Zeens and Roger

Handmade Patchwork Bag

April 6, 2016March 1, 2026sewing40 Comments

After many years I've finally finished my patchwork knitting bag.

English Paper Piecing – New Project Bag

My skewed memory tells me I started my patchwork bag three years ago, but it may be even longer than that. The main fabric is hand-stitched using English Paper Piecing. All the fabrics I used came from purchased fat quarters that had caught my eye, or they were scraps leftover from old projects.

I am properly happy that it’s all done and in use; it’s great for storing my crochet projects! It looks so much better than I thought it would, too. I was getting bored with seeing lots of little unstitched hexagons, waiting to be sewn together.

Time To Start Sewing

Lots of individually tacked hexies sat in a paper bag for over three years. Now and again, I’d get them out of the bag to look at them, and that was about it. Back in they’d go and I’d do something else instead. Eventually, I found that it was time to start sewing.

I laid out all the hexies and took a picture of them to work from, so I knew the “random” order that they’d go in. It’s nice to have a picture to reference. That way, I know that each fabric print is evenly spaced, and I don’t have to worry about two matching hexies accidentally being placed next to each other.

Eventually, I began the slowish process of stitching them together, and I was happy to discover that it wasn’t really that slow to do afterall. It had never occurred to me how useful it was to have them all wrapped in their shaped paper. I mean, of course it was, that’s the whole point of EPP, but still…

With a couple of weeks of sewing the hexies together, in a little and often sort of way, I was finished with stage two.

Handsewn Patchwork Fabric

I liked the crinkle of the paper as I had it on my lap, a very tactile and auditorily calming experience. With stage two finished, it dawned on me that I’d have to actually put in some effort to move on to stage three. I knew I had to do it immediately because it would otherwise sit in the cupboard for another three years.

The Patchwork Pattern

The pattern for this patchwork bag is from Cath Kidston’s book, Sew! The book has so many lovely looking things, but I have to be honest, I think the instructions are rubbish! For this particular pattern, it wouldn’t have hurt to have a couple of illustrations demonstrating how to insert the lining, would it?!

I had a look online but only found other bloggers or reviewers who were frustrated with it too. Nothing that helped, unfortunately. With that in mind, I decided to take photos of what I did. Maybe it’ll help someone else. Or maybe it’ll just remind me how I did it, in case I fancy having another go.

And I haven’t even mentioned that the instructions were just plain wrong! It said to fold the lining fabric lengthways. They don’t mean that, they mean the other way. Who wrote that?! That wasn’t the first mistake either. The other error was to do with sewing the hexies together. When joining the outer sides together, it told me to sew three rather than four of the hexie strips together. If I’d done that, my bag would have had a massive gaping hole at one of the sides! Jeez! Anyway, moving on…

Making the lining for a patchwork knitting bag

Making and Lining The Patchwork Bag

Here are a few pictures showing what I did. Hopefully they’ll do the trick. Do I need some words to go with them?

Step 1: Fold the lining fabric in half.

Step 2: Measure 25cm from the bottom fold and mark with a pencil. Or line up the bottom seam of the hexie fabric with the bottom fold of the lining and mark where the opening, near the top, sits (which should work out as approx 25cm).

Step 3: Sew that bit on both sides. Then press, continuing the fold to the top of the fabric. Press a seam across the top bits too.

Step by step pictures to lining a patchwork knitting bag

Step 4: I snipped the corners to avoid bulk. The instructions don’t tell you to do this, but the seams are bigguns.

Step 5: Put the lining inside the bag, wrong side out.

Step 6: Pin together at the bag opening.

Pinning the edges. Patchwork knitting bag.

Pinning the bag opening.

Getting out the sewing machine. Patchwork knitting bag.

Machine stitch the lining to the top of the hexies. Do this on both sides. I think I did this after slip stitching the open sides. In that picture above, I can’t see any stitches. I was drinking Cava at this point, so it’s a bit foggy (it was the weekend!). Not sure that bit matters, it’d probably work either way.

