Showing posts with label pillow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pillow. Show all posts
After entering designing world of crochet 4 years ago, I have learnt that Christmas in July is a huge “event”, or “movement”. Many crafters all over the world start preparing for Christmas and are creating gifts for their family members and friends. Every year I was telling myself I should join in and design something special in July. But because I am terrible with “seasonal crochet” and always miss all dates, it never happened in a proper way. This year, however, I was right on time with a new design. But because of Grinda MAL and a puppy story there was a delay again… However! Here it is! One month late, lol.
As you might now, I am Belarusin by origin living in the Czech Republic for 10 years already. Two years ago my best Belarusian friend Natasha visited me in Brno right before Christmas. And she brought a very special present. A handmade glass bauble with traditional Belarusian ornament meaning 'wealth', or its slight modification meaning 'fire'. It’s interesting that the same ornamental sign can be seen in different cultures. And this particular square is known to be a Christmas one. But because this ornament is ancient, it's obviously good not only for Christmas :)
A new design idea? Yes, of course!
Let me introduce a Fire Square crochet pattern. It consists of a lace fabric with the same stitch, as in Grinda shawl and Indigo Shrug (yes, I am secretly in love with this stitch and am using it almost everywhere now…) and textured pattern with front post stitches and popcorns.
The pattern is on sale during this weekend (through Monday, September 3rd, 2018) with 20% off both on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE. The discount was already applied to price and no codes are needed. After that date Fire Square will be offered at a full price 4.5$ (+VAT if you are in EU or Australia).
Add this pattern to your Ravelry Queue
or Pin It for later
I used Sport weight yarn (Stone Washed by Scheepjes) in solid shade – slightly under 3 skeins for one square. I believe one solid colour works best for this pattern. With 4mm crochet hook it turned out quite big – approx. 50cm/20”. Just the perfect size for a pillow cover, and I sewed both my squares onto ready fabric pillowcases from IKEA (see a how-to video tutorial HERE).
The pattern contains full written instructions and step-by-step pictures for every round. Please, note that NO chart is included, and the pattern is only available in English with US crochet terms (so far).
If you would like to use the same yarn as me, you can find Stone Washed in local Scheepjes shops. Or via larger online retailers, such as:
Wool Warehouse* (UK, international shipping)
Black Sheep Wools* (UK, international shipping)
Deramores* (UK, international shipping)
Caro’s Atelier* (NL and Europe)
I believe Fire square will make a wonderful afghan block. If you use different yarn (fingering, lace or even thread) with a smaller hook, you will get smaller squares. And they can be joined together into blankets! Maybe even with squares in different colors? Or... How do you like an idea of making this square with thread and sewing it onto linen pad for a festive pin cushion? It could make a wonderful gift for your crafty friend!
Look at what Laura (aka @taemombo on Ravelry) made using Fire square. She combined it together with Indigo shrug pattern which was transformed into a new and unique garment! Just in case you would like to make the same shrug, Laura used one Whirl and one Whirlette. However only 8g of Whirlette was left after the hem was completed. So if your gauge tends to be loose you might want to add one more Whirlette, to be on the safe side.
Laura is my creative muse :) Whatever I design she always brings my patterns to one step forward by rethinking them and combining in a very creative way. Check, for example, her Celtic blanket, Sunny blanket, First Snow blanket, or her Northern Lights blanket! I am so happy that crochet and Scheepjes yarns inspired Laura to open her own yarn shop (yay!). It’s called Taemombo, and it can be found HERE. If you live in Canada and are looking for Scheepjes yarns, please support Laura and purchase from her.
If Fire Square inspired you to make a Christmas gift for someone, or just yourself, please jump to my shop on Ravelry HERE or Etsy HERE. And I will be looking forward to see your beautiful creations!
Subscribe to a newsletter not to miss a single post. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
As you might now, I am Belarusin by origin living in the Czech Republic for 10 years already. Two years ago my best Belarusian friend Natasha visited me in Brno right before Christmas. And she brought a very special present. A handmade glass bauble with traditional Belarusian ornament meaning 'wealth', or its slight modification meaning 'fire'. It’s interesting that the same ornamental sign can be seen in different cultures. And this particular square is known to be a Christmas one. But because this ornament is ancient, it's obviously good not only for Christmas :)
A new design idea? Yes, of course!
