By Helen

let it snow: crochet style…

Let’s face it the weather isn’t exactly Christmassy at the moment, is it?  In York, there isn’t even a hint of snow or that we might get a white Christmas.  It does sometimes snow, in York, is then it looks even more beautiful than usual.  I love snow, I love everything about it (well may be not the slushy stuff): what else can completely change the look, feel and sound of a place?  I thought, I’d share with you a pattern for a snowflake, and then you can have your own snow garlands, for Christmas, no matter what the weather.  You will need to white yarn, cotton is best, a suitable crochet hook, some water, rust-proof pins, pva glue, glitter and a board to block on.  Ready?  Good…

Start with 5ch, slst to join…

** 2dc, 3ch, 2dc ** six times, slst to join…

You should have six chsp...

Slst into 1^st chsp.  ** 2dc, 3ch, 2dc, slst into chsp **.,,

Repeat ** - ** in each chsp.  Slst to join…

If you want to crochet a small snowflake, fasten off and weave in the ends.   To crochet the larger snowflake…

** slst into 1^st chsp.   1dc, 3ch, 1dc, 5ch, 1dc, 3ch, 1dc into chsp, 2ch **...

Repeat ** - **  into each chsp. slst to join…

Fasten off and weave in the ends.  Your snowflake will probably need blocking. 

Mix together pva glue and water (adding glitter for extra sparkle) and soak your snowflake for at least ten minutes.  Squeeze out the excess liquid and block out on a board, covered with cling-film, using rust-proof pins...

You can use the snowflakes on your Christmas card, as tree decorations, as garlands, or how every you choose. 

Happy crocheting…

xxx

crochet mistletoe…

Today is the most perfect day, for crochet.  Here is York; it is cold, wet and very, veRY, VERY windy.  The perfect day for lighting a fire, making tea and crocheting.  How about crocheting from thing for Christmas?  Are you beginning to feel Christmasy?  I am, it is slowly brewing up: I can feel it coming.  I thought I’d share my pattern for mistletoe.  Hopefully you’ll find it easy to follow: quick to make and after a happy afternoon you’ll have a bunch of mistletoe to hang and smooch under ;)

You’ll need some green and white yarn and a crochet hook that suits the yarn.  I used bamboo cotton and a 4mm hook: but it is really up to you.

Using green ** 13ch…

In 5^th ch from hook trtr in next 2 ch…

1dtr in next 2ch, 1tr in next 2 ch, 1htr in next ch, 1 dc in next ch**…

Don’t fasten off.

Repeat ** - **.  Join the two leaves together with a slss...

Don’t fasten off.

9ch...

slss in 2^nd ch from hook then slss in each ch…

Slss to join leaves to the stem…

Fasten off!

To crochet the berries

Using white 2ch, in 2^nd ch from hook 1dc and 1tr, fasten off…

Crochet two and sew them on the leaves.  Block if needed. And ta-dah…

Make lots: hang and find someone wonderful to smooch!

crochet fall leaves…autumn leaves…

Although Si and I were a few weeks too early for the true Autumnal colours in the Lake District, a few of the trees had begun to drop subtle hints of what was to come…

Inspired by this promise, I decided to crochet some Autumnal leaves, to make into bunting ready for Halloween.  I thought that you might like to crochet yourself some.  You will need to gather together so scraps of suitably coloured yarn (you really don’t need very much).  I used some pure wool, which I bought at Yarndale for the bargain price of £2 per ball…

I just love, loVE, LOVE the colours: Autumn in yarn.  I am not sure what weight the yarn is, so I opted to use my trustee 4mm hook.

Start off by crochet with 10ch…

 dc in second ch from hook, dc, htr, tr, tr, tr, htr, dc, dc…

Working down the other size of the ch, 1ch, dc, dc, htr, tr, tr, tr, htr, dc, dc…

Change to a different colour and sl st into each stitch…

Have fun playing around with lots of Autumnal colours…

There you have your very own crocheted Autumnal leave.  All you have to do is decide how you are going to use it.  I crocheted lots, and strung them up to make Autumnal butting, over the fireplace…

I didn’t hang them up very well, because later that evening they fell down…

This did give me another idea for a future crochet project.  Watch this space…

crochet: lazy, daisy, bunting…

Coming back from holiday, I am getting back into the routine of everyday life; work, rest and play.  To be honest getting back into it hasn’t been too bad: maybe it is because the sun is still shining, maybe it is the thought of the lovely friends I’ll be catching-up with in the coming weeks or may be it is because our next holiday doesn’t seem all that far away.  I thought I’d get back into the routine of blogging crochet and share with you my pattern for lazy, daisy bunting.  It is a pattern I have been working on for a long, long, long  time: but I finally settled on it just in time for York’s last Yarnbomb.

I used some lovely yarn by Rico Design, called creative fliz!  It is a merino yarn, really thick and chunky.  Any chunky yarn will do:  I was drawn to this practically yarn because of the colours…

The ball band recommends you use a 8mm hook: but I decided to use a 4.5mm hook – so the bunting didn’t droop when it was hung out.

