Pattern Small Rosette

October 25, 2010 by Jenn

Originally when I decided to try and attach some pretty flowers to my booties, I went to the library to search for some flower patterns. I found an entire book on crochet flowers, but surprisingly, none of them was quite what I wanted. So I started searching online. The technique for most that I liked was the same, but depending on the size and number of petals, and the type of stitches used, the look greatly varies. I experimented a lot and came up with what I think is the perfect little rosette to attach to my little baby booties:

And best of all, the pattern is included in todays post! I like to use fingering weight yarn, the stuff used for socks, and a c2 (2.75mm) size hook, for extra snug little stitches. You can really use any yarn and hook you like, but I think the fingering weight gives the petals a nice delicate look to the petals, and snug (a bit tight) stitches hold the whole shape together nicely. and FYI: sc=single crochet dc=double crochet ch=chain Ok lets get started.

1. Chain 27 2. Skip first 4 chains, sc in 5th ch from hook, and (ch2, skip 1ch, 1sc) accross

3. Turn piece. (sc, ch1, 3dc, ch1, sc) in each ch2 space accross (as well as the final ch 4 space).

4. Thats all of the crocheting. Finish off, leaving a long tail, and threading the tail through a needle (the tail will be used to sew it all together). 5. Now, holding the short beginning tail in your hand, begin to turn the piece to form your flower.

6. Last step, sew the petals together using your long tail and needle. Keep your stitches at the base of the petals, and start with the 2 outer layers. Stitch them in a few places around the flower. Then put the needle through the entire flower a few times in a few different areas to capture the inner petals as well.

Check to make sure everything is secure, and thats it! A sweet little rose!

Heres the pattern again, without all the images: 1. Ch 27 2. Skip first 4 ch, sc in 5th ch from hook, (ch2, skip 1 ch, sc) accross. 3. Turn piece, (sc, ch1, 3dc, ch1, sc) in each ch2 space accross, and also in ch4 space at the end. 4. Finish off, leaving a long tail, and threading tail through a needle. 5. Form flower by holding short beginning tail and turning the petals around. 6. Using the long tail, sew petals in place, beginning with outer 2 layers of petals, and finishing with a few stitches to hold all layers together. This pattern can be adapted in all sorts of ways. Add extra chains to step one for additional petals. Use more chains and skip more stitches in step 2 and you can crochet larger petals in stage 3. There are many possibilities, Ive had fun (and some frustration) exploring those possibilities myself. One note if you decide to experiment: if you have a larger number of petals, it will be much better to sew as you go rather than just sticking the needle through the center to attach the petals together. The flower will turn out prettier and more secure if you stitch every couple of petals as you wrap the petals around. I will show you exactly what I mean later when I add more flower patterns. Hopefully that will be before long! Thats it for today. Let me know what you think! My Flower Baby Ballet Flats are on sale now on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JennOzkan Bootie Patterns are hopefully soon to come to my Etsy shop, please let me know if you would be interested in that as well.

Crochet Flowers and Leaves

I created the patterns for these little flowers and leaves and am SO happy to be sharing it with you. They are wonderful and quick to make and can be put to all sorts of pretty uses :: use them to embellish bags, hats, make them into brooches. Try making lots of them and string them together as a scarf or to make your own flowery bunting decoration. I've used Rowan Handknit DK cotton with a 4mm hook for these as it's what I had to hand and also an easy and clear yarn to work with for photographs. But I've also made these flowers using wool (both Cashmerino and Aran wools) and they work just as well. Just use whatever yarn tickles your fancy, with whatever hook goes with it. As is my usual fashion, I'm going to write this pattern out as a tutorial so that hopefully even if you are just beginning to learn crochet, you will be able to give these a go. I will be using US terms throughout (sorrryyyy to UK peeps, but I find it easier to think in US terms). As well as making chains, you will need to use slip stitch (sl st), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc) and double crochet (dc). As follows :: sl st :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. sc:: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. hdc :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook. dc :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops. OK..ready??? Here we go.....

To begin, chain 4 and join into a ring. You will be working out of the ring for the fist round, even though the ring looks small. Round 1 :: Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), dc 11 times into ring, join with a sl st to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 (12 stitches/spokes in the wheel). Fasten off.

Round 2 :: You are working out of the stitches in this round. Join in a new colour (make a tight knot to the old colour and pull the new colour through a stitch to the front). Chain 4 (counts as chain 3, plus 1 sc), miss a stitch, then make 1 sc into next stitch. *Chain 3, miss a stitch, then sc into next stitch* Repeat between **, four more times until you get back to the beginning. Sl st into first chain.

You should have 6 chain-3 loops around your middle wheel.

Round 3 :: In this round, you are working out of the chain-3 loops you just made. Keep same colour as in round 2. To make the first petal, work the following stitches, all under the first chain-3 loop :: *sl st, hdc, hdc, dc, hdc, hdc, sl st*. Repeat between **,five more times, working your way round under each chain-3 loops to create six petals in total. Fasten off.

You can use the flower like this, maybe adding a button to the centre if you wish. Or, you can add in a second colour and make an additional round of smaller petals as follows ::

Round 4 :: you are working out of the missed stitches from the first round (see above pic)

With yarn held at the front of the flower, pull a loop through any central "missed stitch" from the first round (as above)

You may find it easier to bend the petal back as you work (as above)

For each small petal, work out of the missed stitch as follows:: *sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc*. Repeat between **, five more times, working your way round the flower and creating each small petal out of the central "missed stitches" of the first round. Join to first sc with sl st.

And there you have it, your double-petalled flower, isn't it cute?? Did you have fun?? You can stitch a button in the centre if you like, or leave as it is, tis up to you.

OK leaves now :: same stitches as for the flower.The leaf is made in two rows. If you are new to crochet, you may find this a little tricky. I know it can sometimes be hard to know which exact loop/stitch you should be putting your hook into. I always work through both loops of each stitch (see pic above). It just takes practice, trust me. Start by leaving a longish tail end as you can then use this to stitch the leaf in place at the end. Chain 9.

Row 1 :: Beginning in 2nd chain from hook, work the following stitches to the end of the row :: sc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, hdc, sc.

Chain 1, and turn. Row 1 should like like half a leaf, as in above pic.

Row 2 :: Beginning in 2nd chain from hook, work the following stitches to the end of the row :: sc, hdc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, hdc, sc. Fasten off, leaving a tail end long enough to darn with.

The leaf should look fairly leaf-shaped, but hey-ho it doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a darning needle, thread the tail end down through the centre of the leaf (as above). You can use the yarn from the beginning of the leaf to stitch it to the back of the flower, or wherever you want the leaf to be.

When I made my bag, I made up these flowers with two leaves attached and a yellow button sown in the centre, but you can do with them what you wish.

I love them, love making them, love having them about the place and hope you will too. Now go on, go grab a hook and some yarn and have yourself some flowery, leafy, hooky fun!

Teeny Tiny Hearts

This is my pattern for making Teeny Tiny Hearts which are rather on the cute side and super easy and quick to do. The pattern is written in UK terms, the stitches as follows :: sl st :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc (double crochet) :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. htr (half treble) :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook. tr (treble) :: yarn over , insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops. For US peeps: UK dc = US sc UK htr = US hdc UK tr = US dc

To begin :: chain 4, join with a slip stitch to form a ring. ROUND 1 :: Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc) (picture above)...

You'll be working out of the ring for this first round. As you make each stitch, make sure your hook passes under the tail end of the yarn (see in above picture, the yarn end is held horizontally, across to the left?) If you do this, you will effectively be crocheting over the tail end as you work, saving you from having to darn it in later.

Work 8 dc's into the ring (picture above). Slip stitch into 2nd chain of of initial ch-2 to close the round. Now before you continue with the next round, flip your little circle over to the wrong side. You should have crocheted right over the tail end with every stitch you made, but the end of it will still be there sticking out. Give it a firm pull, and it'll close up the hole in the middle of the central ring. You can now snip the tail end off close to the stitches, and there's no need for any further darning in.

ROUND 2 :: You'll be working out of the stitches for this round...you should clearly be able to count 9 stitches in total, as pictured above.

Work 5 tr's into the first stitch (pictured above)

1 tr into next stitch. 1htr into next stitch. 1 dc into next stitch. This has formed the left side of the heart, as pictured above.

Now for the point of the heart...into the next stitch work 1tr, then ch 2 (as above).

Insert hook into 2nd chain from hook and make a slip stitch...this forms a "picot point". Work 1 tr into SAME STITCH (picture above), and the point is complete.

1 dc into next stitch. 1 htr into next stitch. 1 tr into next stitch. You should now have just one stitch left at the top (as above).

Into the last stitch work 5 tr's (as above).

All the stitches are complete, but I need to explain how to finish off. First snip your yarn off, leaving about 4 or 5 inches. See in the above picture where i've stuck my needle? It's a point somewhere in the first round, midway between the first stitch and the last stitch of that first round, does that make sense??

Stick your hook into that place then, inserting it from front to back as shown above.

Yarn over and pull a loop through to the front, as above.

Pull the yarn/tail end all the way through the stitch on your hook, as above.

Now give a tug on the tail end - pull it out and downwards to tighten the loop and draw the last stitches downwards towards the centre of the heart, as above.

I'm sorry if this all sounds complicated, but I promise you it's not when you're doing it! OK, last bit....stick your hook into the exact same place as before, only this time insert it from the BACK, as above. Then catch the tail end with your hook and pull it right through the heart to the back. Pull it through firmly, give it a tug..........

....and that's your teeny tiny heart all finished! You might need to pull it into shape a little, especially at the picot point.

On the reverse side you can now darn in that tail end, or use it to create a little hanging loop, as above.

