Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014: Everything You Need to Know About This Beloved Free Crochet Along

If you have been part of the crochet community for any length of time, you have almost certainly come across a crochet-along, or CAL. These collaborative events bring crafters together from around the world to work on the same project simultaneously, sharing progress photos, asking questions, and cheering one another on. Among the many CALs that have captured the hearts of crocheters over the years, Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 holds a very special place. It was free, it was beginner-friendly, it was beautifully designed, and it built a community that many participants still talk about fondly today. Whether you are discovering this CAL for the first time or you participated back in 2014 and want to revisit it, this post will walk you through everything you need to know.

What Is a Crochet-Along, and Why Are They So Popular?

Before we dive into the specifics of Sharon Blignaut’s CAL, it helps to understand what makes a crochet-along such a special experience. A crochet-along is essentially an event, often hosted online, where a designer releases a pattern in installments and invites crocheters everywhere to work through it together at the same pace. Participants share their work in progress on social media, in Facebook groups, in blog comment sections, and on platforms like Ravelry. The sense of shared journey is what makes a CAL different from simply following a pattern on your own.

When you join a CAL, you get cheerleaders. You get people who understand exactly where you are in the pattern because they are right there with you. You get tips, color inspiration, and that extra nudge of motivation that solo crafting can sometimes lack. And when the CAL is free, as Sharon Blignaut’s was, the barrier to entry disappears entirely. All you need is yarn, a hook, and the willingness to commit to one block per week.

Who Is Sharon Blignaut?

Sharon Blignaut is a South African crochet designer whose work is beloved for its approachability, creativity, and clear instructional style. She has built a dedicated following through her blog and her generosity in sharing free patterns with the crochet community. Her designs tend to strike the right balance between interesting and accessible, making them attractive to beginners who want to grow their skills while still creating something genuinely beautiful.

Her reputation in the crochet community is built on trust. When she says a pattern is beginner-friendly, it is. When she says a project will be free, she means it. The 2014 Crochet Block a Week CAL was a perfect expression of everything she brings to her craft, and it remains one of the most talked-about free CALs in recent crochet history.

The Premise: One Block Per Week, All Year Long

The concept behind the 2014 Crochet Block a Week CAL is exactly as elegant as it sounds. Over the course of a full year, Sharon released one crochet block pattern per week. That means participants had the opportunity to create 52 individual crochet blocks, each one different, each one a small lesson in a new stitch pattern, texture, or design element.

This format is incredibly clever for a number of reasons. First, working on one block per week is entirely manageable for even the busiest crafter. A single crochet block typically takes anywhere from one to a few hours depending on complexity, your skill level, and the size of the block. Spreading that commitment across seven days gives you plenty of breathing room without letting the project stall entirely.

Second, the weekly format keeps the excitement going. Rather than downloading an entire pattern at once and potentially feeling overwhelmed, CAL participants had something to look forward to each week. Every new block release was an event, a reason to pick up your hook and spend time in the company of fellow crafters.

Third, by the end of the year, participants had 52 blocks in hand, which is more than enough to assemble into a stunning blanket, throw, or sampler. A finished object of that scale, made one manageable piece at a time, is deeply satisfying.

What Made the 2014 CAL Special

There were several qualities that set Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL apart from other crochet-alongs of the time.

The most immediately obvious was that it was completely free. Every single one of the 52 block patterns was released at no charge. In the crochet design world, where pattern designers absolutely deserve to be compensated for their work, offering an entire year’s worth of content for free represents an extraordinary gift to the community. Sharon’s generosity drew participants from all over the world, many of whom might never have engaged with her work otherwise and who became devoted fans of her designs as a result.

The variety of blocks was another standout feature. Over 52 weeks, participants encountered a remarkable range of crochet techniques. Some blocks were granny square variations, riffing on that most classic of crochet motifs but adding unexpected twists. Others explored textured stitches, creating surfaces full of pops, bobbles, and raised elements that made the finished squares tactilely interesting as well as visually appealing. Some blocks leaned into geometric precision, while others felt softer and more organic. Working through the full series gave participants a genuine education in crochet design.

The community that formed around the CAL was equally remarkable. Participants gathered in dedicated Facebook groups, on Ravelry, and in the comment sections of Sharon’s blog. They posted photos of their finished blocks, asked for help when they got stuck, shared color combinations they were using, and celebrated each other’s milestones. That community feeling, that sense of being part of something larger than your own living room crafting session, is what many participants still mention most fondly when they look back on the 2014 CAL.

Choosing Your Yarn and Colors

One of the most joyful and, admittedly, sometimes overwhelming parts of preparing for a block-based CAL is deciding on your yarn and color palette. Because the Crochet Block a Week CAL results in 52 blocks that will ultimately be assembled into a single project, your color choices need to work together across the entire year.

Some participants chose a strictly limited palette, perhaps three to five colors, and used them consistently across all 52 blocks. This approach creates a wonderfully cohesive finished blanket with a curated, intentional look. Others embraced the scrap yarn approach, treating each block as an opportunity to use up leftover yarn from other projects. This method produces a gloriously scrappy, eclectic result that is full of personality and tells the story of every project you made that year.

Another popular choice was to work in a gradient or ombre palette, selecting yarns that transition from one color family to another across the 52 weeks. Imagine starting the year in deep, cool blues and purples in January and slowly moving through greens, warm yellows, and rich oranges by the end of the year. Assembled as a blanket, this would create a breathtaking color journey.

