2022 VVCAL
Published on May 20, 2022

2022 VVCAL: Whirlpool Galaxy Motif

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Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 12 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 12 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Whirlpool Galaxy Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Whirlpool Galaxy Motif

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

The Cosmos: Whirlpool Galaxy

M51, or the Whirlpool Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy that happens to exist relatively close to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Here are some interesting Whirlpool Galaxy facts!

  • Discovered by Charles Messier in 1773, M51 is located 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and can be spotted with a small telescope most easily during May. The Whirlpool galaxy’s beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy’s structure and star-forming processes. In Hubble’s captivating image of M51, the red represents infrared light as well as hydrogen within giant star-forming regions. The blue color can be attributed to hot, young stars while the yellow color is from older stars.
  • The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. The whirlpool, like many other galaxies, has a supermassive black hole at its heart, surrounded by rings of dust. The core of the galaxy is quite quite active — making the Whirlpool what astronomers call a “Seyfert galaxy”. [More]
  • Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. Hubble’s clear view shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind M51. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years. The Whirlpool’s companion, called M51b, is a dwarf galaxy. Because it is being torn apart by the ongoing interaction, it cannot be easily classified. Its current appearance makes it look like an irregular galaxy. A bridge of gas and dust ties the two galaxies together as they merge. [More]
  • New images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are helping researchers view in unprecedented detail the spiral arms and dust clouds of a nearby galaxy, which are the birth sites of massive and luminous stars. The Whirlpool galaxy has been one of the most photogenic galaxies in amateur and professional astronomy. Easily photographed and viewed by smaller telescopes, this celestial beauty is studied extensively in a range of wavelengths by large ground- and space-based observatories. This Hubble composite image shows visible starlight as well as light from the emission of glowing hydrogen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms. [More]
Credits: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Whirlpool Galaxy Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 4dccl 4dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg 4dccl (beg dc, 3dccl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 4dccl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • puff st (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, pull up lp) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through all 7 lps
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • yoh yarn over hook

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

Rnd 1 MR, elongate lp, [puff st, ch2] 6 times, ss in top of first puff st. [6 puff sts, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg dc in first ch-sp, [(1dc, ch1, 2dc) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in beg dc. [24 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4dccl in first ch-sp, [ch3, puff st in next ch-sp, ch3, 4dccl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 4dccl, ss in beg 4dccl. [6 4dccl, 6 puff st, 12 sp]

Rnd 4 5sc in 12 ch-sps, ss in first sc. [60 sc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, [1sc in next st, ch4, sk4] 12 times, ss in first sc. [12 sc, 12 sp]

Rnd 6 [5sc in next ch-sp, (puff st, ch1) 4 times in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [24 puff sts, 30 sc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 7 Starting in next st, [4sc, 1sc in sp before next puff, 2sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in next ch-sp, 2sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next st] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg 4trcl (beg tr, 3trcl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 4trcl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • puff st (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through all lps
  • 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, elongate lp, [puff st, ch2] 6 times, ss in top of first puff st. [6 puff sts, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg tr in first ch-sp, [(1tr, ch1, 2tr) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1tr in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final tr, ss in beg tr. [24 tr, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4trcl in first ch-sp, [ch3, puff st in next ch-sp, ch3, 4trcl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 4trcl, ss in beg 4trcl. [6 4trcl, 6 puff st, 12 sp]

Rnd 4 5dc in 12 ch-sps, ss in first dc. [60 dc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, [1dc in next st, ch4, sk4] 12 times, ss in first dc. [12 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 6 [5dc in next ch-sp, (puff st, ch1) 4 times in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [24 puff sts, 30 dc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 7 Starting in next st, [4dc, 1dc in sp before next puff, 2dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next ch-sp, 2dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next st] 6 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.

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 Whirlpool Galaxy Motif!

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

Happy Crafting,

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