Settlers of Catan 'ghan! With Free Pattern

Was it the sheep that gave it away?

Congratulations to Katherine, Shoveling Ferret, Deeners and Kicki for correctly guessing the large collection of hexagons I was making were for a Settlers of Catan afghan.

This is an idea that's been spinning around in the back of my mind since last summer. It took me a while to work out a suitable hexagon motif. I originally made all the brick squares with a hexagon that had more airy space in it. After looking at them for a couple of months I decided I didn't like them. I pulled them apart and settled on this more tightly crocheted hexagon which makes me much happier. A permanent price reduction in Vanna's Choice yarn from $5.99 down to $3.99 also helped the project along.



At it's widest point the blanket is about 37 inches across making it a bit small for an afghan. Maybe more like a lapghan? It would be easy to make it bigger just by extending the hexagon motif a few more rounds though. I also think it would make an awesome baby gift for Catan-loving parents-to-be, but with the Vanna's Choice it's fairly heavy. Perhaps it could be made in a sport weight yarn for that purpose instead?

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have some sort of sheep roaming around on the light green squares. It took me a while to figure out how I was going to do that. I totally adore these sheep buttons from the Button Drawer.


Unfortunately, these cute little guys are $2.45 a piece. Thriftyness won out and I picked up six pre-cut, painted wooden sheep from Micheal's for 39 cents each. Then I bought broach fasteners and glued them to the backs of the sheep. This way my little flock is both moveable and removeable when it comes time to wash the afghan.



I wasn't sure how I should lay out my Catan map. We normally play with the Cities and Knights expansion, but I didn't want to have the single hexagon sticking up at the top that represents the pirates. Instead, I just used the map suggested in the instruction book from the original game.



Finally, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, check out Settlers of Catan. I learned to play a couple of years ago when my boyfriend's brother gave us a copy of the game. It's a lot of fun and very easy to learn. In some ways it's similar to Monopoly, except you don't have to spend time counting and giving away money. The real game doesn't come with plastic sheep, just cards with pictures of sheep on them, and yet it's still awesome.

Want the Pattern?

It's free, and it's right here! I love to see what others make with my patterns. If you complete a blanket, post a comment and give me a link to a picture of your finished version. If you have any questions about the pattern, post them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

Settlers of Catan Afghan Pattern

Materials

size I/9 (5.5 mm) crochet hook
stitch marker
yarn needle
1 skein of Vanna’s Choice yarn in White, Black, Brick, Mustard, Charcoal Grey, Mustard, Dusty Green and Olive
3 skeins of Vanna’s Choice yarn in Colonial Blue
wooden sheep and 3/4 inch broach fasteners or sheep buttons

Hexagon Motif

Use the following motif and refer to diagram and pictures above to create the required number of hexagons in each colour.

6 sc in a magic ring (pull ring tight or leave a small hole if desired), slip stitch into first stitch, ch 1.
Rnd 1: 2 sc in same space as sl st. 2 sc in each st around, sl st in top of first sc, ch 1. (12 sc)
Rnd 2: in same space as sl st: sc1, ch1, sc1. *sc 1 in next sc, (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in next sc. Rep from * to last sc. Sc 1 in last sc. Join with sl st to top of first sc.
Rnd 3: sl st into next ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in same sp as sl st. *sc 1 in each of next 3 sc. (sc 1, ch1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 3 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 4: ch1. Sc 1 in same sp as sl st. *Ch1. Miss next ch-1 sp. 1 sc in each of next 5 sc. Rep from * to last 4 sc. 1 sc in each of last 4 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 5: Sl st in next sc and ch-1 sp. Ch1. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *sc 1 in each of next 5 sc. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 5 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 6: Ch 1. Sc 1 in same sp as sl st. *Ch 1. Miss next ch-1 sp. Sc 1 in each of next 7 sc. Rep from * to last 6 sc. Sc 1 in each of last 6 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 7: Sl st in next sc and ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *Sc 1 in each of next 7 sc. (Sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 sp. Rep from * to last 6 sc. Sc 1 in each of last 7 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc.
Rnd 8: Sl st in next ch-1 sp. Ch 1. (Sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in same sp as sl st. *1 sc in each of next 9 sc. (sc 1, ch 1, sc 1) in next ch-1 space. Rep from * to last 8 sc. 1 sc in each of last 8 sc. Join with sl st in top of first sc. Finish off.

Note: For two colour hexagons begin the pattern with the centre colour and then for Rnd 2 work as follows:

Rnd 2: in same space as sl st: sc1, ch1, sc1. *sc 1 in next sc, (sc 1, ch1, sc1) in next sc. Rep from * to last sc. Sc 1 in last sc. Join outer colour with sl st to top of first sc.

Continue working rnds 3-8 in outer colour.

Assembly

Sew hexagon motifs together as shown in the map and photos above. My prefered method of joining is the Invisible Weave or Mattress stitch. It’s described really well on page 80 of Debbie Stoller’s The Happy Hooker or you can have glance at this tutorial if you’re interested, although I found the worded description here isn’t quite as clear.

After your hexagons are all sewn together weave in any loose ends. Then I did the following border on my piece:

Border



With Colonial Blue, join with a sl st in any inward corner point.
Rnd 1: Ch 2 and half-double crochet (hdc) in each sc around, placing 3 hdc in every outword corner point sc. Join in top of beginning ch-2 with black.
Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each hdc around, placing 3 sc in middle hdc of each outward point, ending with a sl st in top of first sc. Finish off and weave in ends.

Sew sheep buttons on Dusty Green hexagons, or glue wooden sheep to 3/4 inch broach fasteners and attach to Dustry green hexagons as desired.

Enjoy!