Attaching the handle onto the patchwork knitting bag

Attaching the Bag Handle

This was a fun bit. I managed to catch the end of Adventures in Babysitting, so I sat and watched that whilst pinning the handles in place.

By the time I got around to sewing the hem down, I was watching Alien. I haven’t seen it in years; it is such a good film. A proper film (not like Prometheus, ugh, terrible).

A patchwork knitting bag from Cath Kidston's Sew! book.

I’ve impressed myself by finishing it; I still can’t quite believe it. It’s good, isn’t it!?! I took the pictures of the completed article at Grandma’s house.

The only thing I might change is the green fabric at the top. It’s a bit deep and makes the bag slightly too long.

Would it be that much of a bother to unstitch it and do it again? I could take the time to shorten it, but I think I’m nitpicking; it’s probably OK.

And I did it with many interruptions. I took many photos with a child sitting on my head (see the odd middle picture), and the cat kept sitting on it at any given opportunity!

I was asked via Instagram if I would like to link up with Me, You and Magoo for Crafting is My Therapy. I’ve not done a Link up before, but I think I just share this lovely badge and everyone can share a bit of creativity! Is that right?

DIY Jedi Robes. Reversible, In Case You Want To Join the Dark Side!

March 31, 2016March 1, 2026free pattern, sewing20 Comments

Homemade Jedi Robes

It’s the Easter holidays, so I will be relatively quiet here until the week after next. It’s amazing how having an extra child at home creates so much more work. There has been a birthday too, which has made me busy.

Don’t worry, we’ll talk about handmade Jedi Robes in just a moment!

mini chocolate muffins instead of a big birthday cake.

It’s The Boys’ Birthday

Mini birthday chocolate muffins. I guess you could argue that the star decorations were part of a Star Wars birthday theme, but I didn’t twig until just this second that there was a connection. Let’s go with it…

The ever evasive Darth Vader in homemade jedi robes

Reversible Jedi Robes

Anyway, on to what I’m here for. I made a Star Wars costume for a three-year-old. For a bit of diversity, I decided to make it reversible. This gave the boy a choice of whether he wanted to be a Jedi Knight or give in to temptation and join the Dark Side.

I think it is safe to say that he has joined the Dark Side. I knew he would, which is why his big brother models the Jedi version. Not sure I’ve got my priorities right by buying him Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, but whatever, he loves it.

Start Wars fancy dress. DIY Jedi robes. And they're reversible so you can turn to the Dark side!

You need about three metres of each of the brown and black fabric. It was 45″ wide. I got it all from Amazon as I only needed cheap stuff. I usually only get fabric online if I don’t care much about the quality.

These DIY robes were actually really easy to sew. Apologies, but the old tutorial I used can no longer be found online; there are plenty of others to choose from. I made two robes (without hemming): one in brown fabric and one in black fabric.

With right sides together, I sewed them together, leaving a 5 – 6 inch gap in the bottom so I could turn the whole thing the right way round. Bagging out, right?

Initially, you ignore the sleeves, tucking them in whilst you stitch around everything else. Once it has all been pressed (don’t melt your cheap fabric as I did), the sleeves can be tucked into each other and their hems both folded to the inside, where they won’t be seen. A little bit of top stitching sews them together.

Top stitching around everything else also tidies it all up and closes the hole that was left at the bottom.

A Star Wars Fancy Dress Costume

Because it is just a fancy dress costume, I wasn’t particularly careful about how it all went together. I’m pretty shocked that it worked so well. I cut out the black fabric first and used it as a template for the brown so they’d both be the same size.

I had some minor unpicking to do at the beginning, where I messed up the shoulders. And I had some mighty gathering to do on the hood because it was so much bigger than the neck bit (it is supposed to be big though).

