Maricopa Sun was designed by my very dear friend Carolyn Robinson King, in memory of her brother Gary.  I feel honoured to share the pattern with you here.

A Word From Me

I met Carolyn through the Block a Week CAL in 2014.  We bonded for many reasons, but mostly because of my youngest son.  Even though I have never met her ‘in real life’, she has played a huge roll in my life, and often listens to my concerns about raising three boys without an extended family nearby for support.

I remember how unsure Carolyn was about her crochet skills when I met her.  I remember walking her though joining, and chatting about borders.  I remember my joy when she became more confident with what she knew and how to apply that knowledge.  So I cheekily challenged her to design something.  And she did!!!

A Word From Carolyn

I am a retired Special Education Teacher and School Psychometrist.  I live in Alabama (USA) and have been married to my love for 47 years. We have two grown children (Matthew and Angela) whom I adore.

My faith is the most important aspect of my life.  Currently, my husband and I enjoy leading Bible study, singing in the choir, and working with senior homebound folks.  We have a beloved Sheltie pup named, Strider, and he occupies most of our time. 

I learned to crochet basic stitches from my grandmother and mother. As a young adult I branched out and made a few basic afghans (granny squares, ripple, and baby blankets), hats and scarves.  After the loss of my mother in 2011, I was left with her unfinished projects and yarn stash.  A friend told me I needed a passion, so I set out to complete some of her projects.  I quickly learned I could not read patterns.  I searched through her old patterns and books and began to make potholders in order to learn to read the patterns.

In 2014 I found a small Facebook crochet group (CCC) and they were beginning the Block A Week CAL.  I jumped in and that is when I met a sweet young lady with “crochet wisdom” beyond her years.  She helped me through each step of those glorious squares and I came out with an understanding of reading patterns.  She has walked me through Sophie’s Universe and Ubuntu (to name just a few). 

She encouraged me to try my hand at designing a square. This square has been sitting on a shelf (completed) for over four years.  Dedri continued to encourage me to complete the process and so here it is:  my Maricopa Sun, made in memory of my brother, Gary, who adopted the beautiful state of Arizona in the USA as his home.  His hobby of photography reflects his love of Arizona.

What’s next? I dream of traveling across the ocean to actually meet this sweet young woman. Wouldn’t that be something?! 

Information

You can find the written-only PDF for Maricopa Sun HERE on Ravelry.  It contains all the information for the yarn and colours that Carolyn used.  You can also follow Carolyn on Instagram.

You can, of course, make this square in any colour/colours your heart desires.

In the photo tutorial below, I have used the following yarn and colours:

• Scheepjes Chunky Monkey (100% acrylic), 100g/116m/127yds
  • Yarn A – 2004 Canary {Yellow}
  • Yarn B – 1083 Candy Apple {Pink}
  • Yarn C – 1084 Wild Orchid {Purple}
  • Yarn D – 1068 Turquoise {Blue}
  • Yarn E – 1822 Chartreuse {Green}
  • Yarn F – 1034 Baby Blue {Light Blue}

And here are the colours I used in each round:

• Round 1:  Yarn A
• Round 2:  Yarn A
• Round 3:  Yarn B
• Round 4:  Yarn C
• Round 5:  Yarn C
• Round 6:  Yarn D
• Round 7:  Yarn E
• Round 8:  Yarn E
• Round 9:  Yarn F
• Round 10:  Yarn D
• Round 11:  Yarn B
• Round 12:  Yarn C
• Round 13:  Yarn A
• Round 14:  Yarn E

Maricopa Sun Square Pattern

© Carolyn Robinson King 2020.  All Rights Reserved.

Tested by Vania MacCarthy

Materials

• 5.5mm crochet hook (I/9)
• Aran weight yarn

Size

21.5cm (8.5”)

Gauge

At the end of Round 3, your motif should measure 7cm (2.75”)

Abbreviations

US Terminology

• Ch – Chain
• Dc – Double crochet
• FPtr – Front post treble (see Special Stitches)
• RS – Right side facing
• Sc – Single crochet
• Sk – Skip
• Sl st – Slip stitch
• Sp/sps – Space/spaces
• St/sts – Stitch/stitches
• Tr – Treble
• WS – Wrong side facing

Punctuation

* An asterisk indicates pattern repeats. You will need to repeat all the instructions between asterisks the number of times specified. This is a hard-core repeat and will consist of multiple instructions.

Square Brackets [] are used to indicate a group of stitches to be worked into the same stitch/space.

Special Stitches

Front Post Treble (FPtr) – Yarn over twice.  Identify the post of the stitch you want to work around and insert your hook from the front to the back and then from the back to the front around the post so that the post lies in front of your hook.  Yarn over and pull up a loop.  (Yarn over and pull through 2 loops) 3 times.

