MooglyCAL2024 Block 23 is a gorgeous, layered, intricate square designed by Kirsten Holloway Designs! The Sugar Plum Delight Square pattern is worth spending a little extra time with! Get all the details for this free crochet along and the free pattern link below!
Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links; materials provided by Yarnspirations.
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The 2024 Moogly CAL Schedule
As we go, click the name of the past squares to go to their posts and get the patterns! Numbers represent the date of the month that future posts will debut.
January Jacob's Treasure Square and Diamonds Reflected Block
February Floral Berry Square and Larkwood Crochet Block
March Sweet and Fair Afghan Square and Lodestar Square
April Endless Afghan Square and Livin' Easy
May Celtic Crochet Square, In A Dash Blanket Square, and Celestial Landing Afghan Square
June Blooming Bobbles Square and Inez Floral Granny Square
July Atom Square and Effortless Square
August Aurora Square and Ocean Flower Square
September Perfect Squares Square and Log Cabin Granny Blanket Square
October Linked Mosaic Crochet Heart Afghan Square, Grenada Grand Square, and Just Breathe Square
November THIS POST and 27 (the day before American Thanksgiving!)
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Block #23:
Sugar Plum Delight
by Kirsten Holloway Designs
Above you can see the square that Kirsten made in 4 colors. Below is my CAL square, in my 3 colors of Red Heart With Love! (I'm doing a stash buster, so these colors will change throughout the year. This is my second Boysenberry one as I finish up the rainbow! The white and light gray are being carried throughout.)
Details for MooglyCAL2024 Block 23
My Notes: The Sugar Plum Delight Square is one to take your time with! Kirsten has designed a challenging pattern that you'll want to be able to concentrate on as you go. It's complicated, but just look at it - it's gorgeous! I did have to eliminate a few rounds for size, but it's still beautiful. This one took me several evenings, so don't rush it. Even so, I made a mistake and worked the puff stitches from Rnd 14 as popcorn stitches - I think it still works!
Helpful Links and Tutorials: Magic Circle, Popcorn Stitch, Puff Stitch, Post Stitches, BLO, and seamless join.
Sizing: To get the size just right, I had to stop after Rnd 16, and for Rnd 17 I worked a round of sc, hdc, and dc stitches, all in the BLO, to create a straight edge. But everyone's gauge is different so be sure to measure as you go! Learn how to adjust for size HERE to ensure all your squares are the same size. Remember that the 12″ is measured across and up and down – not diagonally corner to corner.
What I Did:
I used a Susan Bates US-J, 6.0 mm Twist and Lock hook, and Red Heart With Love, and my color scheme was as follows (see pics for more info on placement):
Rnds 1 and 2: Boysenberry
Rnd 3: Light Gray
Rnds 4 and 5: White
Rnds 6 and 7: Boysenberry
Rnd 8: Light Gray
Rnds 9 and 10: White
Rnds 11 and 12: Boysenberry
Rnd 13: D - Boysenberry; A - Light Gray
Rnd 14: D - Boysenberry; A - Light Gray; C - White
Rnd 15: D - Boysenberry; B - White
Rnd 16: D - Boysenberry; C - Light Gray
Final Rnd (see Sizing above): White
This square required a strong blocking. I used the wet blocking method.
The Pattern:
CLICK HERE FOR THE PATTERN FOR BLOCK #23
PLEASE NOTE: The designers all hold individual copyrights for their patterns. They may choose to make videos of their patterns, and you can certainly request them from the designers. In addition, there are videos linked in the notes for specific stitches and techniques that may help you with the pattern. They may offer paid PDFs of the pattern, but have agreed to leave it up for free on their website or on Ravelry for as long as possible.
Show Off Your Squares!
If you share your photos on social media, be sure to use the hashtags #mooglycal2024 and #yarnspo and tag me @mooglyblog so I can see them too! And don't forget to share them in the MooglyCAL Facebook Group! Thank you all for CAL-ing with me!
And finally, here's a pin of MooglyCAL2024 - Block 23 for your own Pinterest boards!
You can follow Moogly on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram, and don't forget to sign up for the free newsletter at the top of the page! Thank you to Yarnspirations for providing the materials for this crochet along.
NettiJo says
I've been receiving your blog for several years now, making many of the items you've shown. This year I jumped into the CAL project, but in a different way. I wanted to make a "garden" afghan for a friend so I went thru ALL your CAL patterns from 2015 to present, finding enough squares for my project. I've blocked each square and want to put them together but they all seem to have different ending row stitch counts. I don't recall seeing how you end up with the same number of stitches for each square. Thanks so much!!!
Tamara Kelly says
Hi NettiJo! So there are a couple of ways you can handle this. One is to count the sts, find the average, and then add a round to each square to adjust that stitch count with increases/decreases. But my preferred method is to use a joining method like the tight braid join, where I can skip 2 sts on one square and 1 st on the other, or whatever is needed. Here is more on that method: https://www.mooglyblog.com/tight-braid-join/ And for some more alternatives: https://www.mooglyblog.com/join-crochet-squares/
NettiJo says
Thanks so much; I will definitely give it a try!!