Patterns

Hoot the Owl

No Comments

Hello my lovelies, how are we all? We have definitely been enjoying this sunny weather. It makes such a difference to how you feel, doesn’t it. We’ve just had a full weekend of hockey madness, but it was definitely better spectating in the sun. But then a week of poorliness in the house. Definitely a lot of germs going around. Whatever it is, seems to have wiped out a third of little man’s class. Crazy. Oh the joys. Think I will have to be an antibacterial warrior again!! It’s definitely not been the best of weeks & I don’t seem to have been able to have done hardly any crocheting. Hmm… need to change that.

So I would like to introduce you to little Hoot. I wanted to make the lovely Lisa from For the Love of Yarn a little owl out of my For the Love of Yarn yarn stash. Thought it would be nice to make one out of all her wool over the years. So there’s wool from her yarn clubs, advent calendars and skeins of individual wool. Couldn’t resist mixing it with one ball of fluff from a few years ago, to make little Hoot super soft. So Hoot is made from 4ply yarn and fluff held together. I used a 4mm hook. You don’t have to use the fluff, just make it with DK yarn, whichever you prefer.

Right let’s get down to business. Hope you like the pattern.

Level 

Easy (This pattern is written with UK Crochet terminology.)

Yarn

50g of 4ply yarn and 20g of fluff or 100g DK yarn in the main owl colour. Then 10g of white yarn for the eyes. You will also need a small amount of orange DK yarn for the beak and a small amount black yarn for the eyebrows and eyes, if you aren’t using the safety eyes.

Hook – 4mm crochet hook

Finished Size – 20cm tall

Notions 

Scissors, darning needle for ends, toy stuffing, a pair of 10mm safety eyes. (If using them.)

Abbreviations  

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.)

Back Loop Double Crochet (bldc) – Work each double crochet stitch in the back loop only.

Fasten off – Slip Stitch into the next stitch, pull the yarn through the stitch, then cut. Leave long tails, so that you can use them to attach the different parts of the body together. 

Yrh – Yarn Round Hook

st – Stitch

Right it’s pattern time…

Pattern 

Head – make 1 using main owl colour.

Rnd 1: Make a mr, 1ch (does not count as a st throughout) then 6dc into the ring. Pull the tail tight to close the ring. (6)

Rnd 2: [2dc into next st.] 6 times. (12)

Rnd 3: [1dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 4: [2dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (24)

Rnd 5: [3dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (30)

Rnd 6: [4dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (36)

Rnd 7: [5dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (42)

Rnd 8: [6dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (48)

Rnd 9: [7dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (54) 

Rnd 10: [8dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (60) 

Rnds 11 – 13: 1dc in each st. (60)

Rnd 14: [8dc, dc2tog.] 6 times. (54) 

Rnd 15: [7dc, dc2tog.] 6 times. (48) 

Rnd 16: [6dc, dc2tog.] 6 times. (42) 

Rnd 17: [5dc, 2dctog] 6 times (36)

Rnd 18: [4dc, 2dctog] 6 times (30)

Rnd 19: [3dc, 2dctog] 6 times (24)

Rnd 20: [2dc, 2dctog] 6 times  (18)

Rnd 21: [2dctog] 9 times (9) 

Stuff the head at this point.

Rnd 22: [1dc, 2dctog] 3 times (6) 

Seal up & fasten off, leaving a tail for it to be sewn on to the body.  

Ears – make 2 using main owl colour.

Rnd 1: Make a mr, 1ch then 4dc into the ring. Pull the tail tight to close the ring. (4)

Rnd 2: [2dc into next st.] 4 times. (8)

Rnd 3 & 4: 1dc in each stitch. (8) 

Rnd 5: [2dc, dc2tog.] twice. (6)

Rnd 6: 1dc in each stitch and fasten off. (6)

Body – make 1 using main owl colour

Rnd 1: Make a mr, 1ch then 6dc into the ring. Pull the tail tight to close the ring. (6)

Rnd 2: [2dc into next st.] 6 times. (12)

Rnd 3: [1dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 4: 1dc in each stitch. (18)

Rnd 5: [2dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (24)

Rnd 6: [3dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (30)

Rnd 7: [4dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (36)

Rnd 8: [5dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (42)

Rnd 9: [6dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (48)

Rnd 10: [7dc, 2dc into next st] 6 times. (54) 

Rnds 11– 12: 1dc in each st. (54)

Rnd 13: [7dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (48)

Rnds 14 – 15: 1dc in each st. (48)

Rnd 16 [6dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (42)

Rnd 17: 1dc in each st. (42) 

Rnd 18: [5dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (36)

Rnd 19: 1dc in each st. (36)

Rnd 20: [4dc, 2dctog] 6 times (30)

Rnd 21: 1dc in each st. (30)

Rnd 22: [3dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (24)

Rnds 23 – 24: 1dc in each st.  (24)

Rnd 25: [2dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 26: 1dc in each st. (18)

Rnd 27: [1dc, 2dctog] 6 times. (12) 

Rnd 28: 1dc in each st. (12)

Rnd 29: [2dctog] 6 times. (6)

Ss, then fasten off and sew up the hole.

Eye Patch – make 2 using white yarn.

Rnd 1: Make a mr, 1ch (does not count as a st throughout) then 6dc into the ring. Pull the tail tight to close the ring. (6)

Rnd 2: [2dc into next st.] 6 times. (12)

Rnd 3: [1dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 4: [2dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times and fasten off. (24)

Place your safety eyes in the middle of each of the eye patches. Make sure you are happy with the position of the eye patch before you add the backs to the eyes. As once they are on… they’re on. Alternatively, create your eyes using some black thread and a darning needle like the picture below.

Wings – make 2 using your main colour.

Rnd 1: Make a mr, 1ch then 6dc into the ring. Pull the tail tight to close the ring. (6)

Rnd 2: [2dc into next st.] 6 times. (12)

Rnd 3: [1dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 4 & 5: 1dc in each stitch. (18)

Rnd 6: [2dc, 2dc into next st.] 6 times. (24)

Rnd 5: 1dc in each stitch.  (24) 

Rnd 6: [2dc, 2dctog] 6 times (18) 

Rnd 7: [1dc, 2dctog] 6 times (12) 

Rnd 8: 1dc in each stitch. (12) 

Rnd 9: [2dc, 2dctog] 3 times. (9)

Rnds 10 – 11: 1dc in each stitch. (9) 

Rnds 12: [1dc, 2dctog] 3 times (6) 

Rnd 13: [1dc, 2dctog] 2 times (4)

Ss then, fasten off and leave a tail to sew the wings on to the body.

And there you have all your body parts. It’s time now to sew each body parts together using your darning needle. If you need help with how to sew your body parts on, then please use this link to my techniques page.

How to sew up your creations

I start with the head first, then the wings. Followed by the eyes and the ears.

Once you have sewn the eyes on, you need to create the beak. Here’s a simple picture tutorial on how to do this. Insert a long piece of orange/pink thread, knotted at the end. Don’t forget, you always insert it at the back of the head, so the yarn is more secure. (The knot will sit in the stuffing and not be near the front of the head.) Then work in a triangle formation to create the beak & then sew your end through to the back of the head and knot it off, pushing the knot back into the head so it’s secure.

For the eyebrows, use a piece of black thread and as before with a knot at the end work from the back of the head through to where you want the eyebrows to be at the front, then work your way to the back again to secure.

And there you have it. One little Hoot. Don’t forget you can use a variety of different coloured yarns for this pattern. You could even do some stripes around the tummy. Like the one above.

As many of you know, I do not sell my patterns, but ask for a donation, however small, to support one of our incredible charities. For this pattern, I will be supporting the wonderful charity CLDF – Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. This is a charity that is close to the heart of Lisa from For the Love of Yarn and her family and I feel truly honoured that I can help and support the charity in anyway I can. Here is the link to my Just Giving page to support CLDF. A donation, however small, will be very much appreciated by the charity. 

Children’s Liver DiseaseFoundation – Just Giving Page

Care
When washing, ensure you follow the instructions on the label of the yarn you are using & be as gentle as you can.
Reshape where applicable. 

All you need to do now, is give it to a loved one to snuggle up with. Don’t forget to share any pics with us on the good old fashioned net. 

Well I really hope you have enjoyed this pattern. As usual, any questions or queries just give me a shout. 

Happy hooking!

🌈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.)

Continue Reading

Patterns

PipsRainbow is 7 Years Old!

No Comments

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.)

Continue Reading
1 2 3 … 33