Squee! We almost have a square again!
Last week I asked you to share photos of Sophie with your other hobbies. This request was inspired by Anette Von Dottie’s post in the Official CCC Social Group. Anette has a beautiful blog called Aarhuskalder. It is in Danish, but her photos are so pretty that it is worth just scrolling through.
Below you can see Anette’s beautiful Sophie and colouring in. I have received my copy of the Secret Garden Coloring Book (pictured below) – those of you who follow my newsletter will remember me saying that I had ordered it from Amazon. I LOVE it just as much as Detailed Designs and Beautiful Patterns, which, up until this point, has been my favourite colouring in book. You can read the rest of the newsletter HERE if you would like more colouring-in and crochet inspiration.
Right. Back to crochet!
Sophie’s Universe Part 12
©Dedri Uys 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Resources
- Add this CAL to your Ravelry Queue
- Sophie’s Universe CAL 2015 Information
- Use the Print-friendly button at the bottom (right) of this post to print/save this tutorial. Don’t know how? Find out HERE.
- **Part 12 VIDEO TUTORIAL** by Esther Dijkstra from It’s All in a Nutshell.
Translations
- Dutch Translation by Dianne Baan
- German Translation by Maja Heidingsfelder
- Spanish Translation by Lynda Hernandez
- French Translation by Sandra Larvin (with Video Tutorials by Géraldine Cymer)
- Danish Translation by Tina Poulsen
- Russian Translation (with Video) by Natalie V. Alimpieva
- Swedish CAL Information by Emma Vingqvist, Agnetha Magnusson, Åza Karlsson, and Ulrika Larsson
Materials
See the Information Post.
| Colours for Part 12 | |||
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| Click on the images to enlarge them. |  |
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| Cotton 8 | Softfun | Stonewashed XL | |
| Round 85 | Moors | Cyclamen | Moonstone |
| Round 86 | Pink* | Rose | Blue Apatite |
| Round 87 | Light Pink | Light Rose | Moonstone |
| Round 88 | Canary** | Canary*** | Lemon Quartz |
*If you are making the small blanket and using the same colours as me, you should have 17 g (58 meters) of the Pink left at this point. You will be using 7 g (24 meters) for Round 86. This is the last time you will be using Pink.
**If you are making the small blanket and using the same colours as me, you should have 9 g (25 meters) of Canary left at this point (as mentioned last week). You will need 7 g (24 meters) for Round 88. If you don’t have enough Canary left (and you don’t want to buy more), you can use Violet for that round instead.
***If you are making the medium blanket and using the same colours as me, you should have 32 g (92 meters) of Canary left at this point. You will need 14 g (39 meters) for Round 88. This is the last time you will be using Canary.
Abbreviations
US Terminology Used (Basic US/UK comparison chart HERE)
- Bpdc – Back post double crochet
- Bphdc – Back post half-double crochet
- Bpsc – Back post single crochet
- Ch – Chain
- Dc – Double crochet
- Dtr – Double treble crochet
- Fpdc – Front post double crochet
- Fphdc – Front post half-double crochet
- Fpsc – Front post single crochet
- Hdc – Half-double crochet
- Sc – Single crochet
- Tr – Treble crochet
- Sl st – Slip stitch
- St/st’s – Stitch/stitches
- * – Repeat instructions between asterisks the number of times specified. This is a hardcore repeat and will consist of multiple instructions.
- () – Repeat instructions between parentheses the number of times specified. This is a lower level repeat.
Special Stitches
- Standing Stitches: Standing sc’s, hdc’s, and dc’s are stitches used to start the round without the need for the traditional beginning chain. Links to tutorials are supplied in each relevant round.
Instructions
Rounds 1 – 84
You can find the links for Rounds 1 – 84 HERE.
Round 85
This round is a repeat of Round 30, just with 28 repeats instead of 8.
Join your yarn by making a standing double crochet in the central ch-4 space of any corner around. (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the same ch-4 space. This is your first corner made (Photo 1).
