The Madigan Mystery CAL
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Get ready for the stash busting event of the year! You asked for it and I’m ready to deliver. Scroll down for all the details.
A few weeks ago I put up a poll in the Meghan Makes Crew Facebook group asking what kinds of things you’d like to see from me over the next few months. The top three responses were:
Stash Busting Projects
Free Crochet Patterns
Crochet Alongs
Ask and you shall receive my friends! At first I wasn’t quite sure what to make, but then from out of no where inspiration struck. I couldn’t help but drop everything and start working on this project. I dug deep into my stash and as soon as I started working I knew it was exactly what I needed to be working on.
So here it is my friends, The Madigan Mystery Crochet Along! Over the next five weeks we will be working on a huge stash busting crochet project together. It covers all three things you asked for and I’m so excited to reveal more as we go.
Here’s how it will work:
Every week starting Wednesday April 22nd. I’ll be releasing a new part of the pattern right here on the blog. The pattern will be broken down into five parts.
The Madigan Mystery CAL Schedule
April 15th- Gather supplies
April 22nd- Part One
April 29th- Part Two
May 6th- Part Three
May 13th- Part Four
May 20th- Part 5 Finishing
If you’d like to purchase a PDF version of the pattern you can grab it now on Ravelry. I’ll update the pattern every week with the new part and by the end you will have a full complete PDF pattern.
This week we will be gathering our supplies. So head on over to your stash and grab all the worsted weight yarn you have. Then separate your yarn into two groups, darks/brights and lights. You will need:
Materials:
Approx. 1,045 yards (615g/21.7oz) of light worsted weight yarn
Approx. 2,092 yards (1,229g/43.4oz) of dark/bright worsted weight yarn
Scissors
Tapestry needle
I can not wait to see everyone’s Madigans. The special thing about this crochet along is that since we are all using the yarn we have in our stash each one is going to be truly one of a kind. Go for lots of bright colors or stick to a specific color palette, the choice is yours.
Part One:
Welcome to Part One of The Madigan Mystery CAL! If you haven’t guessed by now, The Madigan is made using the Corner to Corner (c2c) method. If you haven’t tried c2c yet don’t worry. I’ve provided links to tutorials below and have also made a video that will walk you though how to complete part one.
How To Corner To Corner Crochet
Changing Color in Corner To Corner Crochet
Abbreviations:
ch- chain
st(s)- stitch(es)
sl st- slip stitch
dc- double crochet
Gauge:
6 tiles X 6 tiles = 5” square in corner to corner stitches
Size:
Finished size is approx. 60” X 60”
Notes:
1.Pattern is worked using corner to corner method.
2.Throw is worked in four separate squares that are then seamed together.
3.You will increase or decrease at the beginning of each row.
4. Graph is read starting in the bottom right hand corner. All odd rows are read left to right and even rows are read right to left.
Pattern:
Working in corner to corner(c2c) follow the graph or the written instructions below.
You will be increasing at the beginning of each row. Change color at the end of the row before the last dc st is worked. Each row will increase by one tile.
(D)=Dark Colored Yarn, (L)= Light Colored Yarn
Row 1: work one tile using (L). (1)
Rows 2-3: increase, work all tiles in (D). (2)(3)
Row 4: increase, work all tiles in (L). (4)
Rows 7-25: repeat rows 2-4.
You will end on an (L) colored row and will have 25 total tiles in that row.
Place a stitch marker in the loop of your last st.
Repeat three more times so you have four pieces total.
White squares = light colored yarn Grey squares = dark colored yarn
Part Two:
Welcome to the second week of The Madigan Mystery CAL! This week will be super easy. We will be continuing our increases for another eleven rows using the same light/dark color repeat as before. Again each row will be increasing by one tile. Find the written instructions and the updated graph below.
Rows 26-36: repeat Rows 2-4 ending on a Row 3 repeat. (36)
Place a stitch marker in the loop of your last st.
Repeat Rows 26-36 on remaining three pieces.
As a special note, make sure that you do not fasten off at the end of Row 36. Try to keep your yarn attached or at least keep a long tail on the end because we will be needing to use a bit of it for Part Three.
Part Three:
Welcome to Part Three! This week we will be starting our decrease rows to turn our triangles into squares. If this is your first time doing corner to corner crochet, don’t worry, I’ve made a detailed video tutorial to show you exactly how to decrease at the beginning of each row. You can find the video below.
You will now begin decreasing at the beginning of every row. Change color during the 3rd sl st after turning your work. Each row will decrease by one tile.
Row 37: decrease, work all tiles in (L) for 35 tiles. (35)
Rows 38-39: decrease, work all tiles in (D). (34)(33)
Row 40: decrease, work all tiles in (L). (32)
Rows 41-46: repeat Rows 38-40.
You will have 26 tiles at the end of Row 46.
Place a stitch marker in the loop of your last st.
Repeat Rows 37-46 on remaining three pieces.
Part Four:
Welcome to Part Four! I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that we will be finishing our squares up this week. We are so close to being done! This week we will continue to decrease at the beginning of each row until we only have one left.
Rows 47-71: Repeat Rows 38-40, ending on a Row 38 repeat.
You will have 1 tile at the end of Row 71.
Fasten off.
Repeat Rows 47-71 on remaining three pieces.
Part Five:
Can you believe we have reached the end of our CAL? It’s always bittersweet when these things come to a close, but I’m itching to see some of your finished Madigans! This week we will be weaving in all those pesky ends (if you haven’t already done that) and then using an (almost) invisible seaming technique to join all four of our squares together. Get ready to create a colorful snugly masterpiece!
Weave in all ends.
Using a neutral colored yarn, seam four panels together as shown below. Start in the center corners and sew sides together making sure to only go through the edges of each panel, zig-zagging between both panels. Make sure to line up rows to create a diamond shape.
Make sure to check out the video tutorial for part five below. I walk you through exactly how I like to weave in my ends when doing c2c and how to create the invisible seam.
Now go enjoy our brand new Madigan and celebrate using up a bunch of your stash yarns! Make sure to share your progress with me on social media by tagging me @meghanmakesdo and using #themadigan or #madiganmysterycal.
Happy Crocheting!
Meghan
