Year of Color 2026 — Month 8 of 12
Welcome to Year of Color!
A spiral square looks like it needs careful planning to keep the color sequence straight, but the opposite is true. Worked in one continuous spiral rather than joined rounds, this granny square just keeps rotating through three colors, Burnished Gold, Purple Hyacinth, Cedar Green, in the same order every time. No fastening off, no color-change jog to hide, no seam to match up. The visual complexity is doing all the work while your hands do the easy part.
Since the spiral is continuous and never resets at a seam, you don’t need to be concerned about a color jog.
Hyacinth Meadow is part of Year of Color 2026, a free monthly make-along sponsored by Cascade Yarns. Each month brings two new squares and four emails exploring color theory, history, and craft. Squares are free forever.
Materials
Yarn: Cascade Heritage Fingering in 5707 Burnished Gold 
(A), 5625 Purple Hyacinth 
(B) and 5684 Cedar Green 
(C)
Hook: E/4 (3.5mm) or size needed to obtain gauge
Notions: Tapestry needle, scissors
Finished size: 8.5″ × 8.5″
Special Abbreviations
LL pull up a long loop
LLOH put LL on the hook and tighten so it’s a normal loop
Pattern
Round 1
With A , make MR and Ch1. In the MR, work 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, and pull up a long loop (LL) so that it doesn’t unravel.
Change to B and work the same in the MR – 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc and LL.
Change to C and work the same in the MR – 1 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc and LL.
Pull the MR tight and get ready to work Round 2, starting with A ; 4 per color.
Round 2
With A , put LL on the hook and tighten so it’s a normal loop (LLOH). Work 2 dc in next 4 sts and LL. Note that you will be working into sts of a different color. This is normal in a spiral.
Repeat with both B and C ; 8 per color.
Round 3
With A , LLOH. *2 dc in one st, 1 dc in next, rep from * 3 more times. End with LL.
Repeat with both B and C ; 12 per color.
Round 3
With A , LLOH. *2 dc in one st, 1 dc in next 2 sts, rep from * 3 more times. End with LL.
Repeat with both B and C ; 16 per color.
Round 4
With A , LLOH. *2 dc in one st, 1 dc in next 3 sts, rep from * 3 more times. End with LL.
Repeat with both B and C ; 20 per color.
Round 5
With A , LLOH. *2 dc in one st, 1 dc in next 4 sts, rep from * 3 more times. End with LL.
Repeat with both B and C ; 24 per color.
Round 6
With A , LLOH. *2 dc in one st, 1 dc in next 5 sts, rep from * 3 more times. End with LL.
Repeat with both B and C ; 28 per color.
Make it a square
Taper: With A , LLOH. 6 hdc, 6 sc, sl, fo.
Repeat with both B and C ; you’ve added 13 per color. You do not have any LLs because you will be starting fresh after this.
You’ll only work with A moving forward.
First Full Rnd: Join yarn A (this will be the border color) to any stitch and ch 5 (counts as 1 tc, ch1), 1 tc in same st,
Side: *3 tc, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 8 sc, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 3 tc
Corner: 1 tc, ch1, 1 tc*
rep from * twice more, then work Side one final time and sl st to join
Regular Border Rounds
First Round: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), (all in ch-sp) (1 dc, ch 2, 2 dc),
Side: *1 dc in every st until corner ch-sp
Corner: (all in ch-sp) 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc *
rep from * twice more, then work Side one final time and sl st to join
After First Round: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), dc until ch-sp, (all in ch-sp) (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc),
Side: *1 dc in every st until corner ch-sp
Corner: (all in ch-sp) 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc *
rep from * twice more, then work Side one final time and sl st to join
Work After First Round until square measures approximately 7.75″ and fo. Note that measurements are before blocking. Once blocked, square should measure 8.5″. If you’ve substituted a different yarn, your blocking results and the final measurements may differ.
Change colors at the start of Round 3, following the color sequence of A Red 
-B Cinnamon 
– C Gold Fusion 
. Repeat Rounds 3 and 4 for 2 additional times. You’ll use Color C for the first set, and then Color A a second time. With each repeat you’ll be adding one more diamond to each side of the square.
About Year of Color
This square is part of Year of Color 2026, a 12-month program that teaches you a new colorwork technique every month through two free square patterns (one crochet, one knit). Each month features a curated color palette, technique tutorials, and color inspiration articles. By December, you’ll have 12 squares to join together into whatever you’d like, and a whole year of new skills to show for it.
MORE ABOUT YEAR OF COLOR
What you get each month:
- Free crochet square pattern (8″ × 8″)
- Free knitted square pattern (8″ × 8″)
- Color inspiration articles exploring the month’s palette
- Technical tips and tutorials
- Cultural and historical color spotlights
- Community engagement opportunities
2026 Color Themes:
January: Winter Whites & Creams • February: Soft Pastels • March: Jewel Tones • April: Spring Brights • May: Shades of Blue • June: Orange & Blue • July: Sunset Colors • August: Warm Neutrals • September: Dark & Moody • October: Triadic Colors • November: Rich Harvest • December: Winter Sky
Cascade Yarns is partnering on the project to help make quality color education accessible to fiber artists at every skill level. You can join at any time and work at your own pace — the patterns aren’t going anywhere!
Get a new square every month, free
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I’m Jody Richards, the math-geeky, web-dev-turned-fiber-arts-obsessive behind Knotions. Crafting runs deep in my family: my mom was an avid embroiderer and sewist, and she sparked a lifelong love of making things. I’ve been combining that love with a very analytical brain ever since.
I have degrees in Math and Computer Science and spent 30 years in web technology before making Knotions my full-time focus. You might know me as Ravelry member #85, or from patterns like the Natalya Mitts and Chevvy Socks.
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