Let me introduce a Fire Square crochet pattern. It consists of a lace fabric with the same stitch, as in Grinda shawl and Indigo Shrug (yes, I am secretly in love with this stitch and am using it almost everywhere now…) and textured pattern with front post stitches and popcorns.
The pattern is on sale during this weekend (through Monday, September 3rd, 2018) with 20% off both on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE. The discount was already applied to price and no codes are needed. After that date Fire Square will be offered at a full price 4.5$ (+VAT if you are in EU or Australia).
or Pin It for later
I used Sport weight yarn (Stone Washed by Scheepjes) in solid shade – slightly under 3 skeins for one square. I believe one solid colour works best for this pattern. With 4mm crochet hook it turned out quite big – approx. 50cm/20”. Just the perfect size for a pillow cover, and I sewed both my squares onto ready fabric pillowcases from IKEA (see a how-to video tutorial HERE).
The pattern contains full written instructions and step-by-step pictures for every round. Please, note that NO chart is included, and the pattern is only available in English with US crochet terms (so far).
If you would like to use the same yarn as me, you can find Stone Washed in local Scheepjes shops. Or via larger online retailers, such as:
Wool Warehouse* (UK, international shipping)
Black Sheep Wools* (UK, international shipping)
Deramores* (UK, international shipping)
Caro’s Atelier* (NL and Europe)
I believe Fire square will make a wonderful afghan block. If you use different yarn (fingering, lace or even thread) with a smaller hook, you will get smaller squares. And they can be joined together into blankets! Maybe even with squares in different colors? Or... How do you like an idea of making this square with thread and sewing it onto linen pad for a festive pin cushion? It could make a wonderful gift for your crafty friend!
Look at what Laura (aka @taemombo on Ravelry) made using Fire square. She combined it together with Indigo shrug pattern which was transformed into a new and unique garment! Just in case you would like to make the same shrug, Laura used one Whirl and one Whirlette. However only 8g of Whirlette was left after the hem was completed. So if your gauge tends to be loose you might want to add one more Whirlette, to be on the safe side.
Laura is my creative muse :) Whatever I design she always brings my patterns to one step forward by rethinking them and combining in a very creative way. Check, for example, her Celtic blanket, Sunny blanket, First Snow blanket, or her Northern Lights blanket! I am so happy that crochet and Scheepjes yarns inspired Laura to open her own yarn shop (yay!). It’s called Taemombo, and it can be found HERE. If you live in Canada and are looking for Scheepjes yarns, please support Laura and purchase from her.
If Fire Square inspired you to make a Christmas gift for someone, or just yourself, please jump to my shop on Ravelry HERE or Etsy HERE. And I will be looking forward to see your beautiful creations!
Subscribe to a newsletter not to miss a single post. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
After a short but very nice holiday break I am entering year 2017 with a new design. You may have read about this in my previous post HERE. I am playing with Mini Nooodle* (T-shirt) yarn by Scheepjes and this time I am working on a new round pillow design. It will be free and soon published on my blog.
Nowadays crochet that looks like knitting is very popular, and I decided to try my hand in designing something very simple to contribute to this trend. I am playing with a Camel crochet stitch, working in rounds with colour changes on each round.
Camel stitch is very widely used in crochet wear design. Usually combined with half double crochet stitches (hdc - US term). But I thought it might be nice to try a bit “tighter version” with single crochet stitches (sc).
Camel stitch is very simple. The only difference is in a way you insert the crochet hook. If you are a beginner you may only have worked through both loops so far. You can also crochet in front loops or back loops only. And you can also crochet in 3rd loop – to obtain a “knit look” effect.
I’ve made pictures below to give you an idea of what “loops' anatomy” looks like. In 2nd picture you can see that 3rd loop lies just behind back loop on the wrong side of your work. And this is the one you need for a Camel stitch. It might be easier to see it in hdc stitches. If you would like to practice, you may use a free hat pattern recently released by Miss Neriss (available HERE).
