Golden Braid Square

MooglyCAL 2023

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Or feel free to skip straight to the pattern. It won’t hurt my feelings!

While I think very highly of my skills as a crocheter (hence my name), I also know realistically I’m a small fish in a big pond. I have been inspired by several crochet designers, and I had the privilege of getting to meet one of them at the CGOA Chain Link Conference in New Orleans the summer of 2022 - none other than Tamara Kelly herself (the genius behind Moogly)!

We exchanged Instagram followings, which already felt amazing, but little did I know how that would impact me today. Fast forward to this year, and I get an IG message from Tamara saying that she’s loved what she’s seen me design and invited me to design one of the squares for her annual Moogly CAL. I couldn’t believe what I was reading!!!

We made the arrangements, discussed ideas, and eventually I had the yarn in my hands. Wanting to make an impression, I decided to add a unique twist to the square idea and work it diagonally instead of in straight rows or in the round. I set to work trying all kinds of methods (many, many, MANY failed methods) until I finally figured it out. Now I get to share the fruits of my labor with you.

Overall, it has been an honor and a joy to get to design this square for you and for the Moogly CAL 2023. I hope you have as much fun creating your own Golden Braid Square (or whatever color braid you use - it will look stunning regardless)!

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Golden Braid Square

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	Materials & Pattern Information
Yarn	Caron One Pound, “Royalty” (MC) and “Sunflower” (CC) 100% acrylic CYC 4 (Worsted) weight, 9 wpi 812yd/16oz (742m/454g) per skein (1 skein each color)
Hook	US J/10 (6mm) Recommended hooks: Furls Odyssey, Furls Streamline Wood, Clover Amour, Leither Co.
Notions	Yarn needle, scissors,  stitch markers (optional to mark first stitch of each row)
Challenge Level	Confident experience with crochet. Techniques include post stitches, magic ring, color work, and increasing/decreasing.
Finished Size	12 x 12 in (30.5 x 30.5 cm) - blocked
Gauge	4” (10cm) worked in double crochet: 11 sts, 7.5 rows

Check out the tutorial video for pattern support:

Stitch Information

Abbreviations Used CC Contrasting color Ch(s) Chain(s) Dc Double crochet Dec Decrease Ea Each Hk Hook Inc Increase Lp(s) Loop(s) MC Main color Rem Remaining RS Right side Sk(d) Skip(ped) Sl st Slip stitch St(s) Stitch(es) WS Wrong side YO Yarn over Special Stitches* Beg-dc Beginning double crochet Beg-dc2tog Beginning double crochet 2 together BPdc Back post double crochet BPtr Back post treble crochet Dc2tog Double crochet 2 together Dc3tog Double crochet 3 together FPdc Front post double crochet FPtr  Front post treble crochet FPdc2tog Front post double crochet 2 together

*Instructions for special stitches Beg-dc Insert hk into st, YO, draw up a lp, YO, draw through both lps, insert hk into left vertical bar of st just made, YO, draw up a lp, YO, draw through both lps (essentially you’re stacking a single crochet on top of another single crochet) Beg-dc2tog Work beg-dc until last 2 lps, YO, insert hk into next st, YO, draw up a lp, YO, draw through 2 lps, YO, draw through last 3 lps (used to decrease at the beginning of rows) BPdc YO, insert hk around post of st going back to front to back, YO, draw up a lp, [YO, draw through 2 lps] twice BPtr YO twice, insert hk around post of st going back to front to back, YO, draw up a lp, [YO, draw through 2 lps] three times Dc2tog *YO, insert hk into st, YO, draw up a lp, YO, draw through 2 lps, rep from * once more in next st, YO, draw through last 3 lps (used to decrease) Dc3tog Worked like dc2tog but with one extra rep into 3rd st; there will be 4 lps on your hk for the final draw through (used in the final decrease of the square) FPdc YO, insert hk around post of st going front to back to front, YO, draw up a lp, [YO, draw through 2 lps] twice FPtr YO twice, insert hk around post of st going front to back to front, YO, draw up a lp, [YO, draw through 2 lps] three times FPdc2tog *YO, insert hk around post of st going front to back to front, YO, draw up a lp, YO, draw through 2 lps, rep from * once more around next st, YO, draw through last 3 lps (used to decrease)

Notes (definitely don’t skip)

• This square is constructed diagonally starting with a corner, increasing up to the widest point, then decreasing equally back to the opposite corner.

• Stitch counts are only given after increase rounds and are presented inside <> brackets. If no stitch count is given, the stitch count is the same.

• When changing colors, draw the new color through the final lp of the stitch (for example, work a double crochet until you have 2 loops remaining, drop the current color, yarn over with the next color and draw through those final two loops)

• This will create clean transitions between your colors.

