Bavarian Crochet in the Round

This is the second in our two-part series on Bavarian crochet. Bavarian crochet is more of a stitch than a technique, which is why these instructions are laid out as patterns rather than traditional tutorials. Last week we featured the pattern for Bavarian crochet in rows. This week we're showcasing how to do it in the round.

Special Stitches:
4-bptr cluster. Work a bptr over ea of the next 4 stitches, keeping the last loop of ea bptr on the hook. After the 4th bptr, yo and pull through all 5 loops on the hook. 4-bptr cluster is complete.

7-bptr cluster. Work a bptr over ea of the next 7 stitches, keeping the last loop of ea bptr on the hook. After the 7th bptr, yo and pull through all 8 loops on the hook. 7-fptr cluster is complete.

Beginning Chain: Ch 6; join with sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1. *Ch 3, tr4tog in ring, ch 3, sc in ring; rep from * 3 times. 4 tr4tog and 4 sc.

Rnd 2. *Skip next 3 ch, 12 tr in top of next tr4tog, hdc in next sc; rep from * around. 4 shells.

Finish off. Change colors if desired.

Rnd 3. Join with sl st in 3rd tr of first shell. *Bphdc in next tr, ch 3, 4-bptr cluster across next 4 tr, ch 3, bphdc around next tr, ch 3, 7-bptr cluster across next (3 tr, hdc, and 3tr), ch 3; rep from * around. Join with sl st in first bphdc. 4 4-bptr clusters and 4 7-bptr clusters.

Rnd 4. *Skip next 3 ch, 12 tr in top of next 4-bptr cluster, hdc in next bphdc, 7 tr in top of next 7-bptr cluster; rep from * around. Join with sl st in sl st. 4 regular shells and 4 corner shells.

Finish off. Change colors if desired.

Rnd 5. Join with sl st in 3rd tr of corner shell. **Bphdc in next tr, ch 3, 4-bptr cluster across next 4 tr, ch 3, *bphdc around next tr, ch 3, 7-bptr cluster across next (3 tr, hdc, and 3tr), ch 3; rep from * across to next corner shell, then rep from ** around. Join with sl st in first bphdc.

Rnd 6. **Skip next 3 ch, 12 tr in top of next 4-bptr cluster, *hdc in next bphdc, 7 tr in top of next 7-bptr cluster; rep from * across to next 4-bptr cluster, then rep from ** around. Join with sl st in sl st.

Rep rnds 5 & 6, finishing off after each even row and changing colors at that time if desired.

Abbreviations
bphdc          back-post half-double crochet
bptr          back-post treble crochet
ch          chain
ea          each
hdc           half-double crochet
rep          repeat
rnd          round
rnds          rounds
sc           single crochet
sl st           slip stitch
tog          together
tr          treble crochet
yo          yarn over