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Little Padded Hearts

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I have been having a bit of fun with my heart patterns. These little padded hearts are one of the things I have made. They are based on the new large heart pattern I shared earlier this month. These hearts are about 11cm across when made in chunky yarn. You can use them for decoration, bunting or as gifts.

basket of little hearts
little padded hearts

The first heart I made was a blue one with my thoughts firmly on the National Health Service here in the UK as they battle through one of the worst periods in their history. It doesn’t feel like there is much we can do to help but I have read posts by doctors and nurses on twitter saying they appreciate the show of solidarity as we all add blue hearts to our profiles.

To make your own padded heart you need to follow the new large heart pattern which you will find here. The hearts I made use Stylecraft Special Chunky which you can see here from Woolwarehouse. I don’t have any relationship with either brand but I love the quality and value of the Stylecraft yarns and I really value the service and range offered by Woolwarehouse.

The examples you can see here are worked on a 6mm hook. It takes about six or seven minutes to make each side of the heart. Factoring in making up time and a cup of tea, it takes roughly 25 mins to produce a padded heart 🙂

To make your little padded heart, first make two hearts following the large heart pattern. When you finish the second, either leave the yarn attached or pull out a long length before cutting the yarn off. You will use this to make up the padded heart.

Making up your Little Padded Hearts

The examples you can see here have been joined using a crochet hook. I used a wool needle to finish them off and join the last few stitches. If you are a regular reader you will have seen me recommend Knit Pro wool needles before. I cannot believe it took me so long to find these little needles. They make such a difference to the time it takes to finish off ends and make projects up.

The beauty of these little padded hearts is that you don’t really need to weave in ends. Just pull them through to the wrong side of the heart, fasten them off securely and pop them inside as part of the stuffing!

Start the making up as shown below. Place the two hearts right side up in front of you. Push your hook into the outer strand of the edge stitch on the right side of the centre of the left heart. Appreciate this sounds very complicated. You might find it easier to follow the pictures below!

showing how to join the hearts 1 of 9
pick up stitch from outer edge of left heart
shows how to join two hearts 2 of 9
pick up stitch from outer edge of right hand heart

Next push your hook into the outer strand of the edge stitch on the right side of the centre of the right heart. This bit is fiddly but it does get easy once you get going I promise. Pull the yarn through both looks so that your two hearts are joined and you have a loop of yarn on the hook.

joining two hearts 3 of 9
wrap your yarn around the hook
joining two hearts 4 of 9
pull the yarn through so you have a loop on the hook

Repeat the process above but going into the outside edge of the next stitch on both hearts so that you have two loops on your hook. Pull the second loop through the first and you will start to make the joining seam. It should look like a row of raised chain stitches going round the edge of the hearts.

joining two hearts 5 of 9
repeat the process picking up a stitch on the left heart
joining two hearts 6 of 9
pick up the next stitch from the right hand heart
joining two hearts 7 of 9
wrap your yarn around the hook
joining two hearts 8 of 9
pull the yarn through the two stitches from either side of the heart
joining two hearts 9 of 9
finally pull the yarn through the loop on the hook

Keep going like this until you get round the whole heart and stop with a few stitches to go so that you can stuff the heart. As you stitch keep an eye on both sides to make sure you are working in the same stitches on both sides.

shows the start of the joining seam
your joining seam should look like this

Secure the end by pulling it through the last loop. Stuff the heart then use the remainder of the yarn to stitch up the final bit of the seam.

leaving a gap to stuff the heart
leave a gap to stuff the heart then join with a wool needle

I hope you love these little padded hearts! I will make a few more and list them on my Etsy store in time for Valentines day. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

little padded heart

New Large Heart Pattern

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My heart patterns go down so well with you all that I have decided to create a new one! I am actually working on a new blanket design that needed a larger version. Hoping to release that blanket pattern in the coming weeks. I am sharing the new large heart pattern now in case you want to use it for Valentines day 🙂

I am using Stylecraft Special chunky yarn which is my current favourite. It is really good values and comes in a great range of colours. I get all my yarn from Woolwarehouse here in the UK. The pattern will work in any yarn. However, you might find the proportions are slightly different if you use a yarn of different tension.

three hearts - new large heart pattern

New Large Heart Pattern – UK terms

First round

Make a magic loop and work into the loop as follows: 2CH, 3DTr, 3Tr, CH, DTr, CH, 3Tr, 3Dtr, 2CH, slip stitch into the loop to finish the round. Pull the magic loop closed to form the heart.

