Phildar Phil Flocon Review with Chevron Cowl Pattern!

I was contacted by HobbyCraft a few weeks ago, Emily [she deals with the knit/crochet side of things there – check out @knitcraftHQ on IG] thought I’d be interested in trying out some yarn for them.  As you know, I have an inability to refuse free stuff so I was very happy to take a few balls off their hands! I was given a choice of any yarn from their Phildar range. I have a feeling that all things floof will get pretty popular in the coming months (Yep, I’ve been saying that since last year when I tried out Wool and the Gang’s Take Care Mohair). I need to do my bit in fulfilling this prediction so I chose Phildar Phil Flocon. It’s not mohair but it’s just as fluffy.

It’s a blend of all sorts but usually if I see alpaca on the label, I’m sold. I love anything with alpaca in it. This yarn is alpaca, wool, acrylic and polymide and it has a yummy woolly smell.

Did you know that Flocon can mean both flock as in wool (think flock wallpaper) and flake, as in snowflake! It’s wool and looks like fluffy snow!! Brilliant!

I had lots of fun working with it. From experience I know that this isn’t yarn you want to frog. Whatever I made had to be super simple. I didn’t want to make mistakes and have to waste hours with failed rescue attempts. I decided on a cowl, you can’t get much more basic than that. I love the result, it’s fab. It is also super quick to work up. The fluffy nature of the yarn means it comes out quite chunky. Chunky is excellent, chunky means less work as far as I’m concerned!

Because I got the yarn for free and because it’s a super easy crochet design I thought it’d be a nice idea to pop up the pattern for free too. Whilst you’re here, please do bear in mind that on the next episode of my podcast/vlog I’ll be doing a Giveway for my Phildar dregs. How appealing does that sound!!? Ok, sorry, not dregs. I have two full balls that I didn’t use and would love to pass it on. Keep an eye out for Episode 10, which is due to come out on the 21st July.

Sooo, fancy and warm and cosy crochet cowl for winter (a winter that’s ages away!)? Here’s the pattern…

You’ll need Phildar Flocon: 2x Creme, 2x Glacon and a 6.5mm hook.

Pattern is written in UK terms. 3tr=cluster.

Chain 65.

Row 1: 3tr in 7th from hook. (skip 2 st, 3tr in next) nine times. Ch2, 3tr in next st, (skip 2 st, 3tr) nine times. Skip 2 st, 1 tr in last st. Turn.

Row 2: Ch3. 3tr in space between clusters, nine times. (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in 2 chain space. 3tr in space between clusters, nine times. 1tr in last st of row. Turn

Row 3 – 35: Rep row 2, changing colour every six rows.

Row 36: As row 2 but slip stitch to join to Row 1 between each cluster. (Check the pics below to see the join) Fasten off and sew in ends.

I wish I’d worn eye make up the day I took this!

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By the way, this pattern belongs to me, please don’t publish it, pinch it, or do anything with it other than use it for your own personal fun. Give me a shout if you want to talk about that. Thanks ever so much. X

 

 

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How to Crochet a Beach Bag. Free pattern

Crochet beach bag pattern

At the very beginning of April I had an email from Hobbycraft asking if I’d be interested in designing a crochet project for them. It was really exciting to be asked and really exciting to learn that I could pick any materials from stuff they sold in their stores! Caron Cakes took my fancy, it’s self striping so all colour changes are done for me! The brief was “Summer” and what’s more summery than a beach bag?! The crochet pattern pretty much uses two entire “cakes,” including plenty for pompoms. Honestly, it’s a super easy crochet beach bag and pretty fast to work up too.

Hobbycraft have an Instagram account and blog page especially for knitters and crocheters. The bag pattern is up and ready to grab over on Hobbycraft (see below). The best thing of all is that it’s totally free!! They’re asking lots of IGers to come up with crochet patterns at the moment. I think it’s a lovely idea to include crafters who are already connecting in a virtual community. There are some fabulous patterns available and they’ve all been designed by us!

Crochet Beach Bag PDF : Crochet Beach Bag_zeens and roger

Or pop to Hobbycraft, here.

