A Timeless, Crocheted Afghan That’s Easy to Make
A project that I’ve been working on for some time now is the Galaxy Afghan that’s featured in Woman’s Day Crochet Showcase, an out-of-print book published in 1980.
You’re probably wondering why I would choose to crochet an afghan from such an old publication (I bought it used on Amazon), but when I saw a photo of the afghan a while back at Dora Orenstein’s website, The Crochet Insider, I absolutely loved it, partly because it reminded me of African mud cloth.
It’s one of those timeless designs that never goes out of style; plus, it’s extremely easy to crochet, involving only chain, single and double crochet stitches; crocheting in the round; and some increasing and decreasing, so I knew I had to crochet it.
The afghan consists of three panels:
- A center panel that is made up of full, half, and quarter circles and
- Two side panels crocheted horizontally in alternating rows of single and double crochet.
One end of these panels undergoes a series of increases and decreases, creating a scalloped edge that can be sewn onto the circular center panel.
My Color Palette
This is yet another afghan that I thought I could complete with my current yarn stash, but of course that wasn’t the case. Please don’t ask me how I came up with the color palette which consists of six colors. I’m sure these were the colors of the acrylic yarn I had in my stash at the time. I prefer to use acrylic yarn when crocheting afghans because I can machine wash and dry them. In this case, I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn because it’s easily available here in Hawaii.
I do remember that I decided to pair colors that I thought went well with each other and came up with these three groupings:
• Lilac and navy
• Mint green and purple
• Light blue and brown.
I also worked out a scheme of how to combine all of the colors in the multiple pieces that make up the afghan. The original pattern only uses three colors – white, brown, and black – but there is a light to dark sequence that I tried to mimic with my six colors.
I had to devise several “cheat sheets” to guide me as I crocheted the afghan to make sure I worked the sequence of colors for all the pieces correctly. I used the cheat sheet in the photo above to keep track of color changes in the side panels, as well as the increases and decreases. The “landscape” portion of the cheat sheet helps me keep track of the color changes; the “portrait portion lets me know when to increase and decrease. I don’t even have to refer to the pattern because all of the information I need to crochet the side panels is here.
This Is What Happens When Your WIP Sits for Months
I’m sure I’ve been working on this afghan for over a year, primarily because I’ve gone through spells during which I just didn’t feel like working it on it. You know how it goes. You’re excited to start a project, but about halfway through you start getting bored, especially if it takes a long time to complete. Other projects get your attention, and you end up have multiple works-in-progress (WIPs) going at the same time, and the original one languishes in your WIP pile for months.
Not working on a project for a long time creates problems. I’m facing a rather serious “gauge” problem with this afghan. Even though I wrote down the hook size I was using (an “F” hook) when I first started, I think I was actually using an “E” hook because the half of the first side panel that I crocheted recently with the F hook is a lot longer than it’s supposed to be.
Another problem that’s not related to letting the project sit for months is that I’m sure some of the stash yarn I used was recycled which means it’s “thinner” than the new yarn I had to purchase to complete the project. The new, thicker yarn creates larger stitches, so I’m going to have to frog some of the first panel and re-do it using the smaller hook and a fairly tight tension.
If I work 15 rows of the second side panel every day, I should be finished it in a couple of weeks. Re-doing about 30 rows of the first side panel should take a few days. Then it will be ready for sewing. I’ll post again when I’m at that point.
13 comments On Galaxy Crocheted Afghan – An Oldie but Goodie
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Your cheat sheet above is just what I needed to clarify my worn 1977 Woman’s Day magazine directions. I couldn’t read the 4th row of the side panel at all, but with your cheat sheet I now can figure it out. Thanks so much. You have been super helpful!!!
Wow, Kathryn, you could actually figure out that cheat sheet?!? I haven’t looked at it in so long that it looks like a foreign language now. If I ever tackle this project again, it won’t be with so many colors. Glad you found the blog post helpful!
When you assembled the circles and half circles, did you slip stitch the edges together or did you stitch them on to each with some overlap? While the picture appears to show them stitched together at the edges, it’s not clear from the instructions. Thank you for any help you can give me!
Hi Ronda, I’m pretty sure I did an overhand stitch with needle and yarn to hand sew the edges together. I hardly ever slip stitch edges together with a crochet hook. The side panels have curved edges to match the smaller pieces. And there’s no overlapping edges. Hope this helps.
Patrice- well here it is 10 years after you did the Galaxy afghan and another crazy “crocheter” is going to undertake it! I have one question. I’m using a magic circle for the large circles and usually when I crochet in a circle I just go around, but these directions say Ch1 Turn or Ch3 Turn. I’ve never done circular crochet that way. Is there a difference? I’ve done several without the Ch1 or Ch3, and it doesn’t seem to matter. Also I’m left handed so everything comes out backwards anyway! Thanks for your help.
Hi Barbara, can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I posted this. As for your question, when you turn at the end of a crochet round, the instructions usually tell you to slip stitch to the first stitch after you’ve completed the round, then to ch1 (or ch3) and turn to begin the next round. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which stitch is the first stitch since you’ve made the slip stitch and ch(s). So I put a stitch marker in the first stitch when I begin a round and one in the last stitch before slip stitching to the beginning stitch at the end of the round. This lets me know where I’m placing the hook at the beginning and end of each round. Otherwise I might miss a stitch or inadvertently add one. Hope that makes sense. Good luck with your Galaxy!
I guess I didn’t make myself clear. Yes, I understand that the instructions call for a Ch 1 or Ch3 and Turn – what I was saying is that when I crochet in the round I usually just keep crocheting, so I don’t need to slip stitch and don’t “turn” my work. When I do that I always mark my last stitch so I know where the end of the “row” is. I guess it really doesn’t matter. I just tried it the way the pattern states and it looks a little different but still fine. Of course, I had finished 4 large circles and my daughter decided she didn’t like the colors she had chosen!! Back to square one. I’ll update you. Wish you were on Maui since I’ll be there in August!! Can hardly wait.
Oh, I see. Well, it probably won’t make much difference. Why don’t you do one using each method and see which one you prefer. Good luck which ever way you go.
Vacation on Maui sounds wonderful. I’ve only been to the Big Island. I need to visit the other ones, too.
Patrice – you may be interested in what I found (or not, but I’m going to tell you anyway). If I follow the pattern and Ch1 or Ch3 and Turn I don’t have a problem with stitch count BUT I don’t particularly like the way it looks because it has a ridge and because I’m Left handed what should be the front of the circle turns out to be the back. I like the look better if I just keep going because both sides are the same and I can have the front as I want it, but since I don’t Ch1 or Ch3 I have to jiggle the pattern to maintain the stitch count! So, I’ll show both to my daughter and do whichever she likes better, which I hope is the one where I don’t have to turn.
I have already done at least 7 big circles and haven’t started on the afghan yet because she hasn’t finalized the colors! I’ll be doing this until I’m 80 (which is coming sooner than I wish) Thanks for all your encouragement.
Barbara T. Philipps
LOL, I’m happy to hear what you decided. I know what you mean about the ridge that forms when you join rounds with a slip stitch and chain up. I still haven’t found a good way to hide it. Better to get all of those issues sorted out before you start. I don’t think you can attach photos to comments, but I’d love to see the finished piece at some point. Good luck with it!
Well, you may have to wait a while, but I will figure out how send you a finished picture. I also have made several color samples for my daughter and I have a purple combination that I like a lot, so I may do that next!
No rush, Barbara. You can email me at patrice@yarnoverpullthrough.com whenever you finish it. And purple!!! That sounds wonderful!
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