Sunny Day Rooster Afghan Square

Rooster in Cross-Stitch on a Crocheted Square
Designed by Sandi Marshall


This square is made using my free charted rooster design. Following are instructions for crocheting a background square on which to do the cross-stitch, along with the pattern for the crocheted sun to add to the corner of the finished square.

This is a copyrighted pattern. Please keep my terms of use statement with the pattern directions when you print it or save it in any form.

Materials: In the example, for an 8 inch square, I used worsted weight yarn and a US size H crochet hook. If you want a smaller square, you could substitute sport weight yarn with a US size G hook.

Colors that I used in the example (substitute any colors of your choice) - Color A: white, Color B: medium yellow, Cross-Stitch colors (using the same weight of yarn as used to crochet the square): small amounts of red, orange, purple, teal, navy blue

Before beginning to crochet the square, decide if you want to use the chart to crochet part of the rooster design with color changes while crocheting the square or if you want to make a plain square and then cross-stitch all of the rooster on the square. Either way works fine. In the example on the left, I've shown just the body color of the rooster crocheted into the square (reading the chart as one square on the chart equals one single crochet stitch). In the finished example that I've shown, I added the other colors in cross-stitch because I have found that places where there is only one crocheted stitch of a color by itself, it doesn't show up well when made with color changes within a row. If you do decide to try adding all the colors while crocheting the square, you could always opt to add cross-stitch later over any of the color portions that you decide don't show up well enough.

If you are not familiar with cross-stitch on crochet, this tutorial may help: How to Cross-Stitch on Single Crochet

This crocheted square is as wide as the rooster chart but has additional rows beyond the rows shown on the rooster chart.

Starting Chain: With color A, chain 21.

Row 1: sc in back loop of 2nd ch from hook, sc in back loop of ea ch across (remaining loops of the starting chain will be used in the outside round).

Rows 2 - 25: ch 1, to turn, sc in ea sc across. (20 sc)

Begin Outside Three-Fourths Round: ch 1, then working down the side of the square, sc around the sc on the edge of each row. When you reach the end of this side, ch 2 for a corner, then sc in the remaining loop of each chain across the next side, ch 2 for next corner, then sc around the sc on the end of each row along the next side, ch 2 for corner, then slip stitch in the first sc on top edge. This round is actually a partial round, going along only three sides of the square. End off.

Outside Round 2: Attach a contrasting color (color B) to the first sc on the right-hand side of the top edge. ch 1, to start, sc in same sc where yarn was attached. sc in ea sc along top edge, then (sc, ch 2, sc) in the ch-2 corner, * sc in ea sc along next side until you come to the next corner, (sc, ch 2, sc) in the ch-2 corner **, repeat the directions between * and ** two more times, then slip stitch in the first sc of this round. End off.

Outside Round 3: Attach color A to the first sc on the right-hand side of the top, sc in first sc, sc in ea sc across until you reach the corner, (sc, ch 3, dc) in ch-2 corner (as shown in the photo on the left), then, working along the next side: dc in ea of next 2 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, * dc in ea of next 3 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** 3 more times, then dc in ea of next 2 sc, (dc, ch 3, sc) in next ch-2 corner, then sc in ea sc along the next side, until you reach the next corner space, (sc, ch 3, dc) in the ch-2 corner space, then working along the next side: dc in ea of next 2 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, * dc in ea of next 3 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc **, repeat the directions between * and ** 3 more times, then dc in ea of next 2 sc, (dc, ch 3, sc) in next ch-2 corner. End with a slip stitch in the first sc of this round.

Outside Round 4: ch 1, sc in first sc, sc in ea sc across top edge, make 2 sc in the ch-3 of the corner that was made in round 3, ch 2 to make a corner for this round, then working along the next side, * sc in ea of next 3 dc, 2 sc in ch-2 sp **, repeat the directions between * and ** 4 more times, then sc in ea of next 3 dc, ch 2 for corner for this round, 2 sc in the ch-3 of the corner of round 3, sc in ea sc across next side, make 2 sc in the ch-3 of the corner of round 3, ch 2 for corner for this round, then working along the next side, * sc in ea of next 3 dc, 2 sc in ch-2 sp **, repeat the directions between * and ** 4 more times, then sc in ea of next 3 dc, ch 2 for corner for this round, 2 sc in ch-3 of last corner of round 3, slip stitch in the first sc of this round.

End off, leaving a strand for weaving in. Weave in ends.

Crocheted Sun: Using color B, (same color as used in Outside Round 2) or use a sun color of your choice, ch 4, make 3 dc in 4th ch from hook.

Sun Row 2: ch 3, make a dc in the first dc, make 2 dc in ea of next 3 dc.

End off, leaving a strand about 15 inches long to use for sewing the sun to the square and for making the sun rays with straight embroidery stitches.

Thread the strand on a large-eye sewing needle. Line the sun up with the inside edges on the upper left-hand corner of the Color B round (Outside Round 2). Sew the top and left-hand side of the sun on first, by inserting the needle (from the right side of the sun through to the back of the square), catching part of a stitch on the sun edge. Next move the needle over a little to go back up through the back of the square in a spot that will line up with the next stitch to be sewn down on the edge of the sun. Continue in this manner until the two sides are sewn to the square. When going along the next (rounded) edge of the sun, sew through only the back loop of each dc so that there will be a little ridge left by the front loop of each dc and this edge of the sun will be raised out a little bit from the square, giving it a little dimension. Continue with the sun rays, made with simple straight lines. My close look photo can give you an idea how these can be made but you might decide to do your sun rays in a different arrangement.

Cross-Stitch of the Rooster Portion: Using a large-eye yarn needle and yarn of the same weight that you used to crochet the square, add cross-stitch to the crocheted square by following the chart symbols for color placement. When finished, you might opt to add an outline in back stitch to define the edges of the rooster shape (on this pattern page, I've shown photos with and without the outline added, so you can see which look you like best).

This is a copyrighted pattern, created by Sandi Marshall, September 2008. You can help me to be able to continue designing new patterns by honoring copyright law regarding my patterns. In other words, do not republish my chart or images on another web page, blog or elsewhere. Do not distribute reproduced copies of this pattern, even for free. Instead, you may give others the URL for this page so that they may come to this site for themselves. I appreciate that very much.

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