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Everyone’s lives have changed in the last few months, beyond recognition. I used to spend five hours a day commuting to a job in the city. I love my job but I didn’t love the commute. The train would be crammed with folks in office wear, lots of shirts and ties. My hubby retired some time ago and I have a collection of old shirts and ties in my stash – waiting on inspiration! Inspiration has come – in the form of face masks. Recycled ties make great face masks!

We have been told in the UK that masks are compulsory now on public transport and in shops.

There are lots of patterns available on Pinterest and tutorials showing you how to make your masks. Most of the patterns are for pleated masks or fitted masks. This link will take you to the best patterns I found which were over at craftpassion.

I wanted to make comfy masks with a pretty pattern on one side and cotton fabric for comfort on the side in contact with the face. You see where the inspiration came from. I looked at the ties in my stash. Mostly made from patterned silk or synthetic fabric, they are perfect for the outer layer. Most of the old shirts I have are made of cotton which is ideal for the inner layer – happy days.

Recycle your fabric

The shirts were mainly put on the recycle pile when the collar fabric started to show wear. The ties show wear at the sections in the knot just below the chin where they come into contact with stubble!! This means that there is a lot of perfectly viable fabric in both the shirts and the ties. 🙂

Recycle tie fabric

First job was to recycle the tie fabric – I expected this to be harder than it was! Ties, as it turns out, are not held together by very much! However, there are probably many different constructions out there. If you are buying from a charity shop or thrift store do check the back to make sure you are not buying one with a more difficult construction. The description below relates to the type of tie I was dealing with.

Carefully unpick the back seam. There is lining at both ends of the tie. However, there is no point in doing additional work to remove seams and lining if you can just cut them off. I didn’t want to cut too early and risk the fabric fraying so I chose to leave these lined sections as they were at this stage. At the centre of the tie, running the full length, there is a piece of interfacing. However, the interfacing is not attached to the fabric of the tie. This makes it very simple to remove.

You can see below I ended up with three pieces of beautiful fabric from my ties. Each piece is large enough to make the front of two masks, one of each type. In the picture below you can see how the pattern pieces look laid out on the fabric.

Note – if you need to wash your masks on a high temperature then tie fabric might not be suitable. If this is the case I would suggest using two pieces of shirt fabric of different colours/patterns.

Recycle shirt fabric

When it comes to recycling the shirts I recommend salvaging the reusable elements first. Buttons always come in handy and I usually keep these on the band rather than picking them off the fabric. It is possible that you will be able to use the band of buttons and button holes as they are which saves you a lot of work!! Cuffs and collars can be retained whole as well although I normally find that those are the areas that show wear so are not usable.

Again – there is no real benefit to unpicking all the seams of the shirt. Unpicking takes a lot of time and does not normally result in a bigger usable piece of fabric. Simply cut the seams away to give flat sections of fabric. You will also need to cut along any darts. Always press the fabric before you use it unless it is lying perfectly flat.

The other element of these face masks is elastic or ties. There are many recycling options for these.

• use elastic recovered from other recycled garments
• cut old t-shirt fabric on the bias/diagonally to give a stretchy strip
• use stockings or tights
• use bias tape recycled from other garments to make ties

Here is a picture of my work. How do you like my recycled ties and shirt masks? I hope you will agree that they are a great way to make something useful from garments that would otherwise have been thrown away. Recycled ties make great face masks! If you like recycling you can read some of my yarn recycling tips here.

I really hope we don’t have to wear these masks for long but I suspect we will be getting quite a lot of use out of them the way things are. Good luck everyone and stay safe!

Annie. 🙂

This post contains a free pattern and instructions for my Crochet Rainbow Bunting. I made this bunting with the scraps left over from the Heart Full of Rainbows cushion which you can see here, and the Rainbows and Hearts blanket which you can see here! My life has been full of chunky rainbows for some time and I probably need to move on! 🙂

This bunting is a very quick make because the yarn is so thick. I used Lion Brand Yarns – HomeTown USA which is a super chunky yarn and a 9mm hook. It is quite possible to make five flag bunting with tassels, as shown below, in one evening.