If you are new to crochet it might be helpful to know that I put together a video tutorial for a small, kid’s crochet granny bag that starts in the same way. I chat more about the differences between this large crochet beach bag and the small granny stripe bag HERE.

pompoms and crochet
A crochet granny stripe beach bag

Whilst I think the Caron Cakes looks fab in this crochet granny stripe bag, I would love to try making a bag in cotton yarn too. I am a huge fan of cotton for bags. It’s strong, sturdy and doesn’t warp or stretch too much. Let me know if you try it!

Seeing as this project came about because of the Instagram community, don’t forget to get in touch with me there: @zeensandroger #zeensandroger. Cheers! x

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The Crochet Elephant Ripple Blanket

Hello! Happy May! Love May, May makes me happy. Proper spring you see, it’s magic! Plus it’s my birthday in a couple of days and that always gets me giddy (I can’t believe I still get excited about my birthday). It’s been a while since I wrote a post about crochet. They’ve all been videos haven’t they?! I’m starting to see a divide between blogging and vlogging, that I had no idea about. It’s not a problem but I’d like to not neglect anyone.

Anyway… blanket. At the beginning of April a friend got in touch with me and asked very nicely if I would make a baby blanket for her friend. I liked the ideas she had and fancied having a go at something different. It was nice that I could do a brainless ripple but there was also going to be something interesting in the mix as well.

I know that the baby in question is having a safari themed nursery and because grey was to feature in the blanket’s colour palette, it was elephants that sprang to mind. I did a quick search online and came up with these cuties. The pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me and it’s exactly the sort of thing I wanted.

I like how the secret elephants are hidden inside when it’s folded up. You might think it’s a boring blanket. But tumble it open and the cuteness is revealed!

They had to go trunk to tail, that’s something I definitely wanted. I hadn’t thought much about how they’d be attached. I’m glad it dawned on me not to merrily stitch through to the other side. I paid lots of attention to making the stitches only on one side. I had to forgo safety eyes for the same reason (they’d poke right through to the other side). I forgot to take pics of the other side to prove that there’s nothing on show. Watch my latest vlog, the evidence is there!

I used Stylecraft Special dk as it’s perfect for baby blankets. I ordered the yarn at the same time as the release of the new shades so I knew Buttermilk had to be part of it. It’s like someone has added mayonnaise to the Mustard. They go very nicely together. Also in the mix are Teal, Sage and Grey. It looks quite nice on my fabulous(ly cheap) sofa too!

And let’s not forget the ubiquitous Neat Ripple! I have no idea how many times I’ve made Attic 24’s Neat Ripple! So many! I did 8 pattern repeats and 64 rows before adding the grey. At each end I added a ripply row of grey and then a straightening row. You can straighten it off by following this useful guide from Little Tin Bird. Then it was just a case of making a couple of rounds of UK trebles before going back to Attic24 for the edging, which was pilfered from Lucy’s original Granny Stripe. Phew! What do you think? I like it! Anything with grey and mustard floats my boat though. Grellow they call it.

Anyway, I’m late for an evening walk that I must do. I’ve been very lazy recently and done no proper exercise. And I need to go to the shop for bread and milk…

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How to Crochet a Purse and Add Zip and Lining

I have finally made another crochet tutorial for YouTube! Phew. This one is for a cute little crochet purse. I wanted to show how to sew in a zipper in crochet projects, and then, at the last minute, I decided to go all the way and add a demo for sewing the fabric lining too!

The response from the crochet Easter Egg pattern (my first crochet tutorial) was amazing, absolutely amazing! Thank you so, so much. It has definitely spurred me on to make more “How To” video tutorials to demonstrate different crochet techniques and patterns.

Anyway, if you are a crochet expert but have always wondered how to attach a zipper to your project, or you’re interested in how to line your crochet projects, this is the tutorial for you.

Things You Need to Line Your Crochet

  • Cotton aran yarn (or another yarn of your choice). I used Drops Paris
  • 4.5mm hook
  • Zipper to match the length of the purse you want
  • Fabric for lining slightly larger than the crochet fabric
  • Needle for darning in the crochet ends.
  • Needle and thread for sewing zipper and lining.
  • Scissors!

Little Cotton Crochet Purse

Here are a few pics of the starting process for how to crochet a little purse. Don’t forget, you can work a crochet chain as long as you like. Make sure your foundation chain is a couple of stitches longer than the actual zip because the crochet shrinks down slightly smaller than the foundation chain.

This simple crochet purse pattern is worked from the bottom up and then worked in the round. To get the full “How To”, please hop over to YouTube for the cotton purse video tutorial.

