Here Be Dragons Square Pattern

Here Be Dragons square by Tuppence

Design inspired by Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman

I fashioned this square using the red and yellow color blocks found in the coat of arms of Llewelyn the Great of Wales, one of the main characters in the book. Instead of a lion in each square, I put an 'L' for Llewelyn and a 'J' for Joanna spanning across the different-colored blocks to represent the divided loyalties each of them had to deal with.

The royal standard of the modern-day Prince of Wales uses the same lion-covered red-and-yellow flag of Llewelyn, but with a green shield in the middle, upon which is a crown, so I used a border of green for my square to represent how English domination was closing in on Wales during the time of Llewelyn.

Size: Approximately 8 x 8 inches

Materials used:

Red Heart Super Saver yarn (or any worsted-weight yarn) in Paddy Green, Bright Yellow, Cherry Red and Black.

Size 8 knitting needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Yarn needle

Gauge: 17 stitches and 23 rows = 4" x 4" in stockinette stitch

Cast on 34 stitches with Green. (Even-numbered rows are the right side.)

Rows 1-3: With Green knit.

Row 4: With Green knit 2, drop Green, attach Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow, attach Red and knit 15, drop Red, attach another strand of Green and knit 2.

Rows 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, pick up Red and purl 15, drop Red over Yellow, pick up Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Yellow, pick up Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow over Red, pick up Red and knit 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Row 23: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, fasten off Red, attach new strand of Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over previous strand of Yellow and fasten off previous strand of Yellow, attach new strand of Red and purl 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, pick up Red and knit 15, drop Red over Yellow, pick up Yellow and knit 15, drop Yellow over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Rows 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39 and 41: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Yellow, pick up Yellow and purl 15, drop Yellow over Red, pick up Red and purl 15, drop Red over Green, pick up Green and knit 2.

Row 42: With Green knit 2, drop Green over Red, fasten off Red, continuing with Green knit 15, drop Green over Yellow, fasten off Yellow, continuing with Green knit 15, drop Green over other Green and fasten off the other Green, continuing with Green knit 2.

Rows 43-45: With Green knit.

With right side facing, bind off as if to knit.

The letters are embroidered in duplicate stitch using Black. I used the alphabet chart here.

Weave in all yarn ends when the square is complete.