Tag: creativity

10 Tips for Starting a Small Creative Business

Categories crochet2 Comments on 10 Tips for Starting a Small Creative Business
Zeens and Roger. My small creative business is crochet design.

Get Yourself a “Side Hustle”

I have a Small Creative Business as a crochet designer. It’s called Zeens and Roger (two of my nicknames). To some this is considered a “side hustle” but to me, it’s the part time job that I love. It’s all of my own making and, don’t tell my boss but, I prefer it to my real, non-crochet job (with its guaranteed income).

People I know consider my woolly obsession to be more of a hobby. But if I can earn an income from it, albeit a relatively small one, to me it is a bonafide job. It feeds the yarn habit too. Money goes back into the industry, supporting other small creative businesses, like indie dyers, who I give all my money to so I can buy my body weight in colourful skeins of merino.

Check out my post on how I became a crochet designer. I also put together a couple of Youtube videos: Get Your Crochet Designs Published and Publish Your Crochet Designs.

Crochet Design and Marketing Experience

Whilst my small biz is all about crochet design, I reckon a lot of the top tips below are relevant to many creative “side hustles”. The advice is based on my own experience for ways of increasing sales in my creative business. It’ll guide you towards setting up your own small business side hustle if you haven’t already started.

It is not a major, deep dive as they are all extensive subjects in their own right. However, a simple overview will be a nice and gentle introduction here. I know very well how difficult and overwhelming it can be to start when there is so much info out there.

Top Tips for Your Small Creative Business

Get Featured in a Magazine

I was inspired to write this blog post because I was interviewed for a recent issue of Inside Crochet magazine about being an entrepreneur and having a “side hustle” creative business. I would be missing a trick if I didn’t also share my experience of working as a freelance crochet designer here!

I love the working relationships I have with craft magazines. My work has been featured many times now and I get excited each and every time publication day comes along. Not only do you get to see your hard work show up in print, so does everyone else. it’s a genius way of getting known in your specialist field.

Perhaps you’ve already read how I started as a crochet designer. Essentially, I bit the bullet and contacted my favourite magazines asking to be featured. No point waiting for them to come to me! I say it so confidently now, but at the time I was bricking it. Putting yourself out there is hard but you can do it!

Learn About Small Business Marketing

Marketing is a huge subject and I’m no expert. However, I have picked up knowledge by trial and error. Marketing is a big investment of time (and sometimes, money). Crikey, all of these things are! But you can encompass it into your daily/weekly/quarterly work routine.

For me, a lot of marketing is about getting to know my audience through social media. Like, who are my customers? What do they like about my crochet designs and my brand? I used to be terrified of talking to people online but I find it much easier now. It’s massively important to be entirely yourself because trust is important, customers can definitely smell the stench of nonsense.

Personally, I hate marketing ploys being shoved down my throat. Then I have to remind myself that I am not my customer and just because I’ve seen my work quite a lot, it doesn’t mean that my customers have. So what if I shared the same picture on Insta three times over the last 18 months! Not everyone saw it the first or second time. Sometimes, reminding folks about a popular design or product isn’t going to feel forced at all. It’s gentle promotion, I guess.

One of the most fun things I did to market Zeens and Roger was answer a Facebook post asking for artists to display their work in empty highstreet windows. I got a very sweet spot to showcase my crochet designs, just in time for lockdown March 2020. People still saw it and I got a lot of emails, even during peak quarantine days.

Showcasing crochet on the high street.

Write Newsletters

Um, I am useless at turning up for this and much to my detriment too. Despite being a Newsletter chump who has only set up basic campaigns and then managed to send ONE Newsletter, I know without a shadow of a doubt that a direct bulletin to people who want to know more is massively valuable. This is a marketing tool that is super buzzy right now. Everyone is encouraged to write a Newsletter so that you can point customers to where your stuff is.

Please can someone kick me up the bum and tell me to write more Newsletters from my creative business please?!

Become a Pinterest Whizz

Oh Pinterest, how I love thee! Pinterest takes long term commitment to get people pinning your lovely images. For the longest time, I didn’t pay this platform enough attention. And it showed. Then, about 18 months ago I signed up for a series of free Pinterest webinars. I learned that whatever I had been doing was terribly old school. I had not kept up with the pinning times. As soon as I linked my website to my Pinterest account, and once I knew how to create pins on Canva, I was off!

The pic below is a typical Pin that does pretty well.

Some Pins take off immediately, some are a slow trickle of attention, and many pins fall flat on their face. A mix of all three has been my experience, and I’ve seen my small audience go up from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand in just over a year. Perhaps you don’t think that’s a lot but it’s a decent start. I’m happy with that. And even if images don’t get pinned, I can see from my blog stats, that I still get a lot of visitors because of Pinterest.

An example of a Pin for Pinterest. A good way for a small business to get spotted.

Be Consistent in your Work

Show up for Instagram. Show up for your blog. Show up in any of the places you’ve decided to focus on for your creative work. The amount of times I have seen people set everything up, to then sit back and expect miracles is crazy.

I’m definitely guilty of neglecting some elements of the behind the scenes work because life really does get in the way and that’s OK. It’s important that none of us give ourselves a hard time on this. However, you can nearly always see the difference in stats between sitting back and doing bog all, and sitting down at your desk and writing a blog post or creating a handful of Pins, or whatever.

Evaluate what needs changing and make little improvements. No need to go in all guns blazing cos that’ll backfire too.

Your Crafty Skills are Valuable

Something you know already: Exposure doesn’t pay the bills! The reason you’re reading this is because you have a talent that you believe can be turned into a bit of a money spinner. Doing stuff for free won’t help with that. I have learned this by accepting “gifts” in exchange for reviews. They are never gifts, something is expected in return.

No, I won’t do 2 Instagram Posts, 4 Stories, 2 Reels, a blog post and YouTube review for your three balls of fancy new yarn. But you can pay me for those things! I swear big brands know to target smaller and up and coming creative businesses because they know those are the ones who will jump at an “amazing opportunity”

I’m contacted on a reasonably regular basis asking if I will do the influencer thing. Nine times out of ten, I won’t as I know it devalues a maker’s time. It’s exciting to hear from well known brands but in the back of my mind is the knowledge that they have huge marketing budgets and that money doesn’t filter down to talented creators, needing to be paid for their work.

Just to add, I’m not a misery guts. There are times when there’s a positive gut feeling and I jump on board for a collaboration.

A colourful crochet sweater pattern called Milis. Featured in specialist crochet magazine, Moorit .

Blogging for Your Small Business

The longevity of blogs is incredible. The power they still have has blown my mind a little bit. At one point I remember everyone predicting the death of blogging but nope, it has shown amazing staying power.

I started my blog for a number of reasons. Firstly, I wanted to record the things I crocheted and secondly, had a vague notion that perhaps I could earn money from it if enough visitors stopped by. A big dream was to sell designs too. As a total novice, I learned new skills just by having a go. Funnily enough, the skills I learned from blogging had an influence on getting my first “real” job back in the workplace, after being a stay at home parent for ten years.

Monetize your creative blog when you start seeing the traffic picking up. Are you able to attract visitors by offering freebies? Mostly, I like to offer free crochet patterns that are relatively quick and easy. That way you’re not spending more time than it may be worth. I also enjoy blog posts about crochet related techniques and tips too. That way, crocheters who make my patterns can also discover some snazzy tricks and advice too.

Don’t forget that SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is where it’s at for bloggers. It’s more than just keywords and my understanding of SEO grows year on year. I used to be a very lazy blogger so every now and then I spend the time going over old blog posts to make them SEO relevant, make sure the links work and actually answer questions about crochet rather than assume people know the same things I do.

I also use a plugin called Yoast to help me make sure I hit all the SEO things I need to hit.

Try YouTube Vlogging

If you have the time for recording content such as podcasts and tutorials (and then putting it all together via the power of editing software) this could be for you. All the Youtube video making takes time but you find a whole new audience. Be aware that to make YouTube work for you, you need to be present regularly. I couldn’t commit to once or twice a week so have taken a step back for now. You need a lot of views to bring in income but if you enjoy talking about your small creative business then this is a great option.

I miss my YouTube channel a lot and if I could, I would be there every week, making all the crochet videos!

Fancy being a crochet designer? Here's ten tips for starting a small creative business based on my experience of making it up as I go!

Build a Network of Friends

Sometimes, running a small business can be lonely. This is one of the reasons I haven’t quit my day job as I like working with people. My job as a crochet designer can be pretty solitary. Sharing the experience with friends and peers who have similar creative businesses can make a huge difference to how you feel about your work.

A lot of negative stuff can be said about Instagram but I have made genuine friends by being on that app. I love that you can go to a yarn festival on your own and bump into someone you know and have a great old gasbagging session. I love that I have even been on holiday with my crochet pals.

Whether you’re having a catch up over cake in real life or a chinwag on Zoom, I greatly value these awesome friendships.

Get Small Business Advice from the Experts

You can get loads of free small business advice online and it helps to know where you can find specific resources. Webinars, courses or subscriptions sometimes have a small cost associated with them. I’m happy to spend the equivalent of a few pattern sales to gain access to superior knowledge. They are fantastic investments. To be honest you can spend hundreds on signing up for courses etc but you can pick and chose what ones work for you.

Keep your eyes peeled on social media too and discuss with your network of crafty friends to find out what’s going on in the community. This is where I have discovered many helpful courses to do with marketing, Pinterest, SEO etc. In fact, this weekend I’m attending an online copywriting course!

A list of People and Places to help with your Creative Business

  • Studio Cotton: Aime shares a tonne of expert advice on small creative businesses.
  • Sara Tasker AKA Me & Orla: I particularly enjoy her Hashtag Authentic podcast.
  • Indie Roller: Lots of positive encouragement about selling your work from Leona.
  • The Design Trust: A Business School for creative professionals.
  • Inspired To Write: Amie McNee, a Creativity Coach who is relatively new to me but I like what I see.