Second round

Working up the left side of the top of the heart, one slip stitch and one chain. Into the next stitch work 1DC, 1Htr. Crochet 3Tr into the next stitch and 3Tr into the following stitch. Work 1Tr into the next four stitches which should bring you to the bottom point of the heart. Crochet 3Tr into the bottom point. Working up the right hand side of the heart work 1Tr into each of the next four stitches. Now work 3Tr into the next stitch and 3Tr into the following stitch. Finally work 1HTr, 1Dc into the next stitch and chain 1 and slip stitch into the final stitch on the right hand side of the centre of the heart. You should be back to the start point of the round. Put your hook into the centre of the heart and pull the yarn through to complete the round.

Third Round

This round follows the same lines as the previous round. Starting with the left hand side of the centre of the heart work two slip stitches then chain 1. Into the next stitch work 1Dc, 1Htr. Work 2Tr into the next stitch then 3Tr into the following stitch. Crochet 2Tr into each of the next three stitches then work 1Tr into the following six stitches. This should bring you to the bottom point of the heart.

Into the bottom of the heart work 1Tr, 1Ch, 1Tr, 1CH, 1Tr. Next work one Tr into each of the next six stitches then work 2Tr into each of the following three stitches. Work 3Tr into the next stitch and 2Tr into the following stitch. Finally work 1Htr, 1Dc into the next stitch at the top of the right hand side of the centre of the heart. Chain1 and slip stitch to finish the round. Again I like to put my hook through the centre of the heart and slip stitch to that point to complete the heart.

new large heart pattern
New large heart pattern

New Large Heart Pattern – US terms

First round

Make a magic loop and work into the loop as follows: 2CH, 3Tr, 3DC, CH, Tr, CH, 3DC, 3Tr, 2CH, slip stitch into the loop to finish the round. Pull the magic loop closed to form the heart.

Second round

Working up the left side of the top of the heart, one slip stitch and one chain. Into the next stitch work 1SC, 1HDc. Crochet 3Dc into the next stitch and 3Dc into the following stitch. Work 1Dc into the next four stitches which should bring you to the bottom point of the heart. Crochet 3Dc into the bottom point. Working up the right hand side of the heart work 1Dc into each of the next four stitches. Now work 3Dc into the next stitch and 3Dc into the following stitch. Finally work 1HDc, 1Sc into the next stitch and chain 1 and slip stitch into the final stitch on the right hand side of the centre of the heart. You should be back to the start point of the round. Put your hook into the centre of the heart and pull the yarn through to complete the round.

Third Round

This round follows the same lines as the previous round. Starting with the left hand side of the centre of the heart work two slip stitches then chain 1. Into the next stitch work 1Sc, 1HDc. Work 2Dc into the next stitch then 3Dc into the following stitch. Crochet 2Dc into each of the next three stitches then work 1Dc into the following six stitches. This should bring you to the bottom point of the heart.

Into the bottom of the heart work 1Dc, 1Ch, 1Dc, 1CH, 1Dc. Next work one Dc into each of the next six stitches then work 2Dc into each of the following three stitches. Work 3Dc into the next stitch and 2Dc into the following stitch. Finally work 1HDc, 1Sc into the next stitch at the top of the right hand side of the centre of the heart. Chain1 and slip stitch to finish the round. Again I like to put my hook through the centre of the heart and slip stitch to that point to complete the heart.

three large hearts
three hearts 🙂

I would like to get this pattern out quickly so I am putting it up without detailed photographs but I will add those over the coming days. The first round of this heart mirrors my original heart pattern which you can find here. I hope you love this new large heart pattern and would love to hear from you if you find the pattern useful. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Finishing your Lockdown Lapghan

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This post is the third of my lockdown lapghan instructions. The first post covers the pattern for the basic square so if you are just starting you need to following this link to pick up the free pattern – Lockdown Lapghan free pattern. The second post covers the design of the lockdown lapghan. You can find the second post here – lockdown lapghan design. In this third post I will give you the instructions for finishing your lockdown lapghan.

Finishing off each square

The first job you have to complete is to finish off all the ends. Depending on your choice of colour changes you might have lots of these! Using a wool needle you need to weave each end into the work securely. Try to make them invisible by weaving in and out of a patch of the same colour. It is possible to make them ‘disappear’ from both sides with a little practice. Finishing off ends is not my favourite task but it is made an awful lot easier with the right equipment.

I highly recommend KnitPro Wool Needles. These have a big flexible loop rather than a fixed eye which makes threading eveng the thickest yarn very easy. You can find these easily on an Amazon search. They are less than £3 for three at the time of writing. Please note – I do try to work as an Amazon Affiliate from time to time. This means that it is possible that if you click on any advert or a link to Amazon in my blog I might receive a small payment. However, I only ever recommend products that I love – whether I am paid to say so or not!