Standing Single Crochet – With a sl knot already on your hook, insert your hook into the indicated st/sp.  Yarn over and pull up a loop.  Yarn over and pull through both loops.

This stitch can be used in place of the beginning (sl st, ch-1, sc) method throughout this pattern.

Standing Double Crochet – With a sl knot already on your hook, yarn over and insert your hook into the indicated st/sp.  Yarn over and pull up a loop.  (Yarn over and pull through two loops) twice.

This stitch can be used in place of the beginning (sl st, ch-3) throughout this pattern.

Instructions

Round 1

Ch-4. Join by making a sl st in the first ch to make a circle.  Feel free to use the Magic Circle if you prefer.

Stitch Count:   4-ch ring

Round 2

Ch-3 (counts as dc throughout), work 11 dc into the ring. Join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  12 dc

Round 3

Join with a sl st into any dc. Ch-3, 1 dc in the st at the base of the ch-3, ch-1, 2 dc in the same st. *Sk next st. [2 dc, ch-1, 2 dc] in the next st*.

Repeat from * to * 4 more times. Join with sl st into top of beginning ch-3. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  24 dc and 6 ch-1 sps

Round 4

Join with a sl st in any ch-1 sp, ch-1 (doesn’t count as a st throughout), sc in the same ch-1 sp. *Ch-5, sc into next ch-1 sp*.

Repeat from * to * 5 more times, omitting the last sc on the last repeat. Join with sl st into first sc.

Stitch Count:  6 sc and 6 ch-5 sps

Round 5

Sl st into the ch-5 sp.  [Sc, hdc, 3 dc, hdc, sc] into each ch-5 sp around.  Join with sl st into first sc.  Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  12 sc, 12 hdc, 18 dc

Round 6

Sl st in the first sc of any ‘petal’ created in Round 5, ch-1, sc in st at base of ch-1.  Sc in each of the next 6 sts of the Petal. *Make a FPtr around the sc from Round 4, sc in the next 7 sts*.

Repeat from * to * 4 more times. Make a FPtr around the last sc from Round 4.  Join with sl st into the first sc. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  42 sc and 6 FPtr

Round 7

Sl st in the 4th sc of any Petal, ch-1, sc in st at base of ch-1. *Ch-4, sk next 3 sts, sc into next FPtr, ch-4, sk next 3 sts, sc into next sc*.

Repeat from * to * 5 more times, omitting the last sc on the last repeat. Join with sl st into first sc.

Stitch Count:  12 sc and 12 ch-4 sps

Round 8

Sl st into next ch-4 sp, ch-1, 5 sc into the same ch-4 sp, 5 sc into each remaining ch-4 sp around.  Join with sl st into first sc. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  60 sc

Round 9

Sl st in first sc of first 5-sc group.  Ch-3, 1 dc in next st. [2 tr, ch-2, 2 tr] in the next st (corner made). *Dc in the next 2 sts, hdc in the next 2 sts, sc in the next 6 sts, hdc in the next 2 sts, dc in the next 2 sts. Work corner:  [2 tr, ch-2, 2 tr] in next st*.

Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last 2 dc AND corner on the last repeat. Join with a sl st to the top of beginning ch-3.

Stitch Count:  6 sc, 4 hdc, 4 dc, and 4 tr per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Round 10

Ch-1.  *Work a sc between each st to corner. Sc, ch-2, sc in corner*.

Repeat from * to * 3 more times.  Sc between each st until you get back to beginning sl st.  Join with sl st into the first sc. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  19 sc per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Round 11

Turn your work so that WS is facing you.  Sl st in any corner ch-2 sp.  [Ch-1, sc, ch-2, sc] in the same sp (corner made). *(Sc in the next st, tr in the next st) until 1 st remains before corner sp.  Sc in last st. [Sc, ch-2, sc] in next ch-2 corner sp.*

Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat. Join with a sl st into the first sc. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  12 sc and 9 tr per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Round 12

This round (and the rest of the square) is made with the RS facing you. 

Sl st in any corner ch-2 sp.  [Ch-1, sc, ch-2, sc] in the same sp (corner made). *Sc in each st across.  [Sc, ch-2, sc] in next ch-2 corner sp.*

Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat.  Join with a sl st into first sc. Fasten off.

Stitch Count:  23 sc per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Round 13

Repeat Round 12.

Stitch Count:  25 sc per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Round 14

Repeat Round 12.  Work away ends.

Stitch Count:  27 sc per side, not including ch-2 corner sps

Carolyn and I would love to see your versions of Maricopa Sun, so if you share them, please use #maricopasunsquare so that we can find them.

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