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Crochet patterns

Heart full of Rainbows Cushion

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This heart full of rainbows cushion is a companion project to my hearts and rainbows blanket. You will be working entirely in DC (UK terms) or SC (US terms). It is a simple project. However you will need to understand how to increase/decrease your stitches. I have suggested a method below but you might have one you prefer. The making-up instructions might be a bit tricky if you are new to crochet. I will put my instructions here and in the final PDF version of the pattern which will be available on Etsy. You can see the hearts and rainbows blanket here.

heart full of rainbows cushion and blanket
free pattern for hearts and rainbows blanket, heart full of rainbows cushion available on my blog

First things first. The yarn used to make the Heart Full of Rainbows Cushion is Lion Brand Yarns, Hometown USA yarn. This is a super chunky yarn which means the work grows really quickly! 🙂 I love this yarn for that reason and because it has lovely bright colours and is good value for the price. In the UK I buy all my yarn from Wool Warehouse. Note – at this point these are not affiliate links so I am not paid to promote either brand – I just love them!

To make the cushion you will need one ball of each of the colours of the rainbow. For the edging I used White and Black but if you wanted to keep the cost down you could edge the cushion in one of the other colours. You will also need a 9mm crochet hook.

I created a chart for this pattern which I like to print out and mark off as I go. I will write out the instructions long hand in the PDF pattern but if you want to get started, the free download is here:

Heart Full of Rainbows Chart (15988 downloads )

Making the Heart full of Rainbows Cushion

Start at the bottom of the chart by making a chain of 4 using the violet yarn. Turn and work two DC (SC for US terms) starting in the third stitch from the hook. Chain four and turn the work.

Second row – work one DC (SC for US terms) into the third and fourth stitches from the hook. work 2 DC (SC for US terms) into the next two stitches. Chain 2 and turn the work.

Third row – work two DC (SC for US terms) into the first stitch. Work 4 DC (SC for US terms). Work 2 DC (SC for US terms) into the next stitch then chain two and turn the work.

Continue in this manner, increasing the number of stitches on each row to match the chart. Remember to change colour when the chart changes!!

When you get to the decrease rows again there are many methods you can use to decrease. To get a neater edge you can miss the second stitch of the row. You might find it easier to miss the first – this gives a stepped edge but as you are going to be edging the heart that should not be visible. When you chain two and turn at the end of the row simply miss the first stitch and work DC (SC in US terms) into the second. If the decrease is at the end of a row then stop one stitch short chain two and turn.

As you decrease follow the chart again and you will see that at the top of the heart you need to turn the work in the middle of the row. This allows you to complete one side of the top of the heart. You will need to rejoin the yarn in the middle of the work to complete the second side of the heart.

The final stage of each side of the cushion is to edge the heart. I did this in white but you could use whichever colour you like. This step gives you a neat edge to use when you join the two hearts together. Count the stitches you use on each side so that you can match front and back. The edging is entirely DC again (SC in US terms). Try to space your stitches so that the work lies flat without being stretched or pulled. I used the following number of stitches:

Working up the bottom side of the heart violet to Green – 27 stitches

For the straight section, part of the green, yellow and the start of the Orange, I used 10 stitches.

From the start of the decrease and up to the top of the heart I worked 15 stitches.

Work the six stitches across the top of the heart and from the top down to the centre I worked 14 stitches.

In the very centre of the heart where you have two stitches (number 26/27 on the orange row of the chart) work these two together.

Complete the second half of the edging to match the first. Work one round of DC (SC in US terms). At the centre of the heart again where you worked two stitches together, work three together on this round.

When you have finished one heart you will need to start all over again on the second side. I made two matching rainbow hearts but if you are using up scraps you could make the back of the cushion out of a single colour or just use whatever you have!

Making up the Heart Cushion

Now you should have two completed, edged hearts. I suggest you tie in the ends at this point but bear in mind that the back of this work is the inside of a cushion which nobody should ever see so there is no real need to make these ends disappear. The thickness of the yarn makes tying in ends neatly quite difficult. All you really need to do is secure them and make sure that nothing is visible from the front.

To finish the cushion you need to join the two hearts together. I used black for this – if your edging is neat this is a really quick job! Put the two hearts back to back ie with the sides you want to see on the outside. Join in black yarn (or your choice) and work DC (SC in US terms) all the way round putting your hook through the white edge stitches on both sides of the cushion. As you form your DC (SC in US terms) you will see that you are joining front to back.