These hearts are very quick and easy to produce, and can be used for all sorts of decorative bits and bobs. However, please don't hold me responsible if you become addicted to making them, it's not my fault ok? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ps.......thought it might be helpful if i wrote out a condensed pattern for you to copy/paste... chain 4, join with a sl st to form a ring. :: Round 1 :: ch 2, then work 8dc into ring. sl st into 2nd ch of initial ch-2 to close round (9 stitches) :: Round 2 :: 5tr's into 1st stitch 1tr into 2nd stitch 1htr into 3rd stitch 1dc into 4th stitch 1tr, ch 2, sl st into 2nd ch from hook (picot point made), 1tr (all worked into 5th stitch) 1dc into 6th sticth 1htr into 7th stitch 1tr into 8th stitch 5tr's into 9th st. Fasten off as described above, pulling tail end firmly through to the back.

Star Decoration

I designed these little hanging decorations to add some colourful, homespun Hooky Goodness to my Christmas Tree this season, but there's no reason why they can't be used all year round and in all sorts of ways. I've had suggestions for using them as baby rattles, baby mobiles, as tags on wrapped gifts, or simply just as little decorative gifts to pass on to friends and family. These are quick and satisfying little things to work up, ideal to use up those little itty bits of stash yarn that you might have lurking somewhere. I personally prefer to use cotton yarn for making decorations (here I've used Rico Creative Cotton), but any yarn would be fine. I also tend to switch down a hook size for making decorations which keeps the stitches quite tight and prevents the polyester stuffing showing through the gaps. So for example where the Rico cotton suggests a 5mm hook size, I switch down to a 4mm hook.

Before we begin, a little summary of the basic stitches. I'm writing using UK crochet terms :: sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch) htr [half treble]:: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US hdc stitch) tr [treble] :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US dc stitch)

First of all you will need to make two flat circles, as described in this tutorial for Bauble Decorations.

Round 5 [the pointy triangle bits] :: *WORK THROUGH THE BACK LOOP ONLY for this round* Join in a new colour by tying a knot close to the stitches. Insert your hook into the stitch directly to the left of your knot, and pull a loop through to the front. Slip Stitch in the next stitch. Dc in the next stitch (picture above)

You will be working a total of FOUR stitches all out of the next stitch, as follows :: Htr, Tr (that's two stitches worked)

Now chain 2 (as above)

To make the Pointy Bit :: insert hook into the second chain from hook, going through both loops as pictured above. Now yarn over and make a slip stitch by pulling the yarn through all loops on hook. Please note that this can be quite a tricksy manoeuvre and takes a bit of practice...you will need to hold onto your work very close to the hook and twist the hook down and away from you to ease the yarn through.

Now still in the same stitch as before, work the following :: Tr, Htr. In the picture above, you can see that there are 4 stitches in total coming out of that one stitch (htr, tr, tr, htr), with the little picot-point sitting in the middle of the two tr's). Dc in next stitch.

Work a Sl St into each of the next FOUR stitches (as above).

Dc in the next stitch. In the next stitch work the following, same as before :: Htr, Tr, chain 2, insert hook in 2nd chain from hook and sl st, Tr, Htr. Dc in the next stitch. Sl St into each of next FOUR stitches. (Second triangle made) Dc in the next stitch. In the next stitch work the following, same as before ::

Htr, Tr, chain 2, insert hook in 2nd chain from hook and sl st, Tr, Htr. Dc in the next stitch. Sl St into each of next THREE stitches. (Third triangle made) Dc in the next stitch. In the next stitch work the following, same as before :: Htr, Tr, chain 2, insert hook in 2nd chain from hook and sl st, Tr, Htr. Dc in the next stitch. Sl St into each of next FOUR stitches. (Fourth triangle made) Dc in the next stitch. In the next stitch work the following, same as before :: Htr, Tr, chain 2, insert hook in 2nd chain from hook and sl st, Tr, Htr. Dc in the next stitch. Sl St into each of next FOUR stitches. (Fifth triangle made)

You should now be almost back round to where you started, can you count FOUR remaining stitches (picture above)?? Good...OK, last bit as follows :: Dc in the next stitch. In the next stitch work the following, same as before :: Htr, Tr, chain 2, insert hook in 2nd chain from hook and sl st, Tr, Htr. Dc in the next stitch. Sl St in the last stitch. (Sixth triangle made)

Slip Stitch into the first chain and fasten off. Looking good?? Six points? very Star-like and pretty?? Yippee!! Ok, moving on, Assembly time....make two identical stars and stitch a button onto the centre of each one.

You'll be stitching the two stars together, so hold them with right sides to the outside, and thread a darning needle with a long length of yarn. Start in the space between two triangles and begin over sewing the two stars together, stitching through the inner loops only (picture above)

When you reach the first point of the star you can thread on a small bead or bell.

Continue stitching round, attaching your beads/bells to the points as you go. After the fifth one, pause and put in the stuffing, then continue to sew up the remainder of the star.

Lastly you will need to make and attach a hanging loop.....I'm so sorry I completely forgot to photograph this for you, but it's easy enough. Crochet a chain of 30, leaving tails at each end which are long enough to sew with. Bring the two ends of the chain together and tie them in a firm knot, then thread both tail ends onto a darning needle and stitch the chain loop securely to the star, as pictured above. I really hope you'll be inspired to give this a go, they are so much fun to make. You can see and read more about my Decorations in this Ta-dah post.....have fun with it!!

Neat Ripple Pattern

Ahhhhhhhh look at all those hooky ripplesome ripples, aren't they glorious? I love crocheting this pattern, its relatively simple, rhythmic and soothing, but playing with colours in this way is also energising, exciting and a lot of fun. Well to me it is any road. there's something magical and mesmerising about the way the ripple effect makes the colours sing and dance next to each other, and it's a pattern I can see myself coming back to time after time. When I made my first ripple blanket last year (finished in August 2008), I followed a pattern in Jan Eatons book (the Soft Waves pattern), and it has to be said that at first this pattern was not plain sailing. But I persevered and eventually I cracked it. But truthfully I always think crochet patterns look and sound far too complex, more than they actually need

to be. And I have so wanted to write a tutorial for a ripple pattern that would be easy to understand for beginners and would eliminate certain niggles. So what I've done here for you is to write my own pattern. I have to be clear about this for obvious copyright reasons that I have not copied this pattern from anywhere. It has been inspired by the one in Jane Eatons book, but it is truly my own. Just so's you know.

To start out, you need to crochet your foundation chain. It should be in multiples of 14, plus an extra 3 added on for turning. I would strongly advise before you begin any ripply project to make a small ripple sample so that you're confident of the pattern. Make a chain of 31 (2x14 +3) as I'm doing here, which will give you a good idea of how it forms. Once you are sure you've got the right number of chains to begin (count carefully as you make them!), make a treble crochet stitch (this is UK treble / US dc) in the 4th chain from the hook. See in the above pic I've stuck my needle in there so you can see where to go...can you see the four chains?? You should be putting your hook under both loops of the chain stitch, and just to clarify what a treble crochet stitch, it is as follows: yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, bring hook back through stitch (3 loops on hook). Yarn over, draw yarn through 2 loops (2 loops left on hook), yarn over and draw through remaining 2 loops. That's your tr (treble) stitch, ok?

For beginners new to crochet, working the first row into a foundation chain can seem incredibly hard at first. I know, because I can so well remember almost giving up when faced with this task. If you look at the above photo, I've stuck my needle in to show you where the next stitch will go...it helps if you twist the chain towards you slightly, so that you are looking down on the side of it rather than the top of it.

You should then be able to see the two loops of the chain and see where your hook goes so that it slips under both of these loops (above pic).

Ok, back to the pattern...you should have just made 1 tr into the 4th chain from the hook. Now make 1tr into each of the next 4 chains, as pictured above, so there are 5 in total (plus the chain-3).

Next you will be working a standard decrease stitch, known as tr2tog (treble two together). This is where you work 2 incomplete tr's, joining them into 1 stitch at the finish. So....here is the stitch in Plain English :: Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (3 loops on hook). Yarn over, draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook, as pictured above)

Now yarn over and insert hook into the next stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (4 loops on hook, as pictured above)

Yarn over and draw through 2 loops (3 loops left on hook, as pictured above)

Yarn over and draw through all three loops to finish the stitch (picture above). That whole thing is a tr2tog (treble two together) Now you need to make TWO of these tr2tog's, so go ahead and do that whole same thing again in the next two stitches :: Yarn over, into next stitch, yarn over, back through stitch (3 loops on hook) Yarn over draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook) Yarn over, into next stitch, yarn over, back through stitch (4 loops on hook) Yarn over, draw through2 loops (3 loops on hook) Yarn over, draw through all three loops. Ok so far???? good-o, lets move on...

Work 1tr into each of the next 4 chains (picture above) You have now worked what I call the "valley", with the 4tr's making the sides and the tr2tog's making the valley bottom. Now time to make the "mountain"....

...work 2tr's into the next chain. And again, work 2 more tr's into the next chain. These four stitches make the top of the "mountain", can you see in the above picture, the way it makes a V when 2 stitches are worked out of one? I find it really helps when working a ripple pattern to be able to recognise what the decrease and increase stitches look like. Because when you are working this pattern it's sometimes veeeeeery useful to be able to look back over the row you've just made and see how the pattern has formed, to check for mistakes etc.

OK, after your two lots of 2tr increases on the mountain you need to make 1 tr crochet into each of the next 4 chains. Then work a tr2tog decrease, and then another tr2tog decrease (the valley again). Then make 1 tr crochet into each of the next 4 chains.

And finally, if you've done it right, you should have 1 chain left at the end of your foundation chain. Make 2 tr's into this last chain to end the row. I've drawn a little diagram above there, underneath the first row so you can get a feel for the pattern visually, to see how the ripples are formed.

ROW 2, same colour. Chain 3 Make a tr crochet stitch in the SAME stitch...see where I've stuck my needle to show you where to go?