I think it’ll get too short very quickly, too; children grow so quickly. If I were to make it again, I’d add about three extra inches to the length of the robes.

Other than that, it all kind of worked. Three-year-old stomped around the house in Vader style and had a great time (there was even hands on hips and heavy-duty breathing).

Both boys got right into the spirit of it, which I loved, especially as my eldest hates dressing up and will usually refuse. My efforts rewarded, phew!

Oh, and I forgot to take pictures as I made it, so I can’t show a step-by-step thing. It’s not so important with the robes, as it was someone else’s tutorial.

Making the Coordinating Tabard

I bought a metre of calico for the tabard and used half (it was 60″wide).

The tabard was really easy to make. I had two rectangles, approximately boy-sized, and I snipped in a V shape at the neck. I sloped the shoulders slightly (downward towards the outside), then stitched the pieces together at the shoulders. I quickly (and shoddily) hemmed all around the raw edges and left it open at the sides.

It is tied closed around the body with a belt, which is a strip of leftover brown fabric that I folded in half lengthwise (with raw edges tucked in) and top-stitched.

This was the most basic way I could think of to finish out the Jedi outfit.

Then, after Star Wars shenanigans, they did “art” or, in other words, they painted themselves…

Such a mess.

Old Craft Projects and New WIPs

March 18, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, sewing17 Comments

Random Craft Projects

This is going to be a bit of a random post today. I’m chucking up pictures of where I’m at with my crafting this week. There isn’t a theme as such, just sewing and crochet I’m tinkering with.

English Paper Piecing

I’ve had all these EPP hexies stored away in a tatty old paper bag for about three years. I think I was pregnant when I was basting the fabric to paper, and now my boy is turning three soon. A long time.

With spring on its way, the change in season has created a new surge in enthusiasm for this sewing project. I have the painstaking task of hand-stitching all of the fabric hexagons together. It’s actually not that bad. I think I put it off for so long because I thought it was going to be a nasty job. I’m actually enjoying it!

I’m not going to go nuts, it’s only a patchwork bag. It’d be a definite labour of love to go bigger. I’ve got an amazing patchwork blanket my Nanna made for me when I turned eighteen. I think she was at the EPP for years.

Handmade Jedi Robes

Next: a pile of Jedi-appropriate fabrics. Both my boys have birthdays on the way, so they will each have something Star Warsy. If I’ve got enough fabric, I’m thinking reversible Jedi robes. The kids can decide whether to be a Jedi Knight or join the Dark Side!

I’m not sure how this’ll work right now, but I’d better get on with it and start the design process.

Handmade Summer Dress

For me, I want a summer dress. I saw a really pretty handmade dress on Instagram about a month ago, did some nosing and found out it was the Charlie Dress from Simply Sewing magazine.

The sewing pattern was spread over two issues, and it was the second issue that was in the shops. I ordered the back issue of the first one, and it arrived within a week. I’ve sorted the pattern pieces and dug out some ancient fabric from the depths of my fabric drawer. Fingers crossed, I will actually do this.

I have repeatedly got to the cutting out stage with many a dress pattern over the last few years. Then all stops. I chuck it all back in the fabric drawer and forget. I think I’m pretty consistent like that.

Using Up Fabric Scraps

Also kicking about is my sweety tin. My sweety tin is a good size for keeping embroidery-type projects in.

I’m not very far ahead with this idea. I’ve drawn a rough sketch of what I want (a bouquet of wild flowers) and now need to sort out all the little bits for it. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out; it’s more of an experiment at this stage. I just really enjoyed making my spring flower stitching a few weeks ago and want to play some more.

I’m thinking of a fabric collage, which is a great way of using scraps of felt and fabrics. Colourful embroidery thread adds more depth and shaping.

A Baby Crochet Ripple Blanket

Then there is an actual finished object! A baby crochet ripple blanket. I’m going for a plain border. I guess I could add something a bit snazzier, but I feel like I’m finished with it.