I buy all my yarn in the uk from Wool Warehouse because I love their customer service and the fabulous range they hold. At the time of writing I am not an affiliate of theirs I just love their website! The colours I used were as follows:

• Cincinati Red – 113
• Syracuse Orange – 133
• Pittsburgh Yellow – 158
• Green Bay – 130
• Detroit Blue – 105
• Fort Worth Blue – 109
• Mineapolis Purple – 147

Crochet Rainbow Bunting Pattern

For each flag you will be starting at the bottom – the violet part of the rainbow! We will be changing colour every two rows. The ends of the violet band will not be woven in. We are going to use them to attach the tassel and the ends will be added to the tassel. The amount you need to leave is no different to the normal length you would use to tie in really. I normally leave 6 to 8 inches.

Crochet Rainbow Bunting – UK terms (please scroll down for US crochet terms)

Begin with Purple

Foundation – chain four. Three of these chains will be the equivalent of a Treble.

First row – work one Tr into the first chain. This treble along with the three chains form two posts on this row. Chain two and turn the work.

Second row – work 2DC. The first Dc is worked into the top of the Tr on the previous row and the second into the top of the starting chain.

Join in the dark blue.

Third row – chain 3 (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 1Tr into the first of the two stitches on the previous row. Work 2 Trebles into the next stitch. Chain two and turn the work.

Fourth row – work a row of 4 Dc one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain)

Join in the light blue

Fifth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 2Tr into each of the next two stitches. Work 1 Tr into the final stitch of the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Sixth row – work a row of 6 Dc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain)

Join in the Green

Seventh row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 2Tr into the next stitch and work 1 Tr into the next two stitches. Finally work two Tr into the next stitch and one Tr into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Eighth row – work a row of 8 Dc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the Yellow

Eighth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 2 Tr into the next stitch and work 1 Tr into the next four stitches. Finally work two Tr into the next stitch and one Tr into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Ninth row – work a row of 10 Dc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the orange

Tenth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 2 Tr into the next stitch and work 1 Tr into the next six stitches. Finally work 2Tr into the next stitch and one Tr into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Eleventh row – work a row of 12 Dc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the red

Twelfth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one treble on this row). Work 2 Tr into the next stitch and work 1 Tr into the next 8 stitches. Finally work 2 Tr into the next stitch and 1 Tr into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Thirteenth and final row – work a row of 14 Dc, One into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Crochet Rainbow Bunting – US terms (please scroll up for UK crochet terms)

Begin with Purple

Foundation – chain four. Three of these chains will be the equivalent of a Treble.

First row – work one Dc into the first chain. This Dc along with the three chains form two posts on this row. Chain two and turn the work.

Second row – work 2Sc. The first Sc is worked into the top of the Dc on the previous row and the second into the top of the starting chain.

Join in the dark blue.

Third row – chain 3 (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 1Dc into the first of the two stitches on the previous row. Work 2 Dc into the next stitch. Chain two and turn the work.

Fourth row – work a row of 4 Sc one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain)

Join in the light blue

Fifth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 2Dc into each of the next two stitches. Work 1 Dc into the final stitch of the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Sixth row – work a row of 6 Sc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain)

Join in the Green

Seventh row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 2Dc into the next stitch and work 1 Dc into the next two stitches. Finally work two Dc into the next stitch and one Dc into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Eighth row – work a row of 8 Sc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the Yellow

Eighth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 2 Dc into the next stitch and work 1 Dc into the next four stitches. Finally work two Dc into the next stitch and one Dc into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Ninth row – work a row of 10 Sc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the orange

Tenth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 2 Dc into the next stitch and work 1 Dc into the next six stitches. Finally work 2Dc into the next stitch and one Dc into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Eleventh row – work a row of 12 Sc, one into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Join in the red

Twelfth row – chain 3 into the first stitch (this will form the equivalent of one Dc on this row). Work 2 Dc into the next stitch and work 1 Dc into the next 8 stitches. Finally work 2 Dc into the next stitch and 1 Dc into the final stitch on the row. Chain two and turn the work.

Thirteenth and final row – work a row of 14 Sc, One into each of the stitches on the previous row (including the starting chain).