Here’s how to crochet the daisy…

2ch…

Working into the 2^nd ch from hook…

Crochet 9tr…

ss to join…

Finish off and change colour (if you want to), *9ch…

ss into next tr*…

Repeat *-* until you have crocheted your petals…

Finish off and weave in your ends.  Crochet as many lazy daisies as you like: then join together using a long crocheted chain, catching the petals, with a double crochet, as you go along…

Hang, make a cup-of-tea and enjoy your lazy, daisy bunting....

Notes:

• Uk crochet terms have been used
• Sorry about the blurriness of the last image: not sure what happened! 

crochet forget-me-not bracelet…

For June’s crochet flower of the month, I was inspired by all the forget-me-nots that I saw when out walking in woodlands.  I hope you like it…

In case you do, here’s how I made it…

I gathered together all the bits and pieces I would need: forget-me-not blue yarn, a teeny-tiny crochet hook (for the DK yarn I used a 2mm hook), ribbon, hook and eye (for the fastenings), beads, needle, scissors and glue…

I love how the acid green ribbon looks against the forget-me-not yarn…

I started by tying the hook and eye to the end of the ribbon…

Decorating the ends of the ribbon with some beads…

I crocheted three forget-me-knots, using my blossom pattern; next I sewed little yellow beads to the centre, and then glued them to the ribbon…

Leave the glue to dry, then ta-dah…

Your very own crochet forget-me-not bracelet.  Let me know how you get on…

crochet blossom…

I thought that I’d share with you my crochet blossom pattern.  It is perfect for May and was May’s crochet flower last year.  The pattern is one of my very favourite.  I use it, quite literally, all the time.  I use it to embellish hats (the green one), wreaths and phone socks.  One of my favourite uses was when I needed hair clips in an emergency…

To crochet the blossom, so that it looks like blossom, I used Debbie Bliss’ Angel, but any fluffy yarn would be prefect.  For easy of seeing the stitches in the pattern I have crocheted it using some DK which I had.  Hopefully you can see the difference…

Gather your yarn, you don’t need much, and a hook which suits the yarn you are going to use.

Working into a magic circle, **3ch…

1tr, into the magic circle…

3ch…

ss ** into the magic circle…

Repeat ** - ** four more times, so you have five petals…

Don’t worry if your magic circle gets bigger and bigger!  After your last ss, finish off and pull the ends of the magic circle…

Weave in the ends and decide what to embellish!  Or secure to branches, to make your blossom bloom…

NB - To turn your blossom into a hair clip, stitch a bead into the centre of your flower, attach a kirby-grip and wear with pride!

 

crochet flower for March…

Before you continue reading, you should know that I have a confession to make. Ready?  March’s crochet flower of the month is (a teeny tiny) bit of a cheat.  I loved last March's flower, sooooooo much that I decided to reuse it.  I hope you don’t mind?  Looking back over last year’s post, I realised that I hadn’t shared the crochet pattern with you.  Really it is a win-win: I reuse one of my favourite flowers from last year and you get to crochet it ready for Easter.  Let’s face it, if it is as cold with you as it is here in York, we need the colourfulness, cheerfulness of the Daffodil.  York certainly doesn’t look as good as it did this time last year, the grass banks of the City Walls are not yet full of these…

Maybe it is waiting for you to visit over Easter!  On with the pattern:  I crocheted using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and a 4mm hook, but any Daffodil coloured yarn would work just as well. 

First crochet the petals...

Round 1: 9ch. Sl ss into 1^st ch to join the ring...

Round 2: dc into ring, 2ch, dc into ring.  Repeat this until you have 6 ch sps.  Sl ss into ch to join the ring…

Round 3: working into the first ch sp; dc, htr, tr, dtr, dtr, ch3, sl ss into 1^st ch (crocheting a picot), dtr, tr, htr, dc…

Repeat the above (still on round 3) into each ch sp, until you have six petals.   Fasten off…

Now crochet the trumpet...

Round 1: make a magic circle,  1ch to secure.  13dc into the magic circle. Sl ss into ch to make circle…

Round 2: 3ch. Tr into each dc. Sl ss into 3^rd ch to join circle…

Round 3: 3ch.  Sl ss into 1^st ch (picot) sl ss into next tr...

Repeat the above (still on round 3 picot) into each tr. Sl ss to join…

Sew the trumpet and petals together, then voila…

Last year I made my Daffodils into a Spring-time wreath: this year I am reusing them into something else.  I share with you the new project in a few posts time, for now it is just not-quite-right!

NB - when crochet the picot for the trumpet, please, don't worry about how many you end up with, just one in each treble is fine.  Go with how your trumpet is looking rather than fretting about counting stitches.  That's why crochet is so fantastic!

crochet flower for February…

Nothing says Spring is on its way quite as much as a tulip.  Ok may be the snowdrop, daffodil or primrose does: but for now I am focusing on tulips…

That’s because the tulip, is February’s crochet flower of the month.  Last year I crochet a rose for Valentine’s Day, this year something slightly less cliché (I did crochet hearts for Valentine’s Day after all) the tulip…

Here’s how you can make a bunch of them for yourself.  Gather together your yarn, scissors, needle and crochet hook.  I would suggest you use a smaller crochet hook than what is mentioned on the ball-band, as you want your petal stitches to be quite tight.   Ready?  Ok, then.

