Grannies in a Love Triangle

  Whaaaaat? Grannies gone wild? No, just a triangular love knot mesh worked in the round to make a square. This motif alone can be a bit floppy and out of shape, but once blocked and joined together it becomes a lacy beauty. If you're not familiar with the love knot stitch, this tutorial will show you, along with familiarizing you with how to use it in this triangular mesh.


  Now, for the pattern and making-of-the-square tutorial: More advanced crocheters can find the simple three-round written pattern at the beginning. Those needing help will find a step by step lesson (like almost 30 steps, wow) for the entire square after that! I'll even show you a trick for weaving the tail into this lacy design. With border, this motif measures 6" (15 cm), and works up so quickly with the tall love knot mesh!

  And by the way, I'll be showing you the simple border I'll be adding - It's for the finished project my squares will become... But realize that the floppiness of this square can be fixed. If you'll be making a creation of your own using this pattern, you might want to play around with border designs of your own. Add shells, scallops, or anything with more solid stitches and less chains to stiffen up the edges. My squares will be joined with more love knot stitches, so the open chain spaces of the border work perfectly, and the sparse single crochet are just to add to the design.


Skill level:

Materials:
Worsted weight (4) acrylic yarn
-I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in Royal-
  *I explained in the previous tutorial that this might not be the best choice for this lacy square. (From experience, I know this yarn will horribly pill when used in open designs, but it works wonderful for taking tutorial photos!) You may want to choose a softer, similar gauge acrylic for a wearable, but this design is easy to work in any yarn. From bulky to fine thread, cotton to silk, all you have to do is follow the instructions! (And switch to the manufacturer's recommended hook size...) However, the finished size of your square will definitely be different if you use something other than worsted.

Crochet hook size I/9 - 5.50MM or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn needle
Stitch markers *optional* But highly recommended in case you have trouble with finding the beginning stitch in this geometrical design.


Gauge:
(Before blocking)
1 love knot = 1" (2.5 cm) in height

Pattern worked to second round will equal 4" by 4" (10 cm by 10 cm)


Notes:
The size of this square can easily be changed by your tension. Obviously, the design will be more open for taller loops and denser for smaller loops... But don't worry so much about matching the exact measurements of my square, make sure your loops are consistent in size!

Working up to round 2 is pretty easy without stitch markers. (Round 1 is really just the beginning ring.) Mark your beginning stitch of rounds 2 and 3 if needed.

Beginning love knot of rounds 2 and 3 count as a long single crochet.

Let me say again that this motif benefits from a good blocking, but you don't have to pin every inch of the edges - you just have to stretch all those long loops into shape. Refer to this post for an idea of how you can make a recycled blocking "station" for your squares!

Psst... The tutorial will show you a cheat for weaving in your ends!


Stitches and abbreviations:
Chain (ch)
Slip stitch (sl st)
Single crochet (sc)
Long single crochet (Lsc) - Insert hook in stitch, yarn over and pull up a long loop to about 1" (2.5 cm). Yarn over, pull through both loops.

Love knot (LK) - Pull up long loop to about 1" (2.5 cm). Yarn over, pull through the loop on the hook while holding the base of the long loop secure. Insert hook in bottom bar of long loop (single strand to the left of the hook), yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over, pull through both loops on the hook.


Directions:

Round 1:
Begin with a knot-less chain on the hook. Pull up a long loop, complete stitch as for love knot. Make 3 more LK, join into a ring with a sl st in the beginning knot-less chain.


Round 2:
Make 3 LK, long single crochet in the last LK of beginning ring, working behind join (refer to pic 7). Make (Lsc, 2 LK, Lsc) in each of the remaining 3 LK. Join to beg LK.

Round 3:
Make 2 LK, Lsc in last stitch of round 2, working behind join (refer to pic 16). (Lsc, 2 LK, Lsc) in next LK. *(Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next Lsc (point of triangle), (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next LK (corner).* Repeat from * to * 2 more times. Join with a sl st to beginning LK.


Border:
Sl st in long loop of next available LK, ch 1 (counts as sc). Make 2 more sc in same space, ch 4. (3 sc, ch 4) in the long loop of each LK around. (That's 3 spaces... Disregarding that the border begins in the middle - 1 LK in the corner, 1 LK in the middle, and 1 LK in the following corner - refer to pic 25.) Join with a sl st to beginning ch-1.

