Update (10/10/05): Astute observers will have noticed that this project hasn't been updated in over a year. Long story short: I've been busy and the game mat was really damn heavy and stiff and unpleasant to work with and the game looked like it wouldn't fit in anything short of a ballroom., so it all got discouraging and I worked on other stuff instead. But I've got my hands on some new yarn with good color-combos and I'd like to try again. The new project will differ significantly from the old one, at least in appearance, although I'll be keeping a lot of elements of the original patterns. Exactly what I'm planning, as well as a request for comments, can be found here.
Update (01/29/04): Current status: Hexes are done except for woods and pastures (I haven't found really satisfactory shades of green or brown; in fact, the Simply Soft® line doesn't seem to have a proper brown at all and I may be forced to use another style. I'm also out of the little spade buttons -- I need to get more, but they were from a variety pack, and I'm hoping to find another spade-rich variety pack from the same company. So hexes and game-mat work are halted. Right now my work is on number-circles (which aren't shown in the picture earlier -- sorry about that) and settlement elements. I've also kicked around the idea, since in the end this project will weight several pounds and require a ballroom to play in, of a more modestly-sized version of the same. Virtually all the instructions here will translate to thread crochet -- and color matching will be a lot less painful, since DMC pearl cotton exists in every color known to man.
Update (01/05/04): I finally have partial pics. Above is an image of what I have ready to display: this is the game mat through row 35 (note the hook at the top of the image, where work is continuing), with one hills hex, one desert hex, two fields hexes, and three mountains hexes buttoned down. On the right, a copy of Nick Montfort's Twisty Little Passages is shown to exhibit scale.
Settlers of Catan™ (Die Siedler von Catan) is an award-winning German boardgame featuring a modular board made up of hexagonal tiles, on whose edges and corners players place roads, settlements, and cities. This afghan is inspired by the game, and, if fully designed, can be used as a giant gameboard. The design elements listed below are divided into three categories: to simply create an afghan, only the game mat is necessary, but it's sort of boring without the hexes as well. To create a usable gameboard, however, not only the hexes but also the embellishments are necessary, as well as a set of settlement elements, in different colors, for each player; note that even these are not enough to play the game, as one also needs the resource and development cards from the original game --- rendering resource and development cards in crochet was really quite impractical.
This design may be freely used and may be distributed as is for noncommercial purposes. Commercial usage, or distribution of modified forms of this pattern are prohibited except by explicit permission of the author.
The Settlers of Catan™ is copyright 1997, 1999 by Mayfair Games, produced under license from Klaus Teuber and Reiner Müller. The Settlers of Catan™ is a trademark of Mayfair Games. Die Siedler von Catan is a trademark of Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH. Caron® and Simply Soft® are registered trademarks of Caron International. Susan Bates® is a registered trademark of Coats & Clark, Inc.
I crochet quite tightly, so I can't promise these instructions, hook sizes, etc. will work for anyone else. Most of the design was semi-freehand, so I don't have gauge samples to test against.
The colors and styles used are based loosely on those in the Mayfair version. The color-choices were shaped, more than anything else, by the colors of yarn available in the Caron Simply Soft line.
Several of the board elements are given in both a flat and a 3-dimensional version. The 3-d version is truer to the board-game's design, and creates a more highly contrasting appearance of settlement aspects during the game, while the flat version is easier to crochet and travels better.
Yarn over, put hook into next stitch, yarn over, draw loop through, yarn over, draw loop through previous 2 stitches on hook. There should now be 2 stitches on the hook. Using a smaller hook or a needle, stick a loop through the shank of the button, then put this loop on the hook and draw through the other 2. The result should look like a double crochet, with a button embedded into the stitch.
With a K hook, in one strand of dark blue and one of blue, ch 3, sl st in first ch to form a loop.
Rnd 1: 6sc in loop.
Rnd 2: (2 hdc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 3: (3 dc in next hdc, dc in next hdc) 6 times.
