How C2C works
Instead of rows from side to side, C2C grows diagonally from one corner. The first row is a single block, the second row two blocks, the third three, and so on: each diagonal gets one block longer until the blanket reaches its full width, then one block shorter until it finishes at the opposite corner. On a graph, each square is one block and each diagonal row is a line of squares running from corner to corner.
The first blocks (US terms)
- Block 1: chain 6. Double crochet in the 4th chain from the hook and in the next 2 chains. You now have one block: a little tile of 3 dc with a chain-3 space at its top.
- Row 2: chain 6, dc in the 4th chain from the hook and the next 2 chains (a new block). Turn the first block so its chain-3 space faces you, and slip stitch into that space. Chain 3, then work 3 dc into the same space. That is two blocks.
- Every new row while increasing: chain 6 and make a new block at the start, then work along the diagonal: slip stitch into the next chain-3 space, chain 3, 3 dc in the space.
Your first square, step by step
The quickest way to learn C2C is a 3 × 3 practice square: nine blocks in five rows, about 7.5 cm (3 in) across in worsted yarn. Three rows increase to the full width, then two rows decrease back to a corner. Once it makes sense at this size, a blanket is the same moves repeated.
- Row 1 · increase Chain 6, 3 dc starting in the 4th chain from the hook: 1 block.
- Row 2 · increase Chain 6 and make a new block, then slip stitch into the chain-3 space of block 1, chain 3, 3 dc: 2 blocks.
- Row 3 · increase Chain 6 for a new block, then one block in each chain-3 space along the row: 3 blocks. The square is now full width.
- Row 4 · decrease Turn, slip stitch across the 3 dc of the last block and into its chain-3 space, then work blocks along the row, leaving the last space empty: 2 blocks.
- Row 5 · decrease Decrease the same way at both ends: 1 block, in the top-left corner. Fasten off.
Count the blocks at the end of every row: 1, 2, 3, 2, 1. If a row has one too many, you added a block on an edge that should have decreased; if it has one too few, you skipped a chain-3 space. Frog back to the start of that row, which in C2C is never more than a few blocks.
Increasing and decreasing
- Increase (the blanket grows): start each row with chain 6 to add a new block on the edge, as above.
- Decrease (the blanket shrinks): at the start of the row, slip stitch across the top of the last block’s 3 dc and into its chain-3 space, chain 3, 3 dc, and carry on. No new block is added at that edge. At the end of the row, do not add a block in the last space.
For a square, increase on both edges until the diagonal reaches the side length, then decrease on both. For a rectangle, see the FAQ: you change between increasing and decreasing on one edge at the short side.
Changing colours
Change colour on the last yarn-over of the block before the new colour: work the final double crochet until two loops remain, drop the old colour, and pull the new colour through. Keep the old colour on a bobbin at the back if it is used again later in the same row; otherwise cut it with a 15 cm tail to weave in later.
Some crocheters carry the unused colour inside the blocks to avoid ends. It saves weaving but can show through light colours, so test it on a swatch first.
Reading the graph
Most graphs start at the bottom right corner. Row 1 is the corner square, row 2 is the next diagonal, and the direction alternates every row. Written rows list the colours along each diagonal, for example Row 12: 3 blue, 5 white, 4 blue. The C2C graph guide covers reading charts in detail.
Size and yarn
| Yarn | Hook | Approximate block |
|---|---|---|
| DK | 4 mm | about 2 cm |
| Worsted / aran | 5 mm | about 2.5 cm (1 in) |
| Chunky | 6.5 mm | about 3.5 cm |
The worsted figure matches published patterns: Square One Crochet Designs gives a gauge of four blocks to about 3.75–4 inches on a 5 mm hook. The DK and chunky figures are rough starting points; tension varies a lot between crocheters.
Multiply your block size by the graph’s width and height for the finished size. Make a swatch of 10 diagonal rows and weigh it: this tells you how much yarn each block uses, so you can turn the block counts in a pattern into a shopping list.
Finishing
Weave in all ends securely along the diagonals, block the blanket lightly to square it, and add a border of single crochet or crab stitch. The C2C pattern library has graphs with written rows to start with, and any picture can become a graph in the C2C pattern maker.