Today I’m going to start with the result of my work: the inimitable Square C-4:

I began Square C-4 with my 4.5 mm Etimo hook, my beloved Red Heart Super Saver yarn, and a magnifying glass in case the instructions and the result did not match.

The instructions were a mix. The first four rounds were straight forward and understandable, but things got a bit murkier when it came time to do the corners.

I did the following to get the corners of my Square C-4 to match what was in the photo:

Row 1: With the right side facing, attach yarn with a sc to the third sc from the right of any corner. Sc in the next 14 sts. (15 sc) Ch1, turn.
Row 2: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 11 st, sc tog last two stitches (13sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 3: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 9 st, sc tog last two stitches (11sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 4: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 7 st, sc tog last two stitches (9sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 5: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 5 st, sc tog last two stitches (7sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 6: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 3 st, sc tog last two stitches (5sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 7: Sc first two stitches tog. Sc in next 1 st, sc tog last two stitches (3sc). Ch 1, turn.
Row 8: Sc next 3 sts tog. (1 sc). Finish off.

Repeat with the 3 remaining corners.

Once I got this part of the square done, I found that it was smaller than it needed to be to fit properly, so I added an additional round of double crochet stitches as follows.

Border:
Round 1: Join yarn in any corner sc. Ch 5 (counts as first dc and ch 2). *Space 15 dc along the edge, being sure to put the 8th dc in the ch-2 from round 4. (dc, ch 2, dc). Repeat from * two times more. Space 15 dc along the edge, being sure to put the 8th dc in the ch-2 from round 4. Join with sl st to 3rd chain in initial ch-5.

Round 2: sl st into ch-2 sp. (Ch 3, 2dc, ch 3), sk next 2 dc, 3dc in next st, [sk next st, 3dc], repeat from [ to ] 6 times more, sk next 2 dc. *(3dc, ch3, 3dc), sk next 2 dc, 3dc in next st, [sk next st, 3dc], repeat from [ to ] 6 times more, sk next 2 dc. Repeat from * two times more. Join with sl st to top of first ch 3 and finish off.

I now have the central 12 squares completed. My fondest fantasy is that tomorrow I join all of the 12 central squares complete with borders, AND complete all of the traditional granny-square squares. 🙂