Patterns

A Little Rainbow Love

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A rainbow… A sign of hope. A sky bridge of colour. A sign of a new beginnings. A time of change. A bridge that connects from one side of the earth to the other. A sign of love and togetherness. A symbol of being able to move from one place to another. From one situation to the other. Or just, a beautiful array of colours that make you smile.

Whatever a rainbow is to you, at the moment it is a sign that we are all in this together. We are all trying our best to get through it in the best way we can. And we are all as one, fighting, surviving and above all, hoping.

#staysafe #stayhome

With all this rainbow love in everyone’s window, I couldn’t resist coming up with this little rainbow mobile.

One that some little or big people for that matter, can spot in your window & make them smile. You could also make any of the rainbows individually and hang them up too. Can’t wait to see all your creations. The little one might look great on an Easter tree.

If anyone is just starting out in the world of crocheting, then here are some links to my beginner video tutorials.

Right then, so let’s look at the pattern.

Level – Easy


Supplies –

So these little rainbows, I have used a 3mm hook with about 20g of double knit yarn altogether. So you don’t need much of each colour. Great way to use up any little bits of yarn. I have used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink. You will also need some scissors, blunt ended needle, a little twig from the garden and some thin sewing thread.

Pips Tip –

Changing colour. When you need to change a colour you work your new yarn into the last stitch of the last round. So here I am changing colour from pink to purple.

I have worked the second to last stitch in the pink round and also I have worked the first part of the last stitch. So I am basically working the purple yarn through the last yarn over and pull through two loops in the double crochet stitch. You can see I have looped the purple yarn over the hook and then you need to pull both the pink and purple yarn through the last 2 loops.

Ok, so now that you have finished the pink yarn round, you can now fasten that off and just use the purple yarn. So now I need to work the slip stitch in the next round with my purple yarn, so to do this yarn over your hook.

Then pull through the loop.

And there you have it, you are now ready to carry on working your first 1dc and then work the next round.

Stitches –

Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Ok so here we go…

So for each rainbow I have used the same amount of colours, but the amount of rounds vary. So the large rainbow has 3 rounds of each colour, the medium rainbow has 2 rounds and the small has one.

Large Rainbow – 3 rounds of each colour

1 – Pink yarn – Make a magic ring, ch1, then work 3dc into the ring.

Then pull the tail tight. (3)

2 – Turn, ch1 then *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (6)

3 – Turn, ch1 then *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (9) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your purple yarn.

4 – Purple yarn. Turn, ch1 then *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (12)

5 – Turn, ch1 then *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (15)

6 – Turn, ch1 then *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (18) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your blue yarn.

7 – Blue yarn. Turn, ch1 then *5dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (21) 

8 – Turn, ch1 then *6dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (24)

9 – Turn, ch1 then *7dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (27) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your green yarn.

10 – Green yarn. Turn, ch1 then *8dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (30) 

11 – Turn, ch1 then *9dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (33)

12 – Turn, ch1 then *10dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (36) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your yellow yarn.

13 – Yellow yarn. Turn, ch1 then *11dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (39)

14 – Turn, ch1 then *12dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (41)

15 – Turn, ch1 then *13dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (44) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your orange yarn.

16 – Orange yarn Turn, ch1 then *14dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (47)

17 – Turn, ch1 then *15dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (50)

18 – Turn, ch1 then *16dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (53) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your red yarn.

19 – Red yarn Turn, ch1 then *17dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (56)

7 – Turn, ch1 then *18dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (59)

7 – Turn, ch1 then *19dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (62)

Now it’s time to fasten off your yarn and sew in all of your ends. Remember that you weave your ends through your work and then fasten off.

Medium – 2 rounds of each colour

1 – Pink yarn. Make a magic ring, ch1, then work 3dcc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight. (3)

2 – Turn, ch1 then *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (6) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your purple yarn.

3 – Purple yarn. Turn, ch1 then *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (9)

4 – Turn, ch1 then *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (12) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your blue yarn.

5 – Blue yarn. Turn, ch1 then *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (15)

6 – Turn, ch1 then *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (18) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your green yarn.

7 – Green yarn. Turn, ch1 then *5dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (21) 

8 – Turn, ch1 then *6dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (24) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your yellow yarn.

9 – Yellow yarn. Turn, ch1 then *7dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (27)

10 – Turn, ch1 then *8dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (30) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your orange yarn.

11 – Orange yarn. Turn, ch1 then *9dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (33)

12 – Turn, ch1 then *10dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (36) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your red yarn.

13 – Red yarn. Turn, ch1 then *11dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (39)

14 – Turn, ch1 then *12dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (41)

Now it’s time to fasten off your yarn and sew in all of your ends.

Small – 1 round of each colour.

1 – With your Pink yarn, maje a magic ring, ch1, then work 3dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight. (3) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your purple yarn.

2 – Purple yarn Turn, ch1 then *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (6) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your blue yarn.

