It was exactly 1 year ago today that I published my first ever crochet pattern – Fan Dance, a 12 inch afghan block. I had no idea what I was in for or the obsession that was about to ensue. Twenty five afghan block patterns later and several more on the way, the obsession has not let up. But Fan Dance is where it all started.
To honor the occasion I decided to give the pattern a little makeover. Don’t worry though, I didn’t change the pattern at all, I just cleaned up the writing a smidge and redesigned the printable PDF. The big thing I did you’ll find below – round by round photos with quick-glance instructions. My hope is that those of you that have made this pattern before and are familiar with it can use the photos and their summarized instructions to more efficiently breeze through. In fact, even if you’ve never made the pattern before, some of the rounds you may be able to make from the photos alone.
You can download your free PDF copy of the pattern here or on Ravelry.com.
This past year of designing and sharing my creations with the world has been one of the very best times of my life. I thank you all so much for the support, the encouragement and kind words, and for making my patterns. Now, without further ado, I give you…
Fan Dance
by Polly Plum
Crochet Terms: American
Skill Level: Advanced beginner to Intermediate
Finished Size: 12 Inches or 9 inches (click here for 9 inch variant)
Gauge: First 3 rounds almost 4 inches
Materials: Worsted weight yarn, crochet hook size I/5.5mm, yarn needle
This pattern is free for personal use only. Please see my Copyright page for more details on what that means.
Designer’s Notes
I didn’t change much in the written pattern. I updated some wording and grammar to my newer standards, but I left most of the pattern as it was. It’s been made so many times I didn’t want to take away what everyone is familiar with, just to smooth it over and polish it a bit.
Abbreviations
ch – chain
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
r(#) – round number
sc – single crochet
sk – skip
slst – slip stitch
sp – space
st- stitch
tr – treble crochet
yo – yarn over
Special Stitches
bpsc/bpdc/bptr – like normal sc, dc, or tr, but instead of inserting hook at the top of indicated stitch, insert it from back to front around the post
of stitch
Standing sc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, insert hook into indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through two loops on hook
Standing bpsc – to start a round, with slip knot on hook, insert hook from back to front around post of indicated stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through two loops on hook
V Stitch – dc, ch1, dc
Puff – (yo, insert hook into indicated sp and pull up a loop) 4 times, yo and pull through all 9 loops on hook, ch1 (Note: the ch1 at the end of the puff creates the “eye” of the puff and does not count towards any additional chs that may come after the puff stitch.)
bptr-V – (back post treble V stitch) bptr, ch1, bptr
Commence Pattern
Begin with double magic circle (or use chain loop if you prefer).
Round 1: ch3 (counts as first dc here and throughout), 11 dc into magic circle. Close magic circle. Slst to first dc to join.
12 dc
Round 2: With same yarn ch3, or with new yarn standing dc in any dc. Dc in same st. (2dc in next dc) 11 times. Slst to first dc to join.
24 dc
Note: You’ll only be working in every other space between stitches this round, not into the stitches themselves.
Round 3: With same yarn slst into next dc and then slst into space between that dc and the next dc and ch3, or with new yarn standing dc in the space between any group of 2dc. Ch1, dc in same space (counts as first V). Ch1. (Sk next 2 dc, V in space between dc, ch1) 11 times. Slst to first dc to join. Fasten off.
12 V stitches, 12 ch1 sp
Note: In this round you’ll be working only into the ch1 spaces so just plan on skipping all the dcs, I’m not going to tell you to.
Round 4: With new yarn standing sc in any ch1 space between V stitches of r3, *ch1, puff stitch in ch1 space of V stitch, ch1, sc in next ch1 space,* repeat from * to * 10 times more, ch1, puff stitch in ch1 space of next V stitch, ch1. Slst to fi rst sc. Do not fasten off.
12 sc, 12 puff stitches, 24 ch1 spaces
Note: In this round you’ll be skipping all the ch1 spaces from the last round.
Round 5: Ch1, sc in same sc as connecting slst from r4. (5 dc in eye of next puff stitch, sc in next sc) 11 times. 5 dc in eye of last puff stitch. Slst to first sc to join, fasten off.