Little Cotton Purse, Written Pattern

My chosen zip is about 4 inches long, and I crocheted 15 chains in aran-weight cotton using a 4.5mm hook.

Round 1: 1dc in 2nd ch from hk, turn work to work down the other side of the chain, dc to end, do not turn – [14 sts]
Note, at the end of round 1, it might be easier to add a stitch marker and move it up each round. That way, when you’ve completed 12 rounds, you know where to fasten off. (If it doesn’t land on a “side” section, don’t worry, you can finish off wherever you like!
Rounds 2 – 12: dc in continuous rounds. At the end, slip stitch in the last stitch and fasten off.

Please do let me know how you get on. If you make a purse I’d love to see, you can #zeensandroger and I’ll see it on Instagram or Ravelry it! Or just come and say hi!

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How To Crochet A Granny Square Bag

Handmade Granny square bag pattern

Sudden Crochet Inspiration

I had no idea that I was going to make a Granny Square bag last week, no idea at all! I was dashing off somewhere and felt I could do with taking a little crochet project with me. Hurriedly, random balls of yarn were grabbed and off out I went. Those random balls of yarn were about to become granny squares, which were about to become a yarny, patchwork bag! Yay!

I didn’t have enough yarn to crochet a blanket, which made me wonder what else I could turn the colourful granny squares into. I considered making a cushion, but what got me really excited was the idea of a crochet bag! It’s a tricky thing to take a picture of, the bright colours shout so loudly that they blow the pics out!

I used leftover yarn stash of Paintbox acrylic aran yarn and, just because I fancied it, used a Join As You Go method.

Make a Crochet Granny Bag

To crochet your own granny square bag, you’ll need a few things. Here they are:

  • Colourful yarn in various colours (I used aran weight, but any yarn is fine).
  • 4.5mm hook (if using a different weight, make sure to use the right sized hook for the weight of yarn you use).
  • Bag handles (I recommend searching for “long bag handles” on eBay or Etsy, that’s what I did!)
  • Lining fabric (something measuring a couple of inches bigger than your finished crochet piece)
  • Darning needle for when you’re sewing with yarn
  • Pins, sewing needle and thread for when making up the lining.

The main body of the bag is a bog standard gang of grannies; super quick and easy to do! Rounds of three, joined together in 8 rows of 5 squares (you’ll either need more rows or more rounds for each square if you’re using DK yarn; check out my tutorial for a double knit version here).

My piece measured 15.5 x 27 inches (40 x 68cm).

Making a granny square bag using leftover yarn

How to Place Colours in Crochet

Every now and again, it is worth checking to see that the spread of colour is even. I eyeball the colour layout for the granny squares, taking into consideration how colours look when they sit next to each other. I also make sure to know what I’ve got left in stash so that I don’t accidentally run out of a shade halfway through. If you take a look at the picture above, you can see that the colours are evenly distributed.

Adding Handles to a Crochet Bag

Once the main body of the crochet bag is complete,  the handle sections need to be shaped. It’s not as tricky as it looks, and luckily, accuracy is not paramount. I don’t mind a project that needs a bit of bodging, and crochet is usually very forgiving when it comes to bodging! Not that you need to bodge it, I’m just saying!!

Note that UK terms are used (a UK treble is a US double crochet)

  1. At one end of the main body (right side facing), work a strip of granny clusters starting with a ch3 and 1tr in the first st and ending with 2tr on the last stitch of the row. Straddle the square joins with (1tr, tr2tgr, 1tr).  You can kind of see what I’ve done on the picture above, but I also show you how to add this edge across granny squares (about 2:40 into the vid)
  2. Turn the work. Ch2,  1htr in each stitch along to the end. Turn.
  3. Ch1, slip stitch along approximately 10 stitches (you want the narrow section to be the same width as the handle slot). Ch2, 1htr in each stitch along, missing the last (approx) 10sts. Turn.
  4. Ch2, 1htr in each stitch of the last row. To widen the work again, ch13, Turn.
  5. 1htr in 3rd ch from hk. 1htr in each st along to the end. Continue by adding 10 more stitches using a chainless foundation half double stitch. This is actually lovely to do, I promise. I have a video that shows you how, it’s here:  The Foundationless Start. Skip the first bit of the video (that explains the same technique for a UK dc). Turn.
  6. Ch2, htr all the way along. Turn.
  7. Repeat row 6. Fasten off.
  8. Repeat 1-7 on the other end of the bag.