In terms of yarn weight, a worsted weight yarn is a popular choice for block CALs because it works up relatively quickly, produces a fabric with satisfying substance and drape, and is forgiving enough that minor tension inconsistencies between blocks are not terribly noticeable. That said, participants have worked Sharon’s blocks in everything from fingering weight to bulky yarn, with beautiful results at every scale. Just remember that if you change yarn weight, all your blocks will be a different size from the designer’s original, which is perfectly fine as long as you are consistent.

How to Get Started: Accessing the Free Patterns

If you want to work through the Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014, the first step is finding the patterns. Sharon Blignaut originally released them on her blog, where they remain available. Because the CAL was such a popular event, the patterns have also been discussed, linked, and archived across a wide range of crochet communities on the internet.

A search for Sharon Blignaut Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 will lead you to her blog and to the various community spaces where participants gathered. Ravelry is also an excellent resource, as many of the blocks have been catalogued there with notes from participants about adjustments, color choices, and tips for tricky sections.

If you plan to work through all 52 blocks, it is worth bookmarking or saving each pattern as you access it, simply so that you have them collected in one place. Some crafters prefer to print them, creating a physical binder that they can work from without needing a screen nearby. Others work entirely from digital devices, keeping patterns open on a tablet propped beside their work. There is no wrong approach.

Working Through the Blocks: Tips for Success

Embarking on a year-long crochet project requires a little more planning and discipline than a shorter project, but it is also deeply rewarding in a way that quicker projects simply cannot match. Here are some thoughts on setting yourself up for success.

Treat each block as its own small project. Rather than thinking about all 52 blocks at once, which can feel daunting, focus on the one block in front of you. Finish it, weave in the ends, and feel the satisfaction of a completed piece before moving on.

Keep your finished blocks somewhere visible. Whether that is a basket in your living room, a drawer in your craft space, or laid out on a bed, seeing your collection grow week by week is a powerful motivator.

Do not panic if you fall behind. Life happens, and missing a week or two does not mean the project is ruined. One of the great advantages of a block-based CAL is that there is no penalty for catching up. You can work two or three blocks in a week when you have a bit of extra time and be right back on track.

Connect with others who are working through the same CAL. Even if you are discovering the 2014 CAL years after its original run, you will find communities of crafters who are either revisiting it or working through it for the first time. These communities are generous with encouragement and advice.

Take photographs as you go. Even if you do not post them publicly, having a photographic record of each completed block is wonderful. When you assemble your blanket at the end, you will have a visual diary of the entire journey.

Assembling the Finished Blanket

Once you have all 52 blocks completed, the assembly stage begins. This is both exciting and an opportunity to make significant creative decisions about how your finished blanket will look.

The first question is arrangement. With 52 blocks, you have enormous freedom in how you lay them out. Some crafters arrange blocks to create a gradient effect, placing lighter blocks at the center and darker ones toward the edges, or arranging colors in bands. Others scatter colors randomly for a patchwork effect. Still others group similar textures together, placing all the bobble and popcorn blocks in one section and the flatter, lacier blocks in another. Spending time laying your blocks out on the floor and experimenting with arrangements before committing is time very well spent.

The second question is joining method. There are several popular ways to join crochet blocks. The slip stitch join and the single crochet join are both simple and create a flat seam. The flat braid join and the chain join create more decorative seams that become a design element in their own right. The flat slip stitch join worked on the right side creates a subtle ridge between blocks that many crafters find very attractive. Whichever method you choose, working a join swatch on a couple of spare blocks first is a good way to see how it will look before committing to your finished pieces.

The third question is whether to add a border. Many assembled block blankets benefit enormously from a border, which frames the entire piece and gives it a polished, finished look. A simple border of single crochet or double crochet worked evenly all the way around is always elegant. More adventurous crafters add multiple border rounds, incorporating shells, fans, or other decorative elements. If you have been working in multiple colors throughout the year, your border is also an opportunity to bring them all together by working a few rounds in each of your main colors.

Why This CAL Still Resonates Today

It is worth pausing to think about why a CAL that ran a decade ago continues to attract new participants and generate warm conversation among crafters who experienced it firsthand. The answer, really, is that the qualities that made it special in 2014 have not diminished with time.

The patterns are still free. The blocks are still beautiful and instructive. The sense of community may have shifted platforms as social media has evolved, but the spirit of it persists wherever crafters gather to share their work. And the finished blanket, 52 unique blocks assembled into a single large and lovely object, is still as impressive and meaningful at the end as it was when participants first dreamed of completing it.

There is also something poignant about a year-long project. The 52 blocks of the 2014 CAL mark 52 weeks of someone’s life. Each block was made somewhere, by someone, during a specific week of a specific year. Some were made during quiet Sunday afternoons. Some were started on a Tuesday and finished on a Friday when the week turned out to be busier than expected. Some were made during illness, or celebration, or during a long train journey. The finished blanket carries all of that with it, invisibly, in every stitch.

Final Thoughts

Sharon Blignaut’s Crochet Block a Week CAL 2014 is a landmark in free crochet design. It offered crafters an entire year’s worth of beautifully designed blocks at no cost, introduced thousands of crocheters to new techniques, and built a community of shared enthusiasm and mutual support that many participants still treasure. Whether you want to work through all 52 blocks as originally released, dip in and pick your favorites, or use the blocks as a jumping-off point for your own creative experimentation, there is something here for every crafter.

If you have never tried a block-based CAL before, this is a wonderful place to start. And if you are a veteran of the 2014 original, perhaps it is time to pull out those blocks, find a joining method you love, and finally make that blanket you have been meaning to assemble. Either way, your hook is waiting.