Now follow this pattern, exactly as before :: Make a treble stitch into each of next 4 stitches. tr2tog (decrease) tr2tog (decrease) Make a treble stitch into each of next 4 stitches. 2tr's into next stitch (increase) 2tr's into next stitch (increase) Make a treble stitch into each of next 4 stitches.

tr2tog (decrease) tr2tog (decrease) Make a treble stitch into each of next 4 stitches. If you started out with 31 stitches, you should have reached the end of the row now, as pictured above. Two more stitches to go.....

You now need to make 2 tr's into the top of the chain-3 from the previous row. See in the above pic where I've stuck my needle to show you where to go?

This chain can often be quite tight, you may have to work hard to wiggle your hook into that little hole....

There, can you see the V of the last 2tr's in that row on the left there? Good! Now fasten off and turn the work round to join in a new colour.

Joining a new colour is easy...simply knot the two yarns together as close to the stitches as you can. Insert your hook through the first stitch, yarn over the new colour and pull it through to the front ready to begin. All rows from now on will be the same. So here we go, ROW 3 :: Chain 3, then make 1 tr into the same stitch, as pictured above.

Now work the following :: 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs 2tr into next ch 2 tr into next ch 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog

1 tr into each of next 4 chs 2 tr into the top chain of the chain-3 from previous row. And thats the end of that row, so turn round and get ready for ROW 4...

Same as before, begin by chaining 3, then make 1tr into same stitch... 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs 2tr into next ch 2 tr into next ch 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs 2 tr into the top chain of the chain-3 from previous row. THE END ********************************* WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Did you manage it?? Did you do it??? Are you full of Ripplesome Ripply Joy???? Got enough yarn to now make a longer chain, to start a Neat Ripple cushion, a blanket perhaps?????? And in case you wish to print out some Compact Instructions to pop into your yarn basket, I'm writing out a more condensed Patterny version just for you. You will obvisouly need to copy/paste/print it for yourself........ **********************************************************************

NEAT RIPPLE PATTERN tr2tog = work two incomplete tr stitches, keeping last loop of each stitch on the hook, as follows :: YO, into stitch, YO, back through stitch (3 loops on hook) YO, draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook) YO, into next stitch, YO, back through stitch (4 loops on hook) YO, draw through 2 loops (3 loops on hook) YO, draw through all 3 loops. To begin, chain multiples of 14, plus 3 for turning. ROW 1 1 tr into 4th chain from hook 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs *2tr into next ch 2 tr into next ch 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs* Repeat between ** ending last rep with 2 tr into last chain, turn. ROW 2 ch3, 1 tr into same stitch, 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs *2tr into next ch 2 tr into next ch 1tr into each of next 4 chs tr2tog tr2tog 1 tr into each of next 4 chs* Repeat between ** ending last rep with 2 tr into the top chain of the chain-3 from previous row. Repeat row 2 for length required.

Well........GOOD LUCK!!!!!! HAVE SOME NEAT RIPPLY FUN!!!!!!!!

Jolly Holly

After a lot of searching on the internet looking for holly leaf patterns I couldn't find any that were easy enough/neat enough for my liking. So I did what I often do and had a go at designing something myself. It was not easy. I made a LOT of truly duff, awful leaves before I finally tweaked it enough to get it Just Right. I have to say I'm really chuffed with how they've turned out, they seem to me to be quite cute and perfectly pointy in all the right places.

I wanted to make my leaves tight and neat looking, so I used cotton yarn/thread to make them. The leaf on the left is made using Rowan Handknit cotton (a thickish DK weight yarn) worked on a 3mm hook, and the leaf on the right is made using Anchor Soft Embroidery (a lovely non-stranded cotton thread) on a 2.5mm hook. There's not a huge amount of difference in the finished leaf, but I do prefer the smaller one I think. Before we begin I'd like to say a little something about tension. I've found through making these leaves that it's much easier if I consciously make my stitches a little looser than normal. That way there's less of a fight trying to get the hook in and out of the loops (this is especially true for making Picot Points). Right, on with the hooky then......here's a little summary of the basic stitches, I'm writing using UK crochet terms :: sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch) htr [half treble]:: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US hdc stitch) tr [treble] :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US dc stitch)

To begin, chain 10. You'll need to start working in the second stitch from the hook, as shown by my needle in the above pic.

You'll be working into the foundation chain by putting the hook under both loops of each chain, as shown above.

FIRST SIDE OF LEAF :: Work the following :: dc, dc, htr, tr (pic above)

Work 2 tr into the next chain (as above)

Then tr, htr, dc, dc (as above). You should now be at the end of the first side.

Now chain 1 to take you around the end (as above) You'll be working on the opposite side now, putting the hook under the single loops that remain along the bottom edge of the foundation chain. You should be able to clearly count 9 of them.

SECOND SIDE OF LEAF :: Work the following, as before :: dc, dc, htr, tr, 2tr, tr, htr, dc, dc. This should take you to the end of the second side.

Make a slip stitch into the beginning of the foundation chain to close the end of the leaf.

Now it's time to work around the leaf shape making the pointy prickles. You'll be working into the stitches of the first side of the leaf, putting the hook under both loops of the stitch (as above). Work a slip stitch into the 1st stitch.

Into the 2nd stitch work 1 dc, then chain 2 (as above). Now ease the hook a little so that you make that last chain a little looser OK??

Now you need to make a slip stitch to form a Picot Point, so insert hook into second chain from hook and yarn over, pull yarn through stitch, then through the chain on your hook. This can be quite tricky to do at first until you get used to it. I find that if I turn my hook around and kind of ease it through backwards (as in the picture above) it works out ok.

To complete the Picot Point, dc into same stitch (as above). That's your first prickle made!

Now work a sl st into each of the next 2 stitches. In the next stitch, make your second prickle, as follows :: dc, chain 2, sl st into second chain from hook, dc (pic above)

sl st into each of next 2 stitches, then in the next stitch make another prickle (dc, chain 2, sl st into second chain from hook, dc). sl st into each of next 2 stitches...you should now be at the end and have three prickle points made, as above.

Remember the chain-1 you made when you turned the end of the leaf shape? Make a picot prickle into this end chain, same as before (dc, chain 2, sl st into second chain from hook, dc).

Work your way down the Second Side, as follows :: *sl st into each of next 2 stitches, (dc, chain 2, sl st into 2nd chain from hook, dc)* repeat between ** twice more until you have made 3 Picot Prickles in total down the second side, then sl st into the last stitch to finish. Do NOT fasten off!

You're going to make a short stem now, so chain 4 (as above)

Slip Stitch into 2nd chain from hook, then work a sl st into each of the next 2 stitches (as above)

Now you're going to complete the leaf by working a surface chain up the middle. Stick your hook into the base of the leaf, somewhere in the middle, as pictured above (this is not an exact procedure!)

Yarn over and pull a loop right through to the front of the leaf, then through the chain on your hook. You're kind of making a slip stitch, but working it through the leaf itself, if that makes sense.

Do this slip stitch thing again by inserting your hook a little further up the middle of the leaf, yarn over and pull a loop through to the front of the leaf, then through the chain on your hook.

Keep going, working these slip stitches evenly up the centre of the leaf. Remember to keep the stitches quite loose so that the leaf stays flat.

You should manage to make a line of 8 or 9 chains, as pictured above.

Now snip the yarn leaving a decent tail end for darning in, and use your hook to pull the yarn end upwards. The yarn end needs to be pulled right through from the back of the leaf to the front.

Thread the tail end onto a darning needle and take the yarn through the leaf from the front to the back (as above). This will secure the last chain stitch you made. Keep the needle threaded, and darn the end in at the back of the leaf to secure.

There! One Jolly Holly leaf completed!

Now make some more and use them to add a little bit of decorative greenery to whatever tickles your fancy. Red beads or buttons or weeny felt circles can be used to add berries.....Ahhhhhh Crochet Holly, what's not to love about this teensy little bit of festive hooky???!! One more thing.....I thought it'd be helpful if I write out the pattern in short for you, so you can copy and paste it and print it out. Here it is.... ********************************************************************************************* Chain 10, start by working in 2nd chain from hook. FIRST SIDE OF LEAF :: dc, dc, htr, tr, 2tr, tr, htr, dc, dc. Chain 1 to turn around the end. SECOND SIDE OF LEAF :: dc, dc, htr, tr, 2tr, tr, htr, dc, dc. sl st into beginning of foundation chain to close the leaf. DO NOT FASTEN OFF. DO NOT TURN THE WORK. PRICKLES :: sl st, (dc, chain 2, sl st into 2nd chain from hook, dc), *sl st into each of next 2 stitches, (dc, chain 2, sl st into 2nd chain from hook, dc)* repeat between ** five more times, sl st into last st. DO NOT FASTEN OFF. STEM :: chain 4, sl st into 2nd chain from hook, sl st into each of next 2 stitches. Stem made. DO NOT FASTEN OFF. CHAIN DETAIL :: Insert hook through leaf at centre base. Yarn over, pull a loop through to the front of leaf, then through st on hook (sl st made through leaf). Continue working these sl st up the central line of the leaf, creating a line of "surface chain stitches" up to the pointy end. Cut yarn leaving a tail end for darning, pull the tail end up through the leaf from the back to the front. Secure the chain by threading onto a needle and taking the yarn back through to the reverse of the leaf. Darn in end to fasten off.