*Make 5 dc’s in the next ch-4 space. Make 5 dc’s in the next ch-2 space (Photo 2). Skip the next 2 hdc’s and sl st in the next fptr (Photo 3). Make 8 dc’s in the next ch-2 space. Skip the next fpdc and sl st into the next fpdc (Photo 4). Now you will be working into the st’s and ch-2 spaces of Round 83, which you will find behind the st’s of Round 84. (Sc in the next 2 sc’s of Round 83 – indicated with an arrow in Photo 5 and illustrated in Photo 6. Make 2 sc’s in the next ch-2 space of Round 83 – see Photo 7) 28 times. Sc in the next 2 st’s of Round 83. (You should now have made 114 sc’s in total.)
Working into Round 84 again: sl st in the next fpdc. Skip the next fpdc and make 8 dc’s in the next ch-2 space. Skip the next 2 fptr’s and sl st in the next hdc (indicated with an arrow in Photo 8 and illustrated in Photo 9). Skip the next hdc and make 5 dc’s in the next ch-2 space. Make 5 dc’s in the next ch-4 space. (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the central corner ch-4 space (Photo 10).*
Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat. Join to the top of the standing double crochet with a sl st.
Stitch Counts:
- Total: 624 st’s and 4 ch-2 corner spaces {168 dc’s and 456 sc’s}
- Per Side: 156 st’s {42 dc’s and 114 sc’s}
Round 86
This round is a repeat of Round 31, but with more repeats on each side. You might remember this round with a sense of dread, but by now you should know that it is more wordy than it is complicated. Just take one stitch at a time and celebrate when you’re done!
Have a close look at this photo. It shows you what you are aiming for when making this round.
- If you are using the same colour, sl st into the next 2 dc’s and into the corner ch-2 space. (Ch 1, sc, ch 2, sc) into the same ch-2 space. This is your first corner made.
- If you are using a new colour, start with a standing single crochet in any ch-2 corner space. (Ch 2, sc) in the same ch-2 space. This is your first corner made.
*Sc in the next 12 dc’s (Photo 1). Skip the next dc and make a fpdc around the first fptr of Round 84. Make a bpsc in each of the 8 dc’s of the half-circle from Round 85. Skip the next fpdc from Round 84 and fpdc around the next fpdc from Round 84, which will be the fpdc that contains the sl st from Round 85 (Photo 2). Dc in the next 2 sc’s of Round 85 behind the next ch-2 space of Round 84 (Photo 3).
Fpdc around the next 2 fpdc’s of Round 84 (Photo 4) and skip the next 2 st’s of Round 85, which will be the 2 sc’s made into the ch-2 space of Round 83 directly behind the front post stitches (Photo 5).
Hdc in the next 2 st’s of Round 85. Fphdc around the next 2 fpdc’s of Round 84 and skip the next 2 sc’s of Round 85.
(Sc in the next 2 st’s of Round 85. Fpsc around the next 2 fpdc’s of Round 84 and skip the next 2 sc’s of Round 85) 24 times. Sc in the next 2 st’s of Round 85. There should now be 2 fpdc groups left from Round 84 before the sl st of Round 85.
Fphdc around the next 2 fpdc’s of Round 84 and skip the next 2 sc’s from Round 85. Hdc in the next 2 st’s of Round 85.
Fpdc around the next 2 fpdc’s of Round 84 and skip the next 2 st’s of Round 85. Dc in the next 2 st’s of Round 85 (Photo 6).
Fpdc around the next fpdc from Round 84 (Photo 7). Bpsc in each of the 8 dc’s of the half-circle from Round 85. Skip the next fptr from Round 84 and fpdc around the next fptr (Photo 8). Skip the next dc from Round 85 and sc in the next 12 dc’s. (Sc, ch 2, sc) in the ch-2 corner space (Photo 9).*
Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat. Join to the first sc with a sl st.
Stitch Counts:
- Total: 640 st’s and 4 ch-2 spaces {192 fpsc’s, 304 sc’s, 64 bpsc’s, 16 fphdc’s, 16 hdc’s, 32 fpdc’s, and 16 dc’s}
- Per Side: 160 st’s {48 fpsc’s, 76 sc’s, 16 bpsc’s, 4 fphdc’s, 4 hdc’s, 8 fpdc’s, and 4 dc’s}
Round 87
This round is very similar to Round 32, except for the beginning and end of each side. The biggest difference you will notice is that there is one 3-dtr group behind the 2 “petals” from the previous round, and one 3-tr group, instead of two 3-tr groups.
