Patterns

PipsRainbow is 7 Years Old!

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Well as my friend rightly pointed out, it’s not the 7 year itch, but the 7 year stitch. Haha!! Well it made us chuckle. 7 years of PipsRainbow. Crazy. When I started this little rainbow journey, I wasn’t really sure where it would go. At the time, I just wanted to teach others how to crochet. I wanted to share the love of crocheting far and wide and help others to have something in their life, that they could create something wonderful for themselves or others with. It is a hobby/craft/skill/passion, whichever you want to call it, something that can bring them happiness and a sense of achievement. I started crocheting because I wanted to create toys for my daughter at the time. I had been taught to knit by my Grannie when I was a little girl, so I could knit well enough, mainly her famous slipper socks, which the family still enjoy wearing. But when I saw crocheted toys, I realised that that was the way forward. I’d also seen some crocheted mandalas in our local sewing shop. And every time I went in there, I would marvel at their beauty. They were on this big old counter at the cash desk. They sang with their different colours and circular pattern of rainbow, definitely called to me. It also used to call to my daughter, as her little hand would come out from inside her pram to touch them. So it was definitely from there that the love of crocheting began. But it wasn’t until later before I realised I wanted to teach others. And that is when PipsRainbow was created.

It was the ability to be able to create my own patterns as well. And sharing them with others. I firstly did them all for free, but then I soon realised that I wanted to crochet for Charity. My body is definitely not designed anymore for marathons, but it can crochet for Charity! So that’s when I started creating Just Giving pages for the charities that were dear to us & others around me. My main one so far is crocheting for Child Bereavement UK. And incredible Charity, that’s gives and supports so much to the families that need them. My newest pattern for them will drop next week, as one of my creations will be going in their yearly silent auction at the quiz. I wonder what it will make this year.

I think I can safely say, that sometimes PipsRainbow is extremely busy and lots going on, but then there are times where it is a little quiet and takes the back step in our busy lives. I think when this happens I seem to get a little behind with it all. And then my confidence seems to take a dip. I call it my PipsRainbow Mojo. But then when I do grab the reins again and produce and publish a pattern, I have such a sense of achievement & it’s so lovely to see others create and produce their very own. I hope this next coming year, I can keep the PipsRainbow mojo going, as I have got so many patterns to share with you. Can’t wait!

So for this year’s birthday pattern, I couldn’t resist sharing this little beauty. It’s like the ones I remember from the sewing shop. I love how you can use different scarps of yarn, to create such a beautiful thing.

Enjoy.

Supplies – I have used 12 different 4ply yarn, scissors, a blunt ended tapestry needle and a 4mm crochet hook. Mandalas are a great way to use up all this little ends of yarn from other projects.

Level – Easy

Stitches –

Magic Ring (mr) – For a magic ring, make a loop with the yarn, leaving a tail. (Make sure the tail is under the working yarn.) Now insert your hook into the loop, from the front to the back. Wrap the working yarn around your hook and pull the yarn through and pull tight to create a 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) – To make a double crochet, insert hook through your stitch/space, yarn over hook and pull through the stitch. You should have 2 loops on your hook, now yarn over hook and pull through both loops on your hook.

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.

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.

Here we go…

1 – Magic ring, ch3 into the magic ring and work 7tr. Pull your tail and create your first round. Slip stitch to the first ch3 and fasten off. (8 tr)

2 – Attach the new yarn into any stitches and ch5. (This acts as 1tr & ch2.) *Work 1tr and ch2 into each stitch* Repeat ** all the way around.  Slip stitch in the first ch4 and fasten off. (8tr & ch2)

3 – Attach your new yarn into ch2sp and ch3. Work 2tr into same ch2sp. *Work 3tr in each ch2sp* Repeat ** all the way around. Slip stitch in the first 3ch and fasten off. (24tr)

4 – Attach new yarn into a stitch and then ch2. Then work 1htr in the same stitch. (This acts as 2htr.) *Work 2htr in each stitch.* Repeat ** all the way around. Slip stitch into the first ch2 and fasten off. (48 htr)

5 –  Attach new yarn into a stitch and then ch3, miss a stitch & work 1dc into the next stitch. (This acts as 1dc, ch2, 1dc.) Work *1dc, ch2, miss a stitch and 1dc into next stitch.* Now repeat ** all the way around. (16 ch2sp & 32dc)