For my new pillow project I work in rounds and change colours on every round. I decided to write this short photo-tutorial to show you the tips I have come up with (especially for joining the rounds). US terms and abbreviations are used here.
Round 1. To begin make a magic ring, ch1 (which doesn’t count as sc) and 6 sc into a magic ring. Join the round with slip stitch (ss) in 1st sc of the round after ch1 (insert the hook under both loops (front and back).
Round 2. Change yarn making ch1 with new colour. Now you will be working in 3rd loops of the stitches from round 1. The 1st sc is made in the same stitch as join.
Ch1, 2sc (3rd lp) in each stitch around; join with ss in 1st sc after ch1.
If you just join with ss, there might be a joining seam visible on right side. I was thinking of how it is possible to avoid it, and here is the tip I have come up with: after you join the round with ss, drop loop of yarn from the hook (pic.1 below), then insert the hook under back loop of same stitch as join (from back to front – pic.2), put the loop on the hook again and pull it under back loop to the wrong side of your work (pic.3). It should help to make the seam less visible.
Round 3. Change yarn again in the same way as on Round 2 and work again in 3rd loops of the stitches.
To make a flat circle, make 6 increases on each round. I will post complete instructions together with the pattern of my new pillow in 2 weeks. UPDATE: UFO pillow free crochet pattern is available HERE.
If you would like to try Mini Nooodle yarn, it's available via Wool Warehouse HERE* or from your local Scheepjes shops.
Have a nice weekend,
Subscribe to a newsletter not to miss a single post. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
p.s. Thank you for using my affiliate links (marked with *). It costs you nothing but helps to support my blog. It’s very much appreciated.
Nowadays crochet that looks like knitting is very popular, and I decided to try my hand in designing something very simple to contribute to this trend. I am playing with a Camel crochet stitch, working in rounds with colour changes on each round.
Camel stitch is very widely used in crochet wear design. Usually combined with half double crochet stitches (hdc - US term). But I thought it might be nice to try a bit “tighter version” with single crochet stitches (sc).
Camel stitch is very simple. The only difference is in a way you insert the crochet hook. If you are a beginner you may only have worked through both loops so far. You can also crochet in front loops or back loops only. And you can also crochet in 3rd loop – to obtain a “knit look” effect.
I’ve made pictures below to give you an idea of what “loops' anatomy” looks like. In 2nd picture you can see that 3rd loop lies just behind back loop on the wrong side of your work. And this is the one you need for a Camel stitch. It might be easier to see it in hdc stitches. If you would like to practice, you may use a free hat pattern recently released by Miss Neriss (available HERE).
Camel Crochet Stitch Tutorial
For my new pillow project I work in rounds and change colours on every round. I decided to write this short photo-tutorial to show you the tips I have come up with (especially for joining the rounds). US terms and abbreviations are used here.
Round 1. To begin make a magic ring, ch1 (which doesn’t count as sc) and 6 sc into a magic ring. Join the round with slip stitch (ss) in 1st sc of the round after ch1 (insert the hook under both loops (front and back).
Round 2. Change yarn making ch1 with new colour. Now you will be working in 3rd loops of the stitches from round 1. The 1st sc is made in the same stitch as join.
Ch1, 2sc (3rd lp) in each stitch around; join with ss in 1st sc after ch1.
If you just join with ss, there might be a joining seam visible on right side. I was thinking of how it is possible to avoid it, and here is the tip I have come up with: after you join the round with ss, drop loop of yarn from the hook (pic.1 below), then insert the hook under back loop of same stitch as join (from back to front – pic.2), put the loop on the hook again and pull it under back loop to the wrong side of your work (pic.3). It should help to make the seam less visible.
Round 3. Change yarn again in the same way as on Round 2 and work again in 3rd loops of the stitches.
To make a flat circle, make 6 increases on each round. I will post complete instructions together with the pattern of my new pillow in 2 weeks. UPDATE: UFO pillow free crochet pattern is available HERE.
If you would like to try Mini Nooodle yarn, it's available via Wool Warehouse HERE* or from your local Scheepjes shops.
