January 2022 – Cozy Murder Mystery CAL

Last year I did my first every CAL and it seemed to be a hit with yarny sleuths, so I decided to do it again this year. This time I’m doing a row by row CAL instead of a block each month. We’ll still be reading a cozy murder mystery each month. I’ve written the pattern so you can make a blanket of the size you choose or a really long scarf. You get to decide! Let’s get this cozy murder mystery CAL started!

Now I love a good murder mystery no matter the kind, but cozy murder mysteries are a little tamer than most. Plus they are usually easy to get through in a limited time frame. Here’s the details for the CAL:

• I’ll post a new book to read & new crocheted row pattern here on the blog the first Friday of the month after the first post.
• The books will be digital books from Amazon. All the books I’ve picked are under $5 and some are even free if you have Amazon Prime.
• We’ll be doing about 10 rows, plus or minus, each month. I’m aiming for a total of 5″ each month, so this will vary. The first month is 11 rows plus the base.
• You can share your finished rows in the Cozy Murder Mystery CAL Facebook group.
• Everyone that shares their finished rows in the Facebook group will be entered to win a Mini Maker bag made by me. I will post a pick in the group once I get it made. : )

I hope everyone enjoys the patterns even if you decide you don’t want to read the book. Let’s get started yarny sluethes! Check out last year’s CAL for a block of the month if you missed it.

January Book

I’m starting off this year with a book from a fun yarny series! This has alpacas, yarn, and crochet along with the murder mystery, so I thought it was perfect for the first book. I’m going to try real hard to keep up with reading these books this year!

Yarn

I’m sticking with the #4 worsted weight yarn since I know most crocheters have a ton of it on hand. I will be using some I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby that I got during one of their fabulous clearance sales. I’m using several different blue yarns and will change them throughout the pattern. Feel free to use all one color or change colors as you like. It would be a great pattern for a scrapghan as well.

The written pattern will be for a lapghan that is about 60″ x 60″. As I mentioned above, you can adjust the pattern to the size you prefer or even make a scarf that will be 60″ long. Here’s how to do that:

• Your foundation should be multiples of 3+1 if you are starting with foundation single crochet. If you start with chains, it should be multiples of 3+2 to account for the turning chain.
• 30+1 single crochets gives you a width of about 10″. {which is perfect for a scarf}
• I’m using 180+1 single crochets for a lapghan that is 60″ {10″ x 6 = 60″ & 30 x 6 = 180 sc}. If you want a blanket that’s say 70″ wide, you would start with 210+1 single crochets. {10″ x7 = 70″ & 30 x 7 = 210 sc}
• Also, the sections will have repeating rows. So if you wanted longer sections, you would just add rows until it’s the height you want. For example if you did 12 sections at 10″ tall, you would have blanket that’s 120″ long at the end.

Hopefully this will help you make the blanket or scarf the size that you like! You can also ask questions in the Facebook group.

You can use whatever yarn fiber and/or weight you would like to use. The pattern can be adjusted for different yarn weights. For example, add more sections/rows for lighter yarns if needed or leave off sections/rows for heavier yarns if needed to make the measurements listed.

Pattern – Basics

This pattern starts off with a foundation single crochet and it is not counted as the first row. The row count starts after that.

Supplies:

• Yarn – I Love This Yarn by Hobby Lobby {acrylic}, #4 worsted weight {use the weight, fiber, & color you prefer}
• Hook – 5.5mm {I9}

Abbreviations:

• ch – chain
• fdsc – foundation single crochet
• sc – single crochet
• dc – double crochet
• hdc – half double crochet
• fpdc – front post double crochet
• beg – beginning

January Pattern

Crochet 181 fdsc OR ch 182 and sc in 2nd ch from hook and all the way across for a total of 181 sc

R1 – ch 1 & turn, {hdc & dc} in beg sc; *skip 2 sc, {sc, hdc, dc} in next sc* repeat * to * until 3 sc are left; skip 2 sc, sc in last sc

R2 thru R5 – ch 1 & turn, {hdc & dc} in beg sc; *skip 2 sc, {sc, hdc, dc} in space between sc & dc* repeat * to * until 3 sc are left; skip 2 sc, sc in last sc

R6 – ch 1 & turn, sc in 1st sc & next 2 sc, *dc into hdc in row below, sc in next 2 sc* repeat * to * until 4 sc are left; dc into hdc in row below, sc in next 3 sc

R7 thru R11 – ch 2 {counts as first dc} & turn, dc in next 2 stitches, *fpdc around dc, dc in next 2 stitches* repeat * to * until 4 sc are left; dc into hdc in row below, sc in next 3 sc

Rows 1 thru 11 complete.

I hope y’all enjoy the pattern and the book I picked this month. I can’t wait to read it! Let me know if you find any errors & I will correct them. This pattern has not been tested by anyone but me. : D

I will be on the search for murder mystery type fabrics and I will share picks of the Mini Mini Maker bag up for grabs in the group. Happy making y’all!