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.
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 magazineMy Ticking Mitts appear in issue 128 of Inside CrochetDon’t ask, I just don’t know….
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.
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 HEREto 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
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 HEREtoo if you fancy it.
In a Flap. Pretty and delicate, I love this scarf.
Howdy!! OK, some pics and only a few links this episode but that’s because we’re on a pretty short episode again this time round. Sometimes it’s a good thing to have an episode around the thirty min mark though, right?! Please do click on the picture above to travel with speed to the new episode of my crochet podcast Oooorr you can just find all the vlogs and tutorials HERE!
Just a heads up, I got the yarn for this pattern for free from Hobbii. During some correspondence I asked if they’d been interested in collaborating in my Corner 2 Corner CAL. Rather happily, they said yes! How great is that!? They are going to give away four balls of Happy Sheep wool as one of the CAL prizes!! OK, on with the show…
As part of the C2C crochet along that I’m hosting this autumn, I thought it’d be a nice idea to have a free pattern on the table. When I first mentioned the idea of a CAL a lot of people told me that they’d not tried the C2C stitch before. I think a few people had tried it and were put off by the (only slightly) weird start (honestly, you get over it pretty quickly!). I decided a free pattern might coerce these fab people into giving C2C another chance. I thought that a video tutorial to accompany it might persuade a few others too…
Here we have a cowl and a hat using 4 x100g balls of aran weight yarn. The colours and pattern have a funny eighties vibe about them; I’m thinking shell suits and ski jackets, therefore the name of this set is Apres-Ski! I made the cowl first, had loads of yarn left over so thought I’d better squeeze in a hat too. Follow the same chart for the cowl and the hat. For the cowl you just sew up the rectangle (I used mattress stitch) and for the hat, you add some FP/BP stitches along the bottom and gather the top. Easy peasy!
The design is pretty simple, uncomplicated colour changes an no carrying of yarn. That’s not too bad, right?! I drew up the chart on Stitch Fiddle. It’s a been a few years since I stumbled upon Stitch Fiddle and since I’ve been using it, it has become much much better and more advanced. Seeing as it’s a free programme, this is fantastic [and before you question my motives, I am not affiliated with the site, I just use it a lot and like it]. The chart is below but I think I can also share it via Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, so I’ll do that too.
Pattern is written in UK terms but in the video I use both UK & US speak. A UK treble = US double
I changed my colours around a bit but if you want both hat and cowl to be identical, there should be just enough yarn of your chosen main colour to do that.
Row 1: 6 ch, 1 tr in 4th ch from hook, 1 tr in next 2 st, turn. [1 block]
Row 2: 6 ch, 1 tr in 4th ch from hook, 1 tr in next 2 st, ss into the 3 ch-sp of previous row, 3 ch, 3 tr into same 3 ch-sp, turn. [2 blocks]
Row 3: 6 ch, 1 tr into 4th ch from hook, 1 tr in next 2 st, *ss into next 3 ch-sp of previous row, 3 ch, 3 tr in same 3 ch-sp; rep from * to end, turn. [3 blocks etc]
Row 4 -11: Continue increasing as Row 3
Row 12: Repeat Row 3, ending with 1 ss in the last 3 ch-sp (ie. do not make the last block), turn.
Row 13: Ss along the next 3 st and into the first 3 ch-sp, (3 ch, 3 tr) in same ch-sp, continue making blocks in each 3 ch-sp to the end, turn.
Repeat Rows 12 & 13 until Row 28.
Row 29: Ss along the next 3 st and into the first 3 ch-sp, (3 ch, 3 tr) in same ch sp, continue making blocks, end with 1 ss into the last 3 ch-sp, turn.
Rep Row 29 to end. To finish ss across the last 3st and into the corner. Fasten off.
Mattress stitch the ends together and voila! A cowl is made!
Turning it into a Hat
Round 1: Attach your chosen colour to any stitch along the bottom and chain 3 to count as your first st. Make 2tr into the horizontal bars and 1tr into each of the 3 vertical stitches of the blocks (see hastily hand drawn chart below). Double check you have an even number of stitches. I had 70st.
Round 2. 2ch (doesn’t count as a st), *1 front post tr, 1 back post tr; rep from * around and join to the first st, no turn.
Rounds 3 & 4. Repeat Row 2
Fasten off. With a needle and yarn, gather the other opening to close. Attach a pompom (please watch Episode 39 of my podcast where I make the pompom and sew it on to the hat, as I chat).
Slightly embarrassing …but I’m pretending to hold a ski pole!