I say above that I TRY to work as an Amazon Affiliate because if you sign up with Amazon and nobody clicks on any adverts for a few months, Amazon end your affiliate membership. So far it hasn’t worked for me – I think I have had my membership cancelled three times now 🙂 I have written a series of posts on my blog progress if you would like to read more on this. I will keep trying!!

Finishing your lockdown lapghan – sewing up

Although I call this sewing up we will actually be joining the squares together using a very simple technique with a crochet hook. I covered this method in an earlier post which has full instructions and clear pictures. You can find these instructions here.

I like to lay out all my squares in the final positions once the ends are finished off and they are blocked. Blocking really helps with the appearance and is covered in my first post. I then gather up the squares for the two rows I am going to join into two piles. Starting at what will be the edge of the blanket I begin joining two squares along one edge. Once these are joined I pick up the next pair and join these without breaking the yarn. The advantage of not breaking the yarn? Fewer ends to finish off!

When I am joining my squares I work all the way down the blanket in one direction. After four joins, all the squares are attached at the top and bottom but not the sides. Then I start the four joins that run top to bottom and again work each of these in one continuous thread. I will add some pictures of this process when I am finishing my second blanket.

lockdown lapghan - autumn sunset
lockdown lapghan – Autumn Sunset

Finishing your lockdown lapghan – edging.

I promised this would be a very easy pattern so your edging can be very simple. Work one round of the same stitch we have used all the way through in a colour of your choice. At each corner follow the corner pattern from the odd rows of the block ie just do one Tr, 2CH, Tr (or DC, 2CH, DC in US terms) The picture of the finished blanket above includes just this simple edge as shown below.

lockdown lapghan treble edge
lockdown lapghan basic edge

There are other options with the edging though! If you are up for a little bit more complication, I would recommend adding a row of HTr (UK terms) or HDc (US instructions). This is a strong stitch for a border but does mean you need to learn another stitch! If you do go for an additional row of HTr work the corners as follows: UK terms – 2Htr, 2ch, 2Htr. US terms – 2HDc, 2CH, 2HDc. You can play with the colours in your border. Put in more than one row of different colours if you choose. The picture below shows the effect of adding a row of HTr (UK terms) or HDc (US terms).

edge with tr and htr
additional row of half trebles to give a stronger edge

If you are feeling more adventurous you could use one of my other favourite edging stitches. There is a free pattern on my blog for a three colour rope edging which I think I am going to use for my second blanket – pics to follow.

And you are done. Unless you feel like adding tassels to the corners 🙂 I hope you have enjoyed this free pattern and that if you are new to crochet you manage to produce your first blanket! Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Design your Lockdown Lapghan

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The Lockdown Lapghan is a very easy crochet blanket for beginners. This is the second in a series of three posts. The first post contains the free pattern for each square of the blanket. You can read this post here. In this second post you will find the charts to help you design your Lockdown Lapghan.

The design is based on five colours. I have two suggests sets of colours in my first post but you can make your own choices. This way your Lockdown Lapghan will be your own design. There are two versions of the chart for you to download at the bottom of this post. The colour version follows the Autumn Sunset colours used in the completed blanket below. Sorry about this picture – all it has done here recently is rain!

lockdown lapghan - autumn sunset
lockdown lapghan – Autumn Sunset

The black and white version of the chart will be easier for you to follow if you are choosing your own colours. You could print this black and white version and do a bit of mindful colouring in as part of your process to select colours. I love a bit of colouring in 🙂

Yarn Selection

The yarn I used for this blanket was Stylecraft Special Chunky. This yarn is very good value and there is a wide range of colours as you can see here at Woolwarehouse. As you design your lockdown lapghan, I recommend you start with a view of the colours available.

You don’t have to stick to the yarn I used. It is possible to use any yarn type as long as you adjust the tension to match. However, this can get a bit tricky and this pattern is designed for beginners so I won’t cover that here. Please let me know if you would like instruction on how to do this and I will put up a separate post.

Design your Lockdown Lapghan – Joining up and edging

The final touches to your lockdown lapghan design will be the joining colours and edging. For both the blankets I designed I used the strongest colour for the joins and edging. I think that this gives the squares more definition which is the look I was going for. However, the joining method I recommend can be ‘invisible’ if you use the colour of one of the squares you are joining. This is a design choice so over to you!

Your choice of joining colours will have a big impact on the appearance of the finished blanket. Similarly, the edging you choose will make a real difference to the look of your work. I like to edge in a darker colour, again this is partly for the definition I think it gives. Practicality also tells me that a white edge would be asking for trouble in terms of my ability to keep it clean. Maybe that is just me, in a house with three muddy dogs!