Have a nice weekend,
Subscribe to a newsletter not to miss a single post. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
p.s. Thank you for using my affiliate links (marked with *). It costs you nothing but helps to support my blog. It’s very much appreciated.
Today I decided to publish a very special post. For me personally it has a huge significance. It is almost one month since the last clue for my Circles of the Sun CAL was published. Many of you participated in it and I thank you very much for staying with me till the end. Every day I see new wonderful finished projects made with the squares from this CAL. And these are not only the pillows. I feel very inspired to see new color combinations and how creative and skillful, and patient you are! So I decided to gather a very small collection of finished projects and share it with you today. Maybe it will help you in case you haven’t decided yet what to do with your own Circles of the Sun. Or maybe you will get inspired and start a new project right away. :)
Today is a very special day. Special for many reasons. Today the last clue for Circles of the Sun Mystery CAL is published. It feels sad and great and the same time. Sad because I got quite used to run to a computer every Friday evening and publish a new mystery post for you, and I don’t really know what I will be doing now when the CAL is over (…but actually I have lots of things to do :) I will be back to full-time designing – oh yes, I will!). But it also feels great because you will finally finish your Circles of the Sun pillow. I know that some of you decided to make blankets, and even bags using these blocks. So in fact, the most fun part of the CAL is coming now. Because soon (I really-really hope) we will see lots of beautiful finished objects! Please, don’t forget to share the pictures with me. You can do it either in my Ravelry group or on Facebook.
Today was a very long day. It started early in the morning and then I was traveling for the whole day. I am posting from Stockholm now. I came to Sweden to work for almost two weeks. And if I survive, my next (final) post with Circles of the Sun will be made from Malmö :) This is my first time in Stockholm and I like it very much. This city has a very special atmosphere and it was nice to walk through the old town and listen to live music. I would like to post tons of pictures but I know (yes!) that you are waiting for Block 9. So here it is!
We are slowly coming to the end of Circles of the Sun Mystery CAL. Only two more blocks are left and then you will join all nine squares and crochet a border around front decoration for your new pillow cover. Today's granny square is another imitation of a flower – with two rounds of petals. Please, feel free to change the order of your colors in a way that suits you the best. Today I post much earlier than usually. When this posts reaches you, I will be on a train for a 17 hours ride. And I really hope to see all your small colorful beauties when I am back on-line :)
Today you will add one more flower to your Circles of the Sun pillow. What I like about overlay crochet (and you probably know already that I like it for many-many reasons) is that you can work with several layers at the same time. This gives a very nice structure to the project. Today’s square has a 3D flower. And you will get a nice opportunity to train your surface crochet once again as you will be making 3 (!) rounds of decorative slip stitches.
Another week has run away very fast and today is Friday again. It means those of you who follow my Circles of the Sun CAL will see a new – fifth! – block. You may probably recognize it from the picture, as it was used as an introductory sneak peek for this CAL. Today’s square is more graphic than floral, and it belongs to my personal favourites.
Greetings from the North Sea! I am travelling along the Belgian coast at the moment. And I should say it was quite a challenge to find a place with an internet here. So I decided to post from the first spot I found, with not keeping the timing... How many blocks from this CAL have you made already? Every day new "arrivals" are here and my heart is getting happier and happier after seeing all you masterpieces. Colors you choose are so different and each new combination makes the same square look absolutely unique. I know that some of you are planning to make bags and even blankets using the squares from Circles of the Sun CAL. And I really hope you will share your creations with me - on Facebook or Ravelry.
You have probably noticed already that I became totally addicted to making mandalas. I just love to design them. In one of the previous posts I wrote about the Colouring Mandala as a special meditation technique. And though I don’t practice meditation in its special way, I still feel the power of mandalas while designing and crocheting them. It is calming and relaxing indeed. And this is what I really need in my life – to have some time for myself and feel peaceful and quiet.
Designing a crocheted item is a very creative process. Even if you have a
"shaped" idea (as you think) still it can turn into anything else in practice.
And here is an example. It should have been a star but it turned out to be
something completely different. Another mandala, actually. And a nice decoration
for a pillow cover, I think. The test is finished already and this “Mint Coffee
Mandala” pattern is available in
Etsy
and
Ravelry
shops!
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