August Afghan

August Afghan by Lisa van Klaveren

What is Being Made

The August Afghan is a crochet lapghan measuring 36 inches by 48 inches, designed as a finished blanket project suitable for draping over a lap or chair. This intermediate-level pattern creates a textured throw blanket that combines visual interest with functional warmth.

Design and Texture Features

The August Afghan showcases a sophisticated construction method built on rows of varied textures separated by repetitive rows of knit-look ribbing. The design is described as super fun to stitch, incorporating a unique combination of post stitches that create distinctive horseshoe-like cabled rows throughout the blanket. This alternating pattern of textured sections and ribbed rows provides both visual appeal and structural definition to the finished piece.

Crochet Techniques and Special Stitches

This pattern employs several specialized crochet techniques to achieve its textured appearance:

• Twist Stitch: A unique post stitch combination that skips 2 double crochets, then works back post double crochets around the posts of the 3rd and 4th stitches, followed by front post double crochets around the posts of the 1st and 2nd skipped stitches, creating the characteristic horseshoe-like cable effect
• Reverse Twist Stitch: A variation of the twist stitch that incorporates front post double crochets in a different sequence, requiring the crocheter to turn their work to access the back posts and then return to the front, adding dimensional interest to the cable rows
• Knit-Look Rib Stitch: A specialized stitch that mimics the appearance of knitted ribbing by inserting the hook in the same space at the base of the last stitch worked, pulling up loops, and drawing through all loops on the hook to create a ribbed texture
• 3dc-Cluster: A cluster stitch variation used within the pattern construction

Materials and Yarn Requirements

The August Afghan requires approximately 1500 yards of DK or light worsted weight yarn in a color of your choice. The pattern is worked with a size H (5.0 mm) crochet hook. The DK weight yarn combined with the intermediate-level post stitch techniques creates a fabric with excellent drape and definition in the textured rows.

Skill Level

This pattern is rated as intermediate difficulty, making it suitable for crocheters who have mastered basic stitches and are ready to work with post stitches and more complex stitch combinations. The repetitive nature of the rows, combined with the specialized twist and reverse twist stitches, provides a manageable learning curve for advancing crocheters.