I thought that was it for WIPs, but I’ve got garter stitch knitting kicking about somewhere.

It feels a bit weird to write this post as I reckon I’ve mostly been banging on about crochet for the last few months. This has actually been quite effective because traffic here has gone bonkers (relatively speaking). It’s tempting to try to force new crochet ideas upon myself to keep up with momentum. Not gonna do that though. Since I don’t get paid for blahing about my hobbies, I’m going to carry on and do whatever I fancy. But it is lovely to know that people like things I do, so thank you. I’m loving it here. x

A Touch of Spice with a Pompom Edge.

March 14, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern36 Comments

Crochet Pompom Edging

I think a crochet pompom edging is one of my favourite types of blanket borders, so far. This is a cosy blanket just for me!

It’s a real thrill because most of my finished crochet blankets tend to make me feel a bit “meh” after I’ve finished them. It’s usually to do with them not ending up how they looked in my head, so they get abandoned, or I give them away. Not this time!

The main crochet stitch used in this blanket is the Stacked Shells section from Cherry Heart’s Spice of Life blanket. Sandra herself did the same thing, and I liked it even more than the Spice of Life Blanket [here’s my SoL]. I’ve totally copied the idea! It’s called A Touch of Spice, and I really love it.

A Touch of Spice Blanket

Last year, I bought a pile of Stylecraft Life DK, thinking I was going to make a Rustic Lace Square blanket. I’m still undecided about the Rustic Lace Square with this particular yarn, though. Some of the crochet blankets I’ve seen are exquisitely beautiful, but they look cottony and fine, not woolly and wintery. They’re lacey. I’m not sure this is the yarn for that crochet project. However, I’ve still got loads of Stylecraft Life left so…

Stacked shells with a crochet pompom edging

A Bobbly Pompom Border

The bobbly crochet pompoms are my absolute favourite bit. I love the red, and I just think they’re fabulous. I was super proud of them because I made up the crochet pattern myself.

I’d found a couple of crochet patterns and tutorials that had really faffy ways of crocheting pompoms, which I just couldn’t be bothered to do. I did try. Every pompom took an age, and it would have taken a lifetime to go round the whole blanket. My reaction to that was to come up with my own cheat pompom that takes half the time to crochet.

Spice of Life inspired Stacked Shells crochet blanket.

Bobbly Crochet Pompom Edging

Before I share the pattern (below), let’s take a look at the instructions for how to crochet a bobble. I have used UK terms, but a UK treble crochet is a US double crochet. Super simple to translate.

5tgr = treble crochet 5 together. Here are the instructions for a crochet bobble ie 4tgr:
Yarn over (YO), insert hook in stitch, YO, pull up a loop, 3 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 2 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 4 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 3 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 5 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 4 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 6 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 5 loops on hook.
YO & pull through the last 5 loops.

Gosh, that’s tricky to write down, that’s for sure!

Crochet PomPom Edging Pattern

This pompom edging is worked into a foundation of plain stitches that you’ll have already worked. I crocheted this pompom edging onto a round of UK treble stitches / US double crochet stitches. I continued to use the same colour.

Round 1: With right side of blanket facing, *Ch7, 5tgr in 4th ch from hook, ch1, sl st into bottom of bobble, ch3, skip 3 sts of blanket edging, and sl st into next st; rep from * around.

I’ve broken it down with a few pictures below:

How to make a crochet pompom edging. photo Tutorial.

Crochet Pompom Edging: Step By Step

Step1: Chain 7.
Step 2: Beginning the 5tr bobble.
Step 3: Before pulling through the last 5 loops on the hook.

A photo tutorial for a crochet bobble edge.

Step 4: A finished crochet bobble.
Step 5: Slip stitch into bottom of the cluster (original 4th ch from hook.)
Step 6: Chain 3.

Step 7: Miss 3 stitches. Slip stitch into the 4th chain.
Repeat all the way around. Fasten off, sew in ends and admire your new crochet pompom edging.