Don’t join all the way round until you have put your cushion pad into the heart! I have done this – it made me feel very silly but it is easy to forget when you are on the downhill slopes towards a finished project!!

I have a separate post on creating the cushion pad which you can read here. If you want to be able to take your cushion cover off to wash it then you should leave an opening in the side which will need a separate fastening. I would recommend leaving a section of the bottom of one side of the heart. When you are edging just drop the back for a section so that you are only working into the white edge stitches on one heart.

My cushion has washable insides so I didn’t leave any openings to remove the cover.

I hope you like this heart cushion – the rainbow motif has come to stand for thank you to our nurses since I made mine! I have changed my social media image to this heart as my own small thank you. How our world has changed these last few weeks. Here’s hoping we get back to happier times soon.

Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Heart Full of Rainbows – Free Crochet Chart

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This free crochet chart for a Heart Full of Rainbows Chart is destined to be a cushion pattern. At the moment it is in ‘work in progress’! The chart will work for any project needing a heart graphic where the tension is in similar proportions to the yarn I am using. To make up the heart as shown you need to work in DC (UK terms) or SC (US terms).

The yarn I have for my project is Lion Brand Yarns – Hometown USA. You can see their full range on the US website here. However I buy all my yarns from Woolwarehouse here in the UK. Note at this point in time I am not an affiliate of either business – I just like sharing what I like!

I picked this yarn because it has lovely bright rainbow colours and is very good quality for the price. I wanted to use a super chunky yarn and found only a limited number had all the colours of the rainbow!

The tension on the ball band for crochet on a 9mm hook, is 8 rows and 6.6 stitches to make a 10cm square. The chart would work equally well for knitting but the ratio is different so the shape of the heart would change. The knitting tension square for this yarn has 12 rows to 9 stitches. This means the heart would come out much longer and thinner if used for knitting. I would recommend reducing the rows in each colour by two to get back to a similar shape. I will be turning this into a cushion pattern and will post on that separately with full instructions.

Free Download

Here is the Heart full of Rainbows free crochet chart.

Click on the link below to download the chart.
Heart Full of Rainbows Chart (15988 downloads )

If this tension is not what you need I can adapt the chart quite quickly so let me know what tension you are looking for and I will do my best to work up a chart for you. Leave a message below or email me with your tension requirement.

More free rainbow heart crochet projects

The cushion is a companion project to my Hearts and Rainbows blanket which you can see here. The finished blanket and cushion will be listed on my Etsy Store as will the pattern (once I create the final PDF version). You can get hold of the pattern sooner if you are happy to copy the colours from my photo. The blanket pattern is available for free here.

Rainbows and Hearts crochet blanket

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Here is a Rainbows and Hearts version of my hearts and stripes blanket. I didn’t design the original blanket this way deliberately but when I realised the striped squares have seven bars of colour I HAD to make a rainbow version 🙂

One of the issues with using more colours is having more ends to finish off. I have to confess I actually shelved the project at one point because tying off all these ends in REALLY thick yarn was pretty grim. However, I have found the most AMAZING gadget to help.

This is probably old news to lots of you but I hadn’t found these before. A ‘Wool needle’ made by Knit Pro. This needle has a blunt end like a tapestry needle. It also has a big loop (rather than an eye) to make threading easy. I love it!! When I am more organised I will put a link to Amazon in here. Until then, all you have to do is search on ‘knit pro wool needle’ to find them. Like all great inventions I am wondering why it took this long to be available. It seems such an obvious design and perfect for the job when you use it.

I will make a PDF of this pattern for sale on my Etsy store when I get chance. I didn’t want to hold up posting because it does take me a while to scrape the time together sometimes. The pattern for the blocks and advice on joining etc is available for free here:

This is the link that takes you to the heart block pattern

Here is the link to the striped block pattern

Finally this link takes you to the instructions for making up and border pattern. For the rainbow version I kept the border very simple. For UK instructions work one round of DC in White. One round of HTR in black. For US instructions make that one round of SC in white. One round of HDC in black.

