Wheel Stitch Afghan

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I'm working on an update to this after realizing that, since the width increases at the same speed as the length, you'll end up with almost a square if the piece gets anywhere near the size of a normal afghan. Of course, this might work well for a lapghan...

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I found a really nice-looking afghan online based on the wheel stitch, but the afghan was square. I made one in baby size for a present, which you can see in a previous post here.

In some cases, a square afghan or blanket is just what you need, but there are times you want a rectangular one, right?. I liked the wheel stitch, so I decided to write out a pattern for a rectangular afghan using this stitch. I haven't completed the afghan yet, but I will share my progress as it goes along.

Here's what I've come up with so far with some pictures to help you along the way:

Wheel Stitch Afghan
© 2009 Gene Saunders, a.k.a. CrochetDad
Do not redistribute without permission. You may post a link to this article, but don't copy it and call it your own. Thanks!

For yarn, I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in several colors (actually, I'm starting with the left-over yarn from the Baby Blanket I made. The colors are six shades of blue, white, buff and burgundy. You can make this afghan with as little as one color - I'll tell you later how to use only one color without cutting the yarn...

Hook size will depend on the yarn you use and how tight or loose you want the stitches to look.

Notes:

• The afghan is worked in rounds, don't turn unless instructed.
• The finished size is up to you - just keep going until it's the right size
  
• Instructions are in US crochet terms
• These are not instructions on how to crochet
• It is assumed you have basic crochet knowledge

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
trc = treble crochet
bptrc = back post treble crochet

Afghan:
Rnd 1: This is the foundation round - ch 12, 7 trc in 4th ch from hook, sk 4 ch, sl st in next ch, sk 4 ch,15 trc shell in next ch, sl st in same st as last sl st, 7 trc in same st as first 7 trc shell, sl st in last ch (top of first shell, finish off.

Note: If you're doing a single color version, don't finish off - just keep going

You should have something like this:



Rnd 2: This round is the first half of the wheel stitch. It takes two rounds to complete the stitch.

(Note: If you are doing this in one color, sl st in next 3 sts, then continue with the next ch 3)

Change color, join yarn in top of first trc, ch 3, [yo twice, bptrc in next st, reserving last loop on hook] 4 times, (5 loops on hook) yo and pull through all loops, ch 1 (CornerCluster made). The ch 1 will be referred to later as the “shell anchor” later. Here's what you should have:



Now ch 3, and sl st under loops of current st and next st, like this:



ch 3, [yo twice, bptrc in next st, reserving last loop on hook] 6 times, yo and pull through all loops on hook, ch 1 (SideCluster made) (again, the ch 1 is the "shell anchor" for the next round). Here's what mine looks like at this point:



Now do a ch 3, CornerCluster, ch 3, sl st as before under the loops of the current and next st, ch 3, another SideCluster, ch 3, sl st as before, ch 3, CornerCluster, ch 3, join with a sl st to those two loops as before and you should have something like this at the end of Rnd 2:



Rnd 3:

This is the second half of the Wheel Stitch and you'll be staying with the same color as round 2.

10 bptrc in shell anchor (remember, it's the anchor stitch of the previous round's CornerCluster), sl st in next st (CornerShell made).



6 bptrc in shell next shell anchor (SideShell made). Continue around doing CornerShell in the shell anchor in the corners and SideShell in the shell anchor along the side.
..

..
Continue by repeating Rnd 2 and Rnd 3 with color changes on even rounds.

Beginning of Rnd 4:


SideCluster on Rnd 4:



Completed Rnd 4:



Completed Rnd 5:



Here's what I have so far:



When I get further along, I'll show you how I do the border (we'll end with an even round).

If you're having trouble, please post your comment and I'll try to help.