Rnd 4: (dc in next dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 2 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 5: (dc in next 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 6: (dc in next 3 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 4 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 7: (dc in next 4 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 5 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 8: (dc in next 5 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 6 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 9: (dc in next 6 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 7 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 10: (dc in next 7 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 8 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 11: (dc in next 8 dc, (dc, button dc, dc) in next dc, dc in next 8 dc, button dc) 6 times.
Rnd 12: (dc in next 9 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 10 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 13: (dc in next 10 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 11 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 14: (dc in next 11 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 12 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 15: (dc in next 12 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 13 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 16: (dc in next 13 dc, (dc, button dc, dc) in next dc, dc in next 14 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 17: (dc in next 14 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 15 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 18: (dc in next 15 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 16 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 19: (dc in next 16 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 17 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 20: (dc in next 17 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 18 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 21: (dc in next 18 dc, (dc, button dc, dc) in next dc, dc in next 19 dc) 6 times.
With a K hook, in one strand of dark green and one of brown, thread 12 buttons and ch 3, sl st in first ch to form a loop.
Rnd 1: 6sc in loop.
Rnd 2: (2 hdc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 3: (3 dc in next hdc, dc in next hdc) 6 times.
Rnd 4: (dc in next dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 2 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 5: (dc in next 2 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 3 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 6: (dc in next 3 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 4 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 7: (dc in next 4 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 4 dc,
button-ch, dc in next 5 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 5 dc) 3
times.
Rnd 8: (dc in next 5 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 6 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 9: (dc in next 6 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in next 7 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 10: (hdc in next 7 dc, 3 hdc in next dc, hdc in next 8 dc) 6 times.
Rnd 11: (sc in next 8 hdc, ch 2, sk 1 hdc) 12 times, sl st in first sc, finish off.
Make as woods hexes, but using one strand of medium green, one of bright green.
Make as woods hexes, but using one strand of yellow, one of lt brown.
Make as woods hexes, but using one strand of deep red, one of light brown.
Make as woods hexes, but using one strand of grey, one of black.
Make as woods hexes, but using one strand of yellow, one of black.
With a H hook, in natural, ch 3, sl to first stitch to form a loop.
Rnd 1: sc 6 times in loop.
Rnd 2: (2 sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 3: (sc 1, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 4: (sc 2, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 5: (sc 3, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 6: (sc 4, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 7: (sc 5, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 8: (sc 6, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 9: (sc 7, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 10: (sc 8, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 11: (sc 9, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 12: (sc 10, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 13: (sc 11, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 14: (sc 12, 2sc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 15: (hdc 13, 2hdc in next sc, hdc 6, ch 3, sk 1 sc,hdc 6, 2hdc
in next sc) 6 times. Rplace final 2hdc with 2sc; sl st into first hdc,
finish off.
Embroider numerals on the circles so that 1 circle contains each of the numbers 2 and 12, and 2 circles contain each of the numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Make as number circles, but in black yarn.
Make as the flat version, but work round 8 in back loops only. This will form the base;the familiar robber token will be built on the front roops of round 7.
Rnd 1: starting anywhere, working on the outside of the round, sc
into each of the 42 front-loops of rnd 7 of the base.
Rnd 2: sc into each sc of rnd 1.
Rnd 3: (sc 13, 2sc in next sc) 3 times.
Note:If you just want a free-standing robber, just work 7 rounds of the robber-base and construct the rest as instructed.
With a G hook, ch 4 loosely.
Row 1: ch 1, sc in each of 4 previous stitches, turn.
Row 2: ch 1, sc in first sc, ch 2, sc in last sc, turn.
Row 3: ch 1, sc in first sc, 2 sc in ch-2 sp, sc in last sc, turn.
Row 4-18: ch 1, sc in each of next 4 sc, turn.
Row 19-35: Repeat rows 2-18.
Row 36-37: Repeat rows 2-3.
Edging: sc 1, sc in each of next 4 sc, sc in the end of each row down
the side (37 sc total), sci n each of 4 back loops of foundation
chain, and sc in the end of each row up the other side. Slip stitch to
first sc and finish off (82 scs on edging).
With a G hook, ch 8 loosely.
Row 1: ch 1, sc in each of 8 previous stitches, turn.
Row 2-6: ch 1, sc in each of next 8 sc, turn.