Hexagon How-to

My crochet Hexagons, I am LOVING them right now, can't get enough. For a brief spell I fell out of love, I got fed up with the fiddlesomeness of them, the fact that they are very hard to do whilst simultaneously doing anything else (like drinking cappuccino and nattering). They take concentration folks, but if you are prepared to concentrate then these will reward you handsomely. I'm not sure how this post will turn out, maybe a bit of a descriptive pattern/tutorial mixture, but one thing's for certain :: I will do my damndest to help you make these if you are interested. I made my own pattern to suit my own yarn, after not being able to find a pattern anywhere on the web in general. And as my pattern appears to differ slightly from others I've seen, I feel confident in finally sharing it :: ie no plagiarism/copyright issues involved I hope. But I must give absolute credit to Alex of Moonstitches who taught me (via her fabulous tutorial) the method of joining the hex's together. If you look on her blog, in the right hand sidebar, you'll see the tutorial waiting for you there :: it's called Block Meet. You will need to use this when you get to the joining stage. Another valuable source of information and inspiration is the Hexagon Love pool on Flickr. It is quite simply full of fabulous hexagonal goodness. And there is more info/blurb to be found in my own archives here and here.

I've had many emails during the past few months asking me for specific yarn info with regards to my various crochet projects. I do intend to put a permanent page in my sidebar where you can reference this info, but that will have to wait a little. For now, lets concentrate on these 'ere Hexagons. For this blanket, I am using Rowan Handknit DK Cotton. It should cost in the region of 3.50 per 50g ball in the UK. I am using 16 different colours, although the deep yellow I chose for the centres is now discontinued. And as I know you like specifics, these are the other 15 colours I'm using :: 215 (Rosso) 219 (Gooseberry) 239 (Ice Water) 254 (Bright Orange colour, now discontinued) 287 (Diana) 303 (Sugar) 309 (Celery) 313 (Slick) 314 (Decadent) 316 (Slippery) 318 (Seafarer) 324 (Bermuda) 327 (Aqua) 332 (Rose) 333 (Antique) I'm crocheting on a 4mm hook, and the size of the finished hexagon as you can see above is roughly hand-sized. Each straight side measures 6cm, and about 11cm across between the points.

Now I have never attempted to write out a pattern before. But lets just assume that if you're reading this in order to try your hand at crocheting hexagons, then you already know how to make basic stitches right? I'll try and not get too complicated, but as I do SO want you to be able to do it, I'll try to explain things as well as basic pattern-write. First off chain 4 and join to form a ring. The hole in the centre of the ring will be smallish, but this is where you need to work from for the first round. Tweak it a bit with your fingers to open it out a little. Chain 3, then work 11 double crochet stitches (US) or treble crochet stitches (UK) into the ring. Join with a slip stitch to the 3rd stitch of the initial chain 3 and fasten off. You should now have a little whirly wheel circle with 12 stitches/spokes altogether.

Join in a new colour for round 2 :: knot the two yarns together, remember like I showed you for the Granny Squares? Remember you can crochet the ends in as you go with the hex's too, to save you darning ends in at the end.

Pull the new colour yarn through to the front, through one of the dc/tr stitches :: you are working out of the stitches in this round, not the spaces in between the spokes. For this round, you're going to be making what I think is known as a Bobble Stitch. It's basically where you work two incomplete dc/tr's into the same stitch, joining them at the end by pulling the yarn through all loops. I shall describe it to you :: yarn over, insert hook through next stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook). Then yarn over and insert hook through SAME STITCH, yarn over, hook back through stitch (4 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all 3 loops. I know it sounds complicated, but honestly, it's really not. Try watching the little Bobble Stitch video I've linked to above, it might help if you see the stitch being made. So this is the pattern for round 2:: Chain 2, then 1 US dc/UK tr in same stitch. Chain 1. Work a bobble stitch into next stitch as described above, then chain 1 to space. Repeat 10 more times until you get back to the beginning and have 12 "bobbles" in total. Join round with a slip stitch into the 2nd stitch of the initial chain 2.

OK, you still with me? Onto round 3 :: Nice and easy now, you're doing dc/tr clusters just like you do for granny squares. You are working out of the SPACES now, the spaces between the bobble stitch clusters of your previous row. Join a new colour, pull loop through a space between 2 bobble clusters to start. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc/tr), work US dc/UK tr twice into same space, then chain 1. Work US dc/UK tr three times into next space, chain 1. Repeat 10 more times until you get back to the beginning and have 12 "clusters" in total. Join round with a slip stitch into the 3rd stitch of the initial chain 3 and fasten off.

Round 4 :: the chain-loop round :: Join in a new colour and pull loop through a space between the dc/tr clusters of the previous row.

Chain 3, then make a slip stitch into the next space between your dc/tr clusters :: this anchors the chain loop. Continue making little chain-3's, slip stitching them in place in the gap between the dc/tr clusters of the previous round. Join the last chain-3 with slip stitch into the first chain stitch you made. Do not fasten off as you will use the same colour for round 5.

Round 5 is the final round that forms the hexagon shape. I'm going to tell you how to crochet this as a single hexagon before we talk about the joining-as-you-go method. You are using the same colour as the last round, and you will be working the stitches under the chain-3 loops you created. So to begin, make a slip stitch under the nearest chain-3 loop. Chain 3 (counts as one dc/tr), then US dc / UK tr twice. Chain 2 (this is the corner spacing), then in the SAME chain-3 loop, US dc / UK tr three times. This is your first corner, it should look like a double cluster of 6 dc/tr's with a pointy corner bit in the middle. Into the next chain-3 loop, work US dc / UK tr three times. This is a single cluster and makes a straight side. Into the next chain-3 loop, work US dc / UK Tr three times, chain 2, then US dc / UK Tr three times. This is your second corner. Continue working your way round making your clusters of 3 dc's /tr's, alternating between making a double cluster corner group (with chain 2 spacing) and a straight side single cluster. You should be ending the round on a straightside group of three dc's/Tr's. Join the round with a slip stitch and fasten off. See?????? It's not so hard?????? You've made your first hexagon!!!

Now if you're happy to make lots of single hexagons and join them all by stitching, then that's absolutely fine. But joining them as you go is fairly easy, although a little fiddly. You will be working anti-clockwise, starting with a corner, as shown above.

To begin, you make a single cluster as before (chain 3, then dc/tr twice). Then instead of chaining 2 to make your corner spacing, chain ONE, then replace your second chain space with a slip stitch into the corner space of the ajoining hexagon. Then working into the SAME chain-3 loop, dc/tr three times to finish your corner cluster.

Now you need to slip stitch into the next space of the ajoining hexagon to secure (see above). Basically, you have to insert hook into the space, hook the yarn from the back and pull it through to the front :: first through the space, then through the loop on the hook. It takes a bit of practice, it can be fiddly. But persevere.

You continue to work your way round, forming the hex shape in the same way as described above, but making sure that after each cluster you slip stitch into the relevant space on the ajoining hexagon which makes the attachment. When you get to a corner where you would normally chain 2, you make 2 slip stitches instead (in picture above, one slip stitch is made into the corner of the bright blue hex, and the next slip stitch into the corner of the sage green hex). This is quite hard to explain in words :: please do look over Alex's tutorial, she has some great photos to illustrate. But keep in mind that her pattern is different to mine, she uses more stitches so try not to get confused. I so hope that if you are inspired to give this a go, then you will be able to follow my blurb. I've done my very best with this, tried not to be too wordy, and its taken me a very long time to write it all out. But you are worth it, every

word! I am happy, SO happy to be spreading the Hexagon Love. And if just one of you manages to make a hexagon out of this post, then I am gonna be MiGhTy HaPpy :) I'm going to put this post over in my sidebar so you can reference it easily :: look over to the left, down at the bottom, and it will be listed as a Page. If you find you need further help, please just leave a comment and I will do my best to reply and help out.

Happy Flower Decoration

This is a pattern/tutorial to show you how to make this Happy Flower wall hanging. You can read more about the design and making of the original decoration in this post.

I'm using a cotton yarn to make this decoration, it's Rowan Handknit Cotton, a fairly robust DK weight yarn which I work on a 4mm hook. I love using this yarn for decorative projects as although it is soft and lovely to work with, the resulting crochet tends to be quite stiff and holds it's shape well. Plus aren't the colours scrummy?! Before we begin, a little summary of the basic stitches. I'm writing using UK crochet terms :: sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch) htr [half treble]:: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US hdc stitch) tr [treble] :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US dc stitch) dtr [double treble] :: yarn over TWICE, insert hook, yarn over, pull loop back through stitch (four loops on hook). Yarn over and pull through two loops (three loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops (2 loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US tr stitch) OK.............here we go...........................................

:: PART I :: THE FLOWER ::

To start :: chain 4 and join to form a ring. You'll be working out of the ring for the first round. :: Round 1 :: Chain 4 (counts as 1tr + ch-1 space), see pic above.

**Work 1 tr into the ring, ch 1** (as above)

Repeat between ** 6 more times, so that you have 8 "spokes" altogether (as above) Slip stitch into 3rd chain of initial chain-4 to join the round. Fasten off.

:: Round 2 :: You'll be working out of the ch-1 spaces of the previous round. Insert hook into ch-space and pull through a loop of new colour. You can knot it to the tail end of the previous colour if you like to secure it, but I prefer to just hold the tail end in place whilst I make the first stitch. If you always crochet over your tail ends as you work the first few stitches, they remain secure and you can darn them in for good measure at the end. Chain 3 (counts as 1 tr), then 1 tr into same space. Chain 2 (as above)

*Work 2 tr's into next space, chain 2* (as above)

Repeat between ** all the way around, ending in a ch-2. Slip stitch into 3rd chain of initial chain-3 to join the round. Fasten off.

:: Round 3 :: You'll be working out of the ch-2 spaces of the previous round. Insert hook into ch-space and pull through a loop of new colour.

Chain 3 (counts as 1 tr) then work 4 more tr's into same space.

*work 5 tr's into next space* Repeat between ** all the way round. Slip Stitch into 3rd chain of initial ch-3 to close the round. Fasten off.

