Year of the Stitches Week 47 – Marguerite Stitch

Marguerite Stitch 

Well hello my wonderful ones. How are we all? I hope you have all had good weeks!! It all seems to be getting a bit christmassy here. Just seen all the Christmas lights go on which was lovely!! It’s definitely getting colder though isn’t it!! Snuggles under blankets and hot chocolates are of the order of the day!! I am rather pleased with my growing yarny pile of blanket loveliness!! It’s a sight that makes you feel all warm inside!! Hoping to add to the collection next year!!

So Friday night was date night in our house this week and oh how good was it to be out!!! It’s strange how you jump on to some kind of treadmill with day to day activities at home. Especially when it’s cold and damp outside. I don’t know about anybody else, but these early dark nights have thrown me some what! It gives you that feeling of hunkering down, shutting all the curtains and getting those woolly slippers out!! Truth be told, I think we are becoming hobbits! Maybe everybody does! I don’t know, but we definitely are. So when we have a rare occasion of a babysitter, then off we go, out to wherever!! It doesn’t matter where we go or what we do, just feels so good to be out. It seems to start you off on the right track again! Definitely felt like it did on Friday!!

As most of you know, this week has been hat week in my house!! I seem to have had some kind of hat extravaganza!!! We’ve had the Simply Snuggly Hat.

The Unicorn hat.

The Weekend Hat.

The Monster hat.

And my pom pom hat.

Phew – that’s a lot of variations of hats!! Well, all can be found one way or another in the pattern list, either to the side of this or below if you are on a smart phone/tablet. Really hope you enjoy them. My husband’s ordered a hat for Christmas with stripes, so that’s gonna be fun. Better get cracking!!

So onto the blanket and this weeks stitch. It’s called the Marguerite Stitch. It’s quite a delicate stitch and also has quite a few variations. This one uses a 3 spike cluster method, where as another could use a 5 spike cluster method. Hope you like it. It’s a little fiddly, in the sense you have to get to grips with where each one goes. But once you’ve got going, you will be fine. I have tried to make the pics quite clear with numbers, so you know exactly what I mean. Have fun chaps!!

Stitches

Chain (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it 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.

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.

Marguerite Stitch (Mc3) – Yarn over your hook and insert into the closed stitch of the previous Mc3 stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. Then insert your hook into the base of the previous stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. And then miss a stitch and insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. This will give you 5 loops. Then yarn over your hook and pull through all 5 loops. Then chain 1 to finish then stitch.

Supplies

So this week I have used a stunningly deep turquoise blue from the King Cole Merino range.

As always you can use any kind of double knit yarn. You need about 30g/40g of wool. Don’t forget your 4mm crochet hook, blunt ended tapestry needle and some scissors.

Ok so here we go…

1 – Attach your new yarn on the wrong side of your blanket. Chain 1 and work 1dc in the same stitch.

Then 1dc in each stitch across the row, finishing with 1dc in the last stitch. (200)

2 – Ok so now turn your blanket and chain 3. Now you are going to work your first M3c Stitch. So to do this you are going to yarn over your hook and insert into the second chain (No1 in the photo) yarn over your hook and pull through.

So you should now have 3 loops on your hook.

Then insert your hook into the 3rd chain (No2) yarn over your hook and pull through. Then you will have 4 loops on your hook.

Ok so now miss the first dc stitch and insert your hook in the next stitch (No3) yarn over your hook and pull back through. Now you have 5 loops on your hook.

Then yarn over your hook again and pull through all 5 loops.

Ok so now chain 1 to finish the Mc3 stitch.

Right then so we are now ready to start the next Marguerite Stitch (Mc3.) So first things first we are going to *yarn over your hook and insert your hook in No1. This is the closed part of the previous Mc3 stitch.

Then yarn over your hook and pull back through. (3 loops on your hook.

Now insert your hook into No2, which is the bottom of the previous stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. This gives you 4 loops on your hook.

Finally miss a stitch and insert your hook into the next stitch. (No3) So yarn over your hook and pull back through. You should have 5 loops on your hook.

Now yarn over your hook and pull through all 5 loops. Finish the Mc3 stitch by chaining 1.*

Now repeat this ** across the row.

At the end of the row after the last chain 1, work 1tr in the last stitch. (201)

3 – Right then so turn your work and chain 3. Now you are going to work a Mc3 in the second chain, third chain and then miss the first and second stitch in the row. Then finish the Mc3 stitch in the third stitch in the row. This is the top of the first Mc3 stitch.

Ok so to work your a Mc3 stitch, firstly yarn over your hook and insert into the second chain from the hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull back through. Insert your hook into the third chain from the hook, yarn over and pull through and then miss the first and second stitch and insert into the third stitch, yarn over and pull through. Now yarn over your hook and pull through all 5 loops.

