2026 VVCAL
Published on July 3, 2026

2026 VVCAL: Owlfish 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 14 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.

Owlfish Motif

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

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

Owlfish | Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Increasing carbon dioxide and decreasing oxygen in the oceans will make it harder for deep-sea animals to "breathe" • MBARI

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Pseudobathylagus - Wikipedia

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Fun Facts

Owlfish were given the scientific name Pseudobathylagus milleri by D. S. Jordan and C. H. Gilbert in 1898 based on a specimen collected at Cortes Bank, 1,419 m (4,660 ft) from the surface. It was named after their linguist colleague at Stanford University, Walter Miller, for his contribution to zoological nomenclature. The eyes are remarkably larger compared to other fishes in Bathylagidae as well, leading to their common name “Owlfish”.

Owlfish are widely distributed across the North Pacific Ocean, having been spotted from the east coast of Japan to the west coast of the U.S., and as far north as the Bering Sea. As a deep-sea smelt, they generally live in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of the ocean. Nevertheless, specimens have been collected from depths of as shallow as 250 m (820 ft) and as deep as 6,600 m (21,700 ft). They primarily live in the North Pacific ocean at very deep depths.

Owlfish larvae have been reported to be more abundant during spring from December to April. The larvae are about 5 mm long when hatching, while the body length of adults can range from below 10 cm (3.9 in) to over 20 cm (7.9 in). Small fish with huge eyes!

Owlfish Motif Pattern

Reference

Scroll for chart and video instruction.

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 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
  • 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 2dccl (beg dc, dc) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full dc st
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2trcl
  • beg 3dccl (beg dc, 2dccl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3dccl
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • BPsc back post single crochet
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • picot ch3, 1sc in third ch from hook
  • 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, beg 3dccl, [ch2. 3dccl] 5 times, ch2, ss in beg 3dccl. [6 3dccl, 6 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg 2dccl in ch-sp, [ch2, 2dccl in same sp, ch2, 2dccl in next sp] 6 times omitting final 2dccl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2dccl. [12 2dccl, 12 sp]

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Rnd 3 [1sc, ch1, 2dc, ch1, 1sc] in 12 ch-sps, ss in first sc. [24 dc, 24 sc, 24 sp]

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Rnd 4 Release lp and insert hook from back to front in same st as ss, grab lp and pull to back of work, [BPsc around 2dccl from Rnd 2, ch3] 12 times, ss in first BPsc. [12 BPsc, 12 sp]

Back of work:

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Front of work:

Rnd 5 * [1sc, ch1, 1dc, 1tr, picot, 1tr, 1dc, ch1, 1sc] in next ch-sp, ch3, sk 1 ch-sp, rep from * 5 times, omitting final ch3 on fifth rep, ch1, 1dc in first sc – Note: final ch1 and dc count as 1 ch-3 sp. [6 picot, 12 tr, 12 dc, 12 sc, 18 sp]

Back of work:

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Front of work:

Rnd 6 In same ch-3 sp, beg 2trcl, [ch3, 2trcl in same sp, ch3, 1sc in WS of picot, ch3, 2trcl in next ch-sp] 6 times omitting final 2trcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2trcl. [12 2trcl, 6 sc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 7 [5sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in next sp, 1sc in next sc, 3sc in next sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [72 sc]

Rnd 8 [3sc in next st, 11sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn. [84 sc]

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Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 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
  • 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 2trcl (beg tr, tr) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full tr st
  • beg 2dtrcl (beg dtr, 1dtr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2dtrcl
  • beg 3trcl (beg tr, 2trcl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3trcl
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • BPdc back post double crochet
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • picot ch3, 1dc in third ch from hook
  • 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 3trcl, [ch2. 3trcl] 5 times, ch2, ss in beg 3trcl. [6 3trcl, 6 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg 2trcl in ch-sp, [ch2, 2trcl in same sp, ch2, 2trcl in next sp] 6 times omitting final 2trcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2trcl. [12 2trcl, 12 sp]

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Rnd 3 [1dc, ch1, 2tr, ch1, 1dc] in 12 ch-sps, ss in first dc. [24 tr, 24 dc, 24 sp]

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Rnd 4 Release lp and insert hook from back to front in same st as ss, grab lp and pull to back of work, [BPdc around 2trcl from Rnd 2, ch3] 12 times, ss in first BPdc. [12 BPdc, 12 sp]

Back of work:

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Front of work:

Rnd 5 * [1dc, ch1, 1tr, 1dtr, picot, 1dtr, 1tr, ch1, 1dc] in next ch-sp, ch3, sk 1 ch-sp, rep from * 5 times, omitting final ch3 on fifth rep, ch1, 1tr in first dc – Note: final ch1 and tr count as 1 ch-3 sp. [6 picot, 12 dtr, 12 tr, 12 dc, 18 sp]

Back of work:

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Front of work:

Rnd 6 In same ch-3 sp, beg 2dtrcl, [ch3, 2dtrcl in same sp, ch3, 1dc in WS of picot, ch3, 2dtrcl in next ch-sp] 6 times omitting final 2dtrcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2dtrcl. [12 2dtrcl, 6 dc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 7 [5dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next sp, 1dc in next dc, 3dc in next sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [72 dc]

Rnd 8 [3dc in next 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

Coming shortly!

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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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