:: Round 4 :: You'll be working out of the stitches for this round. Insert hook into 1st stitch and pull through a loop of new colour.

Chain 2.

Work 1dc into each of the stitches around...

Slip stitch into 2nd chain of initial ch-2 to close the round. Fasten off (as above)

:: Round 5 :: You'll be working out of the stitches for this round, BACK LOOPS ONLY. Insert hook into back loop of first stitch and pull through a new colour.

Slip stitch into back loop of next stitch (as above)

Skip 1 stitch, then work 6 tr's into next stitch (as above, back loop only)

Skip 1 stitch, then slip stitch into each of next 2 stitches (as above)

*Skip 1 stitch, work 6tr's into next stitch, skip 1 stitch, sl st into each of next 2 stitches* Repeat between ** all the way round. You should end up as in the above picture with your last 6tr's made and 1 stitch remaining. Skip over this last stitch then slip stitch into the very first stitch to close the round. Fasten off.

:: Round 6 :: You'll be working out of the stitches for this round, BACK LOOPS ONLY. Insert hook into the first stitch of the previous round, at the base of the first petal. Back loop only, remember. Pull through a new colour (as above)

Work 1dc into each of the next 6 stitches (as above), back loops only.

Slip stitch (back loops only) into each of the next 2 stitches (as above)

*work 1dc into each of next 6 stitches, slip stitch twice* Repeat between ** all the way round. You should end up making 1 sl st into the last remaining stitch of the previous round, then sl st into the very first stitch you made to close the round. Fasten off. One HAPPY FLOWER MADE, yaayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:: PART 2 :: THE STEM ::

Chain 41.

Starting in 2nd hook from chain, work into single loops only and slip stitch all the way down to the end (40 stitches). Fasten off, leaving a decent tail end for sewing later.

This is what your inner stem should look like. By working in single loops only, you've now got a line of loops running down both sides that you can easily crochet into.

Hold your inner stem so that the right side is facing you, and both tail ends are on the right hand side. insert your hook into the BACK LOOP ONLY of the first stitch and draw your new colour through to the front.

Work 1 dc into each of the next 5 stitches (as above) remembering to crochet over your tail ends as you work (saves darning them in).

Chain 10. This is going to form the first of your leaf veins.

Starting in 2nd hook from chain, work into the single/front loops only and slip stitch down to the end (9 stitches)

This is the same process as the inner stem....the idea is to create neat loops on both sides of the vein so that the leaf itself can be easily worked.

Now work 1dc into each of the next 8 stitches. Then create your second vein as before [chain 10, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, then work 1 sl st in each of the next 8 stitches]

Carry on in this way, creating 2 more veins with 8dc spaces in between. There will be four veins altogether on this side. Now work 1dc in each of the next 10 stitches to take you down to the bottom of the stem (as above)

Work 1dc into each of the next 2 stitches around the bottom of the stem (as above). Remember to continue working in single/back loops only ok?

You are now working up the second side to mirror the first side. So work 1dc into each of the next 10 stitches. Then make your first vein as before [chain 10, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, then work 1 sl st in each of the next 8 stitches]. Work 1dc into each of the next 8 stitches, then create a second vein. Carry on and make the next two veins with 8dc spaces in between. After the final vein, work 1dc into each of the remaining 5 stitches to take you right back up to the top. Fasten off.

Ta-dah! One stem!!! Don't fret if it looks all wibbly, the veins will probably be quite curly until you tweak them and smooth them down a bit.

This is what you should have ended up with. You've now got eight leaves to make. :: PART 2 :: THE LEAVES ::

You can start in any vein you like...I'm starting at the top left hand side and working my way down. Insert hook through the first stitch, BACK LOOP ONLY, and draw through the new yarn. Chain 1, then work 1dc into same stitch. (note :: remember to crochet over your tail end to save having to darn it in)

work 1 tr into next stitch. Your next stitch is going to be a "double treble". Don't panic. It's not hard. It's very similar to a treble, but with an extra twist added to give it more height. So instead of yarning over once, you yarn over twice, as in the picture above. Now insert your hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull the yarn back through the stitch. It should look like you have 4 loops on your hook. Yarn over and draw through 2 loops (3 loops left on hook). Yarn over again and draw through 2 loops (2 loops left on hook). Yarn over one more time and draw through both loops.

Make dtr's into the next 2 stitches so that you've made three of them altogether. See in the above picture how much taller the dtr's are compared to a normal treble?

Now work the following :: 1 tr, 1htr, 1dc. That completes the first side of the leaf.

Into the loop that sits at the very end of the vein, work the following :: 1 dc, chain 2, sl st into second chain from hook (picot point), 1 dc (as above)

Work down the second side of the leaf as follows :: dc, htr, tr, dtr, dtr, dtr, tr, dc (as above).

Slip stitch into the last stitch on this side to complete the leaf. Now don't fasten off in the usual way....I'm going to try and explain a slightly different method. Cut the yarn (leaving a decent tail end for darning), then simply use your hook to pull the loop upwards so that the tail end comes up and through the stitch to the front. Now take your hook to the back of the leaf and insert it up through the same stitch, catch hold of the tail end with your hook and drag it down and through the stitch to the back. I'm sorry I didn't photograph this bit very well, I hope you can make sense of it. Basically what you are doing is avoiding making a bulky fastening-off knot at the bottom of your leaf. It gives a very neat finish look..........

There. First leaf made. Now before you go on to make the next leaf, just spend a few moments seeing to that tail end. Turn your work over to the wrong side.....

....thread the tail end onto a needle and darn it all the way down one side of the leaf.....

....then back down the other side. This not only secures the end, but helps to strengthen the leaf.

Now then, off you go and make a second leaf, same as before, as follows :: Insert hook into first stitch draw new colour through, 1dc in same stitch. Work tr, dtr, dtr, dtr, tr, htr, dc. Then in end loop work dc, ch-2, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, dc. Second side of leaf, work dc, htr, tr, dtr, dtr, dtr, tr, dc, sl st. Finish off as explained above.

So. This is what you should end up with once all eight leaves have been made. It'll be very flopsy and a bit higgledypiggledy. Don't worry. Soon be time to sort it all out with a little light pinning and some PVA glue. :: PART III :: MAKING THE DECORATION ::

Right, now we're going to bring all the parts together and get Happy with some creativity. First you need to stitch the stem to the flower. Use the tail ends left at the top of the stem, beginning with the dark, inner stem. Try and stitch neatly, keeping the flower and stem flat, pulling the two together gently. Work over the stitches a few times to secure.

Now thread up the outer stem colour and stitch the outer stem to the flower. First one side, then move across and stitch the other side.

Make the stitching as neat and invisible as you can manage.

The Happy Flower would make a lovely decoration on it's own, but I chose to add a few extra bits to dangle from the bottom. You can do whatever tickles your fancy here. Maybe add some teeny tiny flowers, lots of hearts, or a whole run or circles. I kept it simple and added a small circle, and an edged heart.

For the circle, chain 4 and join to make a ring. Chain 2 (counts as 1dc), then work 6 dc into the ring. Join with a sl st into 2nd chain of initial ch-2 to close round. Fasten off (7 stitches).

Insert hook into first stitch (back loops only), then draw a new colour through to the front. Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc) then dc into same stitch.

Work 2dc's into each stitch around, remembering to work out of back loops only. Sl st into 2nd chain of initial ch-2 to close round. Fasten off.

It's just a small circle, but with a button added in the centre it makes a sweet little decorative addition.

Now for the heart. you can find the basic pattern for the heart here. To crochet an edging, insert hook into same hole where you finished off the heart, draw a new colour through to the front and chain 1. Then work 2dc into the next 3 stitches around the top of the heart (as above).

Now work 1dc into each of the next 5 stitches down the side.

Into the bottom stitch, work dc, chain 1, dc.

Now work 1dc into each of the next 5 stitches up the side of the heart. Then 2dc into each of the next 3 stitches around the top. Finally, chain 1 and sl st back into the central hole where you started the edging. Cut the yarn, pull the tail end up to the front, then thread it onto a darning needle and take the end back through to the reverse. Darn it in to secure.

Sweet!!!!!!!!!

Now back to the flower. Oh dear. It'll probably look a bit sad and sorry for itself if you try and hold it up agianst a wall. It'll be droopy and very miserable looking. What it needs is a bit of tender shaping and pinning, with a good dose of gluemedicine.

To shape/block my small pieces of crochet, I use an old towel spread over a 1 inch thick piece of foam. But a folded up towel will do well, so long as it's thick enough to pin into. Place your flower and heart on the towel with the right side facing down, wrong side uppermost. Ease it into good shape, pinning first around the flower petal, then down the stem and out to the leaves. Try and get the leaf veins to line up horizontally with each other and the leaf points to look nice and pointy.

Now use a stiff bristle brush (childrens paint brushes are ideal) to paint a light layer of white PVA glue over the back of the crochet.

Try and paint it evenly over the surface without pushing it down into the holes too much. Pay particular attention to the bit where the leaf veins join the stem, as these are weak spots and need a good blob of glue to strengthen. You should allow the glue to dry completely...it will turn transparent and feel quite hard and rigid when dry. You'll be amazed when you unpin the flower and hold it up, it'll look beeeeeeeeeautiful! All flat and stiff and perky and happy!

All that remains now is to bring it all together. You can use whatever you have to hand in the way of buttons and beads. Use sewing thread to string the beads and attach the heart and circle to the bottom of the stem.

A beady hanging loop also looks pretty. Have fun with it!

Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wheeewwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats what I call a Comprehensive Bit of Know-how!!!!!!!!! I know this has been a very long-winded tutorial and I know that it'll most likely be a complete 'mare if you try to print it out. I'm sorry about that. But I really wanted to do my best to enable everyone to give this a go, no matter what the hooky ability. And that has meant detail, lots and lots of detail. Oh so many pictures and words, I am quite done in now. Ahhhhh, I LOVE making these tutorials, I get such a buzz out of spreading some Hooky Love around the world. But much as I love what I do, these sort of tutorials are extemely draining and time consuming to produce. I hope that if you've been inspired to give this sweet project a go, that you might consider making a small donation to help support what I do here in the Attic.