These are just a few. The top two are my faves and work with how I like to run my crochet biz. Is there a resource that you swear by?

Working with brands like Hobbycraft elevates my creative business.
Filming the Mixtape Medley CAL for a Hobbycraft collaboration.

Well, lordy, who knew a creative business person wore so many hats!!

By the way, please don’t let this list worry you. It’s not all done in one giant whammy. It is very much a one step at a time kind of thing. Pick and choose what to tackle first and take your time. Don’t give up too soon either, it’s a long-game and with patience, you’ll see changes start to happen.

Also, a caveat. I made this list up based on what I fumble my way through. The list is not exhaustive and perhaps not what my peers do. There are loads of other ways to wing it as a small creative business person but I hope this offers some kind of starting point. It’s not really possible to cover everything in one blog post. I’m pretty sure I’d end up with a book if I tried to talk about it all!

As always, let me know if you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you.

Cheers.

My ten tips for starting a small creative business based on my experience of making it up as I go!

Blue Granny Square Sweater

Categories crochet, free pattern4 Comments on Blue Granny Square Sweater
Crochet Granny Square Sweater from Zeens and Roger

Crochet your Own Sweater!

So good I made it twice, here is my second Granny Square Jumper!! I’m here to write about it again as, not content with leaving things as they are, I made adjustments which I think you will find useful.

If you haven’t seen my first post about how I made a super colourful version (with lots of fabulous yarn stashbusting), you can find that HERE, on a post imaginatively titled Granny Square Sweater. That’s where you will find the original recipe on how to crochet a jumper of your own. I also created a crochet video tutorial to show how to put everything together.

If you’re a beginner crocheter, you can make this sweater with the resources I have provided. However, it’s not just some granny squares stitched together. There is shaping (at the shoulders and sleeves), nice ribbing, and techniques that will up your skill level.

If you like this granny square sweater, perhaps you’ll like my other crochet ideas. Please peruse my free crochet patterns page. And if you really really like what you see, you can buy me a Ko Fi! Although, it’ll most likely be tea because I’m not a coffee drinker…

Colourful stash busting granny square sweater.
My stashbusting original Granny Square Sweater

What’s Changed?

Ok, so, it would be easy for me to say that this is just the same jumper as my original stashbusting sweater but that’s not technically true. Here are the things that I tweaked:

  • I used different yarn – a merino DK held with mohair lace weight.
  • I only used two colours.
  • The main body granny squares are smaller, allowing me to add width later by using a few rows of granny stripes at each side. This also made room for a slightly deeper neckline because….
  • I changed the shoulder tabs – fronts are longer than the orginal, and different to the back tabs.

The plan for this blog post is to talk you through these changes so they’re not scary. I have drawn up some rudimentary charts, which will help visual learners, and hopefully I won’t bamboozle you with information overload!

Black and Blue granny square sweater from Zeens and Roger

Using Mohair Yarn

As I’ve mentioned above, I used different yarn to make this black and blue fluffy jumper. The original is made with aran weight yarn with wool content. Rather fortuitously, my gauge is the same.

Whilst this black and blue sweater/jumper was also intended as a stash buster (using yarn I had leftover from other projects), I wasn’t sure there was enough of the black so ordered more. I vastly overestimated and have ended up with the same amount that I started with. A little bit more, in fact. So much for stash busting!

If you’re daunted by the fluffy stuff, fear not, read my blog post with some top tips for using mohair yarn. Ultimately, please don’t be scared. This is actually a really good project for mohair yarn because the stitches and design are simple. And holding the mohair with a non fluffy yarn, eases any anxiety too.

I used Drops Kid Silk, I had loads of Cobalt blue in stash from a neglected then rejected design idea.

Merino DK Yarn

I chose to use West Yorkshire Spinners Bo Peep Luxury Baby DK (double knit). The black (Incy Wincy) is leftover from a knitted jumper that went into a Vivienne Westwood inspired Sex Pistols jumper that was the husband’s Christmas present (I didn’t knit it, I asked MiL to do it!). There was leftover Drops Kid Silk black mohair from the same project as well.

More blue (Space Hopper) was purchased as I think I only had one ball in stash. This shade went beautifully with the Cobalt mohair.

I sometimes find that merino can be quite heavy, this one is lovely and light (probably because it’s a nylon mix). It doesn’t create a cumbersome jumper, which can be a bit much for an item of clothing.

Two Colours of Yarn

As a stashbuster, the choice of yarn was made for me. I didn’t have to worry about colour because black and blue were what I had and that was that.

The best thing about only using two colours is that for the main squares, you can float the yarn. No snipping, no time spent sewing in loads of ends, huzzah! Obviously, float along what you decide is the wrong side of the granny square.

I’ve worked out that for this jumper (an approximate size 3), I used:

  • 7x50g blue DK
  • 5x50g black DK
  • 4x25g blue mohair
  • 3x25g black mohair

As a general rule, every 100 grams of the DK merino uses a 25 gram ball of mohair. However, meterage is 112m per 50 gram ball of the DK (therefore 224m per 100g) and the meterage for the mohair is 210m per 25g ball. There’s a little bit of an imbalance so an extra ball of mohair is a good idea, to make up the shortfall.

The amount needed will vary depending on the size you make and how much adjusting you do. You will need more than me if you’re making a larger size. I have not done the maths to find out precisely how much for each size.

Float your yarn
Float your yarn

Cropped Granny Sweater

Two large granny squares are the basis for the main body panels of both sweaters. For this version, the two main squares are four rounds fewer than the colourful jumper. This is so the final sweater doesn’t have the length of the extra rounds but it has the width because I add granny stripes to each side of the front square.

Front and back granny squares have 19 rounds. The front square then has 5 granny stripes at each side. 19+5 is equivalent to a 24 round square for the width, which is one round more than version 1 (cos, why not?!). I added the shoulder tabs to the top, working into gaps between stripes, and gaps between clusters. See pics and charts below.

The back doesn’t have separate side stripes, instead, I crocheted around three sides of the square five times to get the same amount of extra sides and also add it across the top too. Hopefully this is not gobbeldegook!! It’s difficult to put into words but I think the charts are my saviour.

You can use the maths from the original post to work out gauge and measurements if you’re not keen on eyeballing.

Front panel
A pic highlighting how the front panel is put together. Granny Square, side stripes, and shoulder tabs.

Shoulder Tabs

If you make a sweater with the more basic elements, like I did for the original, by the time you’ve added shoulders and a waistband, the sweater is longer than it is wide. For version no.2 I wanted a more cropped style. In order to achieve this there are the additional steps, discussed above. They are arguably more tricky to wrap your head around but I absolutely love the result.

The first jumper has the same number of rows for both front and back shoulder tabs. It’s super easy to do it this way because it means you don’t need to think about maths and stitch placement too much.

However, what would happen if you attached different length tabs (front v back) to main body granny squares? Let’s say 8 rows for the front tabs and 3 rows for the back tabs. Your front body panel would be 5 rows longer than the back panel. This difference needs to be accommodated.

Below I have included the basic charts. I think they are the easiest way to show you all the shaping shenanigans. The charts are truncated so they show you the intention without literally showing every row. The real life jumper has 8 rows of front shoulder tabs (repeat the last two granny stripes rows of the chart to get 8) and 3 rows of back shoulder tabs (samesies as the chart).

Shoulder Tabs Clusters

The important bit is that shoulder tabs should end up the same width across at their last rows. Or thereabouts. I don’t think it matters if there is one stitch difference (mine were!). If there is more of a difference then it might be worth going back to the drawing board.

FYI, My shoulder tabs end measuring approx 16cm.

To begin, the first row of my front tabs has 7 full clusters, plus the end stitches. After four rows of shaping/decreasing and four rows of even granny striping, the tabs end with 6 full clusters and 1 stitch either side = 20 stitches.

The back tabs start with 6 full clusters plus the ends. These tabs are only three rows but because of a little manipulation/decrease at the neckline, I ended with 5 full clusters and 2 stitches at either end, that’s 19 stitches. I’m happy matching 20 stitches to 19. You can’t tell on the finished garment.

However many clusters you choose to add, make sure the width (no. of clusters per tab) isn’t going to create a massive neck hole.

Black and blue granny square sweater

Front Main Body

The first chart (below) is for the front of the jumper. Make the granny square first, then join as many stripes you want to either side. That’s the black and blue section of the chart. Then work the shoulder tabs. I have only shown one tab here but it gives you the picture of what you need to do for both. Don’t forget that more is explained in the colourful granny square sweater post, go check it out.

Back Main Body

The second chart shows the back. Now, here is where it gets more than just a tweak, we’re making different adjustments to ensure everything is the same size and will fit together. You can see that rather than working some side stripes, the chart shows three worked sides of the square (chart has three rows/rounds, in real life I did five). This is to accommodate the different lengths of the front and back shoulder tabs. So, five additional rows along the top of the back, plus 3 shoulder tab rows = 8, which equals the same as the front tab rows.

Crikey, at this point, I feel like I need to say “Thaaaat’s Numberwang!”

Granny Stripe Sleeves

Sleeves remain the same, thank goodness! But because they are stripes, you still have loads of ends to sew in. I started using the ends to sew the sleeves together but it was a major faff so decided to sew them all in first and then sew together using a length of the DK. There’s no need to use the mohair as well when you’re sewing your pieces together.

Ready to Wear Crochet Sweater

And everything else is the same! When writing out the differences it feels like it’s quite complex but in real life, once you have the hook in your hand and the yarn gliding through your fingers, it’s actually a lot simpler. In no time whatsoever you’ll be wearing your new handmade jumper! And it will look great!!

Please share your makes on Instagram by tagging me @zeensandroger and using #ZeensAndRoger

Also, there’s Ravelry too. Adding your project there is super helpful as it helps others see what designs look like when made by others.

