crochet blogger – Page 31

January 14, 2018 No Comments

V Stitch

Well hello. I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after all the festivities. Feels like it was ages ago!! This week seems to have flown past in our house. It’s been good fun though. It’s consisted of school runs, washing, swimming, farm trip, play dates, road trip and a rather cheeky night out with the hubby! Thai food, wine and cocktails. What’s not to like!! I’ve even managed quite a lot of crocheting! But the highlight of the week was a trip up north with my wonderful Dad, to give my sister, whose at uni, a rather quick but big squidge and to see my dear Grannie. Grannie is now in a care home and unable to get around which is so sad to see. So I want to dedicate my yarn colour to her this week.

She has always adored a beautiful pale powdery blue colour. I remember in her house, her whole bedroom was this light, subtle blue. It seemed to adorn every corner. She even had many clothes in the colour and no word of a lie, nearly all her nighties were pale blue! Well, why not! My Grannie was a true knitting trooper. I think I have said before that she taught me to knit, but she didn’t crochet. Her sister did, mainly lace work, which, wow, hats off to her! Gutted that I never saw any of her work. But my Gran would knit jumpers, slippers socks, anything really. There was always a big bag of wool by her side and knitting needles were always jumping around on a mission to finish a project. My Grandad was adamant that she could fall asleep and still Knit! I hope I can do that with crocheting – think how much you would get done!!! So yeah, this week my yarn is a pale blue super soft cotton from the wonderful King Cole range. Here’s to you Gran! Happy days and precious memories.

So this week we are going to be adding 3 rows of a lovely stitch called the V Stitch. It’s a beautiful stitch that’s used quite a lot in shawls and blankets as it’s quite decorative, but still simple at the same time. It uses the treble stitch but in a slightly different way.

So a quick recap on stitches:

Chain (ch) – To make a chain stitch, make a slip knot on your hook and then place the yarn over your hook and pull through the loop. Repeat this action to make a row of stitches.

Treble (tr) – To make a treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.

Supplies –

Ok, so as this blanket is being made with Double Knit wool you need your 4mm hook, scissors and blunt ended tapestry needle. Yarn needs to be of double knit weight, but can be any colour or type you like. Roughly 40/50g.

Right so at the minute your blanket looks like this and you have 200 stitches in each row.

1 – So first of all join your new yarn by pulling it through the first stitch with your hook and then chain 3. This acts as your first tr stitch.

Now *miss a stitch and work 2tr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** across the rest of the row until you get to the last 2 stitches. (Don’t forget to see the recap at the top if you are unsure on how to do a treble crochet.)

For the last 2 stitches, don’t miss a stitch. So work 2tr then in the next stitch work 1tr in the last stitch. (200)

2 – Now turn your work and chain 3. This acts as you first tr stitch.

Then work 2tr inbetween the 2 treble stitches from the row below to create the V stitch. *Now miss a stitch and as before work 2tr in between the 2 treble stitches below.*Repeat ** all the way across until the last few stitches.

So when you come to the last V, work the 2tr stitches as usual.

Then work 1tr into the last space in the row. (200)

3 – Now turn your work and chain 3. This acts as your first tr stitch.

Then *work 2tr inbetween the V stitch below (Inbetween the 2 tr stitches)*. Repeat ** across the row.

The picture below shows the last 2tr being worked in the row to create the V stitch.

As before, work 1tr into the last space in the row. This completes your 3 rows. (200)

Now fasten off and sew in the ends using your tapestry needle.

Well done. You have completed week two of Year of the Stitches blanket. Hope you enjoyed the stitch – I love this stitch. I have actually made a foot blanket for my Grannie in 3 evenings, with this stitch. It’s so quick to work.

In true Grannie fashion, I have used up all my bits and bobs and double stranded a V Stitch blanket using a 8mm hook. Hopefully it will make its way up to her soon and keep her feet warm.

If you did want to have a go at a V stitch blanket. You need to start off with an even amount of chain stitches of the width you want it to be, say 200 for example. Then add two more on so 202. Remember to do your chain stitches in a bigger hook size, to reduce the risk of that kink we’ve talked about before.