6 – Attach new yarn into a ch2sp and ch4. (This will give the height for a dtr.) Then 1dtr into same space and ch2. * In the next ch2sp, work 2dtr and then ch2*. Repeat ** all the way around. Then slip stitch into first 4 chains and fasten off. (16 x 2dtr spools)

7 – Attach the new yarn into a ch2sp & ch3, then work 4tr into the same ch2sp. *Work 5tr into each ch2sp.* Repeat all the way around. Slip stitch into first ch3 and fasten off. (16 spaces x 5trs)

8 – This round is a little bit different as it includes 3 different types of stitches – half trebles, trebles and double trebles. Firstly ch2 into one of the first stitches of a set of 5 trebles. (This acts as your first htr), then tr, dtr, tr, htr. This is the first set of 5 stitches. Now *htr, tr, dtr, tr, htr in the next 5 stitches.* Repeat ** all the way around the mandala. Slip stitch to the first ch2 and fasten off. (80 stitches)

9 – Attach yarn into one of your htr stitches and ch6. Miss 3 stitches then work 1dc into the next stitch. This completes your first loop. Now *1dc into the next stitch, ch5, miss 3 stitches, then 1dc in next stitch.* Repeat ** all the way around. Slip stitch into first ch6 and fasten off. (16 x 5 chain loops)

10 – Attach yarn into a ch5sp and ch3. Now work 4tr into the same ch5sp, then ch2. Work *5tr into ch5sp & ch2*. Repeat ** all the way around the mandala. Then slip stitch into first ch4 and fasten off. (16 chain 2 spaces & 16 x 5 trebles)

11 – Attach yarn into a ch2sp and ch9, work 1dc into the next ch1sp. Now *ch7, then 1dc into the next ch2sp*. Repeat ** all the way around the mandala. Slip stitch into first ch2sp and fasten off. (16 spaces x 6 trs)

12 – Attach yarn into a ch7sp and ch3. (This acts as 1tr.) Work 8tr into the same ch7sp. Now work *9tr into the next ch7sp*. Repeat ** all the way around. Then slip stitch into first ch3 and fasten off. Woohoo you are finished.

And there you have it. All you need to do now is sew in all your ends and block your work. It’s important to block your work to ensure that the yarn relaxes & settles.

Well here’s to another year of PipsRainbow! I wonder what year 8 will bring.

Happy hooking.
🌈Xx

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

(Don’t forget that this pattern is brought to you from PipsRainbow, it has not been tech edited, but all attempts have been made to ensure it is correct and easy to follow. It is only to be used for personnel use only and not to be shared or used to create items for profit. Thank you.)

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Patterns

V Stitch Blanket

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Well hello Sunday evening. How are we all? Thought I would bring you some yummy yarny crocheting in the form of this lovely foot blanket. It’s one of my favourite little blankets that I made in the winter and as you can see it’s a firm favourite in our family. It finds itself living in different places in the house, but seems to like living here in between a very old carriage blanket and my Year of the Stitches Blanket.

When I designed this blanket, I had a few specific ideas in my head. I wanted it to be warm, but not too heavy. I also knew it needed to have the lovely fluid drape that a blanket can give, as I knew it would be placed over a bed or someone’s feet or lap. Thus why I used quite large hooks for the tasks and choose the magnificent, yet oh so simple V stitch. My first of these blankets was for my dear Grannie. She was in a care home at the time and her feet were getting cold. She had spent her life keeping our feet warm with knitted slipper socks, so it was about time we kept her feet nice and toasty. I visited her with my Dad and started the blanket that evening. It took me 3 evenings, so it’s ever so quick to make up. Unfortunately she passed away the next day, so I never got to give it to her. But it is now known in our house hold as the GG Blanket. So that’s nice. It even gets lent out to family members aka my sister, for camping trips or snuggle needing events!!

Supplies – 

Now you can choose to make this blanket in either Aran weighted wool or 2 double knit wools worked together. I love using up all my different odds and ends and mixing lots of yarns, so I choose to use 2 double knit yarns. My Gran did this a lot. She even used to undo unwanted jumpers and reuse the wool for other projects, so I think she would have approved of this one. Just remember when you are using multistrands of wool, all you need to do is work with them as if they are 1 ball of wool. It’s ever so easy, so nothing to worry about. Here’s a little snuggle pod I was making with 3 balls of wool!