Crochet jumper schematic
Granny Square Sweater
Granny Square Sweater Pattern

Granny Square Sweater

Categories crochet, free pattern6 Comments on Granny Square Sweater

How to Crochet a Granny Square Sweater

I didn’t mean to make this granny square sweater! Honest! I have other projects to work on but bright colours and my favourite stitch called to me. This quite often happens. I have a list of designs I “should” be working on when something else catches my eye. Usually, it’s quick and easy makes because I’m craving mindful crochet rather than brain-busting designs.

So, that’s where this granny square sweater comes in. I have just finished an intense commission which involved a lot of head scratching maths. Anything with the granny stitch is a counteractive remedy to the hard stuff so, because I have a very frazzled brain right now, this is a relatively basic “recipe” rather than a full on graded pattern.

It’s not quite as evil a recipe as on a Bake Off final, by which I mean, I do provide plenty of information! However, I haven’t written a round by round, row by row pattern. With my helpful video tutorial and charts below, you won’t need them.

It’s an eyeballing, intuitive project, that you can make up as you go along without worrying about getting the calculator out.

If you enjoy this blog post and the accompanying tutorial, perhaps you’d like to buy me a ko-fi! Thank you, you’re a superstar! You can find more of my Free Crochet Patterns HERE.

Watch the YouTube Tutorial on How to Make a Granny Square Sweater

And, you can read about my Black and Blue Granny Sweater HERE

TLDR

If you don’t fancy reading all the detail below and you are pretty crochet confident, this is it in a nutshell…

  • Get loads of different colours of aran weight yarn and a 4mm or 4.5 mm hook.
  • Make two granny squares in a size that are a similar width to a favourite jumper already in your wardrobe.
  • Add shoulder tabs (charts below).
  • Make two sleeves (charts below)
  • Sew together.
  • Add ribbing (either before or after it’s all sewn together).
  • Wash and block.

Watch the YouTube Tutorial on How to Make a Granny Square Sweater

Winging It

This “recipe” for my granny square sweater is for those who enjoy a laid back kind of project. I would love for you to have the confidence to make it up as you go. Play with placement of increases for sleeves, explore ways of basic shaping. Add length, add width. Shoulder tabs can be different too. Don’t like my crochet ribbing? Try a different one.

However, there are techniques here that will improve beginner crochet skills. The ribbing is fancier than a bog standard one, it is also attached with a Join-As-You-Go technique, which I love. There are shaped shoulder tabs for a nice neckline, and the sleeves aren’t just straight tubes. None of these things are set in stone. You can do what you want.

Also, the more you mess about with crochet by winging it, the more you understand the fibres you work with, and how crochet stitches behave. Crocheting your own clothes will become easier and your skills will grow. Therefore, just get started with experimenting and playing…

A colourful crochet Granny Square Sweater by Zeens and Roger.

Stashbusting Yarn

Let’s start with the yarn. I have lots of colourful aran weight wool leftover from a few different projects: My first garment design, the stripey Perfect Cardigan, All the Fun of the Fair, which is a granny stripe cowl/snood, and the second JW Anderson inspired cardigan I made for my sister. Plenty of colours in this lot! And it’s what I used to make my sweater.

I would say that 95% of stash used here is Paintbox Worsted Superwash (200m per 100g) and Paintbox Wool Mix aran (180m per 100g). There are a couple of other brands in there too. They have slightly different yardage/metreage but in the final jumper, you can’t tell. My fave is the wool mix aran, it’s much softer than the worsted superwash.

What Fibre?

You could use other yarns and fibres if that’s what you have in stash. The beauty of this jumper is that it is adaptable. Ultimately, the main body is a granny square so you just make it until it’s the right size. The sleeves would require more faffing but I quite enjoy the tinkering to get them just how I want them. More info on sleeves is further down the post.

Using acrylic? It’ll be grand for a few wears and washes without blocking (instead, use fabric conditioner and tumble dry so it doesn’t come out squeaky). Just know that it will grow and stretch a little bit upon wearing it. Usually, it’s not a drastic change but eventually, over time, acrylic sort of gives up and becomes flatter and more plasticky than its original fluffy self. That’s my experience anyway.

Using cotton? I can’t give much advice on a cotton version I’m afraid as I never make cotton garments. It’s just not my bag. There’s no bounce in the fibre. It stretches and drapes differently to wool and, so far, I’ve not required that for my designs. If I’m making a jumper I want warm wool. You may wish to make swatch to try it out (see below).

Granny Square sweater by Zeens and Roger

Choosing Colours for your Crochet

Yarn amounts (stash, leftovers) may have an influence on where you place the colours. The more colours you have, the more higgledy-piggledy and awesome it’s going to look. The fewer hues, the more “arranged” it will look. There are about 24/25 colours in mine. Some colours only feature once or twice as were only a few grams left of them.

I had the stash and balanced it all out following my gut. A couple of tips: don’t put all your brights together and evenly place the darker colours throughout. You can read more about how to choose colours for your crochet in another of my blog posts.

How much stash have you got? Use the smaller amounts early on in the squares, have you got enough for a sleeve row? You only need small lengths for the shoulder tabs too. Think about where to use the yarn in clever ways.

How Much Yarn do you Need to Crochet a Sweater?

How much yarn will you need to make your Granny Square Sweater? Oh crikey, how long is a piece of string? It depends on so many factors! The biggest one, however, is it depends on the size you’re making. There’s more info on sizing further down.

Most of the yarn I used is from Paintbox Yarns (aran & worsted, as I mentioned earlier). The worsted is 200m per 100 grams. I’m going to use this to work out how many metres I used. My jumper weighs about 810 grams, which means I used approx 1620 metres. You get this figure with the following equation: weight of the garment divided by the weight of a full ball, multiplied by the meters (or yards, if you prefer) in one full ball. Note that you will probably need more than this in reality as it’s made up of around 24 colours and you’re going to use various amounts of each.

The problem is that as it’s lots of leftovers, of many different colours, giving amounts for other sizes is difficult. Even giving specific amounts for the size I made is nearly impossible because I made no notes on my stash. Eek, sorry. But if you’re a hoarder like me, you’re gonna have loads of stash to use, yes?!

All I can give you is this, if you want to have matching ribbing on the cuffs, waistband and neck, ensure you have at least one full 100 gram ball of yarn for that. Maybe get two balls to be absolutely sure because I probably used approx 1 full ball of green but haven’t worked out how much exactly cos in my stash it was two partially used balls and some went in the main body of the jumper as well). Sorry again!

Zeens and Roger crochet design. Granny Square Jumper

How to Size your Granny Square Sweater

So, as you know by now, this is a recipe rather than a fully graded pattern, which means you might need to do some work! I will help you as much as possible here. And I will make sure it’s not painful. However, we are all making unique versions, right?

The absolute easiest way of making a jumper that’s going to fit you is to dig out your favourite fitting jumper and use that to work out how big to make your square. Take into account that your granny square sweater will stretch with wear (whether you’ve blocked it or not). Therefore, when I made mine, I made it approx 2 cm smaller than my favourite jumper, knowing it would stretch to become a similar size. There’s a slight risk of it stretching more than 2 or 3 cm but that’s ok for this project. We’re not after a fitted garment that’s super precise. This is a laid-back way of clothes making.

It’s worth mentioning, that the larger your square, the more it’s going to stretch. If each stitch stretches and you have more stitches, well, it’s going to make a difference. Fancy working up a gauge swatch, just in case?! Keep reading…

More Accurate Sizing

Ok, so I’ve popped this lil chart here as a useful guide to show a pretty standard width of a sweater with 10cm positive ease (positive ease = additional roominess in a garment, the opposite is negative ease, which makes a garment fitted against the body).

If you’re not sure about using your fav garment to measure against, you can always use this instead. You want your final granny square to be about this size in width. You can find more info about standard garment sizes on the Craft Yarn Council’s website.

Size1 (xs)2 (s)3 (m)4 (l)5 (xl)6 (2xl)7 (3xl)8 (4xl)9 (5xl)10 (6xl)
UK sizing46-810-1214-1618-2022-2426-2830-3234-3638-40
Width of granny  (cm)43.548.553.558.563.568.573.578.583.588.5

Sweater Length

At this point, you need to know that adding shoulder tabs and a waistband is going to add length to your jumper so the end result is that the sweater won’t actually be a square. Bear it in mind. With 4 rows of shoulder tabs and, just shy of 5cm for the waistband, my jumper is approx 57cm in length.

Granny Square Sweater by Zeens and Roger

Gauge and Blocking

To be totally accurate you may be tempted to make a gauge swatch. This is a good idea! You can check that your crochet tension isn’t wildy off from mine. Read about getting gauge on your crochet clothes here.

This can be intimidating, I totally get it. And, although I’m totally winging it, I do have a good understanding of how washing and wearing a garment can alter the clothes you make. This is actually big big subject and I don’t want to scare you off by writing a massive essay about it.

Blocking?

Simply put, blocking means to wash or steam your woolly items and then (gently or aggressively, depending on the situation) pin out to stretch the item as it dries. It will then be fixed in its new state. 

Spend a few minutes to work up a granny square that measures about 15cm (6 inches) and pop it in warm water (with a dash of detergent – I use wool wash soap for my handmade garments). Rinse, blot in a towel, then pin onto foam blocking boards and wait patiently for it to dry.

I didn’t mention it in the video tutorial but I pinned out and steam blocked my main pieces before sewing them together. It’s a really quick blocking method. I have a steamer but the steam function on an iron works too.
For me, this helps for more accurate sewing. The pieces are less likely to bunch or pucker.

The picture below shows what crochet looks like on the blocking boards. If you have a cat, it is pretty much guaranteed that they will want in on the blocking action.

Blocking crochet garments

Arghh, Maths! How Gauge Affects Size

I’m going to assume that you’ve read my quick blog post about gauge. My gauge for this project (after blocking) is about 8.5 rows per 10cm. If you don’t want to eyeball the granny square like did, you can use a formula to work out how big to make it instead. Using the measurement from your size in the chart above, multiply it by the row gauge (8.5) and divide by 10 (cos that’s how many centimetres get you 8.5 rows).