And before I go I just wanted to say thanks to Hobbii, they have been great. The emails we exchanged felt really friendly and warm. They were totally up for coming on board the CAL and I got a free row counter (and sweeties!) in my parcel!
I’d love to see your makes. Tag me on Instagram @zeensandroger and if you’re joining in with the CAL, don’t forget to use the hashtag #c2cCAL18
Finally!! I promised this months ago and here we are, I have pulled my finger out and made a tutorial for my crochet bobble edging. Rejoice!! It’s over on YouTube, the pic above is the link but feel free to travel HERE to the whole channel.
You can add this edging to pretty much any blanket, scarf, cushion etc. If the multiples don’t work then I’m all in favour of wangling it so that they do! Crochet is not offended by mild cheating. But for you sticklers out there it’s mults of 3, plus 1 and the corners [my corners are (2tr, 2ch, 2tr)].
For the swatch in the video and the rainbow edged striped blanket pictured here, I used Lucy’s Attic 24’s Granny Stripe tutorial. For more details of making a rainbow edged blanket I have a tutorial for that too! It’s HERE.
Just in case you want to know, I used some random acrylic dk and a 3.75mm hook, which might be a bit small if you have a tight tension.
I first came up with a version of it when I made Sandra’s Cherry Heart A Touch of Spice blanket. (This seems like a lifetime ago!). At the time I made a photo tutorial. It’s just ever so slightly different but it will help here if you want pics.
What do you reckon? I can tell you that it’s time consuming, and on a giant blanket you might get a bit miffed of having it take so long. However, it’s worth persevering as it looks great!
Right, links are below. Please ask away if there’s something else you would like to know. Do click on the picture above to go directly to the latest episode of my crochet podcast or go HERE for the whole shebang. Cheers. x
Another day, another crochet shawl. I really don’t need this many shawls. No one does. I daren’t count how many I have. It doesn’t matter. That’s not the point. It won’t stop me making more; you never know when the next one will be “it”. You know the one, your new favourite and the one you’ll wear all year if you can. There must be “it” shawls for everyone, yes? I know there must be because I’ve found the next “it” shawl! It’s the Crochet Your Fade by Julme of My Square Hat. Crocheters have a new shawl to rival the very best of knitted shawls!
I made mine as a pattern test for Julme. Nearly a year ago, I saw her post a pic of her new design on Instagram and knew I had to make it. A few months ago we “met” during an online Global Hookup (check out The Crochet Circle Podcastfor news about what and when these occur). When she said it was nearly ready I casually offered to test it. Of course, once I’d done that, I was immediately planning what projects to ditch in favour of this fancy fading shawl.
It is very much like Andrea Mowry’s Find Your Fade, which got bonkersly popular a couple of years ago. Whilst, this crochet version takes inspiration from the original, the stitches are unique. I have no clue about other things to compare and contrast because I’m not much of a knitter (although, thanks to a recent workshop I attended, I can now do both English and Continental style!! Goooo me!!). I have reason to believe that this isn’t as big as the FYF; everyone said that one was huge. This one is long but it doesn’t swamp. The CYF didn’t take very long either and I think it’d be quicker to work up than knitting. Everything crochet is quicker, isn’t it?! One day I would very much love to make that gorgeous, shlankety knitted number but I need to get good with the sticks first. This hooked up version has tempered my Fade urges temporarily, for which I am very grateful.
I used a mixture of different yarns, probably breaking some rules in the process. They were all 4ply and all from independent yarn dyers but the contents of each skein was a different make-up. I ended up with silky high twists next to earthy BFLs next to superwash merinos, and speckles against tonals against splodge colourways (what’s the technical term here, please!?). Basically, I put together a hotchpotch of yarn that was already in stash. If I had a hank hidden away for a future project, it got pulled out for this. Future projects be damned. None of them were safe. I also unearthed leftovers from my own fade design, Holey Smokes! (I now feel like massive loser, Holey Smokes! isn’t a patch on the Crochet Your Fade).
Last week we went for a jaunt up on Dartmoor. Hound Tor is our favourite part. The boys love scrambling over the tor, which is popular with rock climbers. I didn’t know what the weather would be like up there. It’s only a forty minute drive away but that place is in a world of its own. I took my shawl thinking I might need it. Also took the camera for family snaps and persuaded Husband to take eleventy hundred pics of me with my new crochet fave.
So it has had its first outing and I’m very happy! I think it’s the first of many outings but to be honest, I just like looking at it when it’s hanging on the coat rack!
