Zeens and Roger

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!

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My Spice of Life Crochet Blanket.

February 2, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern23 Comments

The Spice of Life Blanket

I started this colourful crochet blanket three Sundays ago. I sewed in the last end of the Spice of Life blanket on Saturday night.

I didn’t know where this crochet blanket would end up for the first few days of making. Then all of a sudden I knew it would make a great birthday present for my Nanna and Grandad. They both had their 90th birthdays in January, and on Sunday, we had a lovely family birthday party.

Yarn For My Crochet Blanket

As is often the case, Stylecraft Special DK is the yarn I used. I loved the Spice of Life Rico colours that you can buy as a pack for making the blanket, but I couldn’t justify spending any more money on yarny things when I had loads of yarn stashed away already.

I only needed to buy a couple of balls to make up the blanket’s colour palette, which consisted of: Cloud blue, Storm blue, Cream, Lemon, Mocha, Lipstick, Emperor, Fondant, Shrimp, Kelly Green, Lobelia, Petrol and Spring Green.

I looked at the original Spice of Life blanket and matched the colours as closely as I could. My eyes tell me that the Stylecraft colours are a lot more vivid and saturated than the Rico yarn (not that I’ve seen the Rico in real life).

I downloaded the free crochet pattern from Ravelry via Cherry Heart (one of my favourite blogs) and off I went. There were a couple of occasions where I went wrong, so had to do some unravelling. There were a couple of other mistakes that got left in. I am hoping that they go unnoticed.

I had to crochet in the car on the way to Southampton (about 2 hours from home). And I added the final row of the border at my mum’s house. I tried several times to get a good photo of the finished blanket, but the weather was grey to the extreme. Rainy, cloudy skies and one hundred year old windows did not help. Neither did dodgy camera skills.

A Finished Crochet Blanket!

The blanket is actually one of the brightest crochet projects I’ve ever made. I’m glad it was a present for some old people, their eyes are rubbish.

Take a look at a painting of my hands as they sew in the ends of the Spice of Life blanket. My artist friend is painting my portrait! I’m finding the process lots of fun. I’ve said she can paint me any way she wants. Unfortunately, that means she wants me to take my clothes off. That certainly isn’t going to happen in February. Too cold. Anyway, more about that another day.

This week, I’m trying out some very basic knitting next. Hone my skills and all that.

Really Easy Crochet Shawl: A Simple Granny Triangle Pattern.

January 20, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, free pattern67 Comments

Simple Granny Triangle Shawl. Really easy free pattern.

Triangle Granny Shawl

This cute triangle granny shawl is a really fast make, which I speedily churned out last week. It has turned out much nicer than I thought it would, I’m ever so pleased! It has also come at a very convenient time because as soon as the last end was sewn in, the temperature dropped, and it was literally freezing outside.

Whilst there are numerous Granny triangle shawl patterns already out there, I didn’t bother checking any out until after I’d started this one. It was mainly to see if I was doing it the way others did. Mostly I was, but I think they’re all unique in some way.

I’ll share what I did to crochet my triangle granny shawl here (with pictures), so if you want to make it, you can. It is an excellent beginner’s project and a fantastic yarn stash buster.

I started crocheting it on a Monday and finished it on a Friday. It was taken out with me when I went places, so I could pick it up and stitch a few rows here and there. Or I just plonked myself in front of the telly of a chilly night.

Yarn for a Granny Stitch Shawl

I’ve used Drops Lima, which is an Alpaca/wool mix double knit yarn. I fell in love with Drops when I squished a few balls of it in a shop in Nailsworth (just outside Stroud) last year. It was Karisma, which I went on to use in the Lilypad Fireplace blanket. For this triangle granny shawl, I used Drops Lima in the following: Off White (x5 balls) and one of each of Goldenrod (!), Powder Pink, Cerise, Pistachio, Grey Blue and Dark Blue. They come in 50 gram balls.

The pattern uses UK terms, but it really isn’t difficult to translate to US crochet speak. Essentially, a UK tr is a US dc.

I used a 4mm hook. The 3ch at the beginning of rows always counts as a first stitch.

And whilst you’re here, please feel free to look around. Have you checked out my other free crochet patterns?

Crochet Stitch Abbreviations:
ch= chain, ch-sp= chain space, dc= double crochet (US single), tr= treble crochet (US double), htr= half treble (US hdc).
ss= slip stitch, st= stitch, ^ = little arrow pointing upwards!

Granny Triangle Shawl Pattern

To begin, get yourself a slip knot and put it on your hook. You’ll need to do this for the colour changes too.

Ch4 and join with a ss to make a circle. (A magic circle might work better for this but I didn’t even think of doing it at the time!)

Row 1: Ch3 (remember that this counts as the first stitch!) [top left pic ^], 2tr into the circle, ch2, 3tr into the circle [top right pic ^], turn.

Row 2: Ch3 [bottom left pic ^], 2tr into the first st [bottom right pic ^], (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in last st (top of the 3ch), turn.

Row 3: Ch3, 2tr into first st [right pic ^], 3tr in next sp between clusters, (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in next sp, 3tr in last st, turn.

Continue as Row 3 until you’ve used all the main colour. Cut yarn and fasten off. I used 5x 50g balls.

It should look something like this ^.

For colour changes, make a slip knot with your chosen colour and attach to the top of the first st with a ss. Carry on as normal. I worked two rows of each colour. – Side note, feel free to change colour using your preferred method. I no longer change colour by securing with a slip knot. It’s still OK to do it like this though.

Crochet Scallop Edging

This is a very simple and pretty way to finish off your triangle granny shawl.

Attach the Powder Pink yarn.
Row 1: Ch3, work 1tr in the top of each stitch all the way along to the centre, (2tr, ch1, 2tr) in centre ch-sp, continue tr sts to end, turn.

Row 2: Ch3, 4tr in same st, *Miss 1 st, ss in the next, miss 1 st, 5tr in the next; Repeat from * to centre, 7tr in centre st, continue on your merry way until the end of the row. The last scallop of tr stitches is finished with a ss in the same st, which should hopefully be the last st of the row. Cut yarn and fasten off.

Back loops only for this row apart from the slip stitches.
Row 3: With the right side of the scallops facing you, attach Cerise. Ch2, htr in each tr st, ss in each ss to centre. For the middle scallop: work 1htr in each of the first two tr, 1tr in the next st, 3tr in the next (middle) st, 1tr in the next st, 1htr in each of the last two sts. Continue in pattern to end. Cut yarn and fasten off. Sew in your ends!

Crochet shawl. Ridiculously easy shawl pattern.

Blocking your crochet granny shawl may be a good idea at this stage, but as I’m incredibly lazy I haven’t bothered with it. It would definitely benefit the edging if it is particularly curly, but I think it adds to the scallopy effect.

And that is it! I feel like I’ve seen the word scallop a few too many times now, not sure I’m keen.

I’ve been wearing it like a scarf. Look! A crappy self-portrait. I chose this one for the Minecraft picture in the background. It wasn’t until afterwards that I cleaned the mirror. Wish I’d done my eyebrows.

When trying to take pictures, it takes twice as long when the cat wants to get involved.

I hope you like this granny pattern. Feel free to leave a comment or say hello! And check out my summery granny shawl here! Or, if you’re from the future and a few years have passed, check out my 4ply granny triangle granny shawl that is the best stash buster ever!

If you like this Granny Triangle Shawl, please feel free to check out some of my other Free Crochet Patterns. This is one of my first, eeek.