I think that is all you need from me so here are the two free downloads.

Lockdown Lapghan chart – colour (5 downloads)

Lockdown Lapghan chart – black and white (3 downloads)

I hope you have fun designing your own Lockdown Lapghan and if you are new to crochet I hope you come love it as much as I do. Please do let me know how you get on. I would love to get some comments. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Crochet Parcel Decorations

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The wrapping season is upon us! I am trying to reduce my plastic waste which means no glittery plasticised ribbons or paper. I still want my gifts to look special so I am experimenting with crochet parcel decorations. These hearts parcel decorations use my pattern for hearts in three sizes. You could also use star motifs in the same way, or you could use a combination! Here is a link to my stars in three sizes patterns.

https://stickytapeandstring.co.uk/crochet-stars-in-three-sizes

The stars and hearts are very quick to make. To use them for parcel decorations you simply make a chain rather than fastening off the yarn when you complete the motif. For the white strand in the picture below I put a heart on each end of the chain. The length of chain you will need obviously varies with the weight of yarn and the size of parcel you are wrapping. The good thing about chain is that it is very easy to adjust as you work either pull out any excess or make some more if it isn’t long enough.

crochet hearts parcel decoration

This is a great way to use up scraps of yarn and I hope you agree that the finished look is pretty. I found that it worked best in a chunky yarn for larger gifts but you could use very fine yarn for tiny presents. You could jazz up your crochet parcel decorations by adding tassels or pompoms. The sky is the limit – let your imagination run wild.

If you have time you could make more fancy braiding than this simple chain. I don’t know whether I will have enough spare time for that this Christmas. I have a long list of unfinished Christmas makes! Maybe next year 🙂 Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Twinkling star decoration

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I don’t know how you are feeling but for me, this year, Christmas cannot come soon enough! I have already started to get decorations together and some are sneaking their way around the house 🙂 This twinkling star decoration is a new one I have just made. It uses the pattern I put out in my Stars in Three Sizes post earlier this year.

One of the few pleasures we are allowed at the moment is a daily walk. My hubby found a small broken branch for me on one of his walks with our three dogs. Whilst I was working on the project I had to defend the branch from the dogs. For some reason they were not convinced it was an essential piece of craft supplies. They thought it was just a stick. They love sticks. Most of all they love turning sticks into chewed up fragments of wood!

Make your own Twinkling Star Decoration

First step – find a fallen branch or stick. If you don’t have access to the outside or cannot find something that works you could use pretty much any straight object – something from your kitchen perhaps. You could use an old wire coat-hanger. I managed to make this work with a knitting needle!

Next – you will need to make your stars. Following this link will take you to the Star patterns. The pattern should open in a new tab so you don’t lose this post. Choose your colours – will you go for a theme to match the colours of your decorations or will you go for a riot of colours.

This is a great stash buster project in that you can use tiny oddments of yarn – they don’t have to be the same weight or type. I chose to make mine in red and white yarn. The white is left over from my lock down lapghan project which I will be posting on here soon! The red is some of the left over cotton yarn from my sunshine flower blanket. I doubled this cotton, using two strands at a time to make the stars a similar size to the white ones which are made of chunky yarn.

The picture below shows a group of yellow/gold themed stars I made for a second twinkling star decoration, not yet completed!

Making the stars

Consider how many stars you need to make along with the sizes of star you want to use. You could have one large star as a central point with smaller ones surrounding it. You could make the stars into a pattern, alternating colours or a rainbow.

As you finish each star work a long chain before cutting off the yarn. You will use these to hang the Stars from the support/branch. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly where you want the stars to be positioned at this point. Make the chains as long as the longest drop you want to see to your stars then you can adjust the length when you hang them.

You can see the chains on my stars in this photo below which shows them being blocked. Blocking the stars when you have completed them makes a big difference to the way they hang. I really recommend you block yours for the best finish.

Blocking stars on a child’s foam play tile

If you want to increase the size of your stars you could double the yarn as I did. Another option you might want to consider if you are using particularly fine yarn is doubling the thickness of your stars by making two of each size/type and stitching them together.

Finish off the starting thread of each star neatly. TIP – You will not be able to control which side of this work is visible at all times so make as neat a job as possible!

Assembling the Twinkling Star Decoration

Start with the lights! There are lots of sets of small LED lights available on the market. What matters most for this project is that the battery pack is SMALL!! That said, you can hide the battery pack behind the support when you hang the decoration. You will also find that your eye is not drawn to the battery