2026 VVCAL
Published on April 10, 2026

2026 VVCAL: Squid 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 2 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the 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.

Squid Motif

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

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Sea Creatures: Squid

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

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Five Fun Facts

Brought to you by A-Z Animals.

While squids are mollusks, they also belong to the Cephalopoda class. The class Cephalopoda includes squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. Cephalopods have bilateral symmetry with a distinct head and often tentacles. Like all other cephalopods, they have a large, elongated head that is often confused with their body. They have an impressively high-functioning nervous system and a small internal skeleton within their soft bodies. Their skeleton is in the form of a pen and is primarily made up of a derivative of glucose.

Squids diverged from other cephalopods during the Jurassic era, meaning that they technically evolved more than 100 million years ago. One of the prehistoric squids that our modern-day squids derived from is the fascinating Belemnotheutis antiquus. Scientists tracked this historic squid by using a fossilized ink sac that they found in England.

One of the most fascinating facts about squid is that they can camouflage by changing the colors of their skin. They often do this as a defense mechanism, to warn or hide from potential threats and predators. They can do this because they have leucophores, reflectors that produce whiteness within their bodies. These pigmented, light-reflecting cells allow the squid to control the brightness, hue, and color of their skin. The spectrum of color is quite broad. In fact, many squids can change from their usual color to a variety of other colors. However, it usually depends on the environment in which they are trying to camouflage.

Many argue that the giant squid is the largest squid on Earth. However, the colossal squid is, in fact, a bit larger. The colossal squid is the largest squid on the planet in terms of mass. Its size can be up to about 1,100 pounds (495 kg), and its mantle can reach up to 6.5-8 feet (2-2.5 meters) in length. These are deep-dwelling squids. Their young typically swim at around 1,600 ft, while adolescents can be found anywhere between 1,600 ft to 6,000 ft. Adults usually dwell in zones between 3,000 ft to 13,000 ft beneath the ocean surface, where only 1% of light can reflect.

While many forms of larger squid are the most talked about, the smaller squid species are just as fascinating. The pygmy squids are the smallest squids known on the planet. Pygmy squids are a family of squids, consisting of nine known species. Males reach around 0.6 inches in mantle length as adults, while females are slightly larger at 0.8 inches. They typically live in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

Hi!

Squid Motif Pattern

Reference

Scroll for chart and video instruction.

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2trcl
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg pc beginning popcorn: (beg dc, 3dc) in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through beg dc, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dc5tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 5 times, yoh, draw yarn through 6 lps on hook
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • pc popcorn 4dc in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first dc, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • 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 2trcl, [ch2, 2trcl] 8 times, ch2, ss in beg 2trcl. [9 2trcl, 9 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg pc in first ch-sp, [ch2, pc in same sp, ch2, pc in next ch-sp] 9 times omitting final pc on ninth rep, ss in beg pc. [18 pc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 3 [1sc in next ch-sp, ch3, 1sc in next sp, ch3, 5dc in next sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first sc. [30 dc, 12 sc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 4 Ss in ch-sp, 1sc in same sp, [ch3, 1sc in next sp, ch3, dc5tog, ch3, 1sc in next sp, ch3, 1sc in next sp] 6 times omitting final sc on sixth rep, ss in first sc. [6 dc5tog, 18 sc, 24 sp]

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Rnd 5 [3sc in next ch-sp, 2sc in next sp, 3sc in dc5tog, 2sc in next sp, 3sc in next sp, 1sc in next sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn. [84 sc]

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Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2dtrcl 2dtr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2dtrcl (beg dtr, 1dtr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2dtrcl
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg pc beginning popcorn: (beg tr, 3tr) in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through beg tr, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • tr5tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 5 times, yoh, draw yarn through 6 lps on hook
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • pc popcorn 4tr in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first tr, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • 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 2dtrcl, [ch2, 2dtrcl] 8 times, ch2, ss in beg 2dtrcl. [9 2dtrcl, 9 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg pc in first ch-sp, [ch2, pc in same sp, ch2, pc in next ch-sp] 9 times omitting final pc on ninth rep, ss in beg pc. [18 pc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 3 [1dc in next ch-sp, ch3, 1dc in next sp, ch3, 5tr in next sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first dc. [30 tr, 12 dc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 4 Ss in ch-sp, 1dc in same sp, [ch3, 1dc in next sp, ch3, tr5tog, ch3, 1dc in next sp, ch3, 1dc in next sp] 6 times omitting final dc on sixth rep, ss in first dc. [6 tr5tog, 18 dc, 24 sp]

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Rnd 5 [3dc in next ch-sp, 2dc in next sp, 3dc in tr5tog, 2dc in next sp, 3dc in next sp, 1dc in next dc] 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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