Stickytapeandstring

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Craft projects

Marry Me? – Cushion give-away

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This Marry me? Cushion give-away is the first of this type of event for my blog. 29th Feb is a very special day that only comes around once every four years. In lots of cultures it is the one day that women are allowed by tradition to do the proposing. However, I believe that anyone can ask the person they love to marry them whenever they like! This cushion has the date knitted in so it is destined for someone who has picked 29 Feb 20 as their proposal date!

Marry me? - cushion give away

All you have to do is leave a comment below to let me know you would like the cushion. Please also email me with details of where you would like the cushion to be sent. I will draw the winner from the people who leave comments here. I will not keep any details beyond the point at which the winner is picked 🙂 My email address is Annie@stickytapeandstring.co.uk

Timing and postage delays!

I will do my best to get it to wherever it needs to go by the 29th but cannot guarantee this. I will check responses on the 25th and again on 27th if it hasn’t gone by then. Postage time means this is probably only a realistic option to the UK or Europe but if anyone further afield would like to take the risk on timing I will give it a go!

Finally, if any of you would like a version of the cushion making with your own date, let me know. You can leave a comment here or email me. I will be putting the pattern up on my Etsy store in the next few weeks. I also have a much larger cushion and matching rainbow heart blanket which you can see here.

Thank you for visiting this ‘Marry me? – cushion give-away’ page and good luck!!

Annie 🙂

Learn to Crochet – beginners kit

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Here are my top tips for a beginners kit for anyone who wants to learn to crochet. Lots of people would love to take up a new craft. The health benefits of crafting are real!!

The kit of products I am recommending here would make a lovely starter set. At entry level crochet is very simple and with a few basic stitches you can make a lot of beautiful things.

Disclaimer – the products I am recommending here are ones that I use and love myself. I am a registered affiliate of Amazon and if you click on the links to these products it is possible that I will receive a small payment at no additional cost to you. Any payment I do receive would go towards the running cost of this blog and help me towards my dream of running this as a business one day!

Firstly let’s look at hooks. The hooks I find most comfortable have a cushioned grip. The hooks I have selected here come in a range of 14 sizes. I love working in different yarn weights and do use all the sizes, especially the very large and very small ones!

Next, when you have finished your crochet work you have to finish off the ends. This used to mean trying to thread thick yarn through the eye of a darning needle. Frustrating! Then forcing the needle through the work, splitting the yarn and often piercing your own finger in the process! However, my crochet life was transformed when I discovered the Knit Pro Wool Needles. These are AMAZING wonderful time and patience savers. They produce a better result as well because the rounded ends do not split the yarn.

The appearance of any finished piece of crochet is always improved when it is blocked. This means placing the finished work on a foam board and pinning it out to the shape you would like it to hold. Spray the work with a fine mist of water and leave it to dry. Magic happens and the work takes the desired shape – stops curling at the edges and generally looks much tidier! I used to use kids foam play floor tiles for this and ordinary dressmaking pins. If you are just starting you could use those as a cheaper alternative – they served me well. If you are looking to treat someone or yourself, the ones I recommend are these Knit Pro ones. The grid lines are really helpful. The extra thickness means the pins don’t go all the way through into the table like mine used to!

Finally – when it comes to blocking, I find you can never have too many pins. The blocking boards come with pins but I recommend buying a few more. The set I found has two sizes which is helpful when working in different weights of yarn.

That is really all you need to get started apart from yarn of course! I buy all my yarn from Wool Warehouse here in the UK. I have also posted ideas on how you can recycle yarn which you can read here.

If you are the kind of person who likes to learn from a book, there are several good ones to choose from. I have included a few that I enjoy reading through below. There are ideas here for beginners and more advanced crafters. It really isn’t necessary to buy a book now though with lots of excellent tutorials on YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Hope you find this set of products as useful and helpful as I do. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Crochet Hearts – three sizes

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Here is an update to my crochet hearts pattern which gives you three sizes of heart to make. These lovely little motifs are super quick to make.

Crochet heart in three sizes - free pattern on my blog

You can use the hearts as card toppers or to decorate any craft project. If you add a safety pin to the back you could use these as a simple pin or broach. You could even turn them into earings! I recently used them to make charms as you can see below and read here. I also plan to sell them on my Etsy store if you would like some ready made!

Crochet Heart charm - quick make

The pattern will work in any yarn thickness or type. The ones shown here are in cotton DK and 4 ply but I have also made these in super chunky and used them in a block to make a blanket which you can see here.

Crochet Heart – UK terms

Size 1 – smallest heart (UK terms)

Make a magic loop, chain 3 and 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. And you are done!

Size 2 – medium heart (UK terms)

Make a small heart as above then…..