Next, with the right side facing, evenly stitch UK doubles (US single crochet) all the way down the edge of both lengths. Don’t fasten off yet…

Fold the granny square bag in half and, using the yarn still on the hook, slip stitch the sides together. Repeat on the other side.

Tuck the handle bits through the handle holes/slots, then fold down to the inside and pin, ready for sewing closed.

The stitches don’t have to be super neat. If you use matching yarn, you won’t see if you’re making a dog’s dinner of it! Try not to come through to the right side, though, or if you do, make the stitches small, so they’re not staring at you. Don’t forget the top bits at the ends.

Lining a Crochet bag

Add Lining to Your Crochet Bag

Next, you need to add the lining. It’s not 100% necessary, but I think it looks better, and you won’t have your stuff escaping through granny holes!

Fold a length of fabric in half, right sides together. Place the granny square bag on top and mark/draw where you need to sew. Also, mark where you want the fold of your top hem to go. Sew down both sides to make the bag cavity. Next, iron the seams nice and flat. At the same time, fold down the top hem and press. I went back to the sewing machine and top-stitched the hem.

Tuck the lining into your bag, pin it in place, and hand sew the top of the lining to the top of the crochet! And there you have it, a crochet bag of your own!

Retro granny square bag. Free crochet pattern
Granny square crochet bag pattern
A granny square crochet bag

Oh goodness, I think I need a course in how to photograph bright colours!!

I would absolutely love to hear from you if you make one of my designs. If you do, please give me a shout. I’d love it if you said Hi! Don’t forget that I’m on Ravelry, so your makes can be added there. Oh, and I almost forgot Instagram!

And don’t forget to check out my other Free Crochet Patterns, right here on my blog. Not to mention some super useful Crochet Tips & Tricks, here!

Thank you. X

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Crochet Easter Egg. Video Tutorial & Pattern

Crochet Easter Eggs With Embroidered Flowers

Doesn’t it feel like Spring already?! That means Easter is just around the corner. You may recall that last year, I came up with a cute little pattern for crochet Easter eggs. The surprisingly awesome outcome is that it has been a really popular pattern (mostly thanks to Pinterest, not anything I’ve done).

To accompany the written crochet pattern, I thought that it would be useful if I did a video tutorial demonstrating how I crocheted little Easter Eggs. The flowers are a simple but very pretty finishing touch! I show you how to do those, too!

And it is not just any old video tutorial… it is my first ever video tutorial! It’s apparent that I need to perfect my video-making skills somewhat, but you’ve got to start somewhere! I hope you find it useful.

Crochet Easter Egg Video Tutorial

The written crochet pattern is super straightforward and quick to do. The How-To video is probably best viewed as a companion to the written instructions. In the video, I also demonstrate how to embroider the stitches, which the written pattern does not do.

If you want to jump straight there, the time stamp for the decorative embroidery is 18.25.

Had I been more YouTube savvy, I could have made two different videos. One for crocheting the Easter egg and one to demonstrate the embroidery. But I didn’t think about that until afterwards!

If you fancy having a look (afterall, Easter is coming up pretty soon) then please click on this picture to take you to YouTube! Or go HERE. And then let me know if you’ve made some!! I would absolutely love to see. Cheers! X

If you enjoy making these pretty crochet eggs, take a look at my other free crochet patterns here!

How to crochet an amigurumi Easter Egg video

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Crazy Crochet Chevron Blanket

bright-crochet-chevron-blanket

For a relatively small blanket, this zigzag chevron blanket seemed to take forever. I’ve made crocheted chevrons before, but not for a long time. I now know why. Every stitch is so small that the build-up is mega slow (yet very much worth it).

neon-pink-crochet-bobbles

Crochet Chevron Blanket

It took a good week to get into the flow of the zigzag stitches. Once I could see that the colours were making me happy, I sped up and started to enjoy the rhythm of it. It’s a classic crochet chevron pattern, with stitches worked in the back loops only. I used this chevron pattern from Meet me at Mike’s, which has step-by-step photos.