It turns out my eyeballing is surprisingly accurate. Check this out: 53.5 (size 3 as per the size chart) x 8.5 / 10 = 45.475. I worked 23 rounds of grannies. 23 x 2 =46!! Wowsers! (I’ve multiplied by 2 because we go around in a square, not rows. From the granny’s centre to the top, it’s 23 rows, from the centre to the bottom, it’s 23 rows).

And I know, I know I said you wouldn’t need a calculator. sorry about that. But technically it’s true if you’re winging it!

Granny squares
crochet granny squares

Make Your Granny Squares

You probably already know how to make a granny square but if not, I show you how in the video tutorial. I like to turn mine every round so that there’s no dreaded twist.

Once you have two granny squares that are the chosen size, add shoulder tabs to the top. I also demonstrate this in the vid. It’s a Granny stripe method with a touch of shaping so that the neck is a nice, rounded shape. See below for the charts.

On the bottom of the granny squares, work a row of UK dc (US sc) stitches. This is the base upon which you’ll work the waistband ribbing. Use the same colour that you’ll use for the ribbing.

By the way, at any point during this process, you’re going to have to sew in the eleventy bajillion ends. Hahahahahaha! Quite honestly, looking back, I don’t know how I did it without crying.

Add Shaped Shoulder Tabs

This is the next step beyond the most basic of boxy crochet garments. There is absolutely nothing wrong with basic square shaping for a crochet sweater. I make ’em sometimes. But here, let’s go one step further and add shoulder shaping. This creates a scoop neckline, which will sit nicely across your clavicles!

Of course, this is open to adapting in different ways. To keep it simple I have kept the front and back the same. I won’t mention too much more on this because I demonstrate how you can tweak this in another version of this gloriously colourful granny square sweater. Find out more in my Black and Blue Granny Square Sweater post.

Below is a chart showing the tabs attached to the main body (the granny square). I chose to add four rows for mine. You have the left and right tabs there. I should have drawn them mirrored. I didn’t. Oh well, it is still very useful to see them visually.

And by the power of Photoshop, it should look like this! Sort of…

Sleeves

Crochet granny stripe sleeves

Ok, so you’ve got the main body done. Now for the sleeves. They’re worked flat, in rows.

I want shaping here, very basic shaping. Luckily, arm length can stay the same regardless of the size of the main body so what I’m sharing here is going to work for the majority of folks. Of course, it’ll be different if you’re not using aran or worsted yarn. Obvs, things will vary if your tension is different so work more or fewer rows if needed.

My sleeves measure 46cm without cuffs, I worked 41 rows. Decide how long you want your sleeves and work as many rows as you want. And don’t forget that the cuffs add to the length too. They are 4cm so in total, I have 50cm length sleeves. This works for me and my arms. I’m a fan of 50cm sleeves!

Sleeve Width

Begin by working a foundation row of UK double crochet (US single crochet) using the ribbing colour. Check out my video tutorial for the foundation start. You need multiples of 3 plus 1. I worked 43 stitches for the beginning of my sleeves. After the first row of grannies appear, it measures approx 27cm at the wrist, and after you’ve worked 41 rows, the width at the other end (upper arm) measures 40cm. You might need to make yours narrower or wider than mine. Add or remove multiples of 3 stitches to change the sleeve width. Treat every 3 stitches as 2cm, so you’re adding or subtracting 2cm if you change the stitch count.

If you worked 43 stitches, the first row will have 13 granny clusters, plus the two ends.

Then add the JAYG cuffs. To be honest, you can add ribbing before or after you’ve constructed the jumper. I wanted them blocked at the same time so added them before. I’m not sure if I’d do this again but it worked in the way I wanted.

Next is a pic of the sleeve chart. Sorry for the hand-drawn nature of all my charts in this post. It was the quickest way of doing it!

Crochet chart for sleeves

Below is a not particularly tidy way of demonstrating where I put the increases at the ends of each row. There are more regular increases at the beginning before I decided I didn’t need as many to get the shape required. Play around with increases as much as you desire to create different sleeve shaping.

Only after making this chart did I realise I only crocheted 41 rows not 42. Oops.

Crochet Ribbing

I decided to add ribbing for the cuffs and waistband before sewing the pieces together. I was happy with my measurements of everything and knew I wouldn’t need to make further adjustments. If you’re not sure, add these after you have sewn the main pieces together. That way, if you need to adjust the depth of the ribbing, you only need to undo those sections and not the whole thing. I added the neckband once everything else was constructed.

For this granny square sweater, I opted for my current favourite crochet rib stitch. It looks fabulous and is an interesting technique that’s more sophisticated than basic rib stitches. It’s still Back Loop Only, like a lot of ribbing but this time with a two row pattern repeat.

With the wrong side facing you, attach the yarn to where you want the ribbing and chain 8 for the cuffs, 10 for the waistband and for the diddy neckline, chain 6.

Working down towards the foundation/base I used a yarn over slip stitches (yoslst) and on the way back up on the next row it’s just a simple slip stitch. Once again, you can see a demo of this in the video tutorial.

As a written pattern, the ribbing looks like this:

Chain 10 (for example)
Row 1 (w/s): Working in back bumps, yoslst in second ch from hook, yoslst to end, sl st in next 2 sts of foundation row, turn. [9 sts]
Row 2 (r/s): Miss 2 sl sts, 9sl sts BLO, turn.
Row 3: ch1, 9yoslst BLO, turn.
Rep Rows 2 & 3 to end. 

Sew Everything Together

Remember to sew on the wrong sides to keep the right side as neat as possible. Use whip stitch, mattress stitch, whatever floats your boat.

1. Lay the front and back panels together (right sides together) and sew shoulder tabs together first.
2. Then, sew flat, the sleeves to the shoulders. Get them nicely lined up so that the centre of the upper sleeve is in line with the middle of the shoulder seam.
3. Fold everything in half and sew the sleeves and body in one fell swoop.
4. Add a round of UK dc (US sc) stitches around the neckband so there’s a foundation for the ribbing (matchy matchy with ribbing colour please).
5. Add neck ribbing (and cuffs & waistband if you left them to the end) and sew the ends to close.

Then, gently handwash and block if using wool yarn (yep, blocking again! I was thorough). The weight of itself should be enough to ensure it stretches appropriately. Once the excess water is gently squeezed out and blotted with towels, I didn’t bother to pin it out, just relied on the wet heft of it to stretch itself. [jeez, wet heft!]
If using acrylic, wash in a machine (not forgetting fabric conditioner to avoid the squeaky squeaky) and tumble dry.

Granny Square Sweater by Zeens and Roger

And there you have it. A Granny Square Sweater!! That was a lot of words, right?! Eek, my longest blog post I think.

Please do let me know when you make yours, I would absolutely love to see. Upload your project to Ravelry and tag me on Instagram. #zeensandroger

BTW, This post contains an affiliate link, which means, if you buy through the link I set up for Lovecrafts.com, I get a small percentage of what you spend (at no extra cost to you).

If you thought this was completely brilliant and amazing, please consider buying me a ko-fi!

Cheers! xxx

Celebrating the Granny Stitch with 18 Crochet Patterns

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For the Love of Granny

When one thinks of crochet, it is almost guaranteed that most of us will conjure up a picture of a colourful square with rounds of uniform granny clusters. It is THE quintessential stitch that represents crochet whether we like it or not. The granny square has been around since the Victorians, growing in popularity during the 1960’s and 70’s. Then it seemed to disappear for a while, along with crochet in general. But for the last few years it has exploded in popularity again, hasn’t it? Crochet, and the granny stitch, is everywhere!

Crochet is definitely back in fashion and the symbol upon its banners is a granny square! We are in a granny renaissance! And luckily this means a whole new generation of fans who are learning to love, not only the granny, but all things crochet.

What I want to do here is celebrate the humble granny (everyone always calls it humble, don’t they?!). I thought it would be a good idea to get a selection of granny stitch patterns where there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Read on…

Why Granny is the Greatest

Honestly, I could be here forever and a day, sing songing about all the fab reasons about why the granny stitch is just soooo good but let’s stick to a small handful…

Firstly, rose-tinted nostalgia! For me, and for others I know, crochet harks back to a time when our mothers and grandmothers were, with busy hands, stitching away at yarn crafts (and yes, fathers and grandfathers too!). For decades my Nanna would stash bust her way through yarn scraps with a make do and mend mentality. She was always making giant granny square blankets from leftover yarn. Yarn that was left over from all the knitted jumpers she made. It’s satisfying to know that we’re carrying on a version of those traditions, and being economical too.

Secondly, it’s how we learn to crochet isn’t it? Not that I think it’s the best way to learn, it really isn’t (that would be the methodical process of learning rows and rows of single/double crochet before graduating to row and rows of other stitches. But that’s not as exciting though, hey?!). Nevertheless, a granny square seems to be the most taught pattern for beginners and that’s because it has an easy pattern repeat and is quick to work up. Instant gratification!

It doesn’t need to be written down, it just gets handed down from generation to generation like an old fairy tale. Sometimes there are slight differences but ultimately it’s a square of squishy goodness.

A classic Granny Square blanket, made for my sister.

Other Reasons to Celebrate the Granny Stitch

One of the other reasons I love this classic stitch so much is because it is the ultimate in comfort crochet. Whenever life gets too much, or I’m working on a pattern that’s a bit complicated, I turn to Granny for a bit of soothing stitchery. It works wonders! Almost like a hug from your real granny! It’s the ultimate in mindfulness.

You can literally do it with your eyes closed! With a little bit of practice, the granny is the best stitch for resting your eyes and crocheting at the same time. Those gaps between each cluster are easily found by touch alone.

Like Nanna knew decades ago, granny stitch projects are fantastic for busting that stash. Granny squares are perfect for using small scraps, you only need small amounts to create a pretty mishmash of colourful squares.

