Year of the Stitches – Week 5 Double Treble Stitch

The Double Treble Stitch 

Hi everyone. It’s been a very sad week for our family. My dear Grannie passed away this week. So sad. Not quite sure how to put it all into words or what to say. I am currently writing this, whilst snuggled under the foot blanket I made for her. Unfortunately, she never got to have the blanket, but it’s now known officially as ‘GG’s blanket’ according to my daughter. (Hmmm, I seem pretty attached to it!)

My dear Gran was 96 years old. She had 2 children, 6 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. What an amazing lady. Family was very important to her. Gran used to keep all our feet warm with her wonderful slipper socks. She was so chuffed when she found out that I was going to carry on making them for everyone. I feel very honoured to do so. She always used to say that there was a little corner for everyone. I was never sure where my corner was, but I definitely think I’ve found it now in PipsRainbow. I definitely feel at home here.

So this week I’d like to dedicate my yarn colour to my very special Grannie. It’s a lovely calm peaceful lilac colour from the King Cole cotton soft range. She loved this colour. I’d say it was second best to the pale blue I used on week 2.

Stitches – 

Chain stitch (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.

Double Treble Stitch (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 again you need to choose a double knit yarn of any kind. You roughly need about 30g. Don’t forget your scissors, blunt ended tapestry needle and your 4mm hook.

So here we go …

1 – First of all, join your new yarn by inserting your hook into the first stitch and pulling the new yarn through.

2 – Then chain 4. Now to make your first dtr you need to wrap your yarn over your hook twice.

Then insert your hook through the next stitch, yarn over your hook, then pull back through. This will give you 4 loops on your hook.

Now yarn over your hook and pull it through the first 2 loops. This will give you 3 loops on your hook.

Now yarn over your hook again and pull through 2 loops on your hook. This will leave you with the last 2 loops.

Finally the last stage of the dtr, yarn over your hook and pull through the last 2 loops. This will leave you with 1 loop on your hook, ready to start the next stitch.

So carrying on working 1dtr into each stitch across the row.

And in this last stitch, work a dtr as normal and fasten off and sew in ends as usual with a tapestry needle. Make sure you know which is the right and wrong side. The next row you do will be worked on the wrong side for next weeks stitch. So if you find it difficult to tell. Don’t sew in your ends, till you are about to start next weeks stitch. (201)

And there you have it. One row of double treble stitches. As this is quite a tall stitch, we are only going to only work one row. Feel free to do more, but work an odd number as next weeks stitch, needs to start on the wrong side of the blanket.

Hope you have all enjoyed this weeks stitch. Any queries or questions, just give us a shout.

I dedicate this weeks stitch and yarn to my Grannie. Here’s to you – Gran. I will miss you so very very much. You will always have a special place in my heart.

Forever your granddaughter.

🌈Xx

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Year of the Stitches – Week 3 Pineapple Stitch

The Pineapple Stitch 🍍 

Hello all, I hope everyone has survived the rather windy weather this week. Crikey it’s been windy!!! And now it’s snowing too!!! Definitely nights that require a crochet hook in one hand and a cuppa in the other. Blankets and slipper socks are very close to hand at the minute!!

This week, I was lucky enough to be able to go on a school library trip with my daughter. She was so excited that I could come and be part of her special day. My lovely mother-in-law came and babysat the little man for me, so I was off on a trip with my girl!!!! It was so weird walking to school without the pram. My daughter is such a poppet, she pretended to be the pram so I wouldn’t miss him!! Bless her. So anyways, we headed out in a 60 children caterpillar to the local library, where the children listened to stories and then were able to choose one to take home. The excitement on their little faces when using their library cards, was a picture. They were so well behaved.

The stories they choose varied from fairies to monsters, quests to cars. No one child had the same book. I wonder which books were read that very same night? I know ours was – front to back! We love stories in this house. I just love being carried away into a whole other world of fantasy and fiction. I tend to get carried away in the moment when I read. It’s so magical!! The endless possibilities and the unknown endings – just brilliant!! My Dad once told me that books are like your friends – they are always there to keep you company. It’s so true!! (I always keep my books close by.)