Sorry if that is a bit clunky – I will produce the PDF as soon as I can. When I produce the PDF I will do a colour chart. If you want to make a start here is a full picture of the blanket laid out flat. Hopefully you can take your colour instructions from this!

I am already onto the next project. I have decided to make a cushion with the left-over yarn. Pattern and pics to follow.

Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Hearts and Stripes blanket

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Hello ?here is my latest project – Hearts and Stripes Blanket. This pattern is based on the heart motif I created last year. For this project I wanted to produce a solid version of the heart square. To make a heavy duty lap blanket quickly! I used super chunky yarn and a 9mm hook. With this yarn I can easily make one of these blankets in a week or two.

Here is the finished blanket worked up in red white and blue yarn. You can use the blocks to make a blanket of any size. If you use a lighter weight yarn you will probably want to put in more blocks. I went for a seven by five block layout as that worked best for the quantity of yarn I had. The finished blanket measures about 34 inches by 48 inches or 85cm by 125cm in metric.

Hearts and Stripes Blanket

This pattern would also work very well as a stash-buster project. The yarn required for each area of colour is quite small. I salvage quite a lot of yarn and often end up with a large number of smaller balls of yarn. You can read my top tips for yarn salvage here.

The pattern took four 100g balls of the navy and 3 of each of the red and white.

The blanket pattern is made up of striped squares and full heart blocks. The pattern for the heart block in both UK and US terms are available here

The instructions for the striped block are here again in both UK and US terms.

Joining the Blocks to make the blanket

The blanket is made up of these two blocks worked in a seven by five alternating pattern. The join I used for this blanket is one that has minimal finishing off. The technique makes a feature of the joining thread.

Line up two squares edge to edge with the right side of the work facing up.

Place the yarn you are using for the join behind the work. Always keep the joining yarn behind the squares. Pick up stitches from the back of each of the two edges, as shown below.

Joining instructions 1 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Wrap the yarn round the hook working from behind. You need to keep the yarn behind the work at all times.

Joining instructions 2 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Pull the yarn through the two stitches you picked up to give you two loops on the hook.

Joining instructions 3 - Hearts and Stripes Blanket

Finally pull the yarn through the loop on the hook to form a slip stitch. From the picture above this means pulling the first loop nearest the end of the hook through the second loop on the hook. The result should look like the picture below.

Design choice – pick a highlight colour for the join and make it a feature. Or use the same colour as the borders of the squares. Using the same colour would make the join less visible.

Hearts and Stripes Blanket – Border

The border for this blanket is very simple and echos the stripes in the squares.

Hearts and Stripes Blanket - border

UK terms

First round – Join in yarn in the colour you used to join the blocks and work one round of DC working 1DC, 2CH, 1DC into each corner. For the design shown here yarn colour white.

Second round – Join in yarn A (red for the design shown here) and work a round of HTR working 1HTR, 2CH, 1HTR into each corner.

Third round – Join in the first yarn again (white) and repeat the first round.

Fourth round – for the final round use the border colour (Navy) and again repeat the first round above.

US terms

First round – Join in yarn in the colour you used to join the blocks and work one round of SC working 1SC, 2CH, 1SC into each corner. For the design shown here yarn colour white.

Second round – Join in yarn A (red for the design shown here) and work a round of HDC working 1HDC, 2CH, 1HDC into each corner.

Third round – Join in the first yarn again (white) and repeat the first round.

Fourth round – for the final round use the border colour (Navy) and again repeat the first round above.

Finish off your ends and there you have it – one Hearts and Stripes Blanket. Hope you like it!

Annie 🙂

Free pattern for Striped Block

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This post includes a free pattern for a striped block which can be used in a variety of blanket designs. The pattern below makes a crochet block of five inches square when worked up in a super chunky yarn on size 9mm needles. To make a larger square simply increase the number of stitches and rows. You can see how I used this block in one of my blanket designs here.

Striped Block - crochet

The basic pattern below produces seven stripes of two rows each. If you want your block to have broader stripes work more rows before changing colour. When using just two colours and changing colour every two rows you do not need to cut the yarn. Keeping the twists to a minimum you can work the border over the carried yarn and save yourself from a lot of finishing off! The pictures below show the border being worked in this way.

Edging the Striped Block - crochet

UK terms

With yarn A

First row – Chain 12 then turn.

Second row – working into second chain from the hook, 11DC then turn.