Granny is the gateway drug to “proper” crochet. I say this knowing that some of you might tell me off and argue that granny is real crochet! Yes, of course it is, I don’t dispute that (this whole post is a big love letter to Granny so it would be remiss of me to throw it under the bus) but there is also soooo much more to crochet than this stitch alone. It’s really exciting to see new and different designs coming out that really push the boundaries of what crochet can do. Once you’ve conquered how to make a granny, why not try something new?!

The Ultimate Versatile Crochet Stitch

You can pretty much grannify anything you want. This is because it’s such a simple, no frills crochet stitch. If you’re not ready to move on to pastures new just yet then there is plenty of fun things that Granny has to offer. Oh, the limitless potential!!

To be honest, I don’t think the granny will ever truly go out of style as there are so many options for patterns. Even when the time comes when it’s not featuring in Vogue or whatever, there will still be crocheters building little piles of squares, or working on their stripes in all kinds of ingenious ways.

One day it is my goal to decorate my old Nikes in bright squares. I’ve seen it, it has been done, and it looks amazing!

Collection of Granny Patterns

So after all the waffle, extolling the virtues of my fave stitch of all time (probably…), here is a selection of granny patterns to check out. Not gonna lie, I have more than enough to ensure that this post could be all about me me me, but I have also added awesome patterns that are from other designers. I’ve made them and can attest to their brilliance.

The majority of patterns below are available as written instructions. I have also created video tutorials for a few of them too. There are lot of shawls, scarves & cowls, bags aplenty, a blanket and garments here and there too. Phew!!

Wayward Sisters – Granny Stripe Shawl

Wayward Sisters, a granny stripe crochet shawl.

I’m starting with my latest granny pattern. This is the Wayward Sisters and it’s a free crochet pattern. You can find it here. It’s a straightforward pattern using granny stripes and is super fast to work up. I pretty much made this in one weekend!

Granny Market Bag

A granny stitch market bag.
Photo courtesy of Inside Crochet magazine

Another new pattern from me! I love love love how this awesome crochet market bag turned out. It’s stripey clusters worked diagonally from corner to corner which is then magically transformed into a super modern shopper. You can find it on Etsy or Ravelry.

Miu Miu Inspired Granny Stripe Scarf

This is from last year when Miu Miu had granny stripe scarves on sale for a LOT of money. Make one for free here on my lovely crochet blog!

See My Vest – Crochet Tank Top

See My Vest, a Crochet Tank Top using the granny stitch.

See My Vest, See My Vest, not made from gorilla chest! (sorry, it’s a rubbish Simpsons reference, I apologise). I came up with this design as homework for upping my grading game. It was a good lesson as this colourful crochet tank top comes in 9 different sizes. You can get a copy of the pattern from Ravelry, Etsy, Lovecrafts or Ribblr (that’s a lot of pattern platforms!)

Chevron Cowl Pattern

This chevron cowl is just so quick to work up! Find the pattern and tutorial here so you can make one, two, three or more! It’s a snug fitting cowl but you can keep on going to make a version that’s more like an infinity scarf.

Granny Christmas Hat

As hats go, I have only designed a Christmas hat with clusters of extra chunky yarn. Perhaps I should consider more hats (even balaclavas) to add to my catalogue of grannies…

Granny Stitch Cowl

Another crochet cowl but this one is super contemporary and cool. It brings the granny stitch to the modern day and looks totally effortless. Find the pattern on Etsy and Ravelry.

Gudrun – A Modern Shawl Design

Gudrun, a contemporary crochet shawl suing the granny stitch.

This is the Gudrun pattern and is my interpretation of what “grown up” granny looks like!

Fun fact, did you know that this shawl is named after Gudrun Ure, the actress who played Super Gran in the eighties kid’s TV show! Thanks to Alyson Chu of Moorit magazine for coming up with that gem.

A Bag for more Crochet Projects!

https://zeensandroger.com/2019/07/11/granny-square-bag-free-crochet-pattern-video-tutorial/

Join As You Go squares are worked in a rectangle, folded in half and joined at the sides. The bag is lined so nothing can escape through granny’s holes! Find the free pattern and tutorial here.

Another Crochet Market Bag Pattern!

A modern granny stripe crochet bag

Oh my goodness I have made a lot of these cotton market bags! A lot of market bags in general to be fair! I use every single one and they make fabulous crochet gifts too. This one has lots of drape. If that’s not your thing, go down a hook size or two.

Hotchpotch Granny Purse

You can make this Hotchpotch purse in so many different sizes. Add a zip, add a magnetic clasp, add handles. Do whatever you like! Worked from the bottom up, in the round, it’s a very easy pattern to adapt. The video tutorial shows you how to line it too.

Granny Edged Rainbow

A Rainbow edged granny square blanket

This one is going back a bit and is more of a recipe rather than a standard pattern. I mean, do you need a pattern for a granny square? OK, sorry, you might be looking for one here. Fear not, you’re in luck, this one has a video tutorial! Find the blanket recipe here.

Simple Granny Stitch Shawl

A very early pattern from me that is a step by step photo tutorial of this very easy crochet shawl, which is super useful for beginner crocheters.

Asymmetric Cowl Pattern & Tutorial

I know, I know, another cowl. Better to have all the choices, no? This one is another speedy project as it’s nice chunky yarn on a big hook so it has a nice drape. Although it’s not very “me” I still have a soft spot for it even if the yarn I used left fibres EVERYWHERE! Find the pattern here.

Perpetual Dawn Granny. Retro Square Shawl

A granny square crochet shawl

This is a recent design I came up with for a crochet collection from The Fibre Co. You can find the pattern on their website and get the kit if you wish. I love the summery retro feel of this one. The lace weight yarn makes is floaty light and ever so silky.

Revival – A Granny Square Jumper

This fabulous crochet sweater is by crochet designer, Heather of HG Designs. The granny stitch is her modus operandi and definitely someone to visit if you are a major fan of all things granny. Revival is a jumper that always gets checked out when I wear it.

Just Feel Festive Shawl

I wear this colourful stripey shawl scarf allllll the time. I wear a lot of plain colours in real life and if I feel that something needs a splash of colour, then this is the scarf I reach for. You can can this free crochet pattern from Caleisha Ryan. Mine is made from all my DK acrylic scraps, it is the perfect stash buster!! But do make a luxury version, like the original beauty, by using your pretty merino minis. They will look stunning!

Granny Go Round Jumper

Granny Go Round crochet jumper

Everyone has made a Granny Go Round, right? Oh my goodness, how many versions could you make? As with all Grannies, there are so many options for colour work. I went off piste in a couple of places when making this, including making the sleeves more balloony by adding some decreases near the cuff. I love this top down jumper. It’s fab!!

Which is Your Favourite?

I mean, if you got this far I know you must be a fan, right? What have I missed? Is there a Granny pattern you love that deserves a mention? Let me know!

Also note that I haven’t included all of my granny projects. make sure to look at my FREE CROCHET PATTERNS for more inspo, not just for the clever little clusters that we all love but for other patterns outside the Granny arena too.

Cheers! x

Mixtape Medley Crochet Blanket Pattern – US terms!

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Mixtape Medley Crochet Blanket. A great crochet pattern to learn new stitches.
Mixtape Medley Crochet Blanket

The Mixtape Medley Crochet Along has been such an exciting CAL and I cannot tell you how thrilling it is that so many of you have taken part in making this crazy crochet blanket pattern. There have been some brilliant brilliant brilliant versions made and it is such a lovely thing to see. Check out the Instagram hashtag #MixtapeMedleyCAL to see a variety of colour combinations that will make you swoon.

It’s about time I shared the pattern here on the blog (keep scrolling – it’s below!). I thought it would be a good idea to publish my biggest crochet project to date, right here, using US crochet terminology.

As well as scrolling down in this post, to full pattern with the US terms, you can find the UK pattern broken down in its CAL parts on the Hobbycraft website HERE. There are links to the video tutorials there too (I use UK terms in the videos).

If you’d like a glimpse into how I designed Mixtape Medley, I talk about it HERE in a Youtube video about designing crochet and getting your work published.

Yarn and Other Things you Need to Know

You need any DK (or similar) yarn. That’s in the number 3 category. I used Knitcraft Everyday DK 50 gram balls (100% Acrylic, 137m/150yds) in the following colours:

Purple (YA) x 3 balls, Mint (YB) x 4, Hot Pink (YC)  x 2
Beige (YD) x 5, Orange (YE) x 2, Teal (YF) x 2
Light Blue (YG) x 4, Brown (YH) x 2, Peach (YI) x 3
Barbie Pink (YJ) x 2, Red (YK) x 2, Blue (YL) x 2

I used a 3.75mm hook as my tension is quite loose. A 4mm (G/6) works great too. 

Blanket Measurements

This blanket measures 125cm x 195cm / 49 x 77 inches

Stitch Tension/ Crochet Gauge

Whilst tension isn’t a major issue it does have an affect on the amount of yarn used. The shade Peach for example, uses nearly every scrap of yarn of the three 50g balls listed. You would run out if your tension is looser.

If you’ve got the energy, make this small swatch to check you gauge.
Row 1: Using a Foundation Start (see Special Stitches), work 25fdc sts, turn – 25 sts
Row 2: 1ch, hdc to end, turn.
Rows 3 – 17: Rep Row 2.
10cm should equal 14 rows /19 sts

Notes for Mixtape Medley

  • Changing colour: change yarn on the last pull through of the st before the new colour is needed.
  • For colour block/plaid rows, carry non working yarn along the row, working over the yarn as you go. Remember to regularly untwist your yarn to prevent tangles!
  • C2C rows can sometimes pull in slightly. You can adjust the tension by going up a hook for these sections. Although, I didn’t bother.
  • It’s a lovely big blanket and is a generous single bed size.
  • To adjust the size of your blanket, use multiples of 36. This blanket uses 6 multiples of 36 (plus 1) to get to 217 stitches. Add or subtract 36 stitches to make adjustments to the size.
  • The Hobbycraft video tutorials use UK terms but provide a really good visual so they’re still valid and helpful.
  • At the bottom of this page you’ll find a printable PDF to download for free!! ….
  • If you have enjoyed all the Mixtape Medley delights thus far and appreciate the work that has gone into the project, then I would totally do that happy dance if you bought me a Ko-fi!