Before my children, I used to read quite a lot, but as our house was starting to look like a book shop, my husband bought me a kindle. (I do buy special books in hard copy though!!) My time to read my own books, is a little bit sparse at the minute, but reading a story book to my children happens quite a few times a day. Some of my all time favourite stories are still my cherished children’s books, such as the Faraway Tree and the Naughtiest Girl in School and the one and only – BFG. Oh and of course the incredible Harry Potter!!!! This particular magical world came into my life when I was at university and I can safely say, it’s never left!! I will never forget being in a fitting room with my sister in law, a couple of days before we went on a family holiday. The cubicle next door were discussing the ending to the fifth Harry Potter book, which I was keeping for the flight!!! Oh my – she very kindly asked them to stop as I was currently in the cubicle next door with my hands over my ears – humming!!! Funny!! She was a life saver!!! So yeah, books are such a big part of our lives. I can’t wait to share these legendary books with my children!!! Yey!!

So this week, I would like to dedicate my colour of yarn to the pages of all those special books. It’s a slightly off white colour, which holds all those precious moving words. So my yarn had to be the beautiful Sublime cashmere/merino wool, which is so beautifully soft and one of my mum’s favourite yarns. It’s a very light cream colour, which also goes well with my Gran’s stunning blue colour from last week.

Right so onto the stitch. This week I have chosen a fantastic stitch called the ‘Pineapple Cluster’. It’s such a cool stitch as it’s a little cluster of stitches to make a beautiful little round bump, with a delicate twirl on the top. I really hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. It would be a great stitch to make a baby blanket out of as it give so much texture.

Stitches –

So here’s a bit of a 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.

Pineapple Cluster (Ps) – So *yarn over hook, then insert your hook into the stitch/space, yarn over hook and pull loop through.* Repeat ** 3 more times, then yarn over your hook and pull through the first 8 loops on your hook and then yarn over your hook again and pull through the last 2 loops on your hook. This completes one pineapple cluster.

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. Your yarn needs to be of double knit weight, but can be any colour or type you like. You roughly need about 40grams.

Here we go …

1 – Insert your hook into the first space and chain 3.

 

Then work one Pineapple Cluster Stitch into the same space, then chain 1.

For this row you are going to be working your pineapple clusters in the space inbetween the V stitches below.

So to work a pineapple cluster you need to start by *yarn over your hook, then insert your hook into the space, yarn over hook and pull a loop through.* Repeat ** 3 more times.

 

Then yarn over your hook and pull through the first 8 loops on your hook. You should now have two loops on your hook.

For the last bit of the stitch, yarn over your hook again and pull through the last 2 loops on your hook. This completes one pineapple cluster. Then yarn over your hook again and pull through the loop to make 1 chain stitch.

*Then work a pineapple cluster in the next space in between the V stitches and chain 1.* Continue ** across the row until the last space.  In the last space work 1 pineapple cluster and then 1 treble stitch to finish the row.(100 Ps)

2 – Now turn your work and chain 3. Then work a pineapple cluster in the space in between the tr and ps below and chain 1.

*Then work a pineapple cluster into the next space and chain 1.* Continue ** across the row until the last space. Work 1 treble stitch into the last space in between the tr and ps. (100 Ps)

3 – Now turn your work and chain 3.

Then work 1 pineapple cluster into the first space and chain 1.

*Then work a pineapple cluster into the next space and chain 1.* Continue ** across the row  in each space.

Now work 1 treble stitch into the last space inbetween the ps and tr stitch. (100 Ps)

Now fasten off and sew in your ends using your needle. And there you have it. Well thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have enjoyed this weeks instalment on the Year of the Stiches blanket!! Any questions or queries, just shout. Looking forward to sharing next weeks stitch with you. It’s beautiful!!

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈Xx

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