Row 7: ch 1, sc in each of next 3 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, sc in each of
next 3 sc, turn.
Row 8: ch 1, sc in each of next 3 sc, 2sc in ch-2 sp, sc in each of
next 3 sc, turn.
Row 9: ch 1, sc in each of next 6 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 10: ch 1, sc in each of next 5 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 11: ch 1, sc in each of next 4 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 12: ch 1, sc in each of next 3 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 13: ch 1, sc in each of next 2 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 14: ch 1, sc in each of next 1 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 15: ch 1, sc2tog in 2 sc of previous row, turn.
Edging: ch 1, sc in stitch of row 15, then sc in the end of each row down (15 sc total), sc in 8 back loops of foundation chain, sc in the end of each row up (15 sc total), sl st into first sc of edging, finish off.
With a H hook, ch 3, sl to first stitch to form a loop.
Rnd 1: sc 6 times in loop.
Rnd 2: (2 hdc in next sc) 6 times.
Rnd 3: In front loops only, (sc in next 2 hdc, ch 3, sc in next 2 hdc)
3 times.
Rnd 4: In back loops of rnd 2, (sc in next 4 hdc, 2 sc in each of next
2 sc) twice.
Rnd 5: (hdc in next 5 sc, 3 hdc in next sc, hdc in next sc, 3 hdc in
next sc) twice.
Rnd 6: (hdc in next 6 hdc, 3 hdc in next hdc, 3 hdc in next hdc, 3 hdc in
next hdc, hdc in next hdc) twice.
Rnd 7: (hdc in next 7 hdc, 3 hdc in next hdc, 5 hdc in next hdc, 3 hdc in
next hdc, 2 hdc in next hdc) twice.
Rnd 8: (hdc in next 8 hdc, 3 hdc in next hdc, 7 hdc in next hdc, 3 hdc in
next hdc, 3 hdc in next hdc) twice.
Rnd 9: sc in each hdc around, sl st to starting sc and in next 12 st.
Without finishing off, start an end-cap:
Row 1: ch 1, sc in same st and next 9 sts, turn.
Row 2-9: ch 1, sc in next 10 sts, turn.
Row 10: ch 1, sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 4 sts, turn.
Row 11: ch 1, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 4 sts, turn.
Row 12: ch 1, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts, turn.
Row 13: ch 1, sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts, turn.
Row 14: ch 1, sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts, turn.
Row 15: ch 1, sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next 2 sts, turn.
Row 16: ch 1, sc in next st, sc2tog, sc in next st, turn.
Row 17: ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next st, turn.
Row 18: sc2tog. Don't finish off, and leave extra yarn for surgery.
Start a long-side:
Row 1: Joining an sc in the next free stitch of Rnd 9 of the bottom,
sc in next 13 sts, turn.
Row 2-18: ch 1, sc in next 14 sts, turn.
With a G hook, ch 16 loosely.
Row 1: ch 1, sc in each of 16 previous stitches, turn.
Row 2-5: ch 1, sc in each of next 16 sc, turn.
Row 6: ch 1, sc in each of next 7 sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, sc in each of
next 7 sc, turn.
Row 7: ch 1, sc in each of next 7 sc, 2sc in ch-2 sp, sc in each of
next 7 sc, turn.
Row 8: ch 1, sc in each of next 16 sc, turn.
Row 9-16: ch 1, sc in each of next 8 sc, turn.
Row 17: ch 1, sc in each of next 6 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 18: ch 1, sc in each of next 5 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 19: ch 1, sc in each of next 4 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 20: ch 1, sc in each of next 3 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 21: ch 1, sc in each of next 2 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 22: ch 1, sc in each of next 1 st, sc2tog in last 2 sc, turn.
Row 23: ch 1, sc2tog in 2 sc of previous row, turn.
Edging: ch 1, sc in stitch of row 23, then sc in the end of each row
down (23 sc total), sc in 16 back loops of foundation chain, sc in the
end of each row up (8 sc total), sc across 8 stitches of row 8, sc in
the end of each row up (15 sc total), sl st into first sc of edging,
finish off.