Ruffle Rose Brooch. Quick Crochet Make

Christmas is one month away. One month is sure to whizz by! Are you making presents? Crochet Christmas pressies are always good. Ones that take less than half an hour to knock up are even better.

This Rose Ruffle brooch featured last year, in issue 107 of Inside Crochet. It was a Christmas issue so it seems apt that I’m releasing it here, in time for Christmas again! It is such a speedy project; you could make loads and still have time to make Santa Hats with matching garlands (20% off Ravelry until December 8th), Baubles (free pattern and an accompanying video tutorial HERE). And lots of other things too, I suppose!

Image from issue 107 of Inside Crochet

The brooch is made in one long piece and spiralled around into shape. A few stitches with a needle and the tail ends secures everything in place. Then sew on the brooch back. It’s pretty simple.

Whilst the pattern tells you to change colour during Row 1, you don’t have to. You can make them in all one colour if preferred.

Oh, because it was published in a UK magazine, the terms are UK crochet stitches. It is pretty easy to translate: A UK dc is a US sc, a UK tr is a US dc and so on…

Pattern:

Materials.

● Sublime baby cashmere merino silk dk (75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, 5% cashmere), 50g/116m/127yd, 1 ball of Dusty Pink (346) & 1 ball of Twinkle (491). You can stash bust any other dk weight yarn. I’ve made them in aran too and the result is similar.

● Twilley’s Washable Goldfingering (80% viscose, 20% metallised polyester), 25g/100m, 1 ball in antique gold (shade 4). I have also found sparkly yarn in Aldi before now.

● 4 mm hook

● 3cm brooch back

● Needle

Measures: 8cm/3.5in

With Yarn A chain 31

Row 1: 5dc in 2nd ch from hook, 5dc in next st, [5htr in next st] 5 times, [6tr in next st] 7 times, [6dtr in next st] four times, change colour to YB, [6dtr in next st] four times, 7dtr in next st] 8 times, do not turn. [181st] 

Row 2: Attach YC to the first st of Row 1 (leave a tail), 1dc BLO in each stitch to end, fasten off.

Coil the crochet around on itself, securing with stitches with a needle and yarn tail as you go (begin with the end of smaller petals). Sew on the brooch back. Make loads.

When you’re done, don’t forget to add it to your projects page on Ravelry!! Ta very much. x

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PS if you want to make a small batch for your local Christmas fair or something then that’s fine. But please let me know; I’m nosey and really want to see!

xxx

Z&R Crochet Podcast 62. Eager Beaver

Hi! I trust you’re well? After a break of a few weeks I have returned with the latest crochet podcast. Head on over to YouTube to watch! Click on the pic above to go directly to the episode. Links and pics are below. If I’ve missed something, or you have a query, please do give me a shout. Thanks ever so much. X

Links:

Kinesis Sweater by We are Knitters

The Betty Boyfriend Sweater

Stitchfest South West

Cloud Nine Jumper by Iron Lamb

Christmas Granny Hat.

ZZ Block C2C baby blanket

The Frost Shawl by Hannah of the Cozy Crochet Cottage

Find me on Instagram HERE!

Snow Leopard Designs. Fab handmade, up-cycled wrist warmers

Siobhans’s Craft

Dina’s Home of Crafts

I got my Lykke hooks from Cat & Sparrow

Unbelievawool

Z&R Crochet Podcast 61. Not A Great Deal

Hello! This crochet podcast is pretty short. Camera issues have caused problems again! Therefore, I kept it short and sweet. Hope that’s OK, will endeavor to pull my finger out. Please click on the pic above to go to the episode, or go HERE to YouTube for the whole lot.

Links:

Patreon

All the Fun of the Fair. The pattern is on Ravelry HERE. There is a 20% discount until October 27th. Ta very much

The market bag I keep bleating on about is HERE

The Betty Boyfriend Sweater.

Goodness, that’s all this time. It’s not much is it?!

Z&R Crochet Podcast 60! Bravely Soldiering On

Hello, how are you?! I’m fine. Just squeezing it all and getting in a flap as usual. Episode 60! Sixty episodes of my daft crochet podcast! Who would have thought it?! I am still loving every minute of it though and I hope you enjoy it too! Thank you so much for hanging out with me.

All my vids (both podcasts and tutorials) are HERE on YouTube. Links and pics to things I chat about in this episode are below.

Links:

My designs in Ravelry

Your support on Patreon would be awesome. The link is HERE.

Make some crochet owls with my tutorial on YouTube and the written pattern HERE.

The Mya shawl by Helda Panagary

Must. Make. The. Betty. Boyfriend. Sweater!! It is right up my street! Find the pattern by Talia’s Crochet Creations HERE.

