2022: A Year of Cats

Each month in 2022 will have a cat-themed square! Choose the interlocking crochet or overlay mosaic crochet technique to whip up your whimsical creation!

Interlocking & Mosaic

Each monthly cat square comes with the fully written pattern and charts for both interlocking crochet and overlay mosaic crochet.

The two techniques produce similar images, but the mosaic crochet option does not show the interlocking mesh dots. It is solid in the solid areas.

Learn more about these techniques at https://ashleeslint.com/tutorials/interlocking-and-mosaic-crochet/.

Size

These cat squares are included in my large squares category.

The interlocking crochet squares have a chart size of 81 x 81.

The (solid) overlay mosaic crochet option has a chart size of 77 x 77 because we don’t need the extra border lines that are used in the interlocking crochet technique to lock the two layers of mesh together. 

A Year of Cat Squares

Meow! We got two kittens a few months ago and they are pretty fun to have around. Everyone has been scratched at least once.

My youngest, Melody, seems to be their favorite, but I don’t understand why they like it when she carries them all over the place.

In honor of our kitties I have decided that this year’s monthly square will be all about cats!

Series of Cat Squares

By the end of the year, for each technique, the eBook will contain one square for each month, plus 2 bonus squares, plus an all-in-one blanket pattern using the original 12 cat squares, plus an all-in-one blanket pattern for the Love Mini-Series (using March, June, September, and December).

The all-in-one patterns are written up so that you don’t have to join squares together which is especially useful for the overlay mosaic crochet technique (and those pesky cut ends).

Get the Patterns

My Year-End sale takes an automatic 30% off everything until 11:59 pm CST January 1, 2022.

Please note, the price will go up as the year progresses; will you take a chance on patterns you haven’t seen?

The eBooks will continually be updated throughout the year. All done updating! The PDFs are complete!

Ravelry makes updating easy: I simply upload the pattern and click the “update” button and it sends an email to everyone. You can access your files immediately or wait until months later and they will all be there.

Etsy doesn’t actually work well for this process. I have to manually email each buyer and last year we did have some problems with my messages going to spam. But I want to try making my patterns accessible to everyone so I’m making the option available again.

I’ve added a third option this year as well. If you purchase the eBook directly from me I will send you the monthly updates just like I do for the Etsy customers. (No longer offering direct purchases, please use Ravelry or Etsy).

Each square will be published individually on Etsy and Ravelry as well. This list below will be updated throughout the year.

I used March Cat, June Cat, September Cat, and December Catto create this lap blanket that spells ‘Love”.

Monthly Squares

Last year I did A Year of Gnomes. Each month a new square was published and at the end of the year I also added an all-in-one blanket pattern of the all the squares (so you don’t have to join squares together).

This year will be very similar: a monthly square will be published individually and added to the eBook, and at the end of the year I will add the all-in-one blanket pattern to the eBook as well.

But there will also be some differences from last year’s gnomes!

Adjusted, Solid Mosaic Crochet

I’ve decided to remove the unnecessary interlocking mesh dots from the overlay mosaic version of each square. I’ve also removed the extra border lines (they are needed to lock the interlocking mesh layers together but they don’t serve a purpose for the mosaic technique).

This change makes the mosaic version a bit crowded with stitches, so I recommend a larger hook size and this of course makes the finished square slightly larger as well.

If you use one technique for all twelve squares it won’t matter that the other technique is a different size.

Interlocking crochet sample.

Overlay mosaic crochet sample by CrochetCarob.

Interlocking Crochet Border

I’ve added a revised border option to my patterns now. Any border is optional, but I prefer this simple border to help the square lay flat and it allows joining to be a bit simpler as well.

Chain 1, put 1 sc in the MC gap, and then the second sc should pick up one loop of the AC as well as going through the MC gap. Do this in each gap on all four sides. Add an extra chain 2 on the corners.

EBook Bonuses

Purchasing the eBook saves you more than 40% versus buying each monthly cat square individually.

You’ll also have access to the bonus patterns!

  • “Bonus Scratch Cat”,
  • “November Cat Face”,
  • all-in-one Love Mini-Series Blanket pattern,
  • and all-in-one Blanket pattern using the original 12 cat designs.

EBook Files

You will receive four files when you purchase the 2022: A Year of Cats eBook:

  • one file with the interlocking crochet patterns (one for each month),
  • one file with the overlay mosaic crochet patterns (one for each month),
  • bonus file of interlocking crochet patterns (includes “Bonus Scratch Cat”, “November Cat Face”, all-in-one Love Mini-Series Blanket pattern, and all-in-one Blanket pattern using original 12 cat designs),
  • bonus file of overlay mosaic crochet patterns (includes “Bonus Scratch Cat”, “November Cat Face”, “November Cat Bag”, all-in-one Love Mini-Series Blanket pattern, and all-in-one Blanket pattern using original 12 cat designs).

Monthly cats

January Cat

February Cat

March Cat

April Cat

May Cat

June Cat

July Cat

August Cat

September Cat

October Cat

November Cat

December Cat

Bonus Scratch Cat

This large square is not included in the all-in-one blanket pattern but if you are making individual squares you could use it as a substitute.

You could also use it as a pillow or wall-hanging.

It is included in the bonus files in the eBook but it is also available FREE!

November Cat Face

This is a much cuter option for November. This square is not included in the all-in-one blanket pattern but it is in the bonus files.

Final Notes

The eBook is a great value because you pay once at the beginning and then you’re all set for the year! It will save you 40% compared to buying each square individually. You’ll still have to wait for the beginning of each month to get each month’s square though.

Testers

Thank you very much to my testers throughout this monthly series of cat squares! Samples were crocheted by CrochetCarob, CynCityCrochet, Linda Bakker, Maja Serec, Marjolijn Cuypers, and myself.

Joining

I used a flat braid join for my interlocking crochet squares. Click here to view a YouTube tutorial I created on joining squares. Each square ends with a round of the Main Color (MC) and you can use that same color to join “invisibly” or pick a contrasting color for a bit of extra pop!

Check out one envelope border example using my bottom-up Celtic Knot mosaic squares by clicking here.