2026 VVCAL
Published on July 11, 2026

2026 VVCAL: Parrotfish 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 15 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.

Parrotfish 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.

Parrotfish Animal Facts - Scaridae - A-Z Animals

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Five fascinating facts about parrotfish - Great Barrier Reef Foundation

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Parrotfish: Coral Friend or Foe? - Scuba.com

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Fun Facts

Parrotfish are essential reef-dwelling fish famous for their fused, beak-like teeth. They spend about 90% of their day grazing on algae, keeping coral reefs clean and healthy. In the process, they grind up coral, which passes through their system to become hundreds of pounds of fine white sand every year.

Parrotfish are among the most distinct of the more than 1,500 species of fish that call our irreplaceable Reef home. They’re collectively named for their bright parrot-like colours and bird-like beak, yet no one species of parrotfish looks like another.

Using their powerful beaks, parrotfish can munch on coral at an astonishing rate of 20 bites per minute. And what goes in must come out. If you swim behind a feeding parrotfish, you might spot a plume of fine sand coming out the back end – the digested remnants of a coral’s stony skeleton. Scientists think parrotfish faeces contribute to much of the coral sand found on our reefs and even help to form reef islands. It’s estimated a single parrotfish could produce up to 90 kilograms of sand each year. 

Before they go to sleep each night, some species of parrotfish build a transparent cocoon made of mucus secreted from special glands in their gills. It not only keeps them safe from biting “bed bugs” like parasitic isopods that attach while the fish sleep, but may also mask their smell from night-time predators like moray eels and sharks. 

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef provides not only a kaleidoscope of sights and colours, but sounds too. Listen out underwater and you might just hear the distinctive crunch of some types of parrotfish as they chew on coral. It’s thought they’re after the algae that grow on corals, and research suggests they’re also eating the bacteria and microbes that live inside coral. Either way, it takes tough teeth to take on a stony calcium-carbonate diet. Their incredible teeth are fused as one to their jawbone. The crystalline structure of their teeth is so sturdy, it would beat gold, copper and silver in a fracture test.  

Parrotfish 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
  • 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 dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • FPtr front post treble crochet
  • hdc half double crochet
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • picot ch3, sc in top side of previous st to close picot
  • 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 2dccl, [ch2, 2dccl] 5 times, ch2, ss in beg 2dccl. [6 2dccl, 6 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg 2dccl in first ch-sp, [(ch2, 2dccl in same sp) 2 times, ch2, 2dccl in next sp] 6 times omitting final 2dccl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2dccl. [18 2dccl, 18 sp]

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Rnd 3 [(1sc, ch1, 2dc, 1tr), in next ch-sp, FPtr around next 2dccl, picot, (1tr, 2dc, ch1, 1sc in next sp), 1sc in next sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [6 picot, 6 FPtr, 12 tr, 24 dc, 18 sc, 12 sp]

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Rnd 4 Working into the st to the right – the final st of Rnd 3, beg 2trcl, [ch3, 2trcl in same st, ch3, 1sc in back of picot, ch3, sk 1 sc, 2trcl in next sc] 6 times omitting final 2trcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2trcl. [12 2trcl, 6 sc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 5 [5 hdc in next ch-sp, 3hdc in next sp, 1sc in next sc, 3hdc in next sp] 6 times, ss in first hdc. [66 hdc, 6 sc]

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Rnd 6 [2sc, 3sc in next st, 9sc] 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
  • 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 tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • FPdtr front post double treble crochet
  • htr half treble crochet
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • picot ch3, dc in top side of previous st to close picot
  • 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 2trcl, [ch2, 2trcl] 5 times, ch2, ss in beg 2trcl. [6 2trcl, 6 sp]

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Rnd 2 Beg 2trcl in first ch-sp, [(ch2, 2trcl in same sp) 2 times, ch2, 2trcl in next sp] 6 times omitting final 2trcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2trcl. [18 2trcl, 18 sp]

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Rnd 3 [(1dc, ch1, 2tr, 1dtr), in next ch-sp, FPdtr around next 2trcl, picot, (1dtr, 2tr, ch1, 1dc in next sp), 1dc in next sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [6 picot, 6 FPdtr, 12 dtr, 24 tr, 18 dc, 12 sp]

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Rnd 4 Working into the st to the right – the final st of Rnd 3, beg 2dtrcl, [ch3, 2dtrcl in same st, ch3, 1dc in back of picot, ch3, sk 1 dc, 2dtrcl in next dc] 6 times omitting final 2dtrcl on sixth rep, ss in beg 2dtrcl. [12 2dtrcl, 6 dc, 18 sp]

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Rnd 5 [5 htr in next ch-sp, 3htr in next sp, 1dc in next dc, 3htr in next sp] 6 times, ss in first htr. [66 htr, 6 dc]

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Rnd 6 [2dc, 3dc in next st, 9dc] 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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