Stitchfest Southwest. A Totnes yarn festival

The Encanto wrap by Crochet Luna

My spider tute is HERE

The Kinesis Sweater by We Are Knitters is coming along nicely!

The Lorax scarf is now only on Ravelry and Lovecrafts. I will work out the Etsy fail soon.

Thanks to  The Secret Yarnery for the Saturday shoutout! x

Don’t forget to find me on Insta

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Mya by Helda Panagary

Owl decorations

Blocking Mya

Knitting!

Encanto by Crochet Luna

Betty Boyfriend sweater by Talia’s Crochet Creations

Sad because of FOMO

x

Crochet Owl Decoration. Free pattern.

This crochet owl decoration is from one of my first ever published patterns here on the blog. The other day I looked back at it, and ugh, it was so badly written. I had very little pattern writing experience in 2015, and it shows!! I am keeping the original blog post up, mostly for laughs, but also because I don’t see why I should hide it. Yes, I have improved quite a bit, but the whole point of this blog is to record what I’ve been up to. I won’t edit that.

To accompany the updated crochet pattern, I also recorded a free video tutorial for my YouTube channel. Click on the pic above to go directly to the tutorial.

Read on for the written crochet pattern so you can make your own little army of granny stitch owls.

 

If you would like to support my crochet adventures, please take a look around the blog. I have more free crochet patterns, and if you’re into crochet video tutorials, you’ll find them on YouTube.

Or if you would prefer, for the price of a cup of coffee you can buy one of my other patterns from Ravelry or Lovecrafts. Thanks ever so much. x

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Crochet Granny Owl Pattern

To Crochet the Granny Owl, You Will Need:

  • Small amounts of DK yarn in coordinating colours
  • 3mm (C/2) hook
  • Stuffing
  • Fabric for lining, approx 20cmx20cm
  • Buttons, felt pieces and embroidery thread for eyes
  • Sewing needle & darning needle

Crochet Stitch Abbreviations:
tr2tog: 2 treble sts together (US dc2tog), st(s): stitch(es), sp(s): space(s), ch: chain, ch-sp: chain space, htr: half treble crochet (US hdc), sl st: slip stitch, tr: treble (US double crochet), rep: repeat, beg: beginning.

Special Stitches: 

Tr2tog: Yarn over, insert hook into st, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook into same st, yarn over and pull through (4 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.

Crochet Pattern Notes:

  • Don’t crochet over your tail ends as you go or you will see them in your finished owl. Sew them in after you’ve completed the body.
  • Instructions are written in UK terms.
  • No turns at the end of the rounds.
  • The “2ch, 1tr” at the beg of rounds counts as a tr2tog.

Crochet Granny Owl Pattern

Owl Body:
Chain 4 and join with a sl st, or make a magic ring.
Rnd 1: 2ch, 1tr into circle, 1ch, (tr2tog, 1ch) seven times, join with a sl st to the top of the first tr2tog. [8 tr2tog]

Rnd 2: Sl st in next ch-sp, (2ch, 1tr, 1ch, tr2tog) into same ch-sp, 1ch,  *(tr2tog, 1ch, tr2tog, 1ch) in next ch-sp; rep from around, join with a sl st to the top of the first tr2tog, fasten off. [16 tr2tog]

Rnd 3: Join new colour with sl st in any ch-sp, 2ch, 1tr in first ch-sp, 1 ch,  *tr2tog in next ch-sp, 1ch; rep from * around, join with a sl st to the top of the first tr2tog, fasten off.

Rnd 4 – 6: Repeat Rnd 3, changing colour each round.

Rnd 7: Sl st into any ch-sp, 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in same ch-sp, 2tr in each ch-sp around, join with a sl st to the top of the 3ch. [32st]

Rnd 8: 2ch (counts as 1htr), 1htr in the top of each st around, join with a sl st to the top of the 2ch.

Rnd 9 -10: Repeat Rnd 8.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing the head closed.

Turn inside out and using a darning needle, weave ends. Turn back the right way. Take the scrap of fabric and place it inside the owl; stuff. Tuck in the fabric neatly. Whip stitch the top of the owl’s head closed using a darning needle and the long tail.

Owl’s Finishing Touches

Owl’s Felt and Button Eyes:
Cut out circles of felt, sew buttons to the felt and using contrasting embroidery thread, sew to the owl’s face. (Separate two strands from the thread to give a finer stitch.

Owl’s Stitched Beak:
Using a darning needle, stitch on a beak with yarn. First, stitch on a triangle shape, then use five or six more vertical stitches to fill in the space. Finish it off with a couple of horizontal stitches across the top of the beak. Or stitch/glue on a little triangle of felt!