1 – So you have a chain of 202 stitches. Now work 1tr into the 4th chain from the hook. *Then miss a stitch and work 2tr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** till the end of the row. For the last two stitches miss a stitch then work 1 tr into the last stitch, then turn your work. (118)

2 – Firstly chain 3, then miss a stitch and work 2tr inbetween the 2tr stitches below. This creates the V stitch. Now repeat ** across the whole row. As before, for the last stitch work 1tr into the last chain space. (118)

Now repeat row 2 until the blanket is the length you wish. As mine is a foot blanket it’s only about 70cm long and about a metre and a half wide. Now for changing colour, I changed colour randomly on each row. As I was using lots of bits and bobs, I didn’t want to have the worry of running out of yarn. Think it gives it a nice natural effect. But obviously you could change your yarn colour every 3 or 4 rows or even make a blanket in one colour.

Hope you have enjoyed week 2. Can’t wait to see all these wonderful blankets grow. So exciting. As always, if you need any help just give us a shout.

Happy hooking everyone.

🌈Xx

🎄Super Sprout Pattern🎄

December 30, 2017 No Comments

Well hello all. Hoping you have all had a wonderful Christmas day, filled with love, fun & magicalness!! Can’t quite believe it’s already over!! It’s amazing how long we spend building up to the big day and then it’s over in the blink of an eye. It’s all worth it though to see the magic and wonder in our children’s faces and the happy smiles when you give your homemade gifts!!

But I can imagine that many of you are feeling a little low, as if you’ve just run a marathon and now you’re not sure what you should be doing!! You may also be feeling a bit down that Christmas is all over for another year!! Well if anyone is feeling a little sad by it all, then I may have the solution. You can crochet your very own little Super Sprout, to remind you of your happy Christmas Day with that yummy Christmas dinner. And it may also remind you of the conversation about who does and doesn’t like sprouts!! Haha!! I swear every Christmas table must discuss it!! That and what do you put in your Boxing Day sandwich! Now, I may have lost a few of you there, as some people will be like ‘what on earth?!?’ But there will be a few of you that could receit exactly what they have in that once a year special sandwich & to the point of what goes in which layer!! Love it!! (I know I could!!)

Anyways, my little Super Sprout is here to help. He will definitely brighten up your day and be all ready for next year’s Christmas!! I’m sure you are wondering why I even came round to crocheting a Sprout, well here’s how.

The other day we were in the supermarket, getting our big Christmas shop and we spotted a lowly little Sprout all by itself on the floor. It was nowhere near its little friends! My daughter immediately said it must have been a Super Sprout, that spends its evenings keeping the naughty peas in check in the supermarket. “It’s just like in the book!” She squealed!! She was referring to the Supertato book that they had read in Reception as a class.

The super potato basically saves the vegetables from a naughty pea that escapes from the freezer and causes havoc!!! She then insisted that I must crochet one and that I could put it on my blog! So without further a do. May I present Super Sprout. (You have to admit, he’s rather sweet!) He’s been snuggled up in my daughter’s bed since Christmas morning!! Anywho, back to crocheting. Right usual information on stitches here and supplies and then the pattern. Photos are on the go, so hope they all make sense. I only had a day to make him. So it was a bit of a quick one this one. She definitely loved finding him under the Christmas tree.

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.

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.)

Half treble (htr) – A half treble crochet is basically one less movement than a treble. So yarn over hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through all 3 loops.

Double treble (dtr) – A double treble is quite a tall stitch. So yarn over hook twice, insert hook through the stitch/space and then yarn over hook again. Now pull the yarn through the stitch. There will now be 4 loops on the hook. Now place the yarn over the hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then yarn over the hook again and pull through the next two loops. Haha, now place the yarn over the hook again and pull through the last 2 loops. Phew! It’s a bit of a long process, but a lovely stitch with the height that it gives.