Finish off the Crochet Rainbow Bunting

The problem with anything made with rainbow colours is the number of ends you have to weave in!! Hiding ends in chunky yarn is not easy but I highly recommend a little gadget by KnitPro – their wool needles. With these little beauties I found making up much quicker!

We are going to add tassels to the bottom of each flag – they help the flags hang better and look soooo lovely. Finish off all the ends but leave the start thread at the bottom and when you finish off the other purple end just take it down to the bottom too and leave it hanging there – we need about five inches or so – depending on the length of your tassels.

Add the Tassels

Cut two lengths of each of the coloured yarn. I used pieces about 10 inches long. Make yours twice the length you want your finished tassels to be. Line up all the coloured lengths together matching the ends so they look neat. Don’t worry if some of them are sligthly different lengths – you can give the tassel a hair cut at the end. Put the lengths of yarn across the bottom of one of the flags at right angles to the flag.

Take the two strands of purple yarn and put one under and one over the bundle of lengths of yarn. Tie these two ends right in the middle of the bundle of yarn.

Next fold the bundle into two so they are hanging down from the flag in the position of the tassel. Take a single strand of one colour of yarn and wrap it around the top of the tassel about an inch from the top. This makes the top ball of the tassel. Tie this yarn tightly and thread the ends into the tassel to lose them.

Give the tassel a haircut if needed to level off the bottom. You could wait until they are all completed to do this. That way you can level across the whole set of flags.

Making up the Crochet Rainbow Bunting

This could not be more simple or quick! Work a nice tight chain as long as you need before the first flag.

If you want you can put a loop on the end by working six chain then form a ring by putting a slip stitch into the starting chain before carrying on in chain to the length you need.

When you get to the position you want to place the first flag work a row of 14 Dc (14 Sc in US terms) across the top of the red stripe at the top of the flag. At the end of the flag work in chain until you are happy with the spacing then pick up and work Dc across the top of the next flag.

At the end of the final flag work another chain to complete the bunting. Add another loop at the end if you are putting loops on to help you hang the bunting.

And that is all there is to it! I hope you love this quick make as much as I do. Happy Crocheting!

Annie 🙂

This post will give you everything you need to know to be able to design your own crochet sampler blanket.

The photographs with this post are of my Spring Flower Blanket. I cannot share my pattern for this blanket as I did not write it down! This is still something that you could do yourself though….. interested? Read on!!

To make a Sampler Blanket

First step – pick your yarn

You will need to make some decisions here. Or maybe you will have some constraints and not need to make any decisions at all.

Yarn choice – are you lucky enough to be choosing new yarn or are you using yarn from your stash? You could be using recycled yarn – see my series of posts on yarn recycling here, Yarn recycling #1, Yarn recycling #2, Yarn recycling #3.

I chose four main colours for my project plus black for the edging and highlights. If you are picking yarn then consider the fact that all the colours will need to work together in pairs as well as overall. Otherwise you are restricting your options with the patterns and stitches you can use.

You might be working with a much larger number of colours if you are using oddments of yarn. If this is the type of project you are starting then consider splitting the yarn into groups of light/dark or by colour groups as part of a bigger design. This gives you the option of an overall design based on two tones with lots of variety in the detail. Eg an overall design that is just two colour types, blue or green. Where the actual blue is from a mix of any you have as is the green. Does that make sense? Or where you have every section either from your light group or your dark group.

Part of the decision on yarn has to be the weight you will work in. If you have mixed weights in the yarn you are using you will need to double up some of the strands and work with the largest gauge. If in doubt make a set of sample squares using the same hook and number of stitches and varying the number of strands of yarn you use until you get to squares of equal size where the feel of the square is similar.

TIP – If the squares are too dense and stiff then you probably need to reduce the number of strands of yarn. If you cannot reduce the number of strands then you should go up a hook size or two. If the square is too open and loose feeling, try adding another strand of yarn or going down a hook size.

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Second Step – What size blanket will you make?

What will you use your blanket for? To an extent the yarn choice will influence the type of blanket you make. If you have a thick yarn it won’t really work for a cot blanket but might be perfect for a lapghan for those cold evenings! Next, you will need to check you have sufficient yarn to make a blanket of the size you would like. If you are lucky enough to have lots of yarn then you can skip this step. If not, you can use your tension square for to estimate the maximum size of blanket you can make. Although the measurement will not be very accurate so please allow a lot of wriggle room!