Row one : 5ch…

Row two: dc in 2^nd ch from hook, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, turn…

Row three: 1ch, 2dc in dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, 2dc in next dc, turn…

Row four: 1ch, 2dc in dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, 2dc in next dc, turn…

Row five, six and seven: 1ch, dc in each dc, turn…

Row eight: 1ch, 2dc tog, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, 2dc tog in next dc, turn…

Row nine: 1ch 2dc tog, dc in next dc, dc in next dc, 2dc tog in next dc, turn…

Row ten:  1ch, 2dc tog, 2dc tog, turn…

Row eleven: 1ch, 2 dc tog, finish off...

And weave in your ends…

Crochet six tulip petals…

Next you need to join the petals together

Row one: using your green yarn, dc across the base of the first petal…

Don’t worry too much about where you place your hook or how many stitches you crochet.  I crocheted four stitches, but however many you manage if fine.  Crochet one chain, before joining the next petal...

Repeat this until all of the petals are joined together (they will over-lap each other)…

Row two: turn, 1ch, dc in to each of the dc (I found it easier to ignore the ch: in other words, don’t try to dc into the ch)…

Row three: turn, 1ch, 2dc tog all the way across, finish off leaving a long tail…

To sew together, coil the petals together so that there are three inner and three outer petals and secure by sewing in the long tail…

Voila, your tulip…

If you want to arrange your tulips in a vase, I would suggest that you use a small garden cane as a stem, like I did with my Sunflowers.  Me?  I’m going to lay my crochet tulips across the mantelpiece as a Spring garland. 

Happy corcheting...

NB – the first ch in each row, does not count as a stitch.  All crochet stitches are UK stitches. 

crochet flower for January…

Well good morning!  It seems very indulgent blogging to you on a Wednesday morning.  Normally I fit my posts in around work: but not today – I have got a whole day off!  A whole day to myself, to do exactly as I please: I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to it.  I have a lot of lovely things planned and I thought that I would start the day with you!  I have been crocheting hard over the past few days, to bring to you a flower for January.  Last year I crocheted a Snowdrop (I saw my first Snowdrop yesterday), it still needs working on as I am still not truly happy with it, but that can wait.  I have been working on crocheting  Hellebores…

Do you like them?  I am really pleased with how this worked out.  Just in case you are, here is how to crochet on for yourself.  Gather together lots of yarn, in Hellebore colours, I used mainly DK – but that is not really too important and a 4mm crochet hook…

Round one: using your first colour 5ch, join the ring with a slst…

Round two: 3ch, 2tr cluster, 2ch…

[3tr cluster, 2ch], repeat this four times…

You will have five clusters and five chain spaces, slst to join, finish off…

Round three: using your second colour join yarn in one of the chain spaces…

[5dc in each ch sp]…

repeat this in each chain space, slst to join, finish off…

Round four: using your third colour join yarn in 1^st dc, [3ch, 2tr in dc, 1dtr in next dc, 1dtr, 3ch, slst in 1^st ch, 1dtr all in next dc, 2tr in next dc, 3ch, slst into dc, slst in next dc]...

repeat this four more times, finish off and weave in the ends…

Play about crocheting lots of Hellebores in all different colours…

Happy crocheting!

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NB          stitches are written using UK terms, if you prefer American terms :

                UK dc = sc

                UK tr = dc

                UK dtr = tr

Ooohh and a cluster is crocheted in a very similar way as decreasing: expect all of the stitches are worked onto the same stitch rather than across several. 

Hope that makes sense – if not let me know!

crochet coffee cup cuff…

What is better than going out, walking in the crisp snow with a steaming hot cup of coffee?  Not a lot.  Some-how coffee always does seem to taste better when bought from a coffee shop, maybe it is just the way I make my coffee at home.  Over the last few weeks, I have found myself indulging in this habit way too many times, so I thought if this was going to continue, I may as well do it in style: and crochet myself a cuff…

Like it?  It was really quick to crochet.  If you want to crochet yourself one, here’s how I did it.  Gather together the yarn you want to use…

I went for rainbow colours, but it is down to whatever you have to hand.  This crochet project is great for using up ends; just make sure the yarn is all the same weight.  Crochet a chain, the length needs to fit around the cup…

The number of chains, is not too important, as the pattern can be adjusted to suit.  Next crochet a simple zig-zag pattern. 

To do this, crochet seven trebles in the seven stitches below, then crochet three trebles together, crochet seven trebles in the next seven stitches, in the next stitch crochet one treble, one chain and one treble.  Repeat this to the end of the chain.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t complete a full repeat.  Change the colour of your yarn for each row…

Keep going until you have seven rows. To do this keep crocheting seven trebles in the seven stitches below, then crochet three trebles together, crochet seven trebles in the next seven stitches, in the next stitch crochet one treble, one chain and one treble into the chain space…

Finish off by weaving in your ends and sewing on a couple of buttons…

Finally, enjoy drinking your coffee…

Happy crocheting!  x