Here are the yarns I used: looking top to bottom we have: Galactic by Somerset Yarns, Lawn Flamingo by Wanderlust Hues (a gift from by friend Claudia of Crochet Luna), Georgia Rose by Hedgerow Yarns (a birthday present to myself!), I can’t remember what the next one is called but it’s Hand dyed by Kate (it was supposed to go in a second Holey Smokes! but I fell out of love with my own design), Midnight Rave is another Somerset Yarns (from my original Holey Smokes!) and lastly, a beautiful shade of blue from a set of minis I got from Devon Sun Yarns at last year’s Stitch Fest South Westin Totnes. Phew!
Do you like my new colourful crochet bag!?! I love love love it!! It is made using the corner to corner stitch (or C2C, as it’s frequently called) and is based on a Granny Hotchpotch bag I made a couple of months ago. Here it is…
Stashbusting Crochet Projects
The idea for both handmade bags is for them to be the ultimate crochet stashbusters. You know the sort of thing, all those yarn scraps you saved and don’t know what to do with but don’t want to throw away. I knotted loads of straggly ends together using the magic knot and just got hooking. No particular plan was followed, it was very much a winging it sort of craft project.
Both the crochet bags are made using my leftovers of Paintbox Simply Aran acrylic yarn but you can use pretty much any woolly stuff you want. It’s a hotchpotch of stuff, see?!
Notes on Winging a C2C Crochet Bag
Below I have added the notes I scribbled out in the hope that these will give you a better idea of what’s what. It also provides a peek inside my crochet designer brain. Although, that’s not necessarily pretty but ah well!!
I’m not writing a specific pattern for this one because, if you know the basic Corner to Corner stitch, you already know how to make this colourful crochet Hotchpotch bag. However, before you disappear, I will tell you that I have other patterns and tutorials that show you how to C2C. Check out my free crochet patterns to find some lovely examples, and also my YouTube channel.
Info for How to Crochet a Stashbusting Bag
For a useful video tutorial on how to crochet the granny stripe bag go HERE. I demonstrate the magic knot technique and give a bit of advice about lining and zips, which you can apply here.
Adding the handles is pretty simple. Line them up evenly and it’s just a question of adding a few stitches through the holes. I recommend reinforcing these by stitching through a layer of fabric lining too.
Lengths of yarn needed: I saved the shorter yarn scraps for each end of the ball as that’s where the shorter C2C rows will fall. Some of the longer yarn pieces in the middle weighed about 4 or 5 gram balls (at a guess). It’s a good idea to have the yarn leftovers at different lengths. This creates the best hotchpotch look.
I have started a board on Pinterest especially for Corner to Corner crochet – I love it that much!
For a more thorough C2C bag pattern I have one for sale in Ravelry.It has photo tutorials on the C2C stitch, how to line the bag and add the magnetic clasp.
Right, the notes are extremely basic but I reckon you’ll be able to glean most of the info you need from them. Give us a shout if they befuddle, baffle or bemuse. But, hmm, they kind of also offer a hideous insight into what my design process looks like. Apologies for the ugly scribbles!!
Let’s type up the most important info needed:
I used approx 179 grams of different colourful yarn scraps. This is very much stashbusting territory.
It’s all aran weight acrylic yarn here but you can use other yarn weights too.
I used a 4mm crochet hook. C2C fabric shouldn’t be too drapey for a crochet bag.
The bag is made of a C2C rectangle of 21 x 33 blocks.
The depth of the bag measures 29cm / 11.5inches. The length is 38cm / 15 inches.
Work one round of UK dc / US sc around the outside of the crochet fabric. To do this, work 2 stitches into the horizonal “bars” of a stitch, and 3 stitches along each block when the stitches are vertical.
This is then folded in half and joined at the sides.
To neaten the opening, working a round of UK htr / US hdc. At each join, I worked two stitches together.
Finally, add lining and handles!
If you crochet a bag of your own, don’t forget to get in touch to tell me all about it! #zeensandroger @zeensandroger over of IG.
Long time no see! Going OK?! …. Right, I’m getting stuck right in. Here is Episode 36 of the Zeens & Roger Crochet Podcast / Vlogcast (same thing, innit?!). Click on the pic above to go directly to the episode. Check out the whole YouTube channel HERE.
I haven’t taken up to date pics but there are a couple of progress shots below. And the links to stuff are… :
Knitcrate. I forgot to mention that if you fancy a subscription box more than I do, ZEENSANDROGER20 is the code you need to get a discount off your first box.
;p
