2022 VVCAL
Published on May 6, 2022

2022 VVCAL: Andromeda Galaxy Motif

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Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 10 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I can’t believe we are almost halfway! Remember on Week 11, the full pattern PDF will be released – on May, Friday the 13th!

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 10 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Andromeda Galaxy Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Andromeda Galaxy Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and the nearest large galaxy to our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Here are some interesting Andromeda Galaxy facts!

  • The galaxy’s name stems from the area of Earth’s sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which itself is named after the Ethiopian (or Phoenician) princess who was the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology. The name Andromeda derives from the Greek for “ruler of men”. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies are expected to collide in around 4-5 billion years, merging to form a giant elliptical galaxy or a large lenticular galaxy. [More]
  • There are about one trillion stars in the Andromeda Galaxy (there are 200 to 400 billion stars estimated in the Milky Way). This spiral galaxy lies 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. Since it is easily visible to the naked eye on dark nights, the Andromeda Galaxy has been observed many times in the past. The earliest known record of this galaxy was that of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, a Persian astronomer around the 10th century. Simon Marius, a German astronomer, also gave it a description in the early 1600s. [More]
  • Until the 1920s, the consensus among astronomers was that the Milky Way comprised the entire Universe, and that the fuzzy patches that could not be resolved into individual stars using early 20th century telescopes were simply clouds of gas, known as nebulae. The galaxy was therefore known as the Andromeda Nebula. The Andromeda Galaxy is best observed when it’s reasonably dark outside, because then it is very easy to spot, but it may come as a surprise to most people that the Andromeda galaxy appears six times wider than the full Moon in the night sky. 
  • Despite the physical size of Andromeda being over two and a half times that of the Milky Way, and containing several times its number of its stars, the mass of the Andromeda Galaxy is only 400 billion times that of our own Sun. The Milky Way is imagined to be considerably heavier because it probably possesses more Dark Matter and Dark Energy than Andromeda. What sets it apart from our own galaxy is the fact that it has a double-nucleus, likely because somewhere between five and nine billion years ago two smaller galaxies merged together and the nuclei are now in orbit around each other. One of the compact star clusters is designated P1, while P2 is dimmer, but contains a black hole. They will eventually blend into one body in a few billion years.
  • As with all large galaxies, including our own Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. Andromeda also has a large central bulge much bigger than the one at the core of our own galaxy, which allows for more black holes to form there, and so far astronomers have detected at least 34 additional black holes. Surrounding the supermassive central black hole is a light-year wide disk of around 400 hot blue stars orbiting it at 2.2 million miles per hour. The disk is situated five light-years away from the black hole, and in turn is encircled by an elliptical ring of older, red stars. The unusual juxtaposition of these blue and red stars suggests that the blue stars are actually older stars that on their way to becoming red giants shed their outer layers to reveal their blue-hot cores. The number of blue stars then falls with the distance away from the center, and the galaxy’s outer rim holds the older, more mature red stars. [More]
The Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2 dc cluster: [yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through all 3 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg 2dccl (beg dc, 1dc) in st/sp – counts as 1 2dccl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • pc popcorn 4dc in st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back in first dc, pull lp through to close
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, [1sc, ch2, pc, ch2] 3 times, ss in first sc. [3 pc, 3 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 2dccl in same st as ss, [ch3, 1sc in pc, ch3, 2dccl in next sc] 3 times omitting final 2dccl, ss in beg 2dccl. [3 2dccl, 3 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 [3sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in next st] 6 times, ss in first sc. [36 sc]

Rnd 4 Ss in 1 st, beg dc in next st, * ch1, sk1, (1dc, ch1, 1dc) in next st, [ch1, sk1, 1dc] 2 times, rep from * 5 times omitting final dc, ss in beg dc. [24 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Beginning in first ch-sp, 1sc in every st and sp around, ss in first sc. [48 sc]

Note: tr sts on Rnd 6 should be squashed toward you in order to make tiny bobbles.

Rnd 6 1sc in same st as ss, [1tr, 1sc] 23 times, 1tr, ss in first sc. [24 tr, 24 sc]

Rnd 7 1sc in same st as ss, [ch2, 1sc in next sc] 23 times, ch2, ss in first sc. [24 sc, 24 sp]

Rnd 8 Ss in 1 ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, * ch2, (1sc, ch3, 1sc) in next sc, [ch2, 1sc in next ch-sp] 4 times, rep from * 5 times omitting final sc, ss in first sc. [36 sc, 36 sp]

Rnd 9 [2sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in next ch-sp, 2sc in next ch-sp] 12 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2 tr cluster: [yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps on hook] 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through all 3 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp – counts as 1 2trcl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • pc popcorn 4tr in st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back in first tr, pull lp through to close
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, [1dc, ch2, pc, ch2] 3 times, ss in first dc. [3 pc, 3 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 2trcl in same st as ss, [ch3, 1dc in pc, ch3, 2trcl in next dc] 3 times omitting final 2trcl, ss in beg 2trcl. [3 2trcl, 3 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 [3dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next st] 6 times, ss in first dc. [36 dc]

Rnd 4 Ss in 1 st, beg tr in next st, * ch1, sk1, (1tr, ch1, 1tr) in next st, [ch1, sk1, 1tr] 2 times, rep from * 5 times omitting final tr, ss in beg tr. [24 tr, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Beginning in first ch-sp, 1dc in every st and sp around, ss in first dc. [48 dc]

Note: dtr sts on Rnd 6 should be squashed toward you in order to make tiny bobbles.

Rnd 6 1dc in same st as ss, [1dtr, 1dc] 23 times, 1dtr, ss in first dc. [24 dtr, 24 dc]

Rnd 7 1dc in same st as ss, [ch2, 1dc in next dc] 23 times, ch2, ss in first dc. [24 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 8 Ss in 1 ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, * ch2, (1dc, ch3, 1dc) in next dc, [ch2, 1dc in next ch-sp] 4 times, rep from * 5 times omitting final dc, ss in first dc. [36 dc, 36 sp]

Rnd 9 [2dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next ch-sp, 2dc in next ch-sp] 12 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

NOTE: Rounds 1 and 2 of the chart differ slightly from the written instruction, photo instruction, and video. The difference is negligible and the motif will end up the same. Not a big deal, just pointing it out.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Andromeda Galaxy Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

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