I think I worked 11 multiples of the stitches, maybe 12. I thought that would create plenty of width, but it’s actually a lot smaller than I was aiming for. The nature of the stitch created a concertina effect, with it squishing in on itself dramatically. If I stretch it out, it does look bigger, and I think that if I give it a wash, it should settle down more.

old-border

Adding a Crochet Border to Zigzag Blankets

The border was a bit of a pain. I knew I wanted the blanket to have a crochet border, and I also knew that many zigzag blankets don’t have them. Probably for a good reason! The valleys and peaks created by the stitch mean that you have to fill those spaces in.

Sadly, I no longer have links to the ones I used to make the border. However, all the yellow bits in the pic below are worked separately. Then the blue was sort of “coloured in” in the spaces.

straightening-the-crochet-chevron

I wish I hadn’t added a second row of the cloud blue dc stitches (US single crochets) over the top. It looks a bit messy, and it really doesn’t need to be there. By the time I’d got to this section, though, I’d already unpicked a first, super-ugly border attempt. I was fed up. I just could not be bothered to do it all again (I’d already gone round with the grey at this point too, as I had done the first time too). So if anyone out there fancies having a go, perhaps don’t add a second row of blue!

complete

Crochet Bobble Edging

I thought the grey was going to be the final colour, but the blanket’s recipient (Youngest boy) came over and told me that he wanted the neon pink. He knew what he was talking about. It looks fabulous. I seriously love it! You know, I think grey would have been nice on its own, but now it really pops!  (and I don’t use that word lightly-  I never ever say “pops”).

There isn’t really a pattern for the full border in its entirety; it’s just pairs of 2 UK treble stitches sitting next to each other and ch1, miss a stitch. It would look something like this in a pattern:

UK terms – Round 1: *2tr, miss 1 st, ch1; rep from * around.
US terms – Round 1: *2dc, sk 1 st, ch1; rep from * around.

The bobbles/pompoms are a little stitch pattern I came up with when I crocheted a Touch of Spice blanket nearly a year ago. This time I chained 6, not 7, made my tr5tgr in the 4th ch from hook and chained 2 rather than 3.
Pop over to the Pompom Edging blog post and take a closer look.

crochet-chevron-blanket
colourful-crochet-blanket-chevron-pattern

Order of Yarn Colours

Essentially, this was a crochet stashbuster of a blanket. I had so much Stylecraft Special dk acrylic that it needed to be made into something lovely and not stuck alone in the dark cupboard under the stairs.

I’m going to say that it was mostly random colour choices, but there is a pattern repeat:

  • Six rows of one colour,
  • 3x two rows of different colours,
  • 4 rows of another colour,
  • 2x two rows of different colours,
  • finishing with six rows again.

I’ll also tell you the colours because I’m super proud that I remember them all off the top of my head: Fiesta, Grey, Citron, Wisteria, Aspen, Shrimp, Sherbet, Cloud, Kelly, Apricot, Lobelia, Fuschia, Plum, Pistachio.

on-the-banister-my-favourite-crochet-chevron

And I’ve still got enough to make another sort of blanket…because there’s a chance I might have gone out and bought some more… you know, to make up the colours….Soooo…. what next? Granny squares or treble chevrons, maybe a sunburst? I’m torn.

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Corner to Corner Broken Heart

broken-heart-corner-to-corner-crochet

What Becomes of the Crochet Broken Hearted?!

Coming up to February, hearts are everywhere. I get it, love is in the air and all that, but what if you don’t want to get all schmaltzy and saccharine about it?!

This is my answer: crochet a broken heart! I’ve come up with a crochet corner-to-corner graphgan design that’s cute but not pukey. How great is that?! To make your own crochet heart, read on…

crochet-heart-cushion

I chose neon pink (almost impossible to photograph by the way) and a light grey aran yarn. I was all set to go for a blue background colour until I found out I didn’t have enough yarn. This pattern needs two balls of the grey and one of neon pink, with just a scrap of blue for the shiny reflection.

a-broken-heart-stitch-fiddle-pattern

I recently learned about a chart making website called Stitch Fiddle. It’s brilliant! You can make up your own crochet designs for knitting, cross-stitch and crochet. It’s free to do the basic stuff, but I’m tempted to sign up for the fancier version. You get fifteen freebies; after that, you have to pay.