Crochet Abbreviations

ch = chain, ch-sp = chain space, dc = double crochet, folls = follows/following, 
fdc = foundation double crochet, hk = hook, hdc = half double crochet, 
lp/s = loop(s), rem = remain/ing, rep = repeat, sc = single crochet 
sl st = slip stitch, st/s = stitches, tr = treble crochet, yrh = yarn around hook, 
YA/YB etc = yarn A/yarn B etc, JAYG = join as you go, 
C2C = corner to corner crochet, RS/WS = right side/wrong side

Special Crochet Stitches

Foundation Start (fdc): ch4 (counts as a st), yrh, insert hook in 4th ch from hook, yrh, draw through, yrh, draw through 1 lp (to create 1 ch into which the next st will be worked), yrh, draw through 2 lps, yrh, draw through 2 lps. Work next fdc (foundation double) into the 1ch created and the lp behind it.  

Bobble stitch: (made on the wrong side of blanket):
[yrh, insert hook into st, yrh, pull through, yrh, pull through 2 lps] five times in same st, yrh, pull through all 6 lps.

Puff stitch: [yrh, insert hook into st, yrh and pull up yarn] three times in same st, yrh, draw through all 7 lps on hook. 

hdc join:  (joining a round with a hdc means you finish in the very centre of a corner):
yrh, insert hook into 1st st of round, yrh, pull through, yrh, pull through all 3 lps. 

Mixtape Medley CAL Crochet Blanket
Mixtape Medley is a Hobbycraft collaboration for a 2021 Crochet Along

Mixtape Medley Blanket Pattern

Week 1

Row 1 (ws): With YA and 4mm hook, 217 fdc, turn – 217 sts. 
Alternatively work 219ch and work 1 dc in 4th ch from hk and 1dc in each ch to end.
Row 2: 1ch (does not count as a st here and throughout), dc to end, turn. Change to YB.

BLOCKS

Row 3: 1ch, 9hdc in YB, *9hdc in YC, 9hdc in YB; rep from * to last 10 sts, hdc in YC to end, turn.
Row 4: 1ch, 10hdc in YC, 9 hdc in YB, *9hdc in YC, 9hdc in YB; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 5: rep Row 3.
Row 6: rep Row 4.
Row 7: rep Row 3.
Row 8: rep Row 4 changing to YC on last st, turn.
Row 9 -14: continue in pattern, repeat the last 6 rows but switch colours around to begin with YC followed by YB.

BOBBLE ROWS

Rows 15 & 16: with YD, 1ch, hdc to end, turn.
Row 17 (ws): with YE, 1ch, 4sc, 1bobble, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5sc, turn.
Rows 18 & 19: with YD 1ch, hdc to end, turn.

Week 2 

JAYG C2C

This C2C section represents the next 6 rows of the blanket: Rows 20-25. 
Working on the diagonal, each row is anchored with a slip stitch to the main body of the blanket.
You may wish to use a 4.5mm hook for this section.
Increases
Row 1 (rs): with YF, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of rem 2 ch (1 block made), miss 2 sts of main blanket, 1sl st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 1 block
Row 2: 3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, 1sl st in ch-sp of first block, 3ch, 3dc in same sp, turn – 2 blocks.
Row 3: 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * once, miss 2 sts, 1sl st in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 3 blocks
Row 4: 3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, *1sl st in next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc; rep from * to end, turn – 4 blocks. 
Row 5: with YG, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 5 blocks.
Row 6: rep row 4 – 6 blocks.

Work even as folls:
Row 7: 3 sl sts across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, *1sl st into next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 6 blocks.
Row 8: *3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, 1sl st in next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn – 6 blocks. 
Row 9: Rep Row 7, changing to YF on fourth sl st into first ch-sp.
Rows 10 – 71: rep Rows 8 & 9 to last st, alternating between YF & YG every four rows.
Row 72: Rep row 8.

Decreases
Row 73: 3sl st across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, *3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, 1sl st into next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn – 5 blocks.
Rows 74 – 77: rep row 73. 
Fasten off and sew in C2C ends (and all other ends so far)!

Row 26: with RS facing, attach YG in corner, work 217sc across main blanket: 1sc in top of the 3 vertical dc sts and 3sc around the bar of horizontal sts, plus an additional 1sc st at the beginning.

HOUNDSTOOTH

Row 27: with YH 1ch, hdc to end, turn.
Row 28: 1ch, 1dc, *1sc, 1dc; rep from * to end, turn. 
Row 29: with YI, 1ch, 1sc, *1dc, 1sc; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 30 – 33: Rep Rows 28 & 29 alternating colours.
Row 34: with YH rep Row 28 once more.
Row 35: rep Row 27.

BOBBLES x 3

Rows 36- 38: with YB 1ch, hdc to end, turn. 
Row 39 (ws): with YJ, 1ch, 4sc, 1bobble, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5sc, turn.
Rows 40 – 42: rep row 36.
Row 43: with YE, 1ch, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 10 sts, 10sc, turn.
Rows 44 – 46: rep row 36.
Row 47: with YK, rep row 39.
Row 48 – 50: rep row 36.

Week 3 

PLAID

Row 51: with YL 1ch, 4hdc, *change to YG, 4hdc, change to YL, 4hdc; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5hdc in YG, turn.
Row 52: 1ch, 5hdc, change to YL, 4hdc, *change to YG, 4hdc, change to YL, 4hdc; rep from to end, turn.
Row 53: rep row 51.
Row 54: With YL 1ch, 5hdc, change to YD, 4hdc, *change to YL, 4hdc, change to YD, 4hdc; rep from to end, turn.
Row 55: 1ch, 4hdc, *change to YL, 4hdc, change to YD, 4hdc; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5hdc in YL, turn.
Row 56: rep Row 54.
Rows 57 – 59: rep rows 51- 53.
Rows 60 – 62: rep rows 54 – 56.
Rows 63 – 65: rep rows 51 – 53.

CLOSED SHELLS

Row 66: with YJ, 1ch, dc to end, turn.
Row 67: with YH, 1ch, 3dc in first st, miss 2 sts, 1sc, miss 2 sts, *5dc in next st, miss 2 sts, 1sc, miss 2 sts; rep from * to last st, 3dc in last st, turn. 
Row 68: with YE,1ch, 1sc in first st, *miss 2 sts, 5dc in sc, miss 2 sts, 1sc in next st; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 69: with YK rep row 67.
Row 70: with YA rep row 68. 
Row 71: with YB rep row 67.
Row 72: with YJ, 1ch, dc to end, turn. 

Week 4

PUFF WAVES

Row 73: with YF, 1ch, hdc to end, turn. Row 74: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn. 
Rows 75 & 76: with YI, 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 77: 1ch, 4dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc, *2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 4 sts, 4dc, turn.
Row 78: 1ch, 4dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc, *miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next ddc, miss 3 sts, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 4 sts, 4dc, turn.
Row 79: 1ch, 1sc in each st and 1ch-sp to end, turn. 
Row 80: 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 81: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn. 
Row 82: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next st, miss 3 sts, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next st, miss 3 sts, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn.
Row 83: rep row 79.
Row 84: rep row 80.
Row 85: rep row 77.
Row 86: rep row 78.
Row 87: rep row 79.
Row 88: rep row 80.
Row 89: With YF, rep row 81.
Row 90: 1ch, hdc to end, turn.

GRANNY BLOCKS

Row 91: with YD, 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 92: 1ch, 4dc, *miss 1 st, 1ch, 3dc; rep from * to last st, 1dc in last st, turn.
Row 93: With YK, 1ch, 1sc, 3ch, miss 3 dc, *1sc in ch-sp, 3ch, miss 3 dc; rep from * to last st, 1sc, turn. 
Row 94: with YD, 1ch, 1dc in first st, 3dc in ch-sp, *1ch, miss sc, 3dc in ch-sp; rep from * to last st, 1dc in last st, turn.
Row 95: with YC, rep row 93.
Row 96: with YD, rep row 94.
Row 97: with YL, rep row 93.
Row 98: with YD, rep row 94.
Row 99: 1ch, 1sc in each st and ch-sp to end, turn.

Week 5

BLOCKS

Row 100: with YB, 1ch, dc to end, turn.
Row 101: 1ch, 9hdc in YA, *9hdc in YG, 9hdc in YA; rep from * to last 10 sts, hdc in YG to end, turn.
Row 102: 1ch, 10hdc in YG, 9hdc in YA, *9hdc in YG, 9hdc in YA; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 103: rep Row 101.
Row 104: rep Row 102.
Row 105: rep Row 101.
Row 106: rep Row 102 changing to YG on last st, turn.
Rows 107 – 112: continue in pattern by repeating the last 6 rows but switch colours around to begin with YG followed by YA

BOBBLE

Rows 113 & 114: with YD, 1ch, hdc to end, turn
Row 115 (ws): with YH, 1ch, 4sc, 1bobble, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5sc, turn.
Rows 116 & 117: with YD 1ch, hdc to end, turn.

JAYG C2C

This C2C section represents the next 6 rows of the blanket: Rows 118-123. 
Increases
Row 1: with YK, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch (1 block made), miss 2 sts of main blanket, 1sl st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 1 block.
Row 2: 3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, 1sl st in ch-sp of first block, 3ch, 3dc in same sp, turn – 2 blocks.
Row 3: 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * once, miss 2 sts, 1sl st in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 3 blocks
Row 4: 3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, *1sl st in next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc; rep from * to end, turn – 4 blocks. 
Row 5: with YJ, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn. – 5 blocks.
Row 6: rep row 4 – 6 blocks.