Granny Stripe

Here is my pattern for the Granny Stripe....so sorry that due to time restrictions i haven't been able to photograph my usual step-by-step stylie instructions just yet. But hopefully you'll be able to understand my pattern and give it a go.

Before you begin making your blanket, what I humbly suggest is that you make a tester first, to get the measure of the pattern before you go cussing into that looooong blankety foundation chain. I'm writing this in UK terms ok, so first row is double crochet, then after that we switch to treble crochet. For US peeps, work your first row in sc, then switch to dc. Multiples of three then, lets say for the tester chain 21 to begin. Row 1 ::

work 1dc in 2nd chain from hook. Continue working dc's into each chain till the end. You should have worked 19 stitches in total. Turn the work. Row 2 :: Chain 3, then work 1tr into first stitch. *Skip 2 stitches, then work 3tr's (I call this a "tr cluster") into next stitch*. Repeat between ** 4 more times, skip 2 stitches, then work 2tr's into last stitch on row. You should have a row that begins and ends with 2tr's, and has 5 tr clusters in between. Turn. Row 3 :: You'll be working out of the spaces between the tr clusters of the previous row. Chain 3, then work 3tr's into 1st space between clusters of previous row. Work 5 more tr clusters into the spaces of the previous row. And then to finish the row, work 1 tr into the top stitch of the ch3 made at start of previous row. Fasten off. Row 4 :: Tie in your new colour...knot the two yarns tightly together, leaving ends to darn in after. To begin, insert hook through the very first space of the previous row (between the last tr and the previous tr cluster). Draw the new yarn colour through to the front, ch 3, then 1 tr in same space. Work tr clusters into the next 5 spaces, then work 2tr's into the final space. Turn. Row 5 :: chain 3, work 6tr cluster's in next 6 spaces. To finish the row, work 1 tr into the top stitch of the ch3 made at start of previous row. Fasten off. Repeat rows 4 and 5, working two rows for each colour. I really hope you can understand this as I've written it, as soon as I'm able I'll do one of my usual tutorials with lots of pics for those of you who like the visuals, but hoping for now that this will get you started. Remember when you start out on a blanket, your foundation chain needs to be a multiple of 3. Remember also not to make your foundation chain too tight :: try to chain loosely if poss, or switch to a hook a size bigger.

You can read about The Granny Stripe blanket Beginning here. And the Granny Stripe Ta-dah post is here. HAPPY HOOKING!!!

Granny Blanket Edging

When I made my Summer Garden granny square throw (pictured above), I felt it needed a good edging to finish it off. Something that would pull the whole thing together and give it that final flourish. And as is quite often the case, I ended up designing my own edging after being unable to find anything suitable in books or on the internet. This edging is made in three rounds :: two rounds of chain loops, followed by a final round of shell/scallops, and is very easily worked around any size of granny square.

I'm writing the pattern in UK terms, the stitches as follows :: sl st :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then straight through the loop on your hook. dc:: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. htr :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook. tr :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops. For US peeps: UK dc = US sc UK htr = US hdc UK tr = US dc

To begin :: Tie in your edging yarn colour by making a strong knot close to the work, and leaving long enough ends to darn in later. Insert the hook through the corner chain-2 space of the previous round, yarn over and pull a loop through to the front to begin.

ROUND 1 :: making Chain Loops. You will be working out of the chain-1 spaces between the treble clusters of the previous row. Chain 5 (as above)

Slip stitch into next ch-1 space (hook through space, yarn over, pull yarn back through space then straight through the loop on your hook) This slip stitch "anchors" your first chain loop (as above)

*Chain 5, then sl st into the next space* Repeat between **.....

...anchoring your chain-5 loops into each space as you work your way along.

When you reach your first corner, simply make a sl st into the chain-2 corner space of previous round, chain 5 again, then rotate your work and move around the corner to sl st in the first available space of the next side (as above). The chain loops will easily and simply turn the corner.

At the end of the final side, make your last chain-5, then sl st into the first chain of your initial chain-5 loop to finish (as above). Fasten off the yarn at this point, and darn all dangly tail ends in through the stitches at the back of the work to avoid the them getting in the way as you start the next round.

ROUND 2 :: making Chain Loops (again!) For this round you will be working under the chain loops of the previous round. Start by making a slip knot on your hook (same colour yarn as for the first round, as above).

Making sure the long end/ball of yarn is to your left, and the short tail end is to your right, you'll need to make a slip stitch underneath the first chain-5 loop of the previous round, as follows :: put the hook under the chain loop, yarn over, pull the yarn back through underneath the chain loop to the front, then straight through the slip-knot-loop already on your hook. This should anchor you in the centre of the chain-5 loop ready to begin the second round (see picture below)

Chain 5 (see above) Slip stitch under the centre of the next chain loop to anchor.

*Chain 5, sl st under the centre of the next chain loop* Repeat between **, working your way along as before.

As in the first round, you will be able to continue the chain-5's around the corners (as above)...

....until you get back to where you started. After your last chain 5, sl st into the first chain of this round to join. BUT DO NOT FASTEN OFF THIS TIME!!!

ROUND 3 :: the SCALLOPS You will be working under the chain-5 loops of the previous round. Make a slip stitch under the chain-5 loop immediately to the left. Then work the following, all under the same chain-5 loop :: dc, htr, tr, htr, dc, sl st. This makes your first scallop.

Now move along and work the following stitches under the next chain-5 loop :: ** sl st, dc, htr, tr, htr, dc, sl st ** You have now made your second scallop (as above)

Continue working your way round in this way, repeating the scallop pattern between **, making sure to check that you begin and end each scallop with a sl st (I found it was quite easy to forget this first slip stitch!!) Again, the corners should sort themselves out, the scallops will simply follow the chain loops of the previous round.

When you've completed the last scallop and are back to the beginning, make one final slip stitch into the first sl st of the round to join the first and last scallops. Fasten off and darn in the ends at the back.

And that's it! Its quite a yarn guzzler, so if you're edging a big blanket then you will probably need several balls/skeins of yarn in the edging colour. As always, let me know if you have any problems/questions with this pattern by leaving a comment and I'll do my best to help....Happy Hooking :o)

Flat Circle

I thought it would be useful to add this circle pattern as a page in it's own right, as it's a very useful pattern to know. A flat circle can be used to make a round cushion, the bottom of a bag, or as the body shape for my little Birdie Decorations. I'm going to be writing this tutorial out using the htr (half treble), but you can work a circle in whatever stitch you fancy. My round cushions and bag bottoms were worked in trebles (US dc stitch) but the basic pattern remains the same.

htr :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook.

To start :: chain 4 and join to form a ring. Round 1 :: chain 2, then work 10 htr's into the ring. Slip stitch into 2nd chain of initial chain-2 to join the round. Fasten off.

You should be able to clearly see and count the eleven stitches you've just created (picture above) :: you'll be working out of these stitches in the next round.

Join in a new colour by tying a knot close to the stitches, as pictured above.

Insert your hook into the stitch directly to the left of your knot, and pull a loop through to the front. Round 2 :: Chain 2 (as above)

Work 1 htr into same stitch as your chain, as picture above. Now just have a quick look and see where my two "tail ends" are...see in the above pic they are being held horizontally along the top of the work, pointing to the left???

When I make my first few stitches, I always make sure to hold them like this so that the hook passes underneath them (as above). This is a way of working your ends in as you go, and is a very handy tip to learn. Saves darning them in at the end.

Right, on with the round.... **work 2htr's into the next stitch** (this makes a double "V" stitch, or an increase stitch). Repeat between **, 9 more times.

At the end of round 2, you should clearly be able to see and count 11 lots of double "V" stitches, as pictured above. You'll now have 22 stitches altogether which you'll work out of for the next round. Slip Stitch into second chain of initial chain-2 to join the round. Fasten off.

Round 3 :: Join in your new colour, hook through to the front and chain 2. Work 1 htr into the same stitch as the chain. Now work the following :: 1 htr in next stitch, **2 htr's in next stitch, 1 htr in next stitch** hRepeat between ** , making 1 single htr in between each double "v" stitch, as pictured above.

You should end the round with a single htr in the last stitch...see in the above pic there is still one stitch left to go? Never end a round with a double "V" stitch or else you are making too many stitches and it'll all go horribly wrong! Slip stitch into 2nd chain of initial chain-2. Fasten off.

h Round 4 :: Join in your new colour, hook through to the front and chain 2. Work 1 htr into the same stitch as the chain. Now work the following :: 1 htr, 1 htr, **2 htr's, 1 htr, 1 htr ** Repeat between ** , making 2 single htr stitches in between each double "v" stitch, as pictured above.

Again, make sure you end the round with your 2 single htr's. Slip stitch to 2nd chain of initial chain-2. Fasten off.

Round 5 :: Join in your new colour, hook through to the front and chain 2. Work 1 htr into the same stitch as the chain. Now work the following :: 1 htr, 1 htr, 1htr **2 htr's, 1 htr, 1 htr, 1 htr ** Repeat between ** , this time making 3 single htr stitches in between each double "v" stitch, as pictured above. Slip stitch to 2nd chain of initial chain-2. Fasten off.