I haven’t used it to do crochet diagrams yet, but I’m probably headed that way.  Anyway, I’m not here to sell their stuff. I shall move on…

Above is the graphgan chart to use. I think it can be printed off if you save it as a document, then you can mark off the squares as you go. I started in the bottom right corner.

broken-heart-crochet-c2c

Things Needed to C2C a Broken Heart

  • 2x 100g balls of background colour, 1x ball for heart, a few metres of a third colour. It’s aran weight yarn
  • 4.5mm hook. (If you have a particularly loose tension, try a 4mm).
  • 1x 50cm cushion pad
  • 1x 50cm cushion cover
  • Sewing needle (not as giant as a darning needle, but big enough to squeeze the yarn through, it needs to go through the cushion cover).

Before you begin, the first thing you need to do is separate out about 20 grams of the grey yarn, this will be the ball you use to work between the two heart pieces. The thing about making crochet graphgans is that you need a ball/bobbin for each section of colour. I had three grey and two pink balls being worked at the same time (I wound a separate ball of the pink yarn too, just under half). It’s not as tricky as it sounds, I promise. It’s very hard to explain, but very easy to do! As long as you know how to Corner to Corner, this is really simple to achieve.

I learned how to do a C2C from a pattern I got from Ravelry, but I’ve found this video by Bella Coco, which I wish I’d seen at the time!

Here is a video about colour changes. It was immensely helpful and got to the point. No faffing, thank goodness.

back

I kept all my workings on one side (it’s a cushion, they’re not going to show on the wrong side). To avoid lots of these, make sure you keep one ball of pink for one heart half, and the other for the other. There are a couple of places where the yarn would be carried over too many blocks if you didn’t split the yarn, and that might look messy. If you look too closely at the picture above, you can see where I broke that rule. Just don’t look.

pinning

Pin your finished piece to the front of a cushion cover. Pin the four corners first, then add a couple more pins inbetween. I found my cushion cover from Amazon, it was about £3, which is better than the £4.50 it would have cost to buy two more balls of yarn to do a plain c2c back, and more time efficient. Woohoo for saving time and money!

sewing-on-to-the-cushion
stitchy-stitch

Stitch it on. The ends can be woven in when it’s finished.

sewn-up
crochet-cushion

Keep the stitches as close to the edge as possible.

cosy-cushions

Finished! A giant crochet cushion with a broken heart!

Let me know what you think. Do tell me if you make one, I would absolutely love to see it. Please feel free to make as many as you like, and why not check out some of my other free crochet patterns!? Thanks.

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Crochet Triangle Infinity Scarf

self-striping-yarn-rainbow-crochet-infinity-scarf
Geometric Crochet Love

My love for crochet triangles all started when I was playing around with geometric patterns for crochet. It became a conscious thing last summer when I made my  C2C crochet cushion. Since then, I’ve seen triangles all over the place. I now absolutely love geometric patterns in crochet!

crochet-triangles-cowl-infinity-scarf

Crochet Cowl Inspiration

I’m on a mission to make the perfect crochet cowl. I know exactly what sort of design I want, but have struggled with translating it into crochet. Basically, if you take a look at my pattern Pinterest board, you’ll get the idea.

I’d love to intersperse different colours amongst the triangles for my cowl idea. So far, I’ve resisted just doing colour changes for random single triangles, as it could potentially compromise the structural integrity. I might have to try it though, just to find out how safe and secure it would be… Hmm, anyway, I’m glad to say that I’ve found the ideal cowl/scarf pattern to play with.

crochet-cowl-monochrome-triangle-infinity-scarf

Crochet Triangle Infinity Scarf

The best crochet cowl pattern I’ve recently come across is called the Triangle Crocheted Infinity Scarf from Friendly Nettle. I totally love this pattern, it’s utterly fabulous, and I know lots of other people feel the same way because my Instagram mates have gone nuts for it too!

paintbox-yarns-simply-aran
cosy-monochrome-crochet-cowl-triangle-infinity-scarf
rainbow-bright-crochet-triangle-infinity-scarf
Triangle Cowl Pattern

The pattern is very simple and Rasa, the designer, has made things super helpful by providing loads of pictures, a video tutorial and pattern diagrams. As I’m I can’t help myself, I did change a few elements to the original pattern.