My Spice of Life inspired crochet blanket.. Except this has a crochet pompom edging

A Lovely Blanket with a Crochet Pompom Edging

Amazingly, for me, I blocked this crochet blanket. I pinned it directly onto the carpet because I don’t have any spongy foam blocking boards. It doesn’t seem to have ruined the carpet.

To block my blanket, I sprayed it lightly with water and left it overnight. By morning, it was dry (It was near the radiator). I have draped myself in my cuddly new blanket every evening since I finished it last week. It’s lovely.

Anyway, I think I’m sewing stuff next. Maybe some Jedi robes for the boys, slightly different to usual. And I’ve dug out some paper piecing hexies, which is a very old, ongoing project.

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Amigurumi Easter Egg! Free Crochet Pattern.

March 8, 2016March 1, 2026amigurumi, crochet, free pattern45 Comments

Easter Eggs

Chocolate Easter Eggs are my favourite sort of chocolate. Mini eggs and creme eggs are both very good reasons to look forward to Easter, but neither truly beats a large Cadbury’s Dairy Milk (or other Cadbury) egg that has been put in the fridge for at least two hours so that it cracks and crunches as you bite it.

When I was little, I used to drink milk out of half a chocolate egg. I thought it was fancy. The other half of the chocolate egg was crumbled into a mug and ruined with hot water to make some kind of bad hot chocolate (not so fancy). I don’t waste it like that now, I shovel it in my face whilst hiding behind the fridge door. Mostly, I hide because the chocolate doesn’t belong to me. When I’ve finished mine, I’m then stealing from the children. Anyway, I shall move on…

Pretty amigurumi Easter eggs. Free crochet pattern.

Decorated Crochet Easter Eggs

Nearly as good as the chocolate eggs are crocheted versions. I am here to celebrate Easter with a little bit of amigurumi-style crochet eggs. I came up with the pattern for these at Christmas. I was trying to design a Father Christmas head/hat combo, but whatever shape I tried looked like an egg. I binned the Christmas idea, but out of it came these, so I can’t complain.

That’s the thing about crochet design. Through mistakes and failures come good things! I guess that’s the creative process, right?

I think these decorated crochet Easter eggs are cute, and I hope you like them too.

They did look quite nice sitting up by themselves. The children like throwing them around, and I know the cat would too if she could get her paws on them.

It’s rather telling that I don’t have any egg cups, and I had to use shot glasses.

Happy Easter! Cute amigurumi Easter eggs. Free crochet pattern.

Amigurumi Easter Egg Pattern

As with most crochet amigurumi patterns, the pattern is written in US terms.
I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn and a 3mm hook. I even found a use for the shade, Duck Egg!

Round 1: 6sc into a Magic Ring.
Round 2: 1 Inc in each stitch around. [12 sts].
Round 3: 1 sc in next stitch, 1 inc in next. Repeat around [18].
Round 4: Sc around. [18]
Round 5: 1sc in next 2 st, 1 inc in next. Repeat around. [24].
Rounds 6-7: Sc around [24]
Round 8: 1 sc in next 3 st, 1 inc in next. Repeat around [30].
Rounds 9-15: Sc around. [30]
Round 16: 1 sc in next 3 st, 1 dec. Repeat around. [24].
Round 17: 1 sc in next 2 st, 1 dec. Repeat around. [18].
Round 18: 1sc in next st, 1 dec. Repeat around [12].

Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Stuff your crochet egg firmly.
Using a darning needle, thread through the front loops only. Pull tight to close the hole. Stitch in and out a few times to fully secure and then snip the end neatly.

(Go HERE to see what I’ve done with the egg pattern for 2018!!)

Embroider Your Easter Eggs

Decorating your crocheted Easter eggs is relatively quick and easy. With a darning needle, I went in through the bottom of each egg and then made French knots for the flower centres and a few chain stitches for petals and leaves. With a poke and a prod from the darning needle, the snipped ends can be hidden inside. Hey presto!

