2018 CAL - Year of the Stitches Blanket

Year of the Stitches – Week 9 Shell Network

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Week 9 – Shell Network 

Well what a week!!! Crikey!!! Can’t get over this weather. It’s been bonkers hasn’t it! Slipper socks are being worn with fleece & normal socks in this house!! I think it’s the wind more than anything!! Felt like we were in a blizzard after school the other day.

My daughter had a snow day on Friday which was great. So nice to just chill. We ended up making her little fairy garden with some hyacinths that my Dad gave me. It’s amazing how much a little girl can fit into one plant pot!! I would have loved this as a child. I remember playing with little figurines in the hedges at school on the playing field. We used to imagine there was a whole mini world in there! We would make little slides and homes for them! It was such fun. My daughter keeps adding things to hers, think we might need a second plant pot.

Have you all managed to get out in the snow? We’ve managed some sledging with family which was great and a lovely walk round the back of our house. Thankfully, no snowball fights! Not sure why, but i’m really not a fan of them!! It’s just so cold and it just hurts too much.

I wonder when these guys will make an appearance this year in our gardens?!?! Can’t wait to see their beautiful colours dotted around. I really hope this weather hasn’t killed them all off. Here’s hoping they will sprout their sunny little heads soon.

So this has been a week of slipper socks!! I’ve managed to make some for my Mum for Mother’s Day which I hope she’ll like, but then my daughter saw the colour of the wool & put in a desperate request for some too. I hadn’t made a children’s version of the pattern, but knew I needed to at some point! So challenge set and I am very happy to say that challenge was completed.

3 and half hours later and these little beauties were produced!! So chuffed! I hid them in our bedroom for her find! I can’t tell you how excited she was!!! She hasn’t taken them off!! Bless her!! I’m definitely going to create a pattern now for children’s sizes.

So this week I have chosen quite a delicate stitch called Shell Network. A shell stitch is another one of those cluster stitches that we’ve used before but it gives a fan like texture and the network part is because the fan is contained in an open column. It’s used quite a lot in baby clothes and blankets, because of its delicate open nature. So it’s made up of chains and treble stitches, rather than one special stitch. I hope you are going to enjoy this one. The only thing I would say to you is watch your count, you kind of need to concentrate a bit more on this stitch as it’s quite easy to miss part of the stitch and then get in a pickle in the next row!!

Stitches –

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

Supplies –

Right so this week I have chosen a beautiful delicate pale blue colour and once again it’s from the marvellous Sublime yarn range. It’s such a beautiful colour. It’s an ice blue colour for all the snow and ice that’s been keeping us company this week!! (It definitely couldn’t be a bright colour this week, could it!!) I have used about 30/40g of this DK yarn, but you can use any kind of DK yarn you wish. You will need your 4mm hook, scissors and blunt ended tapestry needle.

Ok so here we go …

1 – Right then so first of all chain 4 (This counts as 1tr & ch1.) Then work 1tr into the next stitch.

So now miss 2 stitches and work 5tr stitches in the next stitch. (Don’t forget to check the stitch information above if you are unsure of how to make a treble stitch.)

Now miss 2 stitches and work 1tr in the next stitch, then chain 1, miss a stitch and work 1 more treble stitch.

Ok so now *miss 2 stitches, work 5tr in the next stitch, miss 2 stitches, work 1tr, chain 1, miss a stitch and work 1 more tr stitch into the new room stitch.* Repeat ** across the row.

When you get to the end of the row, work your last 5tr stitches and then you should have 5 stitches left.

So miss 2 stitches, work 1tr, then chain 1, miss a stitch and work 1tr into the last stitch. This completes the first row. (211)

2 – Ok so now turn your work and crochet 4 chain stitches. (This count as your first tr and 1ch stitch.) Then work 1tr into the next stitch. Now once again miss 2 stitches and work 5tr into the next stitch. (This is the top of the fan of stitches from the row below.)

Now *miss 2 stitches and work 1tr. Then chain 1, miss a stitch then work 1tr into the next stitch. Then miss 2 stitches and work 5tr into the next stitch.* Repeat ** across the whole row. Once you get to the end, as before finish off by working 1tr, chain 1, and work 1tr in the last chain space. (There isn’t a stitch to miss here like before!) (211)

 

3 – Ok so we’re now on the last row. Can you see the columns network appearing from your stitches? Right so once again start off with 4 chain stitches. (This counts as your first 1tr and chain 1 stitch.) Now miss a stitch a work 1 tr in the next stitch.

*Now miss 2 stitches and work 5 tr in the next stitch. Ok so as before miss 2 stitches and work 1tr. Then miss a stitch, chain 1 and then work 1tr in the next stitch.* Repeat ** across the row.