Round 6 :: Join in your new colour, hook through to the front and chain 2. Work 1 htr into the same stitch as the chain. Now work the following :: 1 htr, 1 htr, 1htr, 1htr **2 htr's, 1 htr, 1 htr, 1 htr, 1htr **

Repeat between ** , this time making 4 single htr stitches in between each double "v" stitch. Slip stitch to 2nd chain of initial chain-2. Fasten off. Round 7 :: Join in your new colour, hook through to the front and chain 2. Work 1 htr into the same stitch as the chain. Now work the following :: 1 htr, 1 htr, 1htr, 1htr, 1htr, **2 htr's, 1 htr, 1 htr, 1 htr, 1htr, 1htr ** Repeat between ** , this time making 5 single htr stitches in between each double "v" stitch, as pictured above. Slip stitch to 2nd chain of initial chain-2. Fasten off.

Can you see how the pattern forms??? With each round you increase the number of single stitches in between the double "V" stitches. You need to count carefully. And you need to makes sure that each round starts with a double stitch (ie a chain-2 + a htr), and ends with the correct number of single stitches. Good luck!

Crochet Snowflake

These crocheted Snowflakes are super-easy to make, and super-addictive. They are worked up in three quick rounds, and you can vary the size of them depending on which hook size you choose. In the above photo, I used a DK weight pure wool yarn with four different hook sizes (2mm, 3mm, 4mm and 5mm). The smallest star-like flakes you can see on the bottom row were made by only working the first two rounds of the pattern.

I'm writing in UK crochet terms, and the stitches you will need to know are chains, double crochet (dc) and slip stitch, as follows :: sl st :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc:: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. [this is equivalent to a US sc]

To begin :: chain 5 and join to make a ring. You will work the first round out of this ring. ROUND 1 :: Chain 1 (counts as 1dc), 1dc, then chain 3 (as in above pic)

*2dc, chain 3* (as in above pic)

Repeat the *2dc, chain3* four more times, creating little pointy chain-loops.

Slip stitch into initial chain-1 to join. You should be able to clearly see the six chain loops you've made....you'll be working out of these chain loops in the next round.

ROUND 2 :: To begin, slip stitch into the first chain loop (as in above pic). This makes sure you will be starting the round in the right place.

In the first chain loop, work the following :: chain 1 (counts as 1dc), 1dc, chain 3, 2dc (as in above pic).

In the second chain loop, work the following :: *2dc, chain 3, 2dc* Repeat four more times between **, working out of the four remaining chain loops.

Slip stitch into initial chain-1 to join. As in the previous round, you should be able to clearly see the six pointy chain loops you've just made....you'll be working out of these chain loops in the next round. You can fasten off at this point which creates a small, neat, star-shaped snowflake, or you can continue to add a third round......

ROUND 3 :: To begin, slip stitch into the first chain loop which makes sure you will be starting the round in the right place. Now work the following, all out of the first chain loop :: *1dc, chain 3, 1dc, chain 5, 1dc, chain 3, 1dc, chain 2* Repeat five more times between **, working out of the five remaining chain loops.

You should have ended the round with a chain-2 (as in above pic)...now slip stitch into the first dc you made to join the round. Fasten off, and weave in the end on the reverse.

Eh Voila!!!! One six-pointy, pretty-lacy hooky snowflake!!

Now a little note about the finishing-off stage...as you can see in the above before-and-after picture, these little snowflakes really benefit from some after-hooky spa treatment. It makes a tremendous difference and is soooo worth the extra time and effort. To block out my crochet, I use a piece of inch-thick foam covered with an old towel :: if you don't have foam then don't worry, you could use an old cushion/pillow covered in a towel, or maybe cover some packaging cardboard with a towel or simply fold the towel up until you have a thickness that you can happily stick pins in to. Now take some dressmaking pins and pin out the six points of the snowflake, stretching them right out until you are happy with the shape. You can either spray them with luke warm water, or better still, use a laundry spray starch to stiffen the snowflake slightly. The starch (which is readily available from supermarkets or shops selling household/laundry products) works brilliantly, and makes the snowy flakes hang beautifully without curling...I can heartily recommend this starchy spray stuff for decorative projects such as this. Leave the snowflakes to dry completely before removing the pins and admiring your little creation.

And I think that's about all I can tell you about snowflake making....hope you enjoy trying these, and I wish you many festive joyful moments with hook and yarn :o) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PS, a note about this tutorial.........my snowflake has been directly inspired by a free pattern I came across on the "Coats and Clark" website. The Original pattern was written by Mary Jane Protus, and can be found on the Coats and Crafts website HERE.

Blooming Flower Cushion

Here is my tutorial showing how to construct this wonderful layered flower and then make it into a Blooming Flower cushion/pillow. First of all I would like to say that this pattern is not my own. I found it via Two Butterflies blog. In this blog post, Jennifer shows her own creation and gives a link to the original pattern which is actually a vintage potholder design from the 1940's. The original pattern is short and sweet and written in US terms. The directions re how to increase in each round are vague and took me a fair amount of trial and error before I got it sussed. My hope is that by writing a picture-heavy tutorial and explaining precisely how the circle takes shape, you won't have any trouble giving this a whirl. Before we begin, a little summary of the basic stitches. I'm writing using UK crochet terms :: sl st [slip stitch] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch, then through the loop on your hook. dc [double crochet] :: insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (two loops on hook), yarn over and pull through both loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US sc stitch) htr [half treble]:: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook (note :: this is equivalent to the US hdc stitch) tr [treble] :: yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull the loop back through the stitch (three loops on hook), yarn over and pull through two loops on hook (two loops left on hook), yarn over and pull through remaining two loops (note :: this is equivalent to the US dc stitch)

To begin :: ch 6 and join to form a ring. Round 1 :: Ch 1, then work 15 dc into the ring. Join with sl st in 1st dc (as above). [15 sts].

Round 2 :: Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr), then work 1 tr into the same st (as above)

Work 2tr's into the next st......

...and continue working 2 tr's into each stitch right the way around. You should end up with [30 sts] in total. Sl st into the 3rd ch of initial ch3 to close the round. Fasten off.

Round 3 :: NOTE :: you will be working this round out of the FRONT LOOPS ONLY, as shown above. Change colour by knotting your new yarn close to the stitches, leaving your tail ends to darn in later.

Insert hook through FRONT LOOP of first st. Ch 1, then work 1dc into same st (front loop remember!)

Now work the following :: 1htr into next st, 5tr's into next st (as above)

Work 1 htr into next st, then 1dc into next st. This is your first petal made. It should take up 5 stitches in total (dc, htr, 5tr's, htr, dc). And remember, you are working out of front loops only, ok?

Work your second petal over the next five stitches (dc, htr, 5tr's, htr, dc)

Continue working your petals around the central circle, you'll make six petals altogether, as shown above. Sl st into the ch1 you made at the very beginning to close the round. Fasten off..

Round 4 :: NOTE :: you will be working this round out of the remaining BACK LOOPS of round 2, as shown above. You will hold your work with right side facing you, working behind the petals you've already made. Pull a new colour through the first st to the front, leaving a tail end to darn in/work over (shown above)

Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr), work 1tr into same st. Work 1 tr into next st, *2tr's into next st, 1tr into next st*

Repeat between ** all the way round. Sl st into 3rd ch of initial ch3 to close the round [45 sts]. DO NOT FASTEN OFF!

Round 5 :: NOTE :: you will be working this round out of the FRONT LOOPS ONLY, as shown above. Begin by making a sl st into Front Loop of first st.

Ch 1, then work 1dc into same st (as above)

Make your first petal as before...1htr in next st, 5tr's in next st, 1htr in next st, 1dc in next st.

Work your second petal over the next five stitches (dc, htr, 5tr's, htr, dc), remembering Front Loops Only!! Think you've got that bit by now eh?!

When you get all the way round, you should have 9 petals. Sl st into initial ch1 to close the round. Fasten off.

Round 6 :: NOTE :: you will be working this round out of the remaining BACK LOOPS of round 4, as shown above. You will hold your work with right side facing you, working behind the petals you made in the previous round. Pull a new colour through the first st to the front, leaving a tail end to darn in/work over.

Ch 1 (counts as 1tr), then work 1t into each st [45 st's]. Sl st into 3rd ch of initial ch3 to close the round. DON'T FASTEN OFF!

Round 7 :: yes, you got it, FRONT LOOPS ONLY for this round. sl st into front loop of first st, ch1, then 1dc into same st. Htr into next st, 5tr's into next st, htr into next st, dc into next st. First petal made.

Continue making your petals as in round 5, you'll have 9 altogether. Sl st into first ch1 to close the round. Fasten off. So that's the basic principal of this pattern, you need to think in multiples of 5 OK? Each petal takes 5 stitches, so in this last round you've worked 9 petals over 45 stitches. That's the basic maths of this pattern sorted :: when you make each circle, it must end up as a multiple of 5. This is the pattern so far then... round 1 :: [15 st]

round 2 :: [30 st] round 3 :: petal round (6 petals) round 4 :: increase round [45 st] round 5 :: petal round (9 petals) round 6 :: no increase [45 st] round 7 :: petal round (9 petals) Make sense? GOOD!!!!

So how to continue?? Well.....you will be increasing in every alternate circle, as follows :: round 8 :: join in a new colour (red in the above pic), back loops only. Ch3 (counts as 1 tr), 1tr into same st. Then work 1 tr into next 2 sts. *2tr's into next st, 1 tr into next 2 sts*. Repeat between ** until you come to the end, join with a sl st into 3rd ch of initial ch 3 [60sts] round 9 :: same colour, front loops only. You'll be making 12 petals (the red round in the picture above) round 10 :: join in a new colour (pink in the pic above), back loops only. Ch3 (counts as 1tr), then work 1 tr into each stitch around, join with a sl st into 3rd ch of initial ch 3 [60sts]. round 11 :: same colour, front loops only. You'll be making 12 petals (the pink petals in the picture above) round 12 :: join in a new colour (turquoise in the above pic), back loops only. Ch3 (counts as 1 tr), 1tr into same st. Then work 1 tr into next 3 sts. *2tr's into next st, 1 tr into next 3 sts*. Repeat between ** until you come to the end, join with a sl st into 3rd ch of initial ch 3 [75sts] round 13 :: same colour, front loops only. You'll be making 15 petals (the turquoise round in the picture above) etc etc etc etc .............