Second round – 2 sl stitch into the gap behind the three chain from the first round.  3dc into the next stitch (top of the left side of the heart), 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.  3dc into the bottom stitch of the heart, 4 dc, work 2dc, 3dc, 3dc into the next three stitches, 2 sl stitches and one final slip stitch into the centre of the heart. You should have a medium heart!

Size 3 – largest heart (UK terms)

Make a medium heart as above then…..

Third round – 2 slip stitches then 2dc into the next five stitches (around the top of the left side of the heart) 7 dc, 3dc into the bottom stitch of the heart, 7dc, 2dc into the next five stitches, 2 slip stitches and finish off to complete the largest heart.

Crochet Heart – US terms

Size 1 – smallest heart (US terms)

Make a magic loop, chain 3 and working into the magic loop, 3TRC, 3DC, chain 1, 1TRC, chain 1, 3DC, 3TRC, chain 2, slip stitch into magic loop and pull the thread to close the centre of the heart. Your small heart is complete!

Size 2 – medium heart (US terms)

Make a small heart as above then…..

Second round – 2 sl stitch into the gap behind the three chain from the first round.  3SC into the next stitch (top of the left side of the heart), 3 SC into the next stitch and 2SC into the following stitch.   Work 4SC to take you to the bottom loop of the heart.  3SC into the bottom stitch of the heart, 4SC, work 2SC, 3SC, 3SC into the next three stitches, 2 sl stitches and one final slip stitch into the centre of the heart. Stop here if you wanted to make a medium heart – you are done!

Size 3 – largest heart (US terms)

Make a medium heart as above then…..

Third round – 2 slip stitches then 2SC into the next five stitches (around the top of the left side of the heart) 7 SC, 3SC into the bottom stitch of the heart, 7SC, 2SC into the next five stitches, 2 slip stitches and finish off to complete the large heart.

I hope you enjoy this quick make. Let me know what you use yours for. I am always on the look out for ideas!!

happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Quick Make – Heart Charm

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Here is a quick make for you, a heart charm to decorate a bag or belt. You can use any motif or charm to make these. I have chosen hearts and music as those are two of my favourite themes.

The elements I have used are cheap to source and you can include recycled items, buttons or ribbon. I have lots of offcuts and remnants from other projects and these charms are great for using those.

I bought a job lot of key chain hooks on Amazon. These were very cheap (£7 for 50 at the time of purchase) and offer the flexibility of using either the small loop on the carabiner clip or using a larger ring which comes with the clip. I also bought a pack of musical charms (£4 for 24 at time of purchase).

Design your Charm

The fun bit is in deciding which crochet motifs and colours to use when putting the charm together. I called this quick make – Heart Charm as it is close to valentines day. My finished charm has pink hearts based on my heart pattern which you can get here. I made one small and one medium sized heart in pink. You don’t have to stick with the heart theme. There are lots of crochet motif patterns available. I have a board for these on Pinterest.

Consider the yarn carefully. These charms might rub against the bag or clothing. If you use a fluffy yarn it might start to look worn very quickly. I chose to use mercerised cotton as it is hardwearing and doesn’t bobble. I also happened to have some oddments in my stash!

If crochet isn’t your thing you could make little hearts out of fabric, stuffing them to make them look full. If sewing isn’t your thing you could cut shapes out of felt. Felt is wonderful for craft as it doesn’t fray so does not require stitching.

You can attach the elements of your charm to the ring or clip direct. I hung my charms by plaiting the cotton through the ring on the clip – hiding the ends as neatly as I could. Making the ends of the plait into tassels is a good way of finishing off. This makes the ends secure without stitching. You could glue bits together – especially if you are using felt. However, do consider how hardwearing your charm needs to be. If it is going to be on a belt or heavily used bag it will need pretty robust.

Making your Charm

First, make your motif and remember to leave plenty of thread or yarn so that you can use it to join the motif to the clip. To attach with a plait, take one of the ends of the cotton used to make the heart. Thread the end through the ring of the clip and double the thread back. Position the heart so that the length of thread between clip and heart is slightly longer than the finished length you would like. Add two other threads through the ring of the clip. Each thread should be folded over so you have six coming from the clip.

Pair the threads up and plait!

When you get to the heart, tie a knot in the threads to secure. You can also finish off by binding one of the threads around the others if you prefer. Repeat this method with other motifs. I added some beads as they provide weight which helps the charm hang well.

The only limit to these charms is your own imagination. You could add buttons or bows. You could make pompoms or tassels to add. Make them for your friends or as party favours 🙂

Here is a picture of one of my finished charms. I will put these up for sale on my Etsy store but I expect people would rather make their own than buy mine!

Happy crafting!

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 (51 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 🙂