• To keep the back neater, use the center pull of the MC skein for one side of the square and the outside tail of the MC skein for the other side of the square.

Pattern Instructions

Notes	Use stitch markers to mark the first stitch of each row to help with keeping correct stitch counts if needed. The braided cable is worked entirely in the CC.
Setup	With MC create a magic ring. (watch the video tutorial for help with magic ring)
Row 1 (WS)	Ch 1, beg-dc in ring, 2 dc in ring, turn. <3 sts>
Row 2 (RS)	Beg-dc, dc in same st, with CC work 2 FPdc around next st, with MC work 2 dc in last st, turn. <6 sts>
Row 3	Beg-dc, dc, with CC BPdc around ea of next two sts, with MC dc in ea of last two  sts, turn.
Row 4	Beg-dc, dc in same st, work 2 dc in next st, with CC work 2 FPdc around ea of next two sts, with MC work 2 dc in ea of last two sts, turn. <12 sts>
Row 5	Beg-dc, dc in ea of next three sts, with CC BPdc around ea of next four sts, with MC dc in ea of last four sts, turn.
Row 6	Beg-dc, dc in same st, work 2 dc in next st, dc in ea of next two sts, with CC work 2 FPdc around next st, FPdc around ea of next two sts, work 2 FPdc around next st, with MC dc in ea of next two sts, work 2 dc in ea of last two sts, turn. <18 sts>
Row 7	Beg-dc, dc across to cable, with CC sk next two sts, BPtr around next two sts, working behind sts just made BPtr around two skd sts, BPdc around last two sts of cable, with MC dc across to end, turn.
Row 8	Beg-dc, dc in same st, work 2 dc in ea of next two sts, dc across to cable, with CC sk next two sts, FPtr around next two sts, working in front of sts just made FPtr around two skd sts, FPdc around last two sts of cable, with MC dc across to last three sts, work 2 dc in ea of last three sts, turn. <24 sts>

Special Note!

While I will give row and stitch counts for the remainder of this pattern, it’s honestly more important to match the inches/centimeters than the row/stitch numbers. As long as you end on a WS row (odd-numbered) when you reach 12”/30.5cm, you should be able to follow the decrease instructions using your adjusted number of rows/stitches until you decrease down to 18 total sts, then follow instructions starting at Row x.

Rows 9-17	Rep Rows 7-8 another 4 times, rep Row 7 once more. <48 sts after all increasing>
Row 18	Beg-dc2tog, dc2tog twice, dc across to cable, with CC work RS cable instructions, with MC dc across to last six sts, dc2tog three times, turn. <42 sts>
Row 19	Rep Row 7.
Rows 20-27	Rep Rows 18-19 another 4 times. <18 sts after all decreasing>
Row 28	Beg-dc2tog, dc2tog, dc in ea of next two sts, with CC FPdc2tog, FPdc around ea of next two sts, FPdc2tog, with MC dc in ea of next two sts, dc2tog twice, turn. <12 sts>
Row 29	Beg-dc, dc across to cable, with CC BPdc around ea of next four sts, with MC dc across to end, turn.
Row 30	Beg-dc2tog, dc2tog, with CC FPdc2tog twice, with MC dc2tog twice, turn. <6 sts>
Row 31	Beg-dc, dc across to cable, with CC BPdc around ea of next two sts, with MC dc across to end, turn.
Row 32	Beg-dc2tog, with CC FPdc2tog, with MC dc2tog, turn. <3 sts>
Row 33	With MC dc3tog, fasten off CC and finished MC.
Border	With MC ch 1, *work 2 sc in corner, work 2 sc in side of each row, rep from * another 3 times, join with sl st into first sc, fasten off.
Finishing	Weave in ends, wash and block to measurements.

Copyright, Selling Finished Projects, and Pattern Support

This pattern is designed and copyrighted by Cocky Crocheter LLC as a free pattern for part of the Moogly CAL 2023. No part of this pattern – including images, charts, and instructions – may be shared or reproduced.

Items created using this pattern are allowed to be sold with credit given to Kelly Baum-Sehon (The Cocky Crocheter) as the original designer of the pattern. Feel free to share on Instagram and tag me @cocky_crocheter; I love seeing your beautiful work! Additionally, feel free to tag Tamara @mooglyblog and use hashtag #mooglyCAL2023.

The designer has made every effort to make instructions clear, but confusion can still arise. The designer is always willing to offer pattern support if you have questions about any of the instructions.

Contact the designer with any questions regarding copyright, selling finished projects, and pattern support at kbaumsehon@gmail.com.