I am in love with this afghan. For the first time, I tried the Russian join and it seemed to work pretty well. The stitches at the join are more bulky, but it’s only for a stitch or two. It’s not as noticeable with the black stitches as it is with the lighter colored stitches.

I also used the continuous join to join the squares. I changed the pattern a bit. I do a slip stitch in place of the sc, and I don’t chain one at the corners. I think it makes the stitches tighter and in my experience, they are just going to get stretched with use.

As for the flower square pattern, I made changes there too. When making the flower, I crochet around the chain spaces rather than having them hang on the back. (I think that’s better for kids too.)

Tutorial here.