3 – Blue yarn Turn, ch1 then *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (9) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your green yarn.

4 – Green yarn Turn, ch1 then *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (12) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your yellow yarn.

5 – Yellow yarn Turn, ch1 then *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (15) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your orange yarn.

6 – Orange yarn Turn, ch1 then *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (18) In the last stitch, finish the stitch (so the last yarn over and pull through) with your red yarn.

7 – Red yarn. Turn, ch1 then *5dc into each stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (21) 

Now it’s time to fasten off your yarn and sew in all of your ends.

And there you have 3 little rainbows.


Ok so let’s talk blocking. Some of you may have never blocked any of your crochet work before, particularly if you mainly make crocheted toys. So blocking is a method which basically results in a smarter end product. It sets the wool in place. Which with a little project like ours, definitely needs doing. The photo below is my little rainbow before it was been blocked. Can you see how it’s curling up at the edges.

So all you need to do is wet your project using a bit of warm water and then using your hands, spread the rainbow out flat onto your little spongy mat and pin it in place.

This gives you the option to mould the rainbow into the exact shape you want.

So as it dries it will set the yarn, giving you a rather smart little rainbow once it’s dried. Takes a day or so.

All you need to do now is assemble the mobile. So to do this I used a little twig from the garden and some sewing thread. Now you could use anything as the twig bit, a lolly pop stick maybe, it’s totally up to you. Using your sewing thread, attach your thread to the top of the medium sized rainbow and then to the bottom left of the large rainbow. Then do the same with the little rainbow to the right side.

For mine I just did a little knot at either end, so that it was secure and then sew in the ends, so that it’s hard to see. Now for the large rainbow, you need to do the same, but attach 2 ends at either side of the top of the arch and then secure it to the twig/stick.

Then you just need a little loop at the top.

It’s a little fiddly this stage, but once you’ve managed it, you will have a beautiful rainbow mobile for your window. Happy days.

As always, if there are any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask. Can’t wait to see all of your creations. Don’t forget to share them. 

Stay safe everyone. Stay home.

Happy hooking.
🌈Xx

(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx) 


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Blogs, Easter Patterns, Patterns

Lockdown Life with Egglebert

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Well we are now at the end of week 2 of our lockdown in the UK and it seems our new life is starting to become the norm. We have our new little routine in the day, which we don’t always keep to, but it’s there if we need it. It seems to mainly consist of snack and meal times. My two are still eating me out of house and home! I can’t keep up with them! It’s like they have hollow legs! They definitely seem to have settled into lockdown life now. My daughter has taken the whole thing in her stride. She’s quite happy bimbling around the house and garden most days. Bless her.

We are very lucky that we have quite a long drive which is on a bit of hill. So push along tractor & car races, seem to be a daily occurrence now. The other day I even managed to do a little crocheting while I was standing there. Not easy when you are catching them at the end of the race, but it was manageable. (Thank goodness for pockets!) I did have a very odd look from my husband though, but he knows me well enough that if there’s a chance to crochet, then I will take it.

We’ve had a good sort out of all our playmobil and what’s the best way to do this, set up your very own playmobil island!! Hee hee! I’m not just a big kid, honest!! I even found a place for my cuppa! Whoops!! Can you spot it!

I’m trying to fit in a range of activities throughout the day, but the best ones that I love are the crafting or cooking afternoons. You can’t beat a spot of sticking and glueing. And the kids love painting too. The baking on the other hand, always has the added bonus of being able to demolish the end product with deep satisfaction. As my son, well both of them really, love baking, I reckon we could make something most days.

Now I seem to becoming a little bit obsessed with sourdough bread. I used to make it quite a bit when we we’re in our old house. It was my go to bread recipe. So for those of you who don’t know, sourdough is only made with 3 ingredients – strong bread flour, water & some sourdough starter. Now it’s the sourdough starter that makes it special. The starter, otherwise known as the mother, is basically a pot with fermented dough, in which you take some out each time you use it and then feed it again and let it sit out to bubble up. It’s an alive mixture, so instead of needing dried yeast, it gets its yeast from the surrounding air.

You know it’s happy, when it bubbles up the jar! These are the bubbles that I have been obsessing over for the last week or so. So when it properly starting bubbling, I was really chuffed. Especially when this happened- it went nuts!!

Whoops!!

Sourdough bread has many benefits. The main benefit for me is the lack of sugar. It only has naturally occurring sugar from the flour and obviously if you use brown flour then it’s a win win all round. Ok, so science bit coming up. The reason it is so special is that the dough is fermented from the naturally occurring yeast and lactobacilli that’s present. The lactobacilli is the reason why it lasts so much longer than a normal loaf. (Well, I say last longer, but to be honest, it goes in a matter of minutes in our house!!) The lactobacilli creates lactic acid, which helps it to keep for longer and also gives it that sour kind of flavour.