Join in yarn B

Third row – chain 2, DC1, turn.

Fourth row – chain 1, DC11, turn.

Change yarn back to A for the two colour stripe block or change to yarn C if you are using multiple colours.

repeat Third and Fourth row until you have seven stripes.

Border round 1 – Join in the border colour Chain 2, DC11, the last of these 11DCs is in the corner of the square. Chain 2, turn the block so that you are working along the side of the square and work a second DC into the corner. Work another 9DC evenly spaced along the side of the block then one DC into the bottom corner as shown below. Chain 2 then work second DC into the corner. Work a further 9DC across the bottom of the square then into the final corner work 1DC, 2CH, 1DC. Work a further 9DC evenly spaced along the final side of the square and finally work one DC into the corner, 2CH and slip stitch to join to the 2CH at the start point of the round.

Border round 2 – CH2 then DC into each of the stitches working 1DC, 2CH, 1DC into each corner. Complete the round then join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start point and finish off.

US terms

With yarn A

First row – Chain 12 then turn.

Second row – working into second chain from the hook, 11SC then turn.

Join in yarn B

Third row – chain 2, SC1, turn.

Fourth row – chain 1, SC11, turn.

Change yarn back to A for the two colour stripe block or change to yarn C if you are using multiple colours.

repeat Third and Fourth row until you have seven stripes.

Border round 1 – Join in the border colour Chain 2, SC11, the last of these 11SCs is in the corner of the square. Chain 2, turn the block so that you are working along the side of the square and work a second SC into the corner. Work another 9SC evenly spaced along the side of the block then one SC into the bottom corner as shown below. Chain 2 then work second SC into the corner. Work a further 9SC across the bottom of the square then into the final corner work 1SC, 2CH, 1SC. Work a further 9SC evenly spaced along the final side of the square and finally work one SC into the corner, 2CH and slip stitch to join to the 2CH at the start point of the round.

Border round 2 – CH2 then SC into each of the stitches working 1SC, 2CH, 1SC into each corner. Complete the round then join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start point and finish off.

Hope you enjoy making lots of striped squares and striped blankets. This is a great stash buster square and is a great way to use up odds and ends or salvaged yarn which tends to be in small balls! You can read about my yarn salvage tips here.

Please share pictures of your projects and link back to this page if you reuse my pattern. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Full Heart Crochet Block

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This pattern builds on a heart motif. The basic pattern for my crochet heart can be found here. This pattern uses a slightly adapted version and then puts that heart into the centre of a crochet block. You can use the crochet block to make blankets or cushion covers in any design you like!

The pattern is shown below in both UK and US versions.

Heart Motif

UK terms

First round – Make a magic loop, chain 3. Working into the magic loop, 3 dtr, 3tr, chain 1, 1dtr, chain 1, 3tr, 3dtr, chain 2. Slip stitch into magic loop and pull the thread to close the centre of the heart.

Second round – 2 sl stitch into the gap behind the three chain from the first round.  Work 3dc into the next stitch (top of the left side of the heart). Work 3 dc into the next stitch and 2 dc into the following stitch.   Work 4 dc to take you to the bottom loop of the heart.  Work 3dc into the bottom stitch of the heart then 4 dc up the right side of the heart. Work 2dc, 3dc, 2dc into the next three stitches then 2 sl stitches. Work one final slip stitch into the centre of the heart.

Third round – Work 2 slip stitches then 2dc into the next four stitches. Work 7 dc down the left side of the heart then 3dc into the bottom stitch of the heart. Work 6dc up the right hand side of the heart then 2dc into the next four stitches. Work 2 slip stitches and finish off to complete the heart.

US terms

First round – Make a magic loop then chain 3. Working into the magic loop, 3TRC, 3DC, chain 1, 1TRC, chain 1, 3DC, 3TRC. Chain 2 and slip stitch into magic loop and pull the thread to close the centre of the heart.

Second round – 2 sl stitch into the gap behind the three chain from the first round.  Work 3SC into the next stitch (top of the left side of the heart). Work 3 SC into the next stitch and 2SC into the following stitch.   Work 4SC to take you to the bottom loop of the heart.  Work 3SC into the bottom stitch of the heart then 4SC up the right side of the heart. Work 2SC, 3SC, 2SC into the next three stitches. Work 2 sl stitches and one final slip stitch into the centre of the heart.