Please don’t be frightened of the embroidery. I show you how I do it in the video tutorial (just below). I have very little experience with needlework and just make it up as I go along. If I can do that, then so can you, I promise!

I also tried a few different styles over the following years too.

YouTube Video Tutorial

For 2017, I’ve added a video tutorial for How To Crochet an Easter Egg on YouTube, which also includes how to decorate eggs with pretty embroidery.

This is an amigurumi Easter Egg pattern I’ve designed myself. It can be used to make decorations for yourself, gifts for friends and family, and even to be sold at your craft fairs.

Thanks very much. Feel free to say hello, and follow my blog for more free crochet patterns and, dare I say, creative inspiration. Cheers!

Happy Easter!!

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First Time on Etsy!

February 27, 2016March 1, 2026sewing26 Comments

Embroidered Needlecases

I don’t usually visit the blog over the weekend, but I’m here to quickly link to my Etsy shop, which I have now added things to! Go me! I really hope these handmade needlecases do well. At the time, I didn’t know what else to make with the embroidery I had made.

I actually would like to just present the little fabric collages on hoops in future. They looked so nice like that.

Inspired by spring flowers, each needlecase shows a different bulb flower. Daffodils, snowdrops and hyacinth! What a smashin’ trio! The embroidery pictures are stitched onto lined, felt needlecases that I made using scraps, including leftovers from handmade curtains!

Anyway, here are some pictures. Have a lovely weekend!! X

Hand Embroidered Needlcases

Daffodil embroidered needle case standing

Dodgy Battenburg Crochet Cowl

February 26, 2016March 1, 2026crochet20 Comments

Crochet Cowl Fail

I had a great idea for a new crochet scarf! However, it hasn’t turned out how I thought it might. I chose the colours thinking they were pretty and expressed the joys of spring. Sadly, once I’d completed it, all I could see was a bit of batternburgh cake in crochet scarf form. I’ve made a cake scarf.

It’s a pretty useless scarf as it’s too big for how I imagined it should look. Sooo, my question is, do I add a couple more sections to make it big enough to twist and double up into an infinity scarf? Or… is it acceptable to wear as is?

I thought about adding a border too, but I can’t do that until I’ve made a decision. A crochet border often brings everything together, but I am on the fence with this one.

There’s not much point in a crochet infinity scarf that’s so open at the neck. Yes, it’s a design choice, but it doesn’t feel like a practical one. The thought of revisiting a project I’d hoped was finished is very annoying. But then, if I leave it, will I wear it?!

Some lovely daffodils to brighten up this half-arsed post! Daffodils always cheer me up! But will they help me make a decision about my crochet cowl?!

Small Crafts and New Supplies

February 18, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, sewing18 Comments

February Half Term Small Crafts

Handmade Cards

Husband got a Valentine’s card, and my Mum got a birthday card. Both quick, easy and fun to do yet very effective, I think. Inspired by The Messy Brunette and her post about Valentines.

To achieve the hand-painted flowers, swirls of pink and white paint were blobbed onto card with the end of a pencil. Tiny flicks of green paint made the leaves. Easy peasy.

Cotton Crochet Doilies

I crocheted a couple of doilies with cheap Drops cotton I bought recently. Cheap for a reason. It’s VERY splitty. But I wasn’t expecting it to be amazing at 80p a ball.

The first crochet doily is the better of the two, but neither is particularly great. Not dainty in the slightest, the yarn is too thick for that, and I would prefer a more lightweight yarn for a dainty doily!

I think they’ll just get hidden away rather than used. I found a crochet diagram pattern for the doily on Pinterest that I used. And I only went and blocked something!! I usually try to avoid blocking crochet, but there was no escaping it this time.