60 dc, 12 sc
Round 6: With new yarn standing bpsc in second dc of any group of 5dc. Bpsc in next two dc. *^Ch1, sk next dc, puff stitch in next sc, ch 1, sk next dc,^ bpsc in next 3 dc.* Repeat from * to * 10 times and from ^ to ^ once. Slst to first bpsc to join. Do not fasten off.
36 bpsc, 24 ch1 spaces, 12 puff stitches
Note: You may notice your work tends to ruffle after round 6 and will continue to ruffle for the next few rounds, but it should work itself out by the end.
Note: Skipping ch1 spaces again.
Round 7: Ch1, sc in same bpsc as connecting slst from r6, sc in next two bpsc. (5dc in eye of next puff stitch, sc in next three bpsc) 11 times. 5dc in eye of last puff stitch. Slst to first sc to join, and fasten off.
60 dc, 36sc
Round 8: With new yarn standing bpsc in second dc of any 5dc group, bpsc in next two dc. *^Sk next dc and sc, {(tr, ch1) 4 times, tr} in next sc, [sk next sc and dc, bpsc in next 3 dc, ch1, sk next dc and sc, V stitch in next sc, ch1] twice,^ sk next sc and dc, bpsc in next 3 dc,* repeat from * to * 2 times and from ^ to ^ once. Slst to first bpsc to join and fasten off.
20 tr, 8 V stitches, 36 bpsc, 32 ch1 sp
Round 9: With new yarn standing sc in next sc after slst join of r8 (middle sc of three sc group before 5tr corner), ch1, sk next sc. *^(Bptr-V around next tr, ch1) 5 times, [sk next sc, sc in next sc (middle of the three), ch1, sk next sc and dc, 5dc in ch1 space of V stitch, ch1, sk next dc] twice,^ sk next sc, sc in next sc, ch1,* repeat from * to * two times and from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first sc to join and fasten off.
20 bptr-V stitches, 40 dc, 12 sc, 40 ch1 sp
Round 10: With new yarn standing dc in same sc as joining sc from r9, (ch1, dc) in same stitch (counts as first V). *^Working around bptr of bptr-V stitches of r9 {[bpdc, ch1] 3 times, [bptr, ch1] twice, ch2, [bptr, ch1] twice, [bpdc, ch1] twice, bpdc}, [V stitch in next sc, sk next dc, bpdc in next three dc, sk next dc] twice,^ V stitch in next sc.* Repeat from * to * two times and then from ^ to ^ once more. Slst to first sc to join.
16 bptr, 48 bpdc, 12 V stitches, 4 ch2 sp, 32 ch1 sp
Click here for Lefties version of Round 10 photo tutorial
Round 11: With same yarn ch2 (counts as first hdc), or with new yarn standing hdc in joining st. Hdc in each stitches and ch1 space to corner (11 hdc in all), *work (hdc, ch2, hdc) in ch3 corner space, hdc in next 33 stitches and ch1 spaces,* repeat from * to * two times more, hdc in last 21 stitches and ch1 spaces. Slst to first hdc to join.
140 hdc, 4 ch2 spaces
Round 12: With same yarn ch3, or with new yarn standing dc in joining st. [Dc in each st across to corner, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in corner ch2 sp, skip first st on next side] 4 times. Dc in each remaining st to first st. Slst to first dc to join. Fasten off.
152 dc (38 per side), 4 ch2 sp
Pattern hacks to get 40 st per side: I didn’t set the standard of writing my patterns for specific stitch counts for a few months after I published Fan Dance, so it doesn’t adhere to my 40 stitches per 12 inch side rule. But it’s pretty simple to get it there. In this pattern reboot I left every stitch the same except I made one little change in Round 12 that I figured most people wouldn’t notice, but I felt was important. I added 2 stitches to the corners and skipped the first hdc on each side. Hdcs are perfect for skipping the first stitch because of the way they are shaped. I find it’s actually easier to let that first one blend in than to work into it. So in this reboot it’s been skipped and with the additional two stitches you’re at 38 per side. Chances are (because it worked out this way for most people) your Fan Dance square is shy of 12 inches. If so, add a round of sc with (sc, ch2, sc) in the corners. If you’re square isn’t short on size you’ll want to go back to round 11 and make the round of hdc with (2hdc, ch2, 2hdc) in the corners and work round 12 as written. Either of these methods will get you 40 stitches per side.
Well, that is that. I hope you still love this pattern a year later and the updates it’s received.