- If you are using the same colour, sl st into the ch-2 space. (Ch 1, sc, ch 2, sc) in the same ch-2 space. This is your first corner made.
- If you are using a new colour, join your yarn by making a standing single crochet in any ch-2 corner around. (Ch 2, sc) in the same corner space. This is your first corner made (Photo 1).
*Bphdc in the next 12 st’s (Photo 2). Bpdc in the next st (Photo 3). Skip the next fpdc and make 3 dtr’s in the first ch-2 space from Round 83 (behind the “petal”) – see Photo 4. Make 3 tr’s in the next ch-2 space from Round 83 (Photo 5). Skip the 8 bpsc’s of the petal and the next fpdc. Sc in each of the next 114 st’s (Photo 6 shows the first sc made. Photo 7 shows a bunch of sc’s made). The last sc should fall in the stitch before the fpdc from Round 86 (Photo 8). Skip the next fpdc and make 3 tr’s in the first ch-2 space from Round 83 (behind the “petal”). Make 3 dtr’s in the next ch-2 space behind the petal (Photo 9). Skip the 8 bpsc’s of the petal and the next fpdc of Round 86. Bpdc in the next st (Photo 10). Bphdc in the next 12 st’s. (Sc, ch 2, sc) in the corner ch-2 space (Photo 11).*
Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat. Join to the first sc with a sl st.
Stitch Counts:
- Total: 616 st’s and 4 ch-2 spaces {464 sc’s, 96 bphdc’s, 8 bpdc’s, 24 tr’s, and 24 dtr’s}
- Per Side: 154 st’s {116 sc’s, 24 bphdc’s, 2 bpdc’s, 6 tr’s, and 6 dtr’s}
Round 88 {Zigzag “Hills”}
In this round you will be making little zigzag “hills” again.
- If you are using the same colour, sl st into the ch-2 space. Ch 4 (counts as hdc + ch 2). Hdc in the same space. This is your corner made.
- If you are using a new colour, join your yarn by making a standing half-double crochet in any ch-2 corner around. (Ch 2, hdc) in the same corner space. This is your corner made (Photo 1).
*Hdc in the next 19 st’s, making sure you don’t accidentally skip the first stitch after the corner. Sc in the next st, which should be the last tr worked into the ch-2 spaces behind the petal (Photo 2).
(Ch 3 – see Photo 3. Sl st into the next ch-2 space from Round 84. This ch-2 space will be in front of your work and between front post groups – see Photo 4. Ch 3 – see Photo 5. Skip the next 3 st’s from Round 87 and sc in the next st from Round 87 – see Photos 6 and 7) 29 times. The last sc should fall in the second tr worked into the ch-2 spaces behind the petal.
Hdc in the next 18 st’s. (Hdc, ch 2, hdc) in the corner ch-2 space.*
Repeat from * to * 3 more times, omitting the last corner on the last repeat. Join to the second ch of the beginning ch-4 (or the top of the standing hdc) with a sl st.
Stitch Counts:
- Total: 276 st’s, 112 zigzag “hills”, and 4 ch-2 corners {120 sc’s and 156 hdc’s}
- Per Side: 69 st’s per side and 28 zigzag “hills” {30 sc’s and 39 hdc’s}
Note About Curling
Yes, I am still bleating on about blocking! Remember that you don’t have to right now, but you will have to block this blanket at some point…
Annie’s has some good advice for Blocking Afghans and Other Large Pieces.
If you are going to use foam squares to block on, consider buying these Interlocking Foam Exercise Mats. They are similar to these Knitter’s Pride Lace Blocking Mats
And here, for your feel-good pleasure, is my birthday boy! Wish me luck because we are having a party this afternoon and there will be 25 kids in a tiny English house (because it is raining and it was meant to be an outside party)!
This part of the pattern was tested by Kimberly Slifer, Claire Martin, Maja Heidingsfelder, Lynda Hernandez, Susan Wilkes-Baker, Venetia Smith, and Dianne Baan.
This blog post contains affiliate links. I only link to products I personally use or would use. All opinions are my own.
