2026 VVCAL
Published on April 3, 2026

2026 VVCAL: Abalone Motif

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Hello, and a huge welcome to this week of the 2026 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I’m so glad you’re here! I love spending this time with the VVCAL community. We are going to have so much fun relaxingly working through these motifs each week.

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 1 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Marigold Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

PDF Version

2026 VVCAL PDF COMING SOON! – My Online Shop // Etsy // Ravelry

  • 36 hexies to mix and match
  • 3 Joining methods
  • Wide Lace Border
  • US and UK Terms included

Of course I have also created a value bundle for you COMING SOON! – 2022, 2024, and 2026 VVCALs US and UK Terms (5 PDFs) – Available on Etsy and Ravelry.

Abalone Motif

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

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Sea Creatures: Abalone

Enjoy a small reflection on one of this week’s featured sea creatures.

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Single red abalone next to a kelp holdfast

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Five Fun Facts

Brought to you by treeehugger.com.

Abalone are primitive animals. Like other archaeogastropods, abalone exhibit primitive (simplistic and largely unevolved) anatomical features, such as bilateral symmetry. They have hearts and a cerebral ganglion that supply nerves to sensory organs, but they don’t have brains or any mechanism to coagulate blood.

They can spawn millions of eggs at once. Young abalone spawn a few thousand eggs in the initial years of reproduction, but when they grow older and larger, they spawn millions. (An 8-inch abalone can drop 11 million eggs at a time.) Warm water can create stress and often leads to a shortened breeding season. This does mean that they have an extremely low survival rate. They are most likely to be preyed upon by filter feeders within the first 24 hours of being released.

They’re considered a delicacy. At the price they’re sold both on and off the black market, it’s no surprise that abalone are considered a delicacy in some countries. It’s served fresh and dried in Cantonese cuisine and is traditionally eaten on Chinese New Year. The FAO says China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of abalone, producing more than 10,000 metric tons annually and consuming 90% of it.

Red abalone are the biggest and most prized. Of the estimated 35 species of abalone, red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) are largest and most sought-after by mollusk hunters. The brick-red species can grow to be a foot long if it’s lucky enough to avoid being plucked from the North American West Coast, the only place in the world it occurs, during its lifetime. Red abalone were once a hot commodity in California, where they’re widely eaten, but the state enforced strict fishing regulations due to rapid species decline.

Two abalone species are endangered. White abalone were the first invertebrates to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2001. Black abalone earned the same status 10 years later. Both endemic to the North American West Coast, these species have experienced serious population declines due to overfishing, low reproduction rates, disease, and oil spills. Fishing for black abalone has been illegal since 1993 and white abalone since 1996.

Abalone Motif Pattern

Reference

Scroll for chart and video instruction.

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 3dccl 3dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 3dccl (beg dc, 2dccl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3dccl
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • 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
  • 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, beg dc, 11dc, ss in beg dc. [12 dc]

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Rnd 2 Beg 3dccl, [ch2, 3dccl] 11 times, ch2, ss in beg 2dccl. [12 3dccl, 12 sp]

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Rnd 3 [(Puff st, ch2, puff st) in next ch-sp, ch2, puff st in next ch-sp, ch2] 12 times, ss in first puff st. [18 puff st, 18 sp]

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Rnd 4 3sc in 18 ch-sps, ss in first sc. [54 sc]

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Rnd 5 Beg dc in next st, * ch1, 1dc in same st, [ch1, sk1, 1dc] 2 times, [ch1, 1dc, sk1] 2 times, ch1, 1dc, rep from * 5 times omitting final dc on fifth rep, ss in beg dc. [36 dc, 36 sp]

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Rnd 6 [3sc in cnr ch-sp, sk1, 9sc] 6 times, ss in first sc. [72 sc]

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Rnd 7 [3sc in cnr st, 11sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn. [84 sc]

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Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 3trcl 3tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 3trcl (beg tr, 2trcl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3trcl
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • 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, beg tr, 11tr, ss in beg tr. [12 tr]

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Rnd 2 Beg 3trcl, [ch2, 3trcl] 11 times, ch2, ss in beg 2trcl. [12 3trcl, 12 sp]

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Rnd 3 [(Puff st, ch2, puff st) in next ch-sp, ch2, puff st in next ch-sp, ch2] 12 times, ss in first puff st. [18 puff st, 18 sp]

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Rnd 4 3dc in 18 ch-sps, ss in first dc. [54 dc]

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Rnd 5 Beg tr in next st, * ch1, 1tr in same st, [ch1, sk1, 1tr] 2 times, [ch1, 1tr, sk1] 2 times, ch1, 1tr, rep from * 5 times omitting final tr on fifth rep, ss in beg tr. [36 tr, 36 sp]

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Rnd 6 [3dc in cnr ch-sp, sk1, 9dc] 6 times, ss in first dc. [72 dc]

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Rnd 7 [3dc in cnr st, 11dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn. [84 dc]

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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.

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Video

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Note: Video is spoken in US 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

Pin the Motif!

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Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2026 VVCAL!

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

Happy crafting,

Rachele C.

The Art of Crochet Blankets

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