Crochet Pattern
Prism Block Afghan


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Materials
2 skeins each: Red Heart Super Saver, Coffee, Café Latte, Buff Chamois, and Aran.
Boye Crochet hook J/10.
Note: There is no sewing in this afghan, but there will be a lot of ends to weave.

Pattern Center section
With Coffee, Ch 7. DC in 4th ch from hook and in next 3 ch. (block made)
*Ch 3. 4 DC around post of last DC.* Repeat from * to * one more time. Ch 3, 3 DC around post of last DC. Join with a SlSt to 1st top chain of first block (to make a square).
Ch 6. Turn. Dc in 4th ch from hook and in next 2 ch. *SlSt into Ch 3 space at left-side end of block below the block just made. Ch 3, 4 DC in ch3 space (same space as SlSt). Ch 3, 3 DC around post of last DC made.* Repeat from * to * x2. SlSt into ch 3 space at end of previous row. Ch 3, 3 DC in ch 3 space. Join with a SlSt to top 1st chain of first block. Cut yarn. The piece should resemble somewhat of a fat cross.
Note:
The 2 blocks around each end (or side) of the inner square should be thought of as corners. As the afghan grows (see afghan sample image above), the corners alone will have these 2 blocks, and the corners are the only place where you will be working around a post as you turn the corner.

Also of importance is to note that, looking at the top 2 blocks (of the cross), the block with the Ch 3 space at the top should be on the right side, while the block with the Ch 3 space along its left side should be on the left side. This should be true for each new row you crochet, and helps to determine which side to start working from. The afghan is turned at the end of each go around, but if you are changing colors and cut and weave the yarn, you may get confused as to which way to turn the work to start a new row. Just look at the top chains of any corner.

Afghan Pattern continued: (This pattern works 2 rows of each color)
Round 3: Attach Café Latte color to Ch 3 space of the top left corner (side). Ch 3, 3 DC in Ch 3 space. SlSt in ch 3 space of top right corner of next side. Ch 3, 4 DC in ch 3 space (from here out, only the top right block of each corner will have 4 DC, while all others will have only 3. This is the place where you will crochet around the post of the 4th DC as you turn the corner.)
Ch 3, 3 DC around post of 4th DC. SlSt into ch3 space at end of block in previous row. This is another corner. Ch 3, 4 DC in ch3 space. Ch 3, 3 DC around post of 4th DC just made. Repeat in pattern around, ending with a slst to same ch 3 space as the starting block. Ch 1 turn.
Round 4: Slst in back loop of 1st 3 DC along side of right corner block. Slst into ch 3 space at top. Ch 3. Work a Corner (4 DC in ch 3 space, ch 3, 3 DC around post of 4th DC. SlSt into Ch 3 space at end of next block in previous row. Work in pattern around, ending with a SlSt in last ch 3 (same space where 1st block of row was made), Cut yarn. When changing color, you can begin at any top left corner of right side of work

Rounds 5-8: Working 2 rows of each color, follow rounds 3 and 4 with Buff Chamois and Aran.
Round 9: Work one row of coffee.

Finishing Row: (Squares off corners and edges)

With coffee, at end of row 9, ch 1, turn (as usual). Slst across first 3 DC and into Ch3 space, *SC, HDC, DC, TC in ch 3 space*. Repeat from * to * along the side to the corner (end block).

At the corner, work a SC, HDC, DC, TC in final ch 3 space. Ch 1, work a SC, HDC, DC, TC around the post of the TC in the last block. Corner should appear squared off. Continue working around the afghan, ending with a SlSt into the 1st sc made.
Sides: This section is done somewhat free style, without any need to calculate stitches. Continuing to work with coffee, fold one side of square in half and insert hook into center point along the edge. Attach yarn here. With right side of work facing you, chain 3, remove hook from chain. Insert hook in 3rd space to the right of the space where yarn was attached. Grab the chain with the hook, and pull it through that space. Ch 3, 4 DC around Ch 3 space along the edge. Ch 3, 3 DC around post of 4th DC just made. SlSt into 3rd space to the left of center space. Ch 3, SlSt into 3rd space from last SlS along the edge. Ch 3, turn. 3 DC around Ch 3 space along the edge. SlSt into Ch 3 space oat top of next block. Ch 3, 4 DC around Ch 3 space. Ch 3, 3 DC around post of 4th DC just made. SlSt into Ch 3 space of next block. Ch 3, 3 DC around Ch3 space. SlSt into 3rd space from last block along the edge. Before cutting yarn, fold side in half again and check to see that the free sections of that side are still even, and the triangle along the side is centered. Cut yarn.

Repeat Side section on other 3 sides with the coffee color.
Side Rounds 3-8: With right side facing you, attach next color to the Ch3 space of the block furthest to the right along the side edge. Ch 3, remove chain from hook. Insert hook in 3rd space to the right of the block and pick up the chain and pull it through. Ch 4, 3 DC around Ch3 space, SlSt into Ch 3 Space at top of first block. Ch 3, 3 DC around Ch 3 space, SlSt into top corner. Work a corner block, continuing in pattern down the other side., ending by skipping 2 spaces along the edge and SlSt into next space. Ch 3, SlSt into 3rd space to the left along the edge. Ch 3, turn, Work another row in pattern, folding piece to check centering before cutting yarn.

At this point, you can see that there are 2 more colors to complete the side. This will require 12 spaces along the edge to fit them (3 spaces for each of 2 rows of 2 colors, 3x4=12). You can judge where the Slip stitches should fall along the side. The very last slip stitch of the last color should fall in to the corner stitch on all four sides. When completed, it should appear as a perfect square, with the corners of the prior square, now at the center, and the peaks of the side angles, now the corner blocks of the new square.
Foundation row for next prism level: Work in pattern around the square for 2 rows of coffee and 1 finishing row to flatten the edges as before.
Next Prism Level: As before, fold the edge in half and insert hook into center space. Follow instructions as with prior (Sides), except for this section will be worked with 3 rows of each color, starting and ending with coffee.
Rectangular Shape: This is optional. If you want to make the afghan rectangular shaped, lay the afghan down so that it is diamond shaped. Look at the top 2 sides. Her you can add 2 rows of each color, by decreasing at the sides (so that it no longer gets wider) and increasing at the top (by putting in more corners at the top. Then repeat the process with the bottom 2 sides of the diamond shape, decreasing at the sides and increasing at the bottom corner. Look at the image in full view and focus on the bottom. See where the prism sections end with coffee. Then there are 2 rows of each color, ending again with coffee, with are increasing in length but not in width.
Finishing Rows: Fill in the sides with alternating colors of 2 rows each, decreasing at both the top (or bottom) as well as the sides, until there are no more blocks to be made.