Owl’s Wings
Chain 9.
1htr in 3rd ch from hook, htr in next st, 1tr in each of the next 3 sts, htr in next st, (1dc, 3ch, 1dc) in last st, turn work to crochet down the other side of the chains: 1htr, 3tr, 2htr, sl st to the top of the first st.
Fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing the wing to the body.

Other Options for Your Crochet Granny Owl Decoration

Tufty ears:
Use a crochet hook to pull three 10cm strands of yarn through the corners of the owl’s ears, take the ends of the yarn and poke through the loop. Pull tight. Trim.

Hanging Loop:
Crochet a hanging loop by attaching yarn to the top of his head with a sl st, ch25 and sl st to join back to the head. Sew in ends.

Copyright Rosina Northcott. 2019.  zeensandroger.com

This pattern remains the property of Rosina Northcott/Zeens and Roger at all times and is for your own personal use only.  Please respect my work and do not copy, reproduce, redistribute or re-sell this pattern.  

 

Z&R Crochet Podcast 59. Le Gasp!

Hello! I hope you’re well!? I really enjoyed putting this episode together, I hope you enjoy watching 😀

As usual, click on the image above to go to Episode 59 of the latest crochet chat, or if you fancy going back to previous episodes or checking out some crochet tutorials, go HERE to my YouTube channel. Ta very much!

In this episode I reveal the name of last episode’s Giveaway and there’s a new Giveaway too!!

Links and pictures for all things Episode 59 are below…

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Links:

The Claudia Cowl is my latest design release for sale on Ravelry (and soon Lovecrafts and Etsy – keep your eyes peeled). For YouTube viewers, the pattern is free with the code I reveal in the episode. The code is valid until the end of October. I used a skein of 4ply yarn from Doulton Border Leicester, gifted to me by the lovely Claudia of CrochetLuna.

Speaking of Claudia, I have the Encanto wrap to make! Yarn is chosen and ready to go!!

I am working on the Mya shawl by Helda Panagary. I love it!! I’m using yarn from Rusty Ferret and Beehive Yarns.

The Star Cluster Tee. I used the recommended yarn from Hobbii

The Forest Valley Shawl by Christina Hadderingh

I am knitting the Kinesis Sweater by We are Knitters. I am in love with it but it might be too small….

I have rewritten my old owl pattern because it’s terribly done. I’ll write a blog post for the new version soon but I’ll be keeping the old one available HERE. Go forth and be embarrassed on my behalf!

Anything I’ve missed? Give me a shout. Cheers. x

Claudia Cowl

Owls. Video tutorial coming soon.

The Star Cluster Tee

Kinesis Sweater from We Are Knitters

Forest Valley Shawl

x

Free Crochet Pattern. Easy Crochet Flower

This is a quick crochet flower tutorial that has kind of sprung from nowhere. I created it because I needed something quick and small to disguise some ugly bits on a blanket! It was quick enough to film a speedy tutorial too. I hope you like it!

To get to the tutorial please click on the picture above or go to my YouTube channel HERE. The written pattern is below.

If you would like to support my crochet adventures, please consider supporting me on Patreon. It would mean the world. Thank you. x

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Not the best pic; that flower is wonky!!

The pattern couldn’t be easier! It is so fast! Use any yarn you like along with the recommended hook size for that yarn. I use cotton dk with a 3.5mm hook.

Pattern:

Chain 5 and join with a slip stitch. (You can also chain 4 for a slightly smaller centre, or do as I do and use a magic circle!

UK version:

Into the ring *(2ch, 3tr, 2ch, 1dc); rep from * four more times. Fasten off and sew in ends. Boom, done!

US version:

Into the ring *(2ch, 3dc, 2ch, 1sc); rep from * four more times. Fasten off and sew in ends. Boom, done!

xxx

Z&R Crochet Podcast 58. Crochet Crime

Episode 58 of my crochet podcast is here! I hope you enjoy it… Don’t forget to enter the Giveaway too…!

Please click on the pic above to go directly to the episode or find the whole YouTube channel Here.

Links:

The Lorax Scarf on Ravelry is HERE. There is a 20% discount until the 15th September. You can read a bit more about it HERE.

If you fancy it, you can support me on Patreon HERE. Ta very much.

HERE is my review of the Dear Ewe products. I forgot to mention in the episode that until next Sunday the 8th September you can get a discount. The code is in the blog post.

The blanket join is from the Redagape casual granny blanket. It’s HERE.

The Kinesis Sweater. Wish me luck!

Yippee Yarn Yay’s Star Cluster Tee.

See below for some pictures of what is in the episode!!