Now for some reason my little starter was not playing ball and I had 2 rather awful failed attempts. I think it was just having a bad few days. Now I nurtured this little starter for a good week or so and have finally cracked it!! Phew! I think my husband thinks I am going mad and yes I may have taken it upstairs with us when we went to bed. But in my defence it was warmer up there! It needed warmth!!

Funny, well anyways, here’s my first successful loaf. Nom nom!! There’s some great recipes on the Internet for sourdough, so if anyone is struggling to buy dried yeast or bread for that matter, then this is your answer. I’ve used the yachtchefs method of cooking mine. You can find him on Instagram. It’s well worth a go and very satisfying when it works!!

Anyways, on to the crocheting…

So this is my little Easter Egg called Egglebert. Even though he is the same size as an egg, don’t underestimate him as he has a wicked boing on him. He can boing around a room for ages. He literally doesn’t stop all day. He’s hard to catch, but once you have, he will snuggle into the palm of your hand and keep you safe. So if you would like to make this strong little egg, then here’s his pattern.

Egglebert is my first little pattern for the beautiful yarn from Abby over at Luxury Yarns. I will also be sharing a baby comforter pattern next week too. I subscribe to Abby’s Ōil Yarns Club every couple of months, which provides me with a magical parcel arriving on my door step filled with the delights of yarny heaven and essential oils every few months!!!

It’s definitely something I look forward to!! Here’s the link.

https://luxuryyarns.co.uk/oilyarns-club/

So for this little egg I have used a 3mm hook with about 30g of double knit yarn. You will also need some scissors, blunt ended needle, toy stuffing a small bit of black yarn for your face and finally some white yarn hit the hair. I think he’s hiding for someone to find him.

Stitches –

Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Double Crochet Decrease (2dctog) – This is where you crochet two stitches together to decrease the amount of stitches in the round. So insert the hook through the front of the first stitch only (the front V) and then insert again through the front of the second stitch (the front V). Now yarn over your hook and pull it back through both stitches, so you will then have 2 loops on your hook. Yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops. And there is your 2dctog. (Basically 2 double crochet stitches crocheted together.)

Ok so here we go…

Body –

1 – Make a magic ring, ch1, then work 6dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30) 

6 – 8 (3 rounds) Work 1dc in each stitch. (30)

9 – *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (36)

10 – 11 (2 rounds) Work 1dc in each stitch. (36)

12 – *4dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times. (30)

13 – *8dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (27)

14 – *7dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (24)

15 – *6dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (21)

16 – *5dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (18)

17 – Work 1dc in each stitch. (18)
This is a good time to stuff your body.

18 – *4dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (15)

19 – Work 1dc in each stitch. (15)

20 – *3dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (12)

21 – *2dc then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (9)

22 – Finally work 1dc in each stitch. (9) Then slip stitch into next stitch and sew up the hole and fasten off. Don’t forget to sew in your end.

Hair – use your white/cream yarn

Now for that lovely hair.

Attach your yarn with a slip stitch, by inserting your hook through one of the top stitches and pull through.

You can make a little slip knot here to pull through which will make it even more secure. Now make a chain stitch.

Then *chain 10.

Then join this chain of stitches with a slip stitch into another stitch.

Repeat ** this process till you have as much hair as you would like.

When you have enough hair just simply slip stitch into the nearest stitch and the cut your yarn and pull through the tail and fasten off. Sew in yarn ends. 

Face – Use your black yarn and a blunt ended tapestry needle.

For the eyes. Attach by knotting one end and threading it through a gap in between a stitch at the back of the body. This will hide the end. Now pull the needle through where you would like the eye to be.

I tend to sew over 1 or 2 stitches to make the eye and sew over this stitch about 3 times.

Then move across and complete the next eye in the same way, checking that both eyes are in the correct place on the body. You can add eyebrows in the same way as the eyes, but with one stitch. I love the simpleness of the eyebrows. They can make such a difference to a face!!

For the mouth. Pull the yarn through where you would like the mouth to start then thread back through where you want the mouth to finish. Now here’s the tricky part. You now need to anchor the mouth in the middle to make it a smile.

So simply push the yarn back up in the middle of the mouth by one stitch lower, go over the top of the mouth, then back through the same stitch.

This will give you the smile. Again, simple, but effective.

And there you have it, one little Egglebert.

As always, if there are any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask. Can’t wait to see all of your creations. Don’t forget to share them. You can use the hash tag #egglebert

Thanks ever so much for following me.

Now, as with all my patterns, they are all here for you to enjoy. And in exchange for these patterns, I would be very grateful if you could give, however little, a donation to our chosen charity Child Bereavement UK. This is an incredible Charity, that was been close to our hearts for a few years now. I cannot imagine how important the work they do is to the families that help. So if you can, however small, donate to the charity, in exchange for my pattern, then I would be so grateful. Thank you. Here’s the link to the Just Giving Page

Wishing you all health and happiness in these scary times.

Stay Safe Everyone!!!

Happy hooking.

🌈Xx

(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)

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