Finishing Spring Flower Embroidery

I completed my hyacinth embroidery. I can’t find the time to do anything with the flowery embroidery things I’ve been doing. Maybe next week I shall think about what to do with my new spring flower embroidered pieces.

Crochet and Yarn (Thread)

I’ve been crocheting instead of persevering with my knitting. I love crochet. I’m making a simple cowl in three spring-like colours.

Colourful Cotton Thread

I go through so much embroidery thread when making flower embroidery and Christmas decorations. Hopefully, this is the answer. Lots of colours of mercerised cotton thread bought from eBay for less than £25! 50 flippin’ balls!

It wasn’t in any kind of shade order, so I’ve been playing with the way the colours all live together.

I’m more excited than I should be about some cotton thread.

Look at the beautiful bounty of awesomeness! It was bought with Christmas money, and I still got a mild telling off for buying more “craft crap”.

February Knitting, Crochet & Embroidery

February 11, 2016March 1, 2026sewing29 Comments

Crafting This Week

It’s been a bit of a blah kind of week. I think it’s because I started knitting a garter stitch baby blanket, and I haven’t become an instant expert. I see knitting everywhere at the moment and thought I would jump on the bandwagon. Well, I don’t think I’ll stay on very long. I’m not enjoying it that much.

Learning How To Knit is Frustrating

I’m tempted to unravel this pappy knitting attempt and crochet my way to a baby blanket instead. It’s messy and has dropped stitches. There is always the fear of precious stitches coming off the needles, and I have no idea of what real knitters do when they make a mistake.

I mean, do you just unravel rows and then painstakingly reattach all those loops? What about unravelling the underneath row by mistake??! What a pain in the arse! It’s happened. Twice.

The first time, my nearly three-year-old son grabbed the knitting needles and effortlessly yoinked away my hard work by swishing around his new “light sabres.” It was my fault the second time because there were too many loose stitches after a colour change.

Ugh. Do I stick with it ?… Or not? I’m surprised that I’ve picked up speed when I’m doing it right, and I love the click clack of the needles, but that is about it. Hmm.

Making Pompoms

In a bid to change the mood, I thought I’d have some fun with pompom making. It turns out that this isn’t much fun either. I bought a cheap pompom maker, and it keeps popping open at the crucial moment, spilling tiny threads of yarn all over my lap. Also, I think mixing up the colours was a mistake. I’m thinking of trying some mono colour balls. They’ll look better.

Crafty Corner At Home

I’ve been sitting in my crafty corner this week. Surrounded by mess. I’m like some sort of creative tramp at the minute. It’s the rotten weather that does it. Although, having said that, yesterday I took the small boy for a long walk around town. I said we could go and look at the swollen, rain-filled river, but by the time we got there, he was asleep in his pushchair. When we returned home, he was angry with me because we hadn’t been to the river. It’s not my fault that he missed it!

Spring Flowers

Looking out the window at the spring flowers, I had an idea that might cheer me up a bit.

Snowdrops!

I love the smell of Hyacinths. I love the smell of daffodils too. They’re also among the prettiest flowers of the spring. They are the first signs that winter is on the way out (although they’ve been fooled as the temperature was -1 this morning, and there is frost on the grass).

Freehand Embroidery

Anyway, I used spring flowers as a bit of inspo for some more crafting. I drew some quick sketches and off I went, cutting up bits of fabric and stitching them roughly together with clumsy embroidery.

I’m really pleased with the results. One or two mess-ups have occurred, but nothing too awful. I asked Husband his opinion, and apparently they are twee and granny-like. Something you’d find in a charity shop, he said. Maybe that’s the result I’m after, but it kind of threw me. Now I’m having doubts.

I think the hyacinths will look the most granny-like and I’m hoping that will change with the things I’ll do to them. I’d really like them to be displayed in the embroidery hoops, but they’re expensive, so I only have one. I’ve got another idea, but I’m afraid that it’ll transform them into “twee” monstrosities. Oh well, we shall see.