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x

 

 

The Lorax Scarf. A Crochet Chevron Pattern & Tutorial

This is the Lorax Scarf, a large crochet chevron scarf that is one of the cosiest makes ever! I made it as an experiment for some super soft merino yarn that the yarn company, Rico, sent me a few months ago. There wasn’t going to be enough yarn to make the kind of scarf I like (proper warm and snuggly) so I prepared for a major stash dive. There is a mix of all sorts of yarn in this colourful crochet chevron scarf but still only eight colours. Scrutinise it and you’ll see that there are all kinds of slightly different shades and different yarn weights. But, do you know what? No one ever looks that closely!

Therefore, this scarf pattern is a great stashbuster!

Crochet Chevron Scarf Pattern

There were so many lovely comments about this eyelet crochet scarf over on Instagram and YouTube, so I thought it would be nice to make it into a proper pattern to release. There is a download available to buy on Ravelry in both UK and US terms.

Lorax, this crochet chevron scarf, has all the info you need: written pattern, chart (hand drawn this time – speedier than software), pics, and a table to show colour rows etc. I also included a couple of other suggestions as to how you could use this pretty eyelet chevron stitch.

The chevron crochet pattern is available on Ravelry HERE. And it is also in my Etsy shop, HERE

Crochet Scarf Video Tutorial

I also recorded a video tutorial for the Eyelet Chevron stitch. It shows a swatch being worked up in the stitch, which should be good for the more visual learners out there. You can find the video tutorial HERE.

The stitch pattern for this crochet chevron scarf uses multiples of 16. Therefore, if you want to make a narrower scarf, feel free to reduce it by 16, or even 32 chains. I enjoy a wide scarf so the original width (42cm / 17.5 inches) might be too wide for you.

However, with the scarf being almost Lenny Kravitz style scarf proportions, you would only need to add a couple more stitch multiples to create a beautiful crochet ripple blanket!

I can’t claim to have come up with the name myself. One rather splendid podcast viewer said it reminded them of Dr Seuss’s The Lorax and I have to say, I agree!! So it couldn’t really be called anything else, the colours were just too similar and before I knew it, it was The Lorax!

Note that on Etsy, I had to change the name as whoever owns the story nowadays, they don’t like people using the name.

I do hope you like it. And don’t forget to let me know if you make it. Cheers. x

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xx

A Dear Ewe Review!

I have a new mug and it’s crochet related!! Huzzah! I also have some other new goodies too. I do hope you want to hear about them because I’m going to tell you how I got them! (yep, I have been gifted them for freeeeee in exchange for this totally open, sincere review… And good vibes).

In June I met Heather from Keep Calm and Carry On UK, a UK based crochet blogger. We were both attending The Crochet Sanctuary and it was fabulous to get to chat to another crochet designer for a whole weekend! (that’s another story, involving ghosts and balloons, if I ever get to writing it down). Not too long ago Heather set up Dear Ewe, an online shop dedicated to the sort of bits and bobs that are perfect gifts for craft enthusiasts. I’d been lusting after a crochet chart mug since Christmas but Father Christmas didn’t bring me one, booo. However, it seems Christmas has come early this year because just before Granny Square Day, I got a message from Heather to say a parcel was in the post with lots of goodies in it! Whaaat?!! I saw the email in the evening and the following morning the postman knocked at my door.

 

The first thing I did was tear open the box to get to my new granny mug but that wasn’t all that was in the box! I had no idea I was going to get such a treat! I also got lots of quality postcards with beautifully designed quotes written upon them (I got two packs of those so I’m putting one aside as part of a giveaway that I’ll probably do on my next Crochet Podcast.) I also got the best bag! It’s a huuuuge canvas tote with crochet charts printed on it. It’s proper sturdy too and I’ve already been lugging my wips about in it over the last few days. How lucky am I?!?

Let me say more about the mug. Oh, how wonderful it is! Perfectly timed too as within a day or so of it arriving I broke my favourite Pendle witch mug (this might be karma at work, I’m not sure)… I don’t think this one will break quite so easily, Heather sources her mugs from the World Capital of Ceramics!! (that’s Stoke on Trent). And the print is not going to go anywhere either, that chart is not going to come off in the wash. I’m sat here at my desk with my lush new mug, filled to the brim with hot tea. I am a happy woman.

Bezza would call this cake “healthy”. It’s courgette and walnut. :p

Of course, I popped over to the shop to see what was new and there’s loads of stuff there. There are a couple of smaller project bags that I have my eye on, lovely greetings cards and lots of other mug designs too, all of which go beyond crochet. If you’re a different sort of crafter there is something for you too, so whether you’re a knitter or an embroiderer you are catered for. And the crochet patterns are pretty cute as well.

Buying from a small business means the world to the person that created it. Until Sunday the 8th of September I have a super secret code offering you a 10% discount over on Dear Ewe. The code: ZEENS10. You’ve got just over a week, so you’d better get moving!

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I am stuffed to the brim with cake, this bag is stuffed with all the yarn.

xxx