Bind off, weave in ends.


And now, the excessive amount of pictures tutorial:

(Round 1)
1. Begin with a knot-less chain, pull up a long loop.

(Round 1)
2. Complete the stitch as for a love knot, make 3 more LK. Insert the hook in the beginning chain, making sure the tail is over the hook.

(Round 1)
3. Join with a sl st, flipping the tail in front of your work.

(Round 2)
4. While making the beginning LK of round 2, flip the tail over the working yarn when the stitch is half-complete.

(Round 2)
5. When inserting the hook under the bottom bar of the stitch, pick up the tail with it. Complete the LK and flip the tail in front of your work.

(Round 2)
6. Make 2 more LK.

(Round 2)
7. To make the Lsc that will close this first corner, insert the hook in the last LK of round 1, working behind the joining sl st.

(Round 2)
8. Because this stitch is placed behind the beginning stitch, you should pull up the long loop just a little taller to meet the height of the other Lsc.

Marked in the photo is the next LK you will work into.

(Round 2)
9. Make a Lsc in the next LK.

(This starts the beginning of the next corner, while also creating the point of the triangle you will work into on the next round.)

(Round 2)
10. Make 2 LK and a Lsc in the same space to complete the corner. Find the next LK to work into marked in the photo.

(Round 2)
11. Make (Lsc, 2 LK, Lsc) in each of the two remaining LK's. Marked in the photo is the beginning LK where you will join.

(Round 2)
12. Join with a sl st. Now, to continue working in that end, you'll need to remove your hook from the working loop.

(Round 2)
13. Insert the hook from top to bottom in the loop before the working loop. Pick up the tail and pull it through.

(Round 3)
14. Now, pick up the working loop again and pull up a long loop to continue. Last round, we worked over the tail in the bottom bar of the stitch. This time, just keep it over your hook as you work the LK.

(Round 3)
15. The tail will be trapped in the stitch as you pull a loop through, and fall behind the single crochet as you complete the stitch.

(Round 3)
16. Make 1 LK, then a Lsc in the space just before the join as in the previous round. This creates the first "side".

(Round 3)
17. Make (Lsc, 2 LK, Lsc) in the corner LK. The next stitch (Lsc) to work into is marked in the photo.

(Round 3)
18. Make (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in the first Lsc of the triangle.

Note that the stitch for the corner space is marked; the top of the second Lsc of the triangle becomes the long loop of the first LK of the corner.

(Round 3)
19. Make (Lsc, 2 LK, Lsc) in the corner stitch. Now, on to the repeat of the pattern: From * to *, (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next Lsc (point of triangle), (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next LK (corner).

(Round 3)
20. And then again for the final side: (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next Lsc (point of triangle), (Lsc, LK, Lsc) in next LK (corner).

(Round 3)
21. That's it except for the border! Join with a sl st in the beginning Lsc.

(Border)
22. Now, for my version of the border to go with the completed pattern: (And psst... Pick up that tail and work over it!) Sl st into the first available long loop of a LK, chain 1 to count as a single crochet.

(Border)
23. Make 2 more sc in the same space and ch 4.

(Border)
24. You'll make (3 sc in LK, ch 4) in each LK around, even in the corners.

(Border)
25. Here you see marked all the spaces: 2 on each side of the square for the corners, and one in the middle.

Join with a sl st to the beginning ch-1 and bind off.

26. Now, for a nice smooth ending: Insert the hook from bottom to top in the ending loop, then from front to back in the joining stitch. Pull the tail through the stitch and the ending loop, and you'll never see a jog in your ending join.

Repeat for all the squares you wish to make. Heads up for if you'll be following along with my pattern: You'll need 21! Whoops! I owe an apology to anyone who followed along and created 21 squares - The finished pattern was supposed to be three rows of seven squares. The join I'm using added length, and I changed the pattern (to fit me) to only two rows, eight squares across. If you're taller than me, or want a longer (height-wise) shawl, then go ahead and make it with three rows! But, that means you'll need to make three more squares... Changing the join shortened the width, so it may be too short across. That's the beauty of working with squares, though. You can make it to fit yourself. Sorry again.

Here's a link to a sneak peek at the first pattern using these squares!

Happy Crocheting!