Work even as folls:
Row 7: 3sl sts across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, *1sl st into next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 6 blocks.
Row 8: *3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, 1sl st in next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn – 6 blocks. 
Row 9: rep Row 7, changing to YK on fourth sl st into first ch-sp.
Row 10 – 71: rep Rows 8 & 9 to last st, alternating between YJ & YK every four rows.
Row 72: rep row 8.

Decreases
Row 73: 3sl sts across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, *3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, 1sl st into next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn. – 5 blocks.
Rows 74 – 77: rep row 73. 
Sl st to corner, fasten off and sew in ends!
Row 124: With RS facing, attach YJ in corner, 217sc across main blanket: 1sc in top of the 3 vertical dc sts and 3sc around the bar of horizontal sts, plus an additional 1sc st at the beginning.

Week 6

HOUNDSTOOTH

Row 125: with YE 1ch, hdc to end, turn.
Row 126: 1ch, 1dc, *1sc, 1dc; rep from * to end, turn. 
Row 127: with YB 1ch, 1sc, *1dc, 1sc; rep from * to end, turn.
Rows 128 – 131: Rep Rows 126 & 127 alternating colours.
Row 132: with YE rep Row 126.
Row 133: rep Row 125.

BOBBLES x 3

Rows 134 – 136: with YI, 1ch, hdc to end, turn. 
Row 137 (ws): with YF, 1ch, 4sc, 1bobble, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5sc, turn.
Rows 138 – 140: rep Row 134.
Row 141: with YL, 1ch, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 10 sts, 10sc, turn.
Rows 142 – 144: rep Row 134.
Row 145: with YG, rep row 137.
Row 146 – 148: rep Row 134.

PLAID

Row 149: with YK 1ch, 4hdc, *change to YC, 4hdc, change to YK, 4hdc; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5hdc in YC, turn.
Row 150: 1ch, 5hdc, change to YK, 4hdc, *change to YC, 4hdc, change to YK, 4hdc; rep from to end, turn.
Row 151: rep row 149.
Row 152: with YK 1ch, 5hdc, change to YD, 4hdc, *change to YK, 4hdc, change to YD, 4hdc; rep from to end, turn.
Row 153: with YD 1ch, 4hdc, *change to YK, 4hdc, change to YD, 4hdc; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5hdc in YK, turn.
Row 154: rep Row 152.
Rows 155 – 157: rep rows 149 – 151.
Rows 158 – 160: rep rows 152 – 154.
Rows 161 – 163: rep rows 149 – 151.

Week 7

CLOSED SHELLS

Row 164: with YH, 1ch, dc to end, turn.
Row 165: with YB, 1ch, 3dc in first st, miss 2 sts, 1sc, miss 2 sts, *5dc in next st, miss 2 sts, 1sc, miss 2 sts; rep from * to last st, 3dc in last st, turn. 
Row 166: with YL, 1ch, 1sc in first st, *miss 2 sts, 5dc in sc, miss 2 sts, 1sc in next st; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 167: with YG rep row 165.
Row 168: with YE rep row 166. 
Row 169: with YI rep 165.
Row 170: with YH, 1ch, dc to end, turn. 

PUFF WAVES

Row 171: with YA, 1ch, hdc to end, turn. 
Row 172: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn. 
Rows 173 & 174: with YG, 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 175: 1ch, 4dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc, *2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 4 sts, 4dc, turn.
Row 176: 1ch, 4dc, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc, *miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next st, miss 3 sts, 3hdc, 5sc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 4 sts, 4dc, turn.
Row 177: 1ch, sc in each st and 1ch-sp to end, turn. 
Row 178: 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 179: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, 2dc, 3ddc, 2dc, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn. 
Row 180: 1ch, 3sc, 3hdc, miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next st, miss 3 sts, 3hdc, *5sc, 3hdc, miss 3 sts, 1ch, (1puff, 1ch) three times in next st, miss 3 sts, 3hdc; rep from * to last 3 sts, 3sc, turn.
Row 181: rep row 177.
Row 182: rep row 178.
Row 183: rep row 175.
Row 184: rep row 176.
Row 185: rep row 177.
Row 186: rep row 178.
Row 187: With YA, rep row 179.
Row 188: 1ch, hdc to end, turn.

GRANNY BLOCKS

Row 189: with YD, 1ch, sc to end, turn.
Row 190: 1ch, 4dc, *miss 1st, 1ch, 3dc; rep from * to last st, 1dc in last st, turn.
Row 191: With YF, 1ch, 1sc, 3ch, miss 3dc, *1sc in ch-sp, 3ch, miss 3dc; rep from * to last st, 1sc, turn. 
Row 192: with YD, 1ch, 1dc in first st, 3dc in ch-sp, *1ch, miss sc, 3dc in ch-sp; rep from * to last st, 1dc in last st, turn. 
Row 193: with YJ, rep row 191.
Row 194: with YD, rep row 192.
Row 195: with YK, rep row 191.
Row 196: with YD, rep row 192.
Row 197: 1ch, 1sc in each st and ch-sp to end, turn.

Week 8

JAYG C2C

This C2C section represents the next 6 rows of the blanket: Rows 198- 203. 
Increases
Row 1: with YH, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch (1 block made), miss 2 sts, of main blanket, 1sl st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 1 block
Row 2: 3ch, 3dc in 3ch sp, 1sl st in ch-sp of first block, 3ch, 3dc in the same sp, turn – 2 blocks.
Row 3: 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * once, miss 2sts, 1sl st in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 3 blocks
Row 4: 3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, *1sl st in next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc; rep from * to end, turn – 4 blocks. 
Row 5: with YB, 6ch, 1dc in 4th ch from hk, 1dc in each of next 2 ch, *1sl st in 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 5 blocks.
Row 6: rep row 4 – 6 blocks.


Work even as folls:
Row 7: 3sl sts across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, *1sl st into next 3ch-sp, 3ch, 3dc in same 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, in next st, 3ch, miss 2 sts, 1sl st, turn – 6 blocks.
Row 8: *3ch, 3dc in ch-sp, 1sl st in next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn – 6 blocks. 
Row 9: rep Row 7, changing to YH on fourth sl st into first ch-sp.
Row 10 – 71: rep Rows 8 & 9 to last st, alternating between YB & YH every four rows.
Row 72: rep row 8.

Decreases
Row 73: 3sl sts across dc sts and into 3ch-sp, *3ch, 3dc in 3ch-sp, 1sl st into next 3ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn – 5 blocks.
Rows 74 – 77: rep row 73. 
Sl st to corner, fasten off and sew in ends now.
Row 204: With RS facing, attach YB in corner, 217sc across main blanket: sc in top of 3 vertical dc sts and 3sc around the bar of horizontal sts, plus additional 1sc st at beginning.

BOBBLE ROWS

Rows 205 & 206: with YD, 1ch, hdc to end, turn.
Row 207 (ws): with YF, 1ch, 4sc, 1bobble, *8sc, 1 bobble; rep from * to last 5 sts, 5sc, turn.
Rows 208 & 209: with YD 1ch, hdc to end, turn.

BLOCKS

Row 210: 1ch, 9hdc in YE, *9hdc in YJ, 9hdc in YE; rep from * to last 10 sts, hdc in YJ to end, turn.
Row 211: 1ch, 10hdc in YJ, 9hdc in YE, *9hdc in YJ, 9hdc in YE; rep from * to end, turn.
Row 212: rep 210
Row 213: rep 211
Row 214: rep 210
Row 215: rep 211 changing to yarn J on last st, turn.
Rows 216 -221: continue in pattern, repeat the last 6 rows but switch colours around to begin with YJ followed by YE
Rows 222 & 223: with YA, 1ch, dc to end, turn.

THE MIXTAPE MEDLEY BORDER

Continue around the rest of the blanket and join with a sl st to the first st, do not turn. 
If you are just a few stitches out on the sides, don’t worry, it won’t have an effect on the overall look.

Rnd 1: With YD, 1ch, sc to end – 217 sts, work along the side of the blanket as folls: 1sc in first dc, 2sc in 2nd dc (& further dc sts), work 3sc for every two rows in hdc, 1sc in each sc row. For C2C sections, work 3dc across vertical dc sts and 2sc in horizontal posts. – 334 sts.

Rnd 2: 1ch, 2dc in first st, dc to next corner st, *(2dc, 1ch, 2dc) in corner st, dc to next corner; rep from * twice more, 2dc, join by working 1hdc into the first st, do not turn.

Rnd 3: 1ch, 2dc in corner sp, dc to next corner, *5dc in corner sp, dc to end; rep from * three more times, 3dc in first corner sp, join with sl st to first st . 

Fasten off and sew in the many many ends!

Mixtape Medley Blanket
Mixtape Medley lounging at home.

Wahoo, you are done! How does it feel? Honestly, I was so pleased when this one came off the hook. It was many months of planning and swatching. What a relief and a joy to see it finished.

You’re probably down at the botom of this page to find a totally free PDF that you can download and print. Well, you can find that just below. It’s one document with the pattern fully laid out week by week (obvs you can ignore the weeks and work it up as quickly as you like but they’re useful markers).

You are also most welcome to pop HERE to my Ko fi account. That’s if you fancied buying me a lil treat! Or check out my other patterns on the Free Pattern Page here on my blog, as well as Ravelry, Etsy and Lovecrafts.

Cheers! xxx

The downloadable PDF is here:

US TERMS Mixtape Medley Blanket Final PatternDownload
Mixtape Medley
Mixtape Medley Crochet Blanket. Blocks, bobbles and C2C, oh my!

8 Top Tips for Working with Mohair Yarn.

Categories crochet11 Comments on 8 Top Tips for Working with Mohair Yarn.
Lots of different mohair yarns

Mohair Yarn is the Fluffiest!

Over the last couple of years the popularity of mohair yarn has grown monumentally. Creating the very best of halos, it is the ultimate in warm and fluffy yarn.