Kathy says
Thank you for sharing this pattern. It is the most fun I’ve had crocheting ever. Every row is different and beautiful and I can’t wait to start the next row!
Jenny says
I agree Kathy! Sophie is very addictive in such a wonderful way. She takes us all on fabulous journeys!
Jenny :)
Judith Bailey says
I am loving doing Sophie’s Universe. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into this pattern – I really appreciate it!
I must have gone wrong somewhere however, as I have run out of lemon quartz on row 88 with 20 more zig-zags, plus the half double’s, to complete!
I have just ordered another ball so all sorted!
Thank you again for such a wonderful pattern.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Judith. It is worth checking the weight of your Sophie against the spread sheet you can find under ‘Helpful Links’ in the Introduction post. If you do that, you will be able to see how much more yarn you have used than me, and you’ll be able to figure out if other colours will be short too. Did you go up a hook size at the starts of Parts 4 and 8?
Dedri
BranD says
I’m just starting & am up to part 4…had intended to stop with it as Sophie’s Garden & continue with ATB Cal, using Sophie’s Garden as the center…now, I think that I would like to continue on, but I know that I will run out of yarn, before the end, which is why I was thinking of using ATB, so that it would stay square & I wouldn’t run out of yarn, with a weird shape. My question is, it looks like, Sophie might be Square again at the end of Part 12? I’m thinking I might have enough yarn, to make it that far. I think that “appears” to be the soonest it would be square again?
That’s my question. Now let me say,THANK YOU!!!!! I have never attempted something like this before. Just the color changes were daunting to me, then you throw in all of the different stitches, made my head hurt, just thinking about it. But, it’s just sooooo pretty, t b at I couldn’t resist. I have had to frog a little bit a few times, but that seems to be more of a counting error on my part (easily side tracked by people talking). The photos & videos, have made this entirely possible for me to do & I am very greatful.
Dedri Uys says
Hi :) I am so pleased that you have managed to follow the pattern, and that the videos were helpful. Part 12 is indeed the first time it will be square again, and adding the ATB to that would look amazing!
Teresa Whiteman says
Hello, I’m trying to finish Sophie for a gift and find I have run completely out of Canary and it’s time to start the zigzag hills of Round 88. I will wait a WEEK for Deramores to ship me 1 skein to mid-west Canada, so I’m begging…is there another color from the medium size color pack kit I could use for this round without jeopardizing running out of other needed colors for the remaining rounds?
Or is there a way I can skip the zig zags completely since most of it is surface crochet?
I don’t feel I can not work on this for a week without risking not finishing on time to ship my gift (it’s going to the US) HELP!!!!!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Teresa. I am sorry to hear that you are running out of yarn.
At the start of Round 88 I still had just over 90 meters of canary left, which means that you are using a fair bit more yarn than I did and will most likely run out of all the colours. At the end of Round 88 my Sophie weighted 742 g and measured 98 cm across. It is worth weighing and measuring your Sophie to ascertain how much bigger it is than mine, and how much heavier.
Have you had a look at the Yardage per Round table under Helpful Templates on the Information Page (HERE)?
Sara Altamirano says
Hi! I’m loving this tutorial! I’m almost finishing it <3
I have a question, once I finish it I want to wash it, do you have any advice about how to do it? Thanks!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Sara. I just wash mine in the washing machine, but you need to check the yarn band of your specific yarn to see if it needs to be washed in a special way. Once washed, roll in a towel to absorb most of the moisture and then dry flat, making sure to shape it a bit before you do.
Sara Altamirano says
Thanks!! <3
Liz says
I am happily working away on my Sophie using the Softun yarn colors and amounts listed at the beginning of the project. My gauge is pretty close, just slightly larger, even with one hook size down. I notice that at the end of Part 12 I have run quite low on yellow and turquoise. Should I anticipate needing lots more of it? I would rather order ahead than have to sit around and wait for its arrival over here in the US….such impatience!!! Thanks for any advice :)
Dedri Uys says
Liz, I hope you received my email. We will not be using any more Canary or Dark Turquoise after this part, so you do not have to buy any more.
Dedri
Ronelle says
Hi Dedri, from a cool but sunny SA.
Your designs are so incredably creative, thanks for all you effort, I can feel your love for this artform shining brightly.
