Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014: Your Complete Free Guide

If you’ve ever found yourself falling down a rabbit hole of crochet inspiration on Pinterest or YouTube, chances are you’ve stumbled across Sharon Blignaut’s name. This South African crochet designer became something of a legend in the online crochet community thanks to her Crochet Block a Week CAL (Crochet Along) from 2014, a project that brought together thousands of yarn lovers from across the globe and still inspires makers today. Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or returning to finally finish that pile of squares you started years ago, this guide covers everything you need to know about Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 and where to find all the free patterns.

What Is a Crochet Along (CAL)?

Before diving into the specifics of this particular project, it helps to understand what a crochet along actually is. A CAL is essentially a community event where crocheters work on the same project at the same time, following patterns released in stages by a designer. The social element is a huge part of the appeal. Participants share their progress photos, ask questions, troubleshoot stitches together, and celebrate finished projects as a community. CALs can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and they’re a wonderful way to stay motivated, learn new techniques, and connect with fellow crafters around the world.

Sharon Blignaut’s 2014 CAL took this concept and ran with it beautifully. Instead of one large blanket pattern released in sections, she structured the event around individual crochet blocks, releasing a new square or motif design each week throughout the year. This gave participants enormous creative freedom while still providing that community structure and weekly motivation that makes CALs so compelling.

Who Is Sharon Blignaut?

Sharon Blignaut is a South African crochet designer and blogger known for her colorful, accessible, and joyful approach to the craft. Her blog, which became a hub for the CAL community, reflects her warm personality and her genuine passion for sharing crochet with as many people as possible. She has a particular gift for designing blocks and motifs that feel both achievable for beginners and satisfying for experienced crocheters, striking that rare balance that keeps a wide range of skill levels engaged.

Her work is heavily influenced by the vibrant color traditions of South African textile culture, and you can often see this in her choice of combinations and the lively energy her finished projects radiate. The 2014 CAL was one of her biggest community undertakings, and it cemented her reputation as one of the most generous and community-minded designers in the online crochet world.

The Concept Behind the Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014

The premise of the 2014 CAL was elegantly simple: one new block pattern, released for free, every week for a full year. That’s 52 individual block designs, each unique, each free to download and use. Participants could use their blocks however they liked. Some assembled them into large, sprawling blankets. Others made wall hangings, cushion covers, or sampler afghans. Some simply worked through the blocks as a stitch study, building their skills and expanding their crochet vocabulary without any fixed end goal in mind.

This open-ended approach was part of what made the CAL so popular. There was no pressure to commit to a specific finished item before you started. You could collect the patterns week by week and decide later how to use them. This flexibility attracted everyone from complete beginners looking for guided practice to seasoned crocheters who wanted a structured challenge to keep them creating consistently throughout the year.

The blocks themselves covered a remarkable range of techniques. You’d find traditional granny square variations, textured cluster squares, intricate lace motifs, geometric designs, dimensional flower squares, and everything in between. Working through the full set was genuinely educational, like taking a hands-on course in crochet design through the act of making.

Why People Still Search for This CAL Today

It might seem surprising that a crochet along from 2014 still generates so much interest a decade later, but there are good reasons for it. The first is simply that the patterns are excellent. Good design doesn’t have an expiration date, and Sharon’s blocks are as appealing and well-written now as they were when they were first released.

The second reason is the sheer scope of the project. Fifty-two blocks is a significant collection, and the variety across the set means there’s something for nearly every taste and skill level. Whether you love classic geometric crochet, vintage-inspired floral motifs, or bold modern textures, you’ll find blocks in this collection that speak to you.

The third reason is that many people started the CAL in 2014 and never finished it. Life got in the way, as it always does, and that basket of completed squares got tucked into a cupboard. But the love for the project never disappeared, and a decade later, plenty of people are pulling those squares back out, hunting down the patterns they missed, and finally finishing their blankets. If that’s you, welcome back. You’re in good company.

What Techniques Do the Blocks Cover?

One of the greatest educational values of Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 is the breadth of techniques it introduces. Rather than repeating similar constructions across all 52 blocks, the collection deliberately explores crochet’s vast technical range. Here’s a flavor of what you’ll encounter.

Classic granny square construction forms the foundation of several blocks, making this a great starting point for beginners who are just getting comfortable with joining rounds and working into chain spaces. From there, the collection ventures into textured stitches like bobbles, popcorns, and puff stitches, which add wonderful three-dimensional interest to finished pieces.

Several blocks explore working in continuous spirals rather than joined rounds, producing a subtly different visual result that’s worth understanding. Others introduce spike stitches, crossed stitches, and various forms of post stitches that work around the body of previous stitches rather than into the top, creating ribbed textures and woven-looking effects.

Lace construction features prominently in a number of the more intricate blocks, with airy chain spaces and delicate mesh patterns that feel quite different from the denser textured squares. And the floral motifs in the collection teach the particular skills of working dimensional petals and leaves, which are techniques that open up a whole new world of crochet possibilities once you’ve got the hang of them.

For anyone who wants to systematically improve their crochet skills, working through all 52 blocks in order is a genuinely effective way to do it.