Finish off the stitch by chaining 1.

Right so now work your next Mc3 stitch. *So yarn over your hook and insert into the closed stitch of the previous Mc3 stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. Then insert your hook into the base of the previous stitch, yarn over and pull through. And then miss a stitch and insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over your hook and pull through. This will give you 5 loops. Then yarn over your hook and pull through all 5 loops. Then chain 1 to finish then stitch.*

Repeat this ** across the row.

At the end of the row, work the last Mc3 stitch and then instead of working 1 chain stitch, work 1treble in the last stitch, which is where the last Mc3 was worked in the previous row. (200)

And there we have the wonderful Marguerite Stitch.

Really hope you have enjoyed this weeks instalment of Year of the Stitches. Not long now chaps. Only 5 more balls of wool left!!!! Crikey!!!

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈Xx

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My Monster Hat

Monster Hat 

Well hello and welcome to the crazy hat week that I seem to be having!!! Definitely needed in this chilli weather!!! Brrrrrr!! So I have now shared with you two ubberly simple hat patterns. So now it’s time to show you the oh so simple accessorisation process!! Yes – I think I am going hat mad!!! So today’s hat design is the lovely monster hat!! I wanted to show you how you can easily turn the Weekend Hat or Simply Snuggly Hat into a monster hat with just a few extra trimmings. Hee hee!!! I reckon my son needs one now!! Maybe a different colour though!!

Ok so the hat pattern that I am using here is my Weekend Hat, which I published on my blog yesterday. So you can find that in the pattern section to the right of this or below if you are on a smart phone/tablet under the name Weekend Hat.

This pattern will help you to create googly eyes and sew on eyebrows and a mouth, oooo and Pom Poms for the ears or hair.

Level – Easy

Supplies – 

For this hat you will need a 4mm crochet hook, scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle. You will also need about 10g of white double knit wool and about 1 metre of black double knit yarn. You can use either wool or cotton for this. And you will also need a Pom Pom or two depending on which design you would like to make. Your Pom Pom may come with a popper attachment, but if not you might need one to attach it on with a needle and bit of thread.

Stitches – 

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.

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 (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it 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.

Ok so here we go …

Googly Eyes

Right then, so we are going to make some googly eyes. So you need your white and black yarn. Start by making a magic ring with your white yarn.

Now chain 1 and then work 6dc into the ring

Ok so slip stitch into the first dc to make a ring. Don’t forget to pull the tail really tight to create the nice tight circle.

Now work 2dc stitches into each stitch until you have 12 stitches. (12)

Now work *1dc then 2dc stitches into the next stitch* and repeat this ** 6 times. (18)

Finally work *2dc and then 2dc into the next stitch.*  Repeat this ** 6 times. Now fasten off your yarn leaving a long tail so that the eyes can be sewn on. (24)

Make sure you make two of these eyes, one after the other. It is important that you have two when you come to sew them on, as you can see exactly where you want them to be placed on the hat.

Ok, so now it’s time to finish the eyes with the pupil. Start by threading your needle with the black yarn and then knotting the end. Then thread it through from the back, through the middle of the white part of the eye.

Now you need to sew up and over 2 stitches to create the pupil. You can make these pupils as small or as big as you like depending how many stitches you go over.

I tend to work about 4 or 5 stitches over the top of each other to form the pupil.

Ok, so now it’s time to sew around the edges of the eye using the long tail and your needle and attach them to the hat. I have sewn on many of these types of eyes in my time and I have found the best way is to work your way up and down in and out of each stitch. You can see in the picture below how I am going back into the next stitch. This will ensure the sewing on thread is hidden and will give a much neater finish to your project.

Once you have finished sewing on your eye, secure the yarn at the back of your hat and fasten off. Don’t forget to sew in your ends at the back of the hat. Now onto the second eye and sew on as before. Make sure that you keep checking the eyes are level and placed where you want them to be. Don’t be afraid to undo and start again, if it goes a little wonky!!

To work the eye brows, you can carry on using the black yarn from the eyes. So come up where you want the eyebrow to start and then literally insert it back into where the eyebrow needs to finish.

Now to get to where the next eyebrow needs to be, just weave your needle through the back of the stitches of the hat, making sure it’s not visible from the front to where is needs to be. Then repeat the eyebrow process.

Then do the same with the mouth – weaving it down the hat at the back and then come up where the mouth needs to be and back in to the back.

This time you need to anchor it down in the middle by inserting a tiny little stitch up and over the mouth to secure it in place.

Then secure the thread at the back of the hat, fasten off and sew in your ends.

Now all you need to do is attach those fabulous Pom Poms for ears!!!

Or even just one for a tuft of hair!!

And there you have it. Hope you have enjoyed this one. Please give me a shout if you’re unsure of anything!!

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈Xx

 

 

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

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