Supplies –

So for Mr Super Sprout you will need some green yarn, I have used stylecraft cotton, but you can use wool or any green yarn really. Some scissors, a blunt ended tapestry needle, some toy stuffing and little bit of black yarn for the face. Oh and I nearly forgot a 3mm and a 4mm hook. The 3mm hook is for the body and the 4mm hook is for the leaves.

So here we go…

Body – use a 3mm hook with your green yarn. You are working in the round for the body.

1 – Make a magic ring, chain 1, then dc6 into the ring. Then pull the tail tight to create the first round. (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 – *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (36)

7 – *5dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (42)

8 – 13 For each round, 1dc in each stitch. (42)

14 – *5dc, then 2dctog*. Work ** 6 times. (See stitches explanation above if you are unsure of 2dctog.) (36)

15 – *4dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (30)

16 – *3dc, then 2dctog. Work ** 6 times. (24)

17 – *2dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times.(18)

18 – *1dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times.(12)

Now it’s time to stuff your body with toy stuffing,

19 – Work 2dctog 6 times (6)

Now sew up and fasten off your body using a blunt ended tapestry needle. You will notice that it gives a little bit of a point. This is where you can attach the base of your 4 leaves to.

Leaves – use a 4mm hook with your green yarn. Make two of each size. (Two small and two large.) For all of the leaves you are now working in rows and not rounds.

For both leaves –

1 – Make a slip knot on your hook and chain 4.

2 – Now work a htr into the third stitch from the hook and another htr into the next stitch from the hook. Turn your work now, so that you can crochet back along the row. (2)

3 – In this row, chain 2 and work 2htr stitches into each stitch and turn your work. (4)

4 – Then chain 2 and *work 1htr into the same stitch, then 2htr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** twice and then turn your work. (6)

5 – Then chain 2 and *work 2htr, then 2htr into the next stitch* Repeat ** twice and turn your work. (8)

6 – Now chain 2 then *work 3htr, then 2htr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** twice and turn. (10)

7 – Now chain 2 and then work *4htr, then 2htr in the next stitch.* Repeat ** twice and turn your work. (12)

Now make two small leaves:

8 – 9 For each row, chain 2 then work 1htr into each stitch and turn. (12)

Now make two large stitches:

8 – 11 For each row, chain 2 then work 1htr into each stitch and turn. (12)

Now the next two rows are the same for both the small and the large leaves. So you are either on round 10 for the small leaf or round 12 for your large leaf.

– Slip stitch into the first stitch, dc, htr, tr, tr, dtr, dtr, tr, tr, htr, dc then lastly a slip stitch. Then turn your work. (12)

– For the last row, miss the first stitch then slip stitch into the next stitch, then dc, htr, tr, dtr, dtr, tr, htr, dc, then miss a stitch and slip stitch into the last stitch and fasten off. (10)

Right so this is what you should now have in front of you. One round ball, two large leaves and two small sprout leaves.

Now it’s time to sew the Sprout leaves in place. So start off by using the tail from the base of the leaf. So find the tip of the Sprout ball (its slightly raised) and using a blunt ended needle, sew on the first leaf base and fasten off. You will only be able to sew on the base as your tail of yarn is quite short.

Now move to the top of your sprout and using the top tail sew on the sides on the leaf but not the top.

Leaving the top part free, allows the leaf to have some movement.

Then carry on adding the other 3 leaves in the same way.

And now for the fun part. The eyes, eyebrows and smile. You need your black yarn, needle and scissors. (Don’t forget you can make the expression anyway you like.)

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 one stitch to make the eye and sew over this stitch about 5 times. You can add eyebrows in the same way 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 Super Sprout to keep you feeling that little bit Christmassy. I was thinking today, you could make a whole family of sprouts or even crochet them some Santa hats!! Proper cute.

Well I hope you have enjoyed my post. As always, if you have any questions or queries at all, please don’t hesitate to ask!! Looking forward to seeing all other little sprouts made – don’t forget to share your little fellas on here or on instagram/facebook by linking it to #pipsrainbow

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈 Xx