How to Get the Free Patterns

The original patterns were published on Sharon Blignaut’s blog, where each block was shared as a weekly free download throughout 2014. The good news is that the crochet community has done a remarkable job of preserving and archiving these patterns, and many of them remain freely accessible today through various sources.

Your first stop should always be Sharon’s original blog. Searching for her name along with “Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014” will typically surface the original blog posts. Even if some links have shifted over the years, many of the original posts are still live and the patterns are downloadable as PDFs or readable directly on the page.

The Ravelry database is another invaluable resource. Ravelry is the world’s largest online community for knitters and crocheters, and it functions as a comprehensive pattern database where designers can list their work for free or for sale. Many of Sharon’s blocks from the 2014 CAL are listed on Ravelry, often with direct links to the original free patterns. The Ravelry project pages are also a goldmine of inspiration, showing you how thousands of other crocheters have interpreted the same blocks in their own color choices and yarn weights.

Pinterest remains a fantastic discovery tool for finding individual blocks, with pins linking to tutorials, blog posts, and pattern archives. If you’re looking for a specific block number or a particular design you remember seeing, a targeted Pinterest search often surfaces exactly what you need.

YouTube is worth exploring too, particularly if you’re a visual learner. While Sharon’s written patterns are generally clear and well-structured, various crochet YouTubers have created video tutorials for individual blocks from the CAL, which can be enormously helpful when you’re trying to visualize a new technique.

Finally, don’t overlook crochet Facebook groups. There are dedicated communities built around this specific CAL and around Sharon’s work more broadly, and the members are typically generous with advice, pattern links, and encouragement. If you’re struggling to find a particular block or can’t quite crack a tricky stitch, posting a question in one of these groups will almost certainly get you helpful responses quickly.

Yarn and Hook Recommendations

Sharon designed the 2014 blocks to be worked in a standard double knitting or worsted weight yarn with an appropriately sized hook, typically in the 4mm to 5mm range depending on your tension and the specific yarn you choose. This keeps the blocks accessible, since worsted weight and DK weight yarns are widely available in virtually every yarn shop and online retailer, often in enormous color ranges.

The choice of fiber is largely a matter of personal preference and intended use. If you’re making a blanket for everyday use that will see regular washing, an acrylic yarn or a washable wool blend is a practical choice. If you’re more interested in the pleasure of the making and the final textile quality, a pure wool or cotton yarn will reward you with beautiful stitch definition and a satisfying handle.

Color is where you can really make these blocks your own. Many participants in the original CAL used their stash yarn, turning the weekly blocks into a satisfying stash-busting project that gradually transformed a chaotic collection of leftover yarn into a coherent finished piece. If you’re working toward a blanket, choosing a palette of five to ten colors that work well together and then randomly or deliberately distributing them across your blocks produces a beautiful, cohesive result.

Some crocheters choose a single consistent background color and vary only the accent colors from block to block, which creates a unified look even across 52 different designs. Others embrace full-spectrum scrappy color chaos, which produces a wonderfully exuberant finished piece that vibrates with energy. Neither approach is wrong. This is crochet, and the creative choices are entirely yours.

Assembling Your Blocks into a Finished Piece

Once you’ve worked through a significant number of blocks, you’ll start thinking about how to put them together. The joining method you choose will significantly affect the finished look of your project, so it’s worth considering your options before you commit.

The classic flat slip stitch join worked through both loops of adjacent blocks creates a neat, subtle line between squares. The join-as-you-go method, where you attach each new block to its neighbors while still working the final round, eliminates the need for a separate joining session entirely and many crocheters find it deeply satisfying to watch the blanket grow in real time.

The decorative flat braid join, sometimes called the modified slip stitch join, creates a raised chain effect between blocks that becomes a deliberate design element in its own right. This can look absolutely stunning in a contrast color, effectively adding a geometric grid pattern that ties the whole piece together.

A sewn join using a tapestry needle and yarn is the most invisible option, producing a seamless look that emphasizes the blocks themselves rather than the joins. This is the most time-consuming joining method but gives a very professional, clean result.

Whatever joining method you choose, laying out your blocks before joining to plan the arrangement is always time well spent. Photographing the layout from above lets you step back and assess the overall color and texture balance before you commit.

The Legacy of the 2014 CAL

More than ten years on, Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 stands as one of the most successful and beloved community crochet events of the decade. The project managed to be simultaneously structured and free-form, educational and playful, communal and deeply personal. It met crocheters exactly where they were and invited them to grow.

The finished blankets and projects that came out of it are scattered across homes around the world, each one a unique interpretation of the same 52 designs, each carrying the memory of a year of weekly creative practice. That’s a remarkable thing for a free online crochet project to have accomplished.

If you’re just discovering this CAL now, you’re not too late. The patterns are still out there, the community is still warm and welcoming, and the blocks are just as beautiful and satisfying to make as they ever were. Pull up block number one, pick your favorite yarn, find a comfortable seat, and start crocheting. Thousands of makers did it before you, and plenty more will do it after. There’s always room for one more blanket made with love, one square at a time.