I haven’t started on beautiful Sophie yet, as I am supposed to be studying for exams. And if I start on this I will def not make it to exams with any knowledge at all. But I am downloading and printing the patterns and of course drooling thinking if the fun I am going to have with this, eventually.
Jenny says
Hello Ronelle! Good luck with your exams. Sophie will be just reward after all your hard work :)
Georgina Martin says
Dedri,
Thank you so much for taking the time that you do to share your beautiful Sophie with us. I am thoroughly enjoying each row, choosing what colour to do next and watch my little Sophie grow. I first joined in the 2014 Cal in late August last year and had not used many patterns before this. I have learnt so much in both CAL’s and feel much more confident with all the different stitches. I have found your pattern writing and photo tutorials so helpful and easy to follow. I can only imagine how many hours you have put into this and wanted you to know how much I appreciate it!
Again, thank you and thank you to your family too!
Regards
Georgina
PS Happy Easter to you from Australia!
Lisa says
Is there going to be more parts after 12
Dedri Uys says
Hi Lisa. There are 20 parts. See this post for more information.
Tiffany says
This is the longest pattern ever! But i’m so happy with the results! Can’t wait for the other half. My boyfriend’s mad about the printer ink and paper but we LOVE the pattern! Thank you so much! Best CAL I’ve ever done
Dedri Uys says
Tiffany, my husband is probably more mad about the 600 plus hours I have invested in this design, so I think we’re about even. Buy him a beer and smile at him prettily. I’m sure he’ll let you print the rest. Come to think of it…I have printed it so many times (for editing purposes) that I have am quite mad at myself!
I am so pleased that you are loving the pattern. From Part 12 it will be less printer-intensive.
Ann says
This is really looking good, I’m only on week 2 so I have a lot of catching up to do … my time just doesn’t seem to be my own just lately.
I wanted to know whether or not to block as I go or to wait until the end, blocking is something I’ve never done before.
alison wiffen says
I live in australia and we have different terms for crochet patterns and wool. I have mastered reading the different terms but I am unsure of the wool thickness to start this beautiful project so if you could tell me whether it is 4 ply or 8 ply or whether this doesnt really matter I would be grateful. I have bought your book on amamani animals so that I can make them for my grandson as he grows. Thanks for such inspiring projects that you share.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Alison. Telling you whether it is 4 ply or 8 ply won’t really help as Americans have thick 4 ply and thin 4 ply, the ply referring to how many strands are “plied” rather than how thick the strands are. But I will try to help you as best I can.
For the small I am using fingering or sock yarn (which is usually known as 4 ply). For the medium I am using dk (which is commonly known as 8 ply in the UK). For the large I am using 10 ply, which is know as Aran or Worsted weight (#4) in the UK/US.
I hope that helps.
Dedri
zainab says
living in Australia too at the moment but I’ve done my fair share of overseas work experiences.
Dedri summed it up quite well. If you’re after a more exact match for worsted weight etc theres a mill in Bendigo Victoria that does 10ply and others. (not sure if I’m allowed to specifically mention a shop so will refrain). the local big craft shops (the 2 major brands) mostly just stock 4 and 8ply.
Patrese says
Have a good party mommy!! Enjoy these day they go by very quickly !
Patrese says
Happy birthday to the birthday boys.have fun with all your friends!!
Anette Von Dottie says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Dedri. You’re doing a great job crocheting and designing, so I’m really happy that my coloring could inspire your own art too :-)
Just gotta love those Koh-I-Noor Mondeluze pencils, they are terrific and comes at a decent price too. Wishing you lots of fun with Secret Garden (which is… not so secret anymore I guess :P)
I’ve always loved colors, and I love picking out colors for both my coloring books and my crochet. That’s what we do with Sophie I think – coloring with crochet :-)
Dedri Uys says
Hi Anette. I did want to mention the pencils you use, but didn’t want to go on about the colouring too much, in case someone complained about having to print out all the non-sophie material. I am going to buy and try them next and will def tell you what I think of them :)
Anette says
No worries, I thought to mention them here instead :-)
KellyM says
Good luck with the party!
I’m just to the roses, but I’m looking forward to catching up. :D