So mine weighs about 600g and I have used the 2 strands of double knit wool method. So probably looking at about 12 balls of dk yarn, as they are usually in 50g balls. If you are using Aran, then you will need roughly about 7-8 balls of wool. Obviously it depends on your tension and how big or small you fancy making it. You will also need a 7mm and an 8mm crochet hook, scissors and a blunt ended tapestry needle.

Level – Easy

Blanket Size – 53inches wide and 23inches tall.

Stitches – 

Slip knot – Firstly fold over the yarn to make a 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 tight to create a knot.

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.

V Stitch – To make a V stitch, you need to work 2 Treble crochet stitches inbetween the two trebles stitches in the row below.

Ok so here we go … 

1 – To start the blanket you need to chain 120 stitches. Now remember when you are starting a blanket off, always use a hook size 1 whole size bigger for the chain stitches. So we are using a 7mm hook for this blanket, so work your chain stitches with an 8mm hook. Otherwise you will get a delightful curve on your blanket before you have even started. It helps you to have a nice straight edge to your blanket. So first things first make your slip knot.

Then work your 120 chain stitches.

Now that you have chained all of your stitches, change back to your normal crochet hook which is a 7mm hook. (120)

2 – Right so turn your blanket and chain 3. This will give you the height for your V stitch. Now in the 5th chain from the hook work 2tr stitches. (Don’t forget there is a recap at the top if you have forgotten how to work a Treble Stitch.) So you are working into the 5th chain from the hook – because 3 stitches are acting as your first tr stitch and one stitch you are missing.

Now *miss a chain stitch and work 2tr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** across the rest of the row.

Now work 1tr Stitch in the last chain stitch in the row. (120)

3 – Now turn your work and chain 3. This acts as your first tr stitch. Now you are going to work your V stitch inbetween the 2 treble stitches from the row below. This is where the arrow is pointing.

To work your V stitch, work your 2 trebles stitches here.

*Now miss a stitch and as before work 2tr inbetween the 2 treble stitches below.*Repeat ** all the way across the row.

So when you come to the last V, work the 2tr stitches as usual. Now work 1tr in then top of the chain 3 stitches from the row below. (120)

This completes your row. (120)

4 – 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. Now if like me you are using up lots of odds and ends of yarn, at some point in each row, balls of wool will run out. So I have created this blanket with colour changes randomly. Obviously you don’t have to change mid row, you can always change at the ends of the row or not at all. Up to you! But if you do then here’s how. So start your first tr in the next V stitch by yarn over hook, insert into your stitch, yarn over your hook then pull back through. So at this point, you are going to use your new yarn. So place the new yarn over your hook.

Now finish the tr stitch as usual, so pull the new yarn through the first 2 loops.

Then yarn over your hook and pull through the last 2 loops. Now work another 1tr in the same place to finish the V stitch.

Now carry on working V stitches as usual. At the end of the row, work 1tr in the top of the chain 3 stitches. (120)

5 – 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.)*

At the end of the row work 1tr in the top of the chain 3 stitches. (120)

6 – Now repeat row 5 until you are happy with the height of your blanket. For my foot blanket, I have worked 42 rows, but feel free to do as many or as little as you like. Once you have finished, fasten off and sew in all of those rascally ends and block your blanket.

Look at all those lovely V stitches. Love the colour change in this one.

Here’s one my dear friend has made, think it is loved by the dog too! Hers is a little bigger, so if you do want a bigger blanket, just repeat the pattern with the same rows, until the desired length.

You can see here the size of the 42 rows. It will fit easily at the end of a single bed or just as a simple lap blanket that lives on the back of the sofa.

So there you have the wonderful V Stitch Foot Blanket. Really hope you like this one. Great for a really quick blanket to make for someone. Might be nice for a Christmas present for someone or even a big bod off to Uni. Would be great to go at the end of a single bed too!! My very clever sister made one too. Love how her colours work together.

Well, happy hooking everyone.

🌈Xx

(Don’t forget that this pattern is brought to you from PipsRainbow, it has not been tech edited, but all attempts have been made to ensure it is correct and easy to follow. It is only to be used for personnel use only and not to be shared or used to create items for profit. Thank you.)

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