This next bit is the calculator….. you can download a template here to make this a bit easier.

Yarn Calculator (12 downloads)

To calculate approximate size of the blanket you can make. Work up a tension square and weigh it with the most accurate scales you have. We will call this weight B – write down this weight. Write down the size of the sample square in square centimetres – Size A. Multiply the length of your sample by its width. If your sample square is 10 x 10 centimetres then your size A is 100 square centimetres.

TIP – the stitch you use to work up the sample square is very important. If you use a ‘dense’ stitch then the square will be heavier and use more yarn than an open or lacy stitch would use. This is one of the reasons that this calculator gives a very rough guide. If you stick to one stitch or stitch pattern and use that for the sample square it will be much more accurate.

Next, take the total volume of yarn you have and weigh it – write this down as weight T. Divide this total weight by the weight of the sample square which will give you another number – write this down as Factor F.

To work out the approximate size of blanket your yarn will make multiply the value you wrote down as Factor F by the number your wrote for size A. This gives you the maximum total area in square centimetres that the yarn will make. If you divide this by the width of your desired blanket size you will get the maximum length your yarn will make. This download gives you a table of typical blanket sizes which might help you.

Blanket Sizes (12 downloads)

Once you have your size you will need to work out the number of stitches that will make up the width of the blanket. To do this take your desired width and divide by the width of the tension square. If you are working from the tension square on a ball band this will normally mean dividing by 10. Multiply by the number of stitches on one row of your tension square and you have the number of stitches on a row of your blanket. The download takes you through this calculation step by step. The method works whether you have a ball band or not!

My Spring Flower Blanket is worked in DK yarn and has 250 stitches across each row.

Start the blanket

Start with a long chain. The chain needs to have the number of stitches you calculated above for one row, plus two more.

First row. Work DC into the third stitch from the hook and each chain to the end of the work. Try hard to keep the chain straight – it can twist quite easily and this will result in a twisted, misshapen edge. Not the end of the world if this happens – you can improve matters with the edging later but best to avoid twisting if you can.

Once you get to the end of the first row – you are on your own! No not really but you can decide where you want to go from here. I suggest a few rows at least of DC/Trebles for stability (SC/DC in Us terms). Alternate colours as and when you choose.

Blanket Ideas

1. You could keep the stitch simple and base your design around the colours. Working every row in DC (SC in US terms) will be quite slow and will produce a blanket with quite a dense texture. You could choose trebles (DC in US terms) or a more complicated stitch. The design would be based around alternating the colours – stripes or ombre.
2. Design the blanket in panels based on one or two stitches. Choose at least one fairly basic stable stitch like DC or Trebles (SC or DC in US terms) and alternate these in panels whilst also rotating the colours you have into an overall pattern.
3. Work the blanket as a sampler using any stitch you fancy and alternating colours as you go. This is the approach I have taken with most of my Spring Flowers Blanket. I have also incorporated a fourth complication.
4. break up the work by including a row of squares or other motifs. To do this you will need to divide the total number of stitches by the number of stitches in the square or motif. This will allow you to work out how many of the squares or motifs you need. This is quite a lot of additional complication and more making up work. The only thing I would say if you are going down this route is remember to allow for any joining stitches if you are adding a row of squares or other motifs!

As I am writing this I can see that there are more ideas in my head than will fit into this post. I would like to tell you about the stitches that work well and add some tips based on my experience making this blanket. There is also the choice of edging to consider! 🙂 I will plan some follow up posts!!

If the idea of designing your own blanket feels too ambitious (I promise it isn’t) start by keeping things simple. Go for a small lapghan size and maybe only use one or two stitches – alternate one row of trebles with a row of DC (DC and SC in US terms) and change the colour every six rows – that would give you a bit of texture and a striped blanket. It would be your design based on your colour and stitch choices. It would be unique (unless you make more than one the same 🙂 )

I hope you find the calculator helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment below or email me. I would love to see examples of your work when you do design your own blanket.

Happy Crocheting!

Annie 🙂