Welcome to Grandma’s Crafts! I’m so happy you are here today. I have such a fun vintage crochet find to share with you, especially if you happen to love cats as much as you love blankets. The moment I saw this Cats Afghan, I understood why crocheters are still making it almost thirty years after it was first published.

There is something so charming about those colorful cat silhouettes sitting side by side against the dark background. From a distance, they almost look like little cats watching a sunset together, and then when you look closer you realize the entire picture has been created row by row with crochet and carefully placed color changes.

This pattern was designed by Sandra Miller Maxfield and originally appeared in Hooked on Crochet! magazine in 1997. The original finished afghan measures approximately 50½ by 54 inches, not including the fringe, and is worked primarily in double crochet using a color graph.

And clearly this little group of cats has aged very well. More than a thousand Cats Afghan projects have been recorded on Ravelry, with crocheters making their own versions in all sorts of color combinations over the years.

How the Cats Afghan Is Made

ACCESS VINTAGE CATS AFGHAN PATTERN

This is what we often call a graphghan, where a picture is translated into crochet using a color chart. Instead of following a decorative stitch repeat, you follow the graph to know exactly where each new color begins and ends.

The crochet itself is actually quite straightforward. The original design is worked in double crochet, so the challenge is not learning a complicated stitch. The part that requires attention is keeping track of the color sections while following the chart. The pattern uses a 5.5 mm hook and the original finished size is around 50½ by 54 inches.

One detail that makes this project much easier to understand is that each square on the original graph represents two double crochet stitches. The cat graph is then repeated across the width of the blanket, creating those rows of colorful silhouettes.

For the color changes, I would definitely recommend preparing several small yarn bobbins before you begin. Instead of dragging one strand across large sections of the blanket, you can keep a separate little ball for each area of color. It may look like a lot of yarn hanging from the back at first, but it keeps the color sections much cleaner.

And please do yourself a favor and enlarge the graph if you can. One crocheter who made this blanket mentioned printing the chart larger and joining copies together to make the design easier to follow. With a project that has this many color changes, being able to clearly see where you are on the graph can make such a difference.

Finished Size

Approximately 50½” x 54″, not including fringe.

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn
• Approximately 18 oz black
• Approximately 15 oz each of:
  • Green
  • Purple
  • Red
  • Pink
• US I / 5.5 mm crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Small yarn bobbins or separate yarn balls are strongly recommended

Gauge

3 dc = 1″
7 dc rows = 4″

Abbreviations

ch = chain
dc = double crochet
sl st = slip stitch
st(s) = stitch(es)
RS = right side
WS = wrong side

Before You Begin

Each square on the color chart represents 2 dc, not one stitch.

The graph is worked twice across every patterned row.

That math checks perfectly:

164 dc total
minus 2 dc at each outer edge = 160 dc
160 dc ÷ 2 dc per graph square = 80 chart squares

Since the graph is repeated twice, each individual cat chart section is 40 squares wide.

This is an important detail because otherwise the stitch count appears not to make sense.

Changing Colors

Work the final yarn over of the stitch before a color change with the new color.

Drop the old color to the WS.

Use a separate ball or bobbin for each individual section of color.

Do not carry yarn across large sections of the row.

That instruction comes directly from the original 1997 pattern.

Blanket

Row 1

With black:

Ch 166.

Dc in 4th ch from hook and in each remaining ch across.

Turn.

164 dc

Row 2

Ch 3.

Dc in next st.

Now begin following Row 2 of the color chart, remembering that:

1 chart square = 2 dc

Work the entire chart once, then immediately work the same chart a second time across the row.

Finish with 1 dc in each of the final 2 sts.

Turn.

The original written Row 2 confirms the first color sequence as black, green, purple, black, red and black before the chart sequence is repeated for the second half of the blanket.

Rows 3–24

Ch 3.

Dc in next st.

Follow the corresponding row of the color chart twice across.

Dc in each of final 2 sts.

Turn.

Rows 25–93

Repeat Rows 2–24 consecutively.

This means the 23-row cat section is repeated vertically until Row 93.

Mathematically, that gives us:

• Rows 2–24 = first 23-row section
• Rows 25–47 = second
• Rows 48–70 = third
• Rows 71–93 = fourth

So the finished blanket contains four stacked repeats of the cat graph, in addition to the solid black beginning and ending rows. This interpretation follows directly from the row numbers in the original magazine pattern.

Row 94

With black only:

Ch 3.

Dc in each st across.

Fasten off.

Fringe

For each fringe group:

Cut 4 strands of black yarn, each approximately 21″ long.

Hold all 4 strands together and fold them in half.

Insert the hook into an edge stitch and pull the folded center through.

Pull all loose ends through the loop and tighten.

Add fringe in every other stitch along both short edges.

Trim evenly when finished.

A Few Tips That Will Make This Much Easier

I would absolutely use small yarn bobbins instead of full skeins for the colored cats. The original construction can leave several colors active at once, and separate bobbins make it much easier to turn the work without everything becoming tangled.

When changing colors, always make the change on the last yarn over of the previous dc. That gives you a much cleaner vertical edge between the black background and the colored cat shapes.

And I would keep the chart beside you at all times. Unlike a normal stitch repeat, the actual cat silhouettes live in that color graph. The written instructions establish the blanket dimensions and colorwork method, but the graph determines where each individual color section begins and ends.