Shapeshifter Square Crochet Pattern

A triangle, a circle, and then a square. Constantly shifting shapes make this a fun and exciting square to crochet! With lots of post stitches for texture, this square crochet pattern looks great in one color or many.

Moogly Afghan CAL

I designed this crochet blanket square for the Moogly 2023 afghan CAL. Are you crocheting along? It’s still early in the year so there’s plenty of time to catch up! See the main post for the full schedule and links to all the squares.

Take a look at the block 12 post to see how Moogly’s version of this crochet square pattern turned out.

Red Heart With Love Yarn

Yarnspirations was kind enough to send me the Caron One Pound yarn for free for this design. With so many shades of each color to choose from, I went with a cool, tonal palette. I chose 10546 Midnight Blue, 10611 Ocean, 10523 Azure, and 10616 Soft Gray Mix.

Color Changes

This square crochet pattern has 4 separate sections: triangle, circle, square, and border. For my multi-colored square, I used a different color in each section. It looks equally good in just one color, and would look great with more colors as well.

Starting Your Square

The first shape in this square is a triangle, but at the heart of that triangle is a starting circle. There are a few different ways to make a starting circle in crochet. You can work into one chain, make a circle of chains, or use a magic circle. Check out these three options in this 3 Ways to Start a Crochet Circle tutorial.

This square crochet pattern starts with a magic circle, but feel free to substitute whichever option you prefer.

Adjusting the Size

Sometimes our gauge can vary a bit as we crochet, leaving you with a square that’s slightly larger or smaller than you wanted.

To make your square smaller, you can skip the last round (or even the last 2 rounds) of the border.

To make your square larger, you have a few options:

1. Work rnd 14 of the border in hdc instead of sc.
2. Repeat rnd 14 of the border as needed.
3. Repeat rnds 13 & 14 of the border as needed.

Full Video Tutorial!

Need more help? See the full video tutorial for this pattern!

Shapeshifter Square

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Materials

• Yarn: Caron One Pound – 100% acrylic, worsted weight yarn (812 yds / 454g per skein) – 175 yds total.* Shown in:
  • #10546 Midnight Blue
  • #10611 Ocean
  • #10523 Azure
  • #10616 Soft Gray Mix
• Hook: Size J / 6 mm hook or size needed to match gauge
• Notions: Tapestry Needle

*10 yds for Triangle, 25 yds for Circle, 75 yds for Square, 65 yds for Border.

Project Level

Intermediate: Front post stitches, working into rounds below, changing colors, working in the round.

Size

12-inch square

Gauge

11 sc x 12 rnds = 4 inches after blocking.

Use pattern as gauge swatch – after rnd 6, work should measure about 4.25 inches in diameter.

Abbreviations used

• ch = chain
• csdc = chainless starting double crochet (see Special Stitch)
• dc = double crochet
• dtr = double treble crochet
• fbdc = front post double crochet
• fptr = front post treble crochet
• hdc = half double crochet
• mc = magic circle
• rnd = round
• RS = right side
• sc = single crochet
• sc2tog = single crochet 2 stitches together
• sk = skip
• sl st = slip stitch
• sp = space
• st(s) = stich(es)
• tr = treble crochet
• WS = wrong side

Recommended Resources

• Shapeshifter Square full video tutorial
• How to Start a Crochet Circle – 3 Ways
• Post Stitches from Moogly
• Changing Colors
• Chainless Starting Double Crochet (csdc)
• Stacked Single Crochets (Lunchtime Live demo – alternative to csdc)

Special Stitch

Chainless Starting Double Crochet (csdc)

Pull working loop up to the height of a dc. Hold the loop in place, and in a counterclockwise motion, twist your hook around the loop, creating a “yarn over”. Holding both loops in place, insert your hook into the specified stitch, yo and pull up a loop.

(YO and pull through 2 loops on your hook) twice, just as you would finish a normal double crochet. Csdc counts as a dc in stitch counts at the end of rounds.

For a more detailed look, see this csdc tutorial.

If you prefer, you can replace the csdc wherever it appears with a chain 3, or with stacked single crochets.

Border

Rnd 11: Turn, sl st in first ch-1 sp, ch 1, hdc in same sp, fpdc around each st across to next ch-1 sp, [(hdc, ch 2, hdc) in next ch-1 sp, fpdc around each st across to next ch-1 sp] 3 times, hdc in beginning ch-1 sp, ch 2, join. (100 fpdc, 8 hdc, 4 ch-2 sps)

When working into sts on rnds below, work in front of any sts on the current rnd.

Rnd 12: Turn, sl st in first ch-2 sp, ch 1, sc in same sp, *sc in each of next 5 sts, dc in hdc 2 rnds below (on rnd 10), sk st on current rnd behind dc just made, sc in each of next 7 sts, dc in sc 2 rnds below, sk st on current rnd behind dc just made, sc in each of next 7 sts, dc in hdc 2 rnds below, sk st on current rnd behind dc just made, sc in each of next 5 sts**, [(sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch-2 sp, repeat from * to **] 3 times, sc in beginning ch-2 sp, ch 2, join. (104 sc, 12 dc, 4 ch-2 sps)

Rnd 13: Repeat rnd 11. (116 fpdc, 8 hdc, 4 ch-2 sps)

Rnd 14: Turn, sl st in first ch-1 sp, ch 1, sc in same sp, sc in each st across to next ch-1 sp, [(sc, ch 2, sc) in next ch-1 sp, sc in each st across to next ch-1 sp] 3 times, sc in beginning ch-1 sp, ch 2, join. (132 fpdc, 4 ch-2 sps)

Weave in all ends. Wash and block.

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I hope you enjoyed this Shapeshifter Square crochet pattern. A downloadable pdf of this pattern is available on Ravelry for a small fee. The fee for the pdf format is to offset the advertising revenue lost when you print or download the pattern rather than viewing it online.

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