Yarny projects can be expensive due the mix of fibres used (mohair is angora goat, with a blend of silk), costs can go stratospheric when holding the yarn double. Therefore, spending money on, and using, mohair can take quite the leap of faith, especially when it’s not always the easiest to work with (hello frogging!). But it’s brilliant and totally worth the risk. Soft, warm and fluffy, the comfort levels are to the extreme!

My fave, holding mohair with a non fluffy yarn.

Alternative Yarns to Mohair

Mohair isn’t compatible with everyone. Affordability aside, it can cause allergies and itching, which is no fun at all. Fluffy yarn is fluffy yarn and the tips below apply to yarns that are others fibres too. Over the last few months I’ve tried a few alternatives and you definitely can get the floof without using mohair. Alpaca is great and easily available. The yarns similar to mohair are often brushed alpaca. You can also get brushed acrylic too but I’ve not tried that yet. The options are quite plentiful. Would a blog post about the ones I’ve used be helpful?

Anyway, if you have decided on a fluffy crochet or knitting project then check out these useful tips…

Crocheting with mohair yarn

Fluffy Yarn Top Tips

Frogging Yarn

Let’s start with a painful one because if you make a mistake in your project then frogging (undoing all your beautiful stitches) is a frustrating and sometimes impossible process. If you find that you have to rip back your work, do it slowly. Really really slowly. Never rip/yank/tug. Doing so will tighten the grip of all those flyaway fibres and you will end up with a horrible knot. Or it will break because you’ve pulled too hard. Instead, slowly coax each stitch apart at a snail’s pace. It seems ridiculous but it’s worth being super patient over.

Lace-weight on its own is hardest to undo. Chunky yarn is a bit easier. When held double with a non-fluff yarn, it’s almost tolerable! It’s best done “fresh,” the longer you leave it, the more likely it is that the fibres will felt together.

I’ve heard that putting it in a freezer before frogging helps but I haven’t tried it.

Choose Simple Patterns

This tip helps to avoid any fractious frogging. Complicated stitches are easy to mess up and difficult to undo. The main star of the show when using fluff is the fluff itself, therefore a simple garment or shawl shows off the yarn without any distractions.

Go Up a Hook/Needle Size

With all that crazy halo, stitches can be hard to see. So, for example, try a 5.5mm instead of a 5mm. A larger hook/needle is often required for mohair patterns anyway but do play around to see what you prefer. I found it also creates a nice lacy look too. Plus the flyaway fibres sort of fill in gaps.

Hold the Yarn Double

After trying a few different ways of using mohair and brushed alpaca, I have discovered that this is my favourite way of using it. A gossamer lace-weight held with a merino 4ply or DK produces a beautifully soft fabric that feels super luxurious.

I used this method in the Wheatfields shawl and I love it!

a crochet shawl made with mohair yarn and 4ply merino
The Wheatfields shawl is Austermann lace-weight mohair held with a hand-dyed 4ply merino from Flyy Dyed Yarns.

Use Stitch Markers

If I can get away with not using stitch markers then I will. I am lazy, life is too way short for undoing, moving, and rejoining a stitch marker. Or worse, multiple stitch markers! However, they are really useful for when stitches are hard to see. Use the stitch markers!

Try Budget Yarn First

If cost is an issue, try a cheaper yarn to experiment with (and a smaller project ). If you like it and you’re happy, move on to bigger goals. The Drops brand have both mohair and alpaca yarns that are budget friendly. I recently made hair scrunchies with a yarn from Flying Tiger that was perfect for a cute hair accessory. It was about £2.25 for a ball of 25 grams (the standard sized ball for mohair yarns). I used a scrunchie pattern from Lottie & Albert’s new crochet book.

crochet hair scrunchies made with different types of mohair yarn
Trying different types of fluffy yarn. Going clockwise from the top: Mustard (“curry”) is Drops mohair, the green is chunky kid silk from MYPZ, lilac and peach both Flying Tiger, the Coral is brushed alpaca silk, the teal (“verdigris”) is Rowan Alpaca classic

Buy an Extra Ball of Yarn

If budget allows, it might be useful to buy an extra ball for swatching. When designing, I will buy an extra ball so I have the freedom to work up a few swatches without the fear of using up yarn that will go into the final sample. I can play around with hook sizes and stitch patterns to see what works and what doesn’t before getting stuck into the actual sweater or shawl.

Or, buy one ball first, swatch it and see if you actually want to use it before buying a sweater quantity! It might save a few quid if you learn that it’s a bit too scratchy against your skin.

Try Simpler Stitches

This one is for those of you who might want to design with mohair and is personal preference rather than a hard and fast rule. With a larger hook size than normal the stitches work up looser and drapier. A loose single crochet stitch or perhaps an extended SC look really effective, much more than you might think. By all means, go for different stitches if that’s your aesthetic but the nature of the yarn is that it does the talking and overly intricate stitches confuse things too much. Think small, dainty stitches as opposed to treble heavy. Whatever floats your boat.

And those are some tips I’ve come up with from my adventures of working with mohair yarn. Oh, and alpaca fluff too! I hope you find them useful. Have you got any tips you’ve like to share? Perhaps I’ve missed something that would be super useful to add. Let me know in the comments below!

Cheers. x

I used a chunky mohair from MYPZ to make this version of the Perfect Cardigan.

Z&R Crochet Podcast 85. Mittens and Wrist Warmers

Categories crochetLeave a Comment on Z&R Crochet Podcast 85. Mittens and Wrist Warmers

Hello! How are you? Felt like podcasting so here I am! Please click on the pic above to go directly to the episode of crochet chat or hit the link for all, HERE.

There’s a lovely book Giveaway this episode. I meant to time it with a Wool on the Exe February Make Along but completely forgot to talk about the MAL soooo….

Links

Just in case you’re still interested in the Dreckly Mittens, here’s a link to Dreckly goodness.

I’m totally in love with Companions, my new stripey set of crochet wrist warmers and cowl. There’s 25% off until the 13th Feb on Ravelry and Etsy.

Wool on the Exe. Mustn’t forget (as I did in the episode), the team at WOTE are running a Make Along this month for the patterns in the book that I’m giving away.

Moorit magazine. Eeeek sooOoo excited!!

John Arbon Textiles’ Yarnadelic comes in 25g and 100g skeins. Here’s the birthday podcast. I’m not an affiliate but with the lengths I go to to plug it, you’d be fooled into thinking I am!

Paintbox wool mix – This is an affiliate link, I recently set it up to see if it would be a viable finger in a pie. From each sale generated through the link I get a minimum 5% of the sale. The wool mix is my current fave aran weight yarn. It’s often on sale.

Color Pop Sweater by My Square Hat. I’m a big fan of it’s unique construction.

Longdog Yarns – a US based indie yarn dyer

Mr B Yarns – A UK indie yarn dyer

Beehive Yarns – A UK indie yarn dyer.

Move the Needle – a book by Shelly Brander

Instagram, Pinterest, Ravelry, Etsy, Lovecrafts

Cheers! x

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Z&R Crochet Podcast 81. Inspired for Autumn

Categories crochetLeave a Comment on Z&R Crochet Podcast 81. Inspired for Autumn

Hello and welcome to Episode 81 of the Zeens and Roger Crochet Vlogcast! How are you? I hope you enjoy the episode… Not much to link today but I will share some pics so you can get a quick idea of what I talk about.

To watch this crochet extravaganza, please do click on the picture above. This will take you directly to the episode on YouTube. Oorrrr, the whole channel is HERE.

Thank you xxx

Links:

I am enjoying working with John Arbon Textiles Yarnadelic at the moment. I’ll share the project when I’m done!

I have extra good stuff on Patreon if you fancy giving a monthly subscription a try. So far Patrons have received at least one free pattern per month and usually there’s an extra, more focused video too. Not to mention opportunities to name designs and get involved in other ways….

Or, if that’s a bit much, you can buy me a coffee HERE (it’d be tea actually but you know, it’s Ko-fi not Ko-tea)

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Ruffled Feathers appears in issue 128 of Inside Crochet magazine
My Ticking Mitts appear in issue 128 of Inside Crochet
Don’t ask, I just don’t know….

Z&R Crochet Podcast. Episode 51. A Local Shop….

Categories vlogging4 Comments on Z&R Crochet Podcast. Episode 51. A Local Shop….

Hi! How’s it going? This is a bit of a funny episode in that I don’t show any wips or finished objects! But it’s proof that I can talk for half an hour about crochet related things without showing you anything at all…

As always, click on the pic above to go to the episode or go to YouTube HERE for all the vids.

Links and Pics:

Crochet hooks on Etsy I love every single one!

Zeens & Roger Patreon Now that I’m concentrating less on commissions, I’ll have more time for tutorials! Your support would be amazing! Thank you.

The Crochet Sancturary I’m so excited!!!

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  xxx

Zeens & Roger Crochet Podcast 47.

Categories vlogging6 Comments on Zeens & Roger Crochet Podcast 47.

Hi! Welcome to Episode 47 of the Zeens and Roger Crochet Vlogcast/Podcast! Please click on the image above to go directly to the episode or go to my YouTube channel HERE to see all the videos. Cheers!

By the way, please look down below for lots of pics of what I’ve made over the last couple of weeks. x

Links to Stuff:

Pob. Remember him?!

The Granny CAL post for 2019 is HERE.

Waking Winter. For sale on Ravelry. There’s 20% off all my patterns until the end of Feb!  The discount is added at the check out, you don’t need a code. I wrote a quick blog post about Waking Winter HERE too if you fancy it.

In a Flap. Pretty and delicate, I love this scarf.

One Way or Another. Click HERE! (thanks to a very early wake up this morning [Saturday], this pattern is now LIVE!)

Ravelry

The ZigZag Jumper by Yarnfamily

The Slope Style hat from Ironlamb

Wool and the Gang crochet kit

John Arbon Textiles. The Grainbow shawl is coming soon!

The Making Things App.

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