My first two cowls were made with Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran, so I didn’t need as many triangles in my starting row. I think the tri-colour version of the infinity scarf (cowl) has thirty triangles, and the monochrome one was twenty six. Each cowl has fifteen rounds for the main body (plus the first and last rounds of UK htr stitches).

monochrome-crochet-triangle-cowl

When working the crochet triangles, I made 1dc (UK), 1htr), 1tr and 1dtr. This sequence is different to the original pattern (I messed around with a few different stitch sequence experiments. I was curious to see what would happen to the shape of the triangles). You’ll need to see the original pattern to work out where these stitches go! I wouldn’t want to give away too much of the original pattern as it isn’t mine.

My edging was also added to, but nothing particularly fancy.

rainbow-triangles
Self Striping Yarn

The final triangle cowl I made was this crazy rainbow job. It’s a double knit, self striping yarn from Rhapsodye Yarns, which I was really intrigued by.  The number of triangles in the starter row was increased by a couple more to make the cowl a good size. Double knit yarn is finer than aran weight yarn, so adding more triangles was necessary for a good fit. I pretty much used the whole 100-gram skein.

I was on the lookout for something that had both colourful brights and a plain base.  In my imagination, there was more grey and less colour. I didn’t really think about how the colours would be laid out on the skein, and I blame my lack of education regarding hand-dyed yarn rather than anything else. Still, I think the effect is pretty good. Just not what I was after in this case.

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winding-yarn

I bought the rainbow dyed yarn from a UK dyer, Rhapsodye Yarns. It’s a superwash merino, and it’s just lovely!
See the running rainbow? I’d like only two, maybe three colours, each long enough to make a triangle, with grey in between each shade. Do you think I need to take up yarn dying as a hobby next?! I’m tempted to contact the dyer and make a special request instead. Seriously, I do not need any more hobbies right now.

For such a simple pattern, the crochet triangle design is so impactful. It is definitely worth trying this pattern if you haven’t already.

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Speedy Crochet Bracelet. A Free Pattern.

easy-crochet-bracelet

A Really Quick Crochet Idea

I was working out the design for my recent crochet wrist warmers pattern, playing with different methods and whatnot, when this idea popped up. A very simple crochet bracelet. It’s basically front post and back post stitches, which ended up being too bulky for the mitts, but still had something I liked.

It is such an easy crochet pattern; it only takes fifteen/twenty minutes from start to finish. Who doesn’t love super speedy crochet ideas!?

If you’ve not tried crochet post stitches before, this crochet bracelet is a great pattern for practising. These stitches are so easy. They’re the same as normal US double / Uk treble stitches; it’s just where you put your hook that counts. There are countless YouTube videos out there that demonstrate beautifully. I use the technique in some chunky crochet mittens, here.

I’m not sure if this is a crochet cuff, bracelet or other thing, but whatever it is, (seeing as it’s Christmas) here’s a lovely little free crochet pattern for them!

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A Quick and Easy Crochet Bracelet

Pattern Notes:

  • I’ve used Paintbox Aran with a 4.5mm hook.
  • I’ve used UK terms with US terms in brackets.
  • In Row 2, I work under the bumps of the foundation chain. This makes a neater finish, but it does mean it looks twisty when you come to slip stitch together. Ignore the twist and join anyway; it won’t be noticed in the final piece. Just double-check that you’ve not got a twist in the stitches you’re going to work into next.
  • Crochet over the ends as you go to allow for minimal stitching at the end.
  • I have wrists like twigs; you may need to go up to 26 or 28 stitches
super-easy-crochet-cuff-bracelet-free-crochet-pattern

Crochet Bracelet Pattern

Chain 24, join with a slip stitch.
Round 1: Ch1 (does not count as a st), dc (US sc) in each st around, join with a slip stitch to the first st. Fasten off. [24 sts]
Rnd 2: Attach new colour to any stitch. Ch3 (counts as a st), 1tr (US dc) in each st around, join to the top of the initial ch3. [24]
Rnds 3 – 5: Ch2 (does not count as a st), *FPtr, BPtr; repeat from* to the end, sl st to the top of the first st. Fasten off after Rnd 5. [24]
Rnd 6: Attach new colour to any st. Ch1 (does not count as a st), 1dc (US sc) in each st around. Join with a slip stitch to the first st. Fasten off and sew in any ends. [24]

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 And there you have it. Easy peasy! The quickest crochet bracelet to make! Now go and crochet loads of cuffs, bracelets, sweat bands, whatever they are!

Happy Christmas! See you in the New Year. 2017 is going to be amazing!! X

easy-and-speedy-crochet-project
crochet-bracelets

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