.  Take a moment to identify these spaces.

Special Stitch – Giant Puff – [Insert hook into same indicated stitch or space and pull up a loop, yo] 6 times – 12 LOOPS ON HOOK.  Pull through all 12 loops – close with a ch.  Note – closing ch doesn’t count as a stitch for pattern purposes.

Starting at any corner - Join color F/6 with a standing giant puff through the ch-2 space from Round 4 located at the top of the corner petal and the ch-1 corner space from Round 6 located directly behind it together. *Ch 2, sc in the next 5 Round 6 stitches – being careful not to miss the first ‘hidden’ stitch.  Ch 2, skip the next stitch, giant puff in the ch-2 space from Round 4 located at the top of the next petal and the ch-2 space from Round 6 located directly behind it together.  Ch 2, skip the next ‘hidden’ stitch, sc in the last 5 stitches of the side. Ch 2, giant puff through the ch-2 space from Round 4 located at the top of the next petal and the ch-1 corner space from Round 6 located directly behind it together.* Repeat * to * 3 more times, omitting last giant puff on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning giant puff.  10 stitches, 4 ch-2 spaces, and 1 giant puff per side.  4 corner giant puffs.

Round 8:

Join color G/1 with a standing dc in the last stitch of any side.  *You should have an hdc from Round 4 located on each side of your giant puff – working in front of your other round stitches – tr in the hdc from Round 4 just before the next corner giant puff.  Returning to Round 7 – (FPdc, ch 2, FPdc) around the next corner giant puff.  Dropping to Round 4 again and working in front of your other round stitches – tr in the hdc from Round 4 just after the corner giant puff.  Returning to Round 7 – dc in the first stitch of the next side, hdc in the next 4 stitches.  Dropping to Round 4 again and working in front of your other round stitches – dc in the hdc from Round 4 just before the next giant puff.  Returning to Round 7 – FPsc around the next giant puff.  Dropping to Round 4 again and working in front of your other round stitches – dc in the hdc from Round 4 just after the next giant puff. Returning to Round 7 hdc in the next 4 stitches, dc in the last stitch of the side.*  Repeat * to * 3 more times, omitting last dc on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning dc. 

If continuing with the same color (Celtic Version) - DO NOT fasten off.  17 stitches per side.

If changing colors (Land Version) – fasten off.  17 stitches per side.

Round 9:

If continuing with the same color (Celtic Version)  - Ch 1, sc in same stitch as join.  Sc in the next 2 stitches.  *(Sc, ch 2, sc) in the next corner space, sc in each stitch of the next side.*  Repeat * to * 3 more times, omitting last 3 sc on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning sc and fasten off.  19 stitches per side.

If changing Colors (Land Version) – Join color H with a standing sc in any corner space.  (Ch 2, sc) in the same corner space.  *Sc in each stitch of the next side, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the next corner space.*  Repeat * to * 3 more times, omitting corner sequence on final repeat.  Join with a slst to beginning sc and fasten off.  19 stitches per side.

Photos above, l to r:  Celtic colorway A, B, and C

Photo above: Land version C - photos for versions A and B unavailable

Please Remember:

This pattern was written and designed by me, Lisa Mauser, for This Little Hook of Mine. I am happy to share it with you, but this pattern belongs to me and I retain all rights.  You may not distribute, sell, or share this pattern, or any parts of it.  If you wish to share the pattern, please refer the party you are sharing it with to the original pattern link. Though this pattern has been tested, it is not perfect.  If you find a mistake, please let me know in the comments below or through the contact me button and I will fix it.

Thank you for respecting my property.  I really hope you enjoyed the pattern!