Lastly, I have this Drops recycled cotton yarn. 80 pence each! I want to make a doily or two, but still on the lookout for the right sort of pattern. Fingers crossed, I’ll find a crochet pattern soon and get on with it. I’m getting crochet withdrawal symptoms.

Crochet Circles in a Square Blanket

February 5, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern26 Comments

Circle Centre Granny Squares

A few days ago, I had a nice comment about one of my crochet blankets that I’d used as a backdrop for another project. Every once in a while, the blanket just happens to appear here on the blog somewhere, usually in the background of a random photo.

Check out a very jolly, colourful version of this granny square blanket, here

I decided that I should write a post about one of my most-used and loved crochet blankets. I don’t have much I want to share this week, so it’s an ideal opportunity to talk about something I made in the past.

I’ve taken lots of pictures of the blanket, and I will just bung them up as I blather on about how I made it.

Crochet Inspiration

I remember the pretty picture that inspired me to make it. I haven’t seen the picture for a couple of years and now that I see it again… well, it’s miles better than mine… poo. The blog the original pattern is from is called Crochet with Raymond, and it’s still active (although the crocheter doesn’t write new content anymore). It’s still up and has lots of wonderful woolly things. It has been such a beautiful source of creative inspiration.

I crocheted this granny square blanket three years ago. I was very pregnant with my youngest boy, and I really wanted it to be finished by the time he arrived. I remember staring at it whilst I was in labour, feeling annoyed that the border still had two rows to go.

Granny Blanket Colours

I chose colours similar to the original. I used Stylecraft Special DK because that is what they sell at the shop down the road. I use Stylecraft for the majority of my projects, but I want to try something new – any suggestions?

There are ten yarn colours: Lipstick, Fondant, Pomegranate, Cloud, Sherbet, Aster, Meadow, Clematis, Wisteria and Cream. Lots of balls of cream were used, maybe 8 or 9, and then I think it was just one of each of the others, but I really don’t remember.

Granny Squares That Start With a Circle

I didn’t use an existing pattern; I made it up. It was easy enough to do. I’ll quickly write down what I think I did (using UK terms, so a “tr” is a US “dc”). FYI, I used a 4mm hook for the DK yarn.

I’m sharing the pattern for the granny circles here. They were turned into squares while working a Join As You Go method. I’ll share more about that in just a moment.

Granny Circle Pattern

Ch4 and join with a slip stitch.
Round 1: Ch4 (counts as 1tr and 1ch), *1tr into ring, ch1; repeat from* 10 more times, join with a slip stitch to the 3rd ch. – [12 tr stitches].
Fasten off (I think fastening off and then joining the new colour with a slip stitch looks much better than other ways of colour changing – didn’t do that here though).

Round 2: Join new colour. Ch2, 1htr, ch1, *tr2together in each chain space, ch1; repeat around from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 2ch. Fasten off. – [12 tr together].

Round 3: Join new colour. Ch3 (counts as first stitch). 2tr into first chain space, ch1, *3tr into next chain space, ch1; repeat from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 3ch. – [12 granny clusters].

Join As You Go Crochet Technique

Once I had lots of crochet granny circles, I crocheted them all together using Attic 24’s method of Joining As You Go. It creates a lovely, decorative pattern in the corners, which is one of my favourite things about this granny blanket.

Using this method still means lots of ends to sew in, and I’ve since sacrificed pretty corners in favour of the Continuous Join method, which stops all the dreaded ends as you have just two (one at the beginning, one at the end).

Looking at the picture above, I see that the stitches in the corners of each square have triple trebles rather than trebles.

Anyway, I think that’s it. The granny stripe border is just going round and round with clusters, and the final round is a variation of the bobble edge from Attic 24 (thanks again!), but with slip stitches between them. There are either 2 or 3 slip stitches between each bobble.

Mostly it’s screwed up on the sofa and the children wrap themselves in it whilst they watch the telly after school!