I hope this makes clear sense. To summarize.... Petals are worked over 5 stitches. With the circle rounds, you increase every alternate row. You add an extra 15 stitches into every increase row. You do this by increasing the single tr's worked between the increase tr's. So in round 4 you only put 1tr in between the increase tr's. In round 8 you put 2 tr's in between the increase tr's. In round 12 you put 3 tr's in between. I've highlighted these in red to help show how it works out.

The backside of my cushion was made following the circle pattern as outlined above, only minus the petals. I worked the rounds in both loops. Increasing on alternate rows. It curls a little as it grows, it probably won't want to lie completely flat until you give it a light press at the end.

The very last round of the backside is a petal row, worked in front loops only.

I joined the two sides by placing wrong sides together and working slip stitches through the inner/back loops remaining after the petal round has been formed. I hope this makes sense! You could always stitch them together if you prefer using a simple whip stitch through the inner/back loops.

And there you have it :: one perfectly marvelous Blooming Flower cushion! My blog post about this cushion can be found here.

Crochet Bag Pattern

Way back in July, you may remember me making this bag. It's my own design, made on a whim and I was/am absurdly proud of it. It has received much admiration when I jaunt about with it on my shoulder, and it has proven to be a very practical bag for stashing yarn in. Very Crochety indeed. I've had countless emails and requests for this pattern, and in truth I have been putting it off a little. Well more than a little, seeing as it is now more than three months down the line. I find writing patterns so daunting, but I will try to do my very best for you, to share this woolly baggy goodness with you all.

First some yarn info :: I used Debbie Bliss yarn, called Merino Aran. I got it in a sale, and it has now been discontinued, and I don't think there is an equivalent. It is not to be confused with her Cashmerino, which is softer and lighter. This Aran yarn is pure wool and quite thick, and is known as "aran weight", where as the Cashmerino is a DK weight. But really you can use whatever yarn tickles your fancy, just that the sizing might be smaller if you use a lighter weight yarn. Hook size :: I used a 4mm hook. Even though it's supposed to be a 5mm hook size for this weight yarn, I used 4mm and it made the stitches quite tight, which turned out good for this type of bag.

Now before we begin, can we just clarify the difference between UK and US terms :: this bag is made using a US double crochet (dc) stitch, which is equivalent to UK treble (tr). For this pattern I am going to use US terminology, simply because most patterns I've come across are written this way and I've got so used to calling this stitch a dc (apologies to all you UK treblers!) Begin by chaining 4 and joining to form a ring.

For the very first round you will work out of the central ring, but for all other rounds, work out of the stitches. When I work out of the stitches, I insert the hook through both loops of the stitch (as shown above), because I think it makes a stronger stitch. But you can just go through the back loop if thats what you're used to. Round 1 :: chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then work 10 more dc stitches INTO THE RING. Join with a slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3. Don't fasten off, keep same colour. (you should have 11 stitches in your circle) Round 2 :: slip stitch into first dc stitch to begin. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then 1 dc into SAME STITCH. *dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between **, making two dc's into each stitch. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off (you should now have 22 stitches in your circle)

Round 3 :: join a new colour by knotting it tightly and leaving tails to darn in, then pull a loop through to the front (as shown above). Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then dc into same stitch. *dc once into next stitch, then dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between **, alternating between single and double dc's in each stitch. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off. Round 4 :: Join in a new colour and pull a loop through to front to begin. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then dc into same stitch. *dc once into next 2 stitches, dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between ** until you complete the round. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off. Round 5 :: Join in a new colour and pull a loop through to front to begin. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then dc into same stitch. *dc once into next 3 stitches, dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between ** until you complete the round. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off. Round 6 :: Join in a new colour and pull a loop through to front to begin. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then dc into same stitch. *dc once into next 4 stitches, dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between ** until you complete the round. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off. Round 7 :: Join in a new colour and pull a loop through to front to begin. Chain 3 (counts as 1 dc), then dc into same stitch. *dc once into next 5 stitches, dc twice into next stitch*. Repeat between ** until you complete the round. Slip stitch to 3rd chain of initial chain 3 and fasten off. Can you see the pattern emerging here? Each round you increase the gap between the double-dc stitches by 1. You should be producing a reasonably flat circle which forms the bottom of the bag, and you can choose how big to make it. My bag has 14 of these increase rows in total, so in the final row 14, there should be 12 single dc's in between each double-dc. Hope that makes sense.

Now when you're happy you have the size of bottom you require (!!), all you need to do is stop increasing, ie stop making any double-dc stitches. In the picture above, my last increase round was the deep red colour :: the mustardy yellow colour was then the first round with no increase, see? Isn't this so easy? All you do now is continue changing yarn colours and simply work dc stitches all the way round (I think its roughly 154 stitches for each round, I just counted on my bag). Remember to continue working with the outside/right side facing you, don't get confused and suddenly begin working from the inside like I did, cos it goes all wrong. You can decide how deep you wish to make it :: my bag has 38 rows total :: 14 for the bottom, and 24 to make the sides.

SHELL EDGING This is a lovely way to finish off the top of the bag, and is pretty easy to do. It only involves clusters of dc stitches and slip stitches, with gaps in between. Make sure the outside of the bag is facing you, you are working the edging from the outside. Join in a new colour and pull a loop through to the front to begin. *Skip 2 stitches, then dc 7 times into the next stitch. Skip 2 stitches, then slip stitch into the next stitch.* Repeat between **

HANDLES These can be as long or short as you like :: the ones I made measure 64cm long. I wanted them quite tight and strong so I used long lines of Single Crochet (double crochet for UK peeps). So make a long chain the length you would like the handles to be, I think mine were roughly 95 stitches. *Begin in 2nd chain from hook and work a row of sc to the end. Now you can tie in a new colour if you like, or keep the one single colour. Chain 2 and turn*. Continue working rows of sc as above between **, making the straps as wide as you like (mine were 7 rows, 3cm wide). I know it's obvious really, but don't forget you'll need to make two handles. Position the handles on the bag (I spaced mine to have 4 "shell edgings" between each end of the handle (see top picture). Pin in place, overlapping the handle onto the outside of the bag by about 4cm or so. Stitch in place :: stitch thoroughly right round the end of the handle, as firmly as you can make it. You'll be able to cover up the stitching with a flower motif so don't worry too much about what it looks like, just make it strong. And there you have it. One crocheted bag. I am absolutely crocheted out, my head hurts. I am seeing stars. I hope for those of you who have waited for this pattern, that it was worth the wait, that it makes sense and that you might be inspired to give it a go. I am too tired to write about the little crochet flowers and leaves right now, but will do this for you sometime next week. They are an extra, and you can be making the bag in the meantime. I would be thrilled to hear of any of you making this bag, I really would so keep me posted.

Now I'm off to have a cup of tea and a rock bun and a weeny rest......I think I deserve it.

Santa

Santa Claus, Snowman and Christmas Tree Amigurumi Crochet Pattern

Santa Head and Body Edge of Shirt Hat Arm Belt Beard Mustache Finishing Santa Christmas Tree Needles or Fringe Star Garland Snowman Head and Body Arm Scarf Hat Finishing Snowman

Head and Body

Rnd 1: Starting at the bottom of the body. With red, ch 2, 6 sc in second chain from hook. (6) Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12) Rnd 3: (Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st) around. (18) Rnd 4: (2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts) around. (24) Rnd 5: Sc in next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, (sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st) 5 times, sc in next st. (30) Rnd 6: (Sc in next 4 sts,2 sc in next st) around.(36)

Rnd 7: (2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts) around. (42) Rnd 8: Sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st, (sc in next 6 sts, 2 sc in next st) 5 times, sc in next 3 sts. (48) Rnd 9: (Sc in next 7 sts, 2 sc in next st) around. (54) Rnd 10: Sc in next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st, (sc in next 8 sts, 2 sc in next st) 5 times, sc in next 4 sts. (60) Rnd 11:Working in back loops only. Sc in each st around. Rnd 12: Sc in each st around. Rnd 13: Working in back loops only. Sc in each st around. Rnd 14-20: Sc in each st around. Rnd 21: (Sc in next 8 sts, sc next 2sts tog) around. (54) Rnd 22: Sc in each st around. Rnd 23: (Sc in next 7 sts, sc next 2 sts tog) around. (48) Rnd 24: Sc in each st around. Rnd 25: Sc in next 3 sts, sc next 2 sts tog, (sc in next 6 sts, sc next 2 sts tog) 5 times, sc in next 3 sts. (42) Rnd 26: Sc in each st around. Rnd 27: (Sc in next 5 sts, sc next 2 sts tog) around. (36) Rnd 28: Sc in each st around. Stuff. Rnd 29: Sc in next 2 sts, sc next 2 sts tog, (sc in next 4 sts, sc next 2 sts tog) 5 times, sc in next 2 sts. (30) Rnd 30: (Sc next 2 sts tog, sc in next 3 sts) around, changing to cream in last 2 loops of last st. (24) Rnd 31-36: Sc in each st around. Rnd 37: (Sc in next 2 sts, sc next 2 sts tog) around. Stuff. (18) Rnd 38: (Sc in next st, sc next 2 sts tog) around. (12) Rnd 39: (Sc next 2 sts tog) around, join with sl st in first st. Fasten off.

Edge of Shirt

Rnd 1: Working in front loops of round 12 of the body and head pointed towards you. With white, join with sl st , ch 1, sc in same st, sc in each st around. (60) Rnd 2: Sl st in next st, ch 1, reverse sc in each st around, join with sl st in first st. Fasten off.