Third round – Work 2 slip stitches then 2SC into each of the next four stitches. Work 7 SC, then 3SC into the bottom stitch of the heart. Work 6SC up the right side of the heart then 2SC into each of the next four stitches. Work 2 slip stitches and finish off to complete the heart.

Now you should have a heart motif ready to be placed in the centre of a block.

Putting the Heart into a Crochet Block

The instructions below start with the heart motif and a second yarn colour. The block is more open at the top to show the heart shape better. This picture shows the ‘touch points’ of the outer square on the heart at the top.

UK Terms

First round – counting the bottom DC as 1, count stitches up the right hand side of the heart. Join yarn in to stitch 10 and work 2CH, 1DC into next stitch then 4CH. Miss the next three stitches and work 2DC into the top of the right hand side of the heart. Work 4CH and 2DC into the top of the let hand side of the heart. Work 4CH. Miss the next three stitches and work 3DC into the left hand side of the heart. Complete the round as follows: 2HTR, 2TR, 1DTR, 1TR, 1HTR. Work 3DC into the stitch at the bottom of the heart, 1HTR, 1TR, 1DTR, 2TR, 2HTR, 1DC and join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

Second round – CH2, 1DC then working into corner chain 2DC, 2CH, 2DC. Work 2DC into the stitches joined to top of right side of the heart. Work 3 DC into the chain at the top of the heart. Work 2DC into the stitches at the top of the left side of the heart. Working into the corner chain 2DC, 2CH, 2DC. Work down the left side of the heart, 4DC, 2HTR, 1TR. Into the next stitch work 1TR, 2CH, 1TR. Carry on round the bottom of the heart as follows: 2HTR, 3DC, 2HTR. Into the next stitch work 1TR, 2CH, 1TR. Complete the round as follows, 1TR, 2HTR, 2DC. Join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

Third round – CH2 work DC into each stitch as follows; 3DC to first corner. Work 1DC, 2CH, 1DC into the corner then 11DC across the top of the block. Work 1DC, 2CH, 1DC into the second corner. Work 10 DC down the side of the block then work 2DC, 2CH, 2DC into the bottom corner. Work 9 DC across the bottom of the block. Work 2DC, 2CH, 2DC into the final corner then 6DC up the last side. Join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

US Terms

First round – counting the bottom SC as 1, count stitches up the right hand side of the heart. Join yarn in to stitch 10 and work 2CH, 1SC into next stitch then 4CH. Miss the next three stitches and work 2SC into the top of the right hand side of the heart. Work 4CH and 2SC into the top of the let hand side of the heart. Work 4CH. Miss the next three stitches and work 3SC into the left hand side of the heart. Complete the round as follows: 2HDC, 2DC, 1TR, 1DC, 1HDC. Work 3SC into the stitch at the bottom of the heart. Work 1HDC, 1DC 1TR, 2DC, 2HDC, 1SC up the right side of the heat. Join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

Second round – CH2, 1SC then working into corner chain 2SC, 2CH, 2SC. Work SC into the two stitches at the top of right side of the heart. Work 3 SC into the chain at the top of the heart. Work SC into the two stitches at the top of the left side of the heart . Work
2SC, 2CH, 2SC into the corner chain. Work down the left side of the heart, 4SC, 2HDC, 1DC. Into the next stitch work 1DC, 2CH, 1DC. Carry on round the bottom of the heart as follows: 2HDC, 3SC, 2HDC. Into the next stitch work 1DC, 2CH, 1DC. Complete the round as follows, 1DC, 2HDC, 2SC. Join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

Third round – CH2 work SC into each stitch as follows; 3SC to first corner Work 1SC, 2CH, 1SC into the corner. Work 11SC across the top of the block and 1SC, 2CH, 1SC into the second corner. Work 10 SC down the side of the block then work 2SC, 2CH, 2SC into the bottom corner. Work 9 SC across the bottom of the block. Work 2SC, 2CH, 2SC into the final corner then 6SC up the last side. Join with a slip stitch to the 2CH at the start of the round.

And there you have the Full Heart Block. I hope you like it! You are welcome to use it free of charge but not to resell the pattern without explicit permission. Please share photos of any projects you make using this design. If you post anything online please share a link back to this page.

Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