Chevron Blanket Pattern

My plan for this post was originally another Granny square blanket in variegated yarn, but obviously that hasn't happened. *:(* Instead, I've spent a few hours crocheting a new chevron baby blanket in pink and grey!

I'm loving the pink and grey of this blanket already only 5 rows in, very retro/indie! 

Pattern

For this blanket you will need:
~ a 4mm hook (or one that will fit your yarn)
~ 100g of your yarn in a variety of colours, the more colours you incorporate, the longer your blanket
~ a darning needle to weave the ends in later
~ and some scissors!

I'm writing this pattern in UK terms

For the perfect size of a baby blanket, chain 150 and chain 3 more (this acts as your first treble and gives you the required height), one treble in the same stitch. Do one treble in the next seven stitches. This is where things get a little tricky, so be careful- treble 3 together.

Yarn over and insert your hook in to the next stitch, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through again. Before you complete the treble, yarn over and insert your hook in to the next stitch. Repeat twice more.

At this stage, you should have 4 loops on your hook and 3 incomplete trebles, yarn over one final time and pull through all four loops.

If you've done the 3 trebles correctly, this is what you should have achieved. This part of the pattern creates the bottom  V of the chevron pattern. In the next 9 stitches do one treble.

Once you have completed the 9 trebles, do 3 in to the same stitch as above, and then come back down the chevron by repeating the 9 trebles.

Repeat the pattern as follows after the 9 trebles to finish off the row:

Treble 3 together,
9 trebles,
3 trebles in the same stitch,
9 trebles.

If done correctly, after your last treble 3 together, you should have 7 stitches left, treble as normal and do two trebles in the last stitch

Chain 3 and treble of row 2

Row 2:

Chain 3 and treble in the same stitch.
9 trebles,
Treble 3 together, 
9 trebles,
3 trebles in the same stitch.
9 trebles,
Treble 3 together, etc. until the end, where you have two trebles in the last stitch.

Repeat row 2 until you're satisfied with your blanket, et voilà!! All you have to do is either crochet your yarn in to the stitches, or use a needle. When changing colours, I recommend that after you are part way through the row that you go back and neatly knot the strand of the previous colour to the new one before crocheting in. I find this makes the blanket easier to maintain and less likely to fall apart, but each to their own.

Of course you don't have to do the same two colours as I do, and your blanket can have colours varying in widths but mine shall be like this throughout. I hope you enjoy your blanket as much as I am, and I shall post some more photos when I am finished.

Giant Granny Square

So the other night I finally finished my first skein of the lovely, wonderfully soft, Stylecraft Merry Go Round yarn in Pink/Lilac and I must say it's been a pleasure to work with. It looks amazing, it feels great and its incredibly nice to work with. As you can see, the out come looks brilliant. 

For those who can't yet change colour it is delightful to work with and I highly recommend any sort of variegated yarn to practice with as you can easily see the stitches.

I can't wait to get my hands on some more skeins so I can crochet away my first lovely baby blanket!

You might notice my Granny Square has no holes in the corners as some do, this is because I change the basic pattern to achieve this look as I feel it has a nicer effect on the eye (and for those who like to change colour, it can also create a heart shape effect on the corner).

Variegated Yarn

Variegated yarn is wonderful when you find the right colours and project- go for it! I've had some cheap yarn for a while now and I haven't found a project I've thought nice enough to dig it out.  Yesterday I decided that as I couldn't find a nice enough blanket pattern, I'd rather make the biggest square I could (providing I can get hold of the yarn again from my local market. I haven't seen the sellers around for a while! :c )

Blissful colours

I am usually extremely fussy on colours combinations but this Stylecraft Merry Go Round DK yarn is amazing in the pink-lilac colour. It's incredibly girly and with the right project this would make a beautiful, wonderful blanket for any girl- age newborn up. 

All I know is I was only a few rows in and I felt I had to take this picture! I really am enjoying the project of a simple square for once, and this is a project that will grow with the night and days to come.

Something went wrong...

Yup, something went wrong with the adorable ripple blanket and I don't even know how. I mean, I really don't know how. I've been following the pattern (albeit in my head) and some how my ends have bowed.

One side of the blanket is great and perfect, and the other with the ends just screams "WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?"

See what I mean? And this is the blanket laying flat.

Admittedly I've never made a blanket properly before; this was going to be my first and now I'm worried that I won't be able to get past this awkward stage in it. Would it be improved by an edging of some kind? Is this normal when making a blanket? I haven't got a clue. What I do know, is that I need help. And fast.

Until I find out what's wrong, I shall be trawling through Pinterest for tips on ripple blankets and where I am going awfully wrong. :c

Crochet Flowers

Happy Monday!

It's been a very tiring weekend at home and I've managed to squeeze in a little bit of crochet for my garland WIP. I decided that little daisy flowers would go lovely with my garland of hearts, bringing some of the beauty of the outdoors, indoors.

This little cutie was made with tatting/crochet cotton #10 and embroidery floss for the petals. The pattern from Skip To My Lou is super, super easy to follow and as you can see the results are amazing! Personally I believe this sort of pattern would look better in a thin cotton rather than yarn, especially for a garland like mine. 

With a few more crochet hearts and a few more daisies, I think I will have some beautiful garlands for Spring.

Cute Ripples!

'Tis the season for blankets at the moment with snow, wind and rain covering much of the West, and so as spring is (hopefully) on its way to us all, I've begun knocking up this cute ripple blanket!

(Adorable, right?)

The colours are a-DOR-able and soft, making the blanket perfect for newborns, children, or just for yourself and those crisp spring mornings and cool nights.

It didn't go without its errors though. Miss counting my stitches and being too eager meant I often had to frog my lovely blanket and start rows again or go back to where I could see it first going wrong. Needless to say though that this has just made me love my blanket more and I cannot wait to add more rows, colours, and love to it.

If you wish to make your own ripple blanket you can find the pattern on Attic24

Owlfie and Dragon amigurimi

I love amigurimi and making cute little animals, my two most recent experiments being my little Dragon and Owl.

Owlfie was a lot easier to make than the Dragon. The owl is worked in simple, well explained rounds, and you can find the pattern for this owl and many more at ATERGcrochet on Etsy!

Dragon, however, was a little more complicated. If you fancy making the dragon from All About Ami (seen all over Pinterest), I highly suggest you get fabric glue and a glue gun. Working without the glue gun is very difficult for the pattern, and they're usually available in most craft stores at reasonable prices.

I find both animals adorable, even with their very poorly home-made look about them. A little more practice and I should have both down to a fine art I reckon.