Once you get to the end of your row and you have worked your last fan of 5tr stitches, miss 2 stitches, work 1tr, chain 1, miss a stitch and work 1 tr in the last chain space. Now fasten off and sew in both your ends. (211)

And there you have it. The wonderful shell network! Such a decorative stitch and so versatile. I really hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks stitch.

Have a lovely rest of your weekend. Keep warm and stay safe.

Happy hooking!

🌈Xx

 

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2018 CAL - Year of the Stitches Blanket

Year of the Stitches – Week 6 Raised Popcorn Stitch

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The Raised Popcorn 🍿 Stitch

Hi everyone, well what a wet and dreary week. I hope you have all had good weeks. I’ve been busy making my wonderful mother-in-law some slipper socks for her birthday. I’m pleased to say I got them finished and they are hopefully keeping her tootsies warm as we speak.

I’ve finally managed to get the pattern all written up for them, but it just needs another check before I will pop it on here. The pair I have made for myself seem to be keeping my feet very snuggly and warm.

Once again we have had a sad week as we have said goodbye to one of the families and one of my dear friend’s Mum. She had been fighting her illness for so long and was such a strong person. Can’t quite believe it really. It was so terribly terribly sad. She was so full of life and had had so much fun. It was clear to see at her celebration of life, how many friends and family she had around her that were dear to her. What an amazing lady!! Listening to the stories about her made you want to go off on an adventure straight away. Wow! She had had a few herself. So I would like to dedicate this weeks yarn to a wonderful lady, who brought so much fun and love into the world. Here’s to you!! Sending so much love to her closest and dearest. We are thinking of you.

So I have chosen a wonderful bright warm yellow, which I think is rather apt for her. It is from the lovely sublime merino wool range again.

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.

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.

Raised Popcorn (rp) – So chain 1, then work 6tr stitches all in the next dc stitch 2 rows below. Then remove your hook from the loop and reinsert it back into the chain 1 space worked before the 6tr stitches. Then collect up the loop from the last tr stitch and pull through to complete the raised popcorn stitch.

Supplies –

So again you need to choose a double knit yarn of any kind. You roughly need about 30g/40g. Don’t forget your scissors and blunt ended tapestry needle. And of course your 4mm crochet hook.

Ok so here we go … 

1 – Ok so start off by joining your new yarn by inserting your hook into the first stitch and pulling the new yarn through.

Now start by chaining 1 and dc into the same stitch.

Then work 1dc into the rest of the stitches. (201)

2 – *Now turn your work and chain 1. Then work 1 dc in the same stitch.

Work 1dc in the rest of the stitches in the row. (201)*

3 – Repeat ** for row 3. (201)

4 – Right so in this row chain 1 and work 1dc into the same stitch. Then work 1dc in the next 3 stitches. Now it’s time to work a raised popcorn stitch (rp). So to do this chain 1.

Then you are going to work 6tr stitches into the stitch 2 rows below. Can you see in the photo below where the stitch is you are picking up? It’s 2 dc rows below.

So this is showing your first tr stitch.

Right so carry on with tr stitches to complete the 6tr stitches in the same stitch. Now remove your hook from the loop and insert it in between the chain 1 space at the start of the stitch.

Now place the loop from the last tr stitch you worked over your hook and pull it through. This completes your first raised popcorn (rp) stitch.

Ok so now you are going to work 5dc stitches. You can see in the photo below where I have started the first if these 5dc stitches.

And now you are ready to start your next rp stitch. So *chain 1, work 1rp stitch then 5dc stitches. *

Repeat ** till you have completed the row. (After the last rp, work 5dc stitches as normal.) (238)

5 – Now turn your work and chain 1. Then work 1dc into the same stitch. Then work 1dc in each stitch in the row. This is being worked on the wrong side of your blanket. Once you have completed the row, fasten off your yarn and sew in your ends. (238)

And there you have it. Your raised popcorn stitches are complete. Now you may have noticed that our stitch count has jumped! This is because of the raised popcorn stitch being worked lower in the rows, so another stitch was included in the top to keep the structure. Don’t worry as next week we will get the stitch count back down again. I tried it without the extra stitch and it didn’t seem to work as well. Hope all that makes sense. You should end up with 39 lovely raised popcorn stitches in your row.


Thank you once again for reading my blog and having a go at my Year of the Stitches blanket. Hope you have enjoyed this weeks stitch. Please let me know if you are unsure of anything! And don’t forget to share pics!!

Happy hooking.

🌈Xx

 

 

 

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