Little Sunburst Square :: A Photo Tutorial

Hello Lovelies,
it's a happy, happy tutorial day....yipee. I love to record and share my designs here and I do hope you enjoy trying out my latest pattern, with the help of loads of detailed instructions and photos of course.


I'll start by talking a bit about how I came up with this neat little "circle in a square" pattern, shall I? You can skip over this bit and dive straight into the tutorial if you prefer :0)

Don't you just love this sort if motif. I've used the gorgeous centre circle MANY times over the years HERE and HERE and HERE, and yet I never get tired of it, the variations are endless......

I don't know when the name "sunburst square" was first used, but it's a great description of this design don't you think.

If you google it you can see there are MANY variations on the sunburst pattern.

Back in 2010 I made a blanket...my biggest one to date. ...using THIS wonderful pattern. "Flowers in the snow" is another great name for a project and it's hard to resist those gorgeous pops of colour on a bright white background. This is my version........



I still love it but sadly it does have a few flaws.....my fault, nothing to do with the pattern. Firstly It's made using a motley assortment of budget acrylic yarns, so it doesn't feel the nicest. The white Patons FAB I used to join the squares is particularly scratchy.   Secondly it's gone very gappy where the squares join and worst....the ends were not securely sewn in, just crocheted over, and they tend to pop out. I'm afraid it will all unravel one day.

So, four years later I'm making a new sunburst blanket and trying to address all the problems I had with the first.

THIS TIME....
The yarn is all stylecraft....much nicer.
The ends are being securely sewn in as I work.
And crucially, I've tried to make the square a much more solid affair.....mainly because that's the sort we like to snuggle under.....no draughty gaps :0)


My pattern ( and I'm not claiming total originality here, I'm sure somebody, somewhere will have come up with the same idea) is made using no chains beween the clusters of stitches in the circle. And no U.S. treble ( U.K. double treble) stitches in the final round.

Here I've worked one of the squares I've designed for this blanket and one of the squares from the pattern I used for my previous sunburst circle blanket, so you can easily see the difference..........

As you can see, it's a lot smaller! .....quiet petite in comparison.

That does make more work, but it also creates a lovely solid motif that grows into a robust blanket with real weight. Perfect to stand up to everyday use...and keep the family warm on winter mornings.

So, fancy trying out this pattern yourself? It's no harder than a standard granny square and only uses two different stitches. I've taken LOTS of step by step photos so even the newest crocheter should be able to manage it.
For those of you who don't need as much direction, there's a simple written pattern at the end ( in both U.S. and U.K. terms )

Here's the tutorial :-

The tutorial is written in my usual format.....U.S. terms.

 Here is a list of the abbreviations used and a handy  conversion guide for U.K. terms..........

hdc = half double crochet..................U.K. half treble crochet

dc = double crochet................................U.K. treble crochet

To begin with chain 4........



make a ring by slip stitching into first chain...........

chain 3 ( counts as first d.c.).........

Round 1
work 11 d.c. into ring. I've marked the hole you need to work stitches into here........

NOTE to allow the centre of this round to be pulled closed it's best to crochet over the starting tail of yarn. Do this for ALL the stitches in this round.

here's the first d.c. made.........

you can see how I'm working through the ring and including the tail of yarn

and here's all 12 stitches made ( 11 plus the initial chain 3 )...........

To close the circle insert your hook into the third chain of the initial 3 chain .........

yarn over,pull through both loops on hook, pull up a large loop,, snip your yarn, pass through loop and fasten off............

I leave longish tails ( 5 or 6 inch) on my crochet to make securely sewing in the ends easier.

But don't sew in the ends till your three round circle is complete.

Round 2
attach a new colour of yarn to your hook

and insert it BETWEEN any of the stitches in round 1. I'm showing the correct position with my needle here.........

Yarn over hook and pull through the circle and the loop on your hook...........

You have joined a new colour :0)............

Chain 3 ( counts as 1 dc).............

make a second stitch ( dc) in the same space...............

continue around the circle making 2 dc in between each stitch of round 1.
 You should have 24 stitches by the end of this round.
Fasten off by inserting your hook into the third chain of the initial three chain ( in the same way you fastened off round 1).............

Your circle should look like this............

Round 3
Round three is made in much the same way as round two, but this time you make 3 dc stitches in between each two dc cluster of round 2.

So, to start attach a new colour and chain 3..............

then work two dc into the same space, and three dc into each subsequent space..............

Once you have made all 36 stitches in this round fasten off in the same way as the previous two rounds.
You circle should now look like this...........

Here's the reverse.
It's at this stage that I pull on the starting tail ( the one I crocheted over in round one).
It closes up the hole in the centre of the circle nicely.

Here's before.............

and here's after............

Of course if you prefer the look of the centre hole you can skip that bit, but I find the circle lies flat better with the centre hole closed.

Now to sew in the 6 ends.

 I sew in about half of the length with a sharp, large eyed needle like the sharp needle HERE I weave the needle back and forth for extra security, then snip off the remainder...........

and here's my finished circle......I hope yours looks the same...............

Don'y you just love colourful crochet circles........They really are so easy and satisfying to make.

Next we get to turn  them into  squares :0)

Round 4
Between any three dc cluster attach a new colour of yarn and chain 3............

work 2 more dc into the same space.............

Then chain 2 and make 3 more dc into the same space..........these 6 stitches will make the first corner of your square...........

next make 1 dc into the following space..............

and into the same space make 2 hdc ( i.e. yarn over hook, insert hook, pull through [3 loops on hook] yarn over and pull through all three loops)..............

here I've just made the first hdc................

and here I've made two.............

In the next space make two hdc, followed by 1 dc.......

Then it's on to making the second corner.

so in the fourth space make 3dc 2 chain and 3 dc...........

 Hopefully you can see how making the shorter stitches in the middle helps create a nice flat side for your square.

Subsequent sides are made in the same way.

Here I've just completed the second side and third corner............

here I've completed all four sides and I'm fastening off in the same way I did in previous rounds..........

and here is the completed square, prior to weaving in the ends.............

THE PATTERN U.S. Terms

ch4, sl st to form ring, ch 3 (counts as 1 dc)
Round 1 : work 11 dc into ring, sl st into third ch of initial ch3, fasten off.

Round 2 : worked between the stitches of round 1. Join new colour in any space, ch 3( counts as first dc) , work 1 dc in same space. Work 2 dc into each following space around ( 24 stitches ) . slip stitch into 3rd ch of initial ch 3. Fasten off.

Round 3 : worked between the 2dc clusters  of round 2. Join a new colour in any space, ch 3 ( counts as first dc), work 2dc in same space. Work 3 dc in each following space around. ( 36 stitches). Slip stitch into 3rd chain of initial ch3. Fasten off.

Round 4 : worked between the 3dc clusters of round 3. Join your border colour in any space and
chain 3 ( counts as first dc), work 2dc, ch 2, 3dc in same space ( first corner made). *In next space around make 1dc and 2 hdc, in next space make 2 hdc and 1 dc, in next space make 3dc, ch2, 3dc ( second corner made,) continue around from * till you have completed the round. Slip stitch into ch 3 of initial chain 3 and fasten off.

THE PATTERN U.K. Terms

ch4, sl st to form ring, ch 3 (counts as 1 tc)
Round 1 : work 11 tc into ring, sl st into third ch of initial ch3, fasten off.

Round 2 : worked between the stitches of round 1. Join new colour in any space, ch 3( counts as first tc) , work 1 tc in same space. Work 2 tc into each following space around ( 24 stitches ) . slip stitch into 3rd ch of initial ch 3. Fasten off.

Round 3 : worked between the 2tc clusters  of round 2. Join a new colour in any space, ch 3 ( counts as first tc), work 2tc in same space. Work 3 tc in each following space around. ( 36 stitches)

Round 4 : worked between the 3tc clusters of round 3. Join your border colour in any space and chain 3 ( counts as first tc), work 2tc, ch 2, 3tc in same space ( first corner made). *In next space around make 1tc and 2 htc, in next space make 2 htc and 1 tc. In next space make 3tc, ch2, 3tc ( second corner made,) continue around from * till you have completed the round. Sl st into ch 3 of initial chain 3 and fasten off.


These really are versatile little motifs that can be used for numerous different types of crochet project.
They can also be joined in many different ways. Sewn or crocheted together. Or maybe..... as I'm doing for my latest blanket,....... "joined-as-you-go"

If you want to try this technique you need to make all the circles first. Here are just a few of the 220 I've made for this latest blanket..............

Then make one of your circles into a square. The rest will have the fourth round added as the squares are joined.
You can find Lucy's clear explanation of the join-as-you-go method HERE

I just love this way of working and I'm happily playing with the spring  colours that this blanket was inspired by.

I'm almost half way with the joining now and I'm off to do a bit more.....I'd really like to finish this blanket of many colours before the end of the year :0)

As always please let me know if you have trouble understanding any of this tutorial and I will try to help.

ENJOY ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Jacquie x

Novemberish

Hello lovelies,

this week has been classically Novemberish.

There have been a couple of very cold mornings, where I've needed to scrape the ice from my car before the drive into work. 

It's also been foggy and dampness follows the early frost....displaying cobwebs on railings.......

The ducks quack hungrily as I pass...........

The evenings are often foggy too, closing in the world and turning the street light's glow into balls of hazy orange............

Most of the leaves have fallen off our little silver birch tree...........

It's kind of sad, but it does give me a clear view of the bird feeders, which I've started to fill again.......

 there's a Great Tit in this photo, can you see him?

Yay, the Blue Tit's are back..........hello Tom.........

spotting our garden friends always cheers my winter days.

When it's cold and damp outside I love to make comforting meals and treats. A very simple, but  wonderfully tasty desert was enjoyed yesterday.

Two of these huge Bramley apples..............

 made a delicious crumble..............

THIS simple recipe.

My blog posts seemed to have slowed down a bit at the moment don't they. These short, dark days are not the easiest for photography and in the background I'm still plugging away at writing my latest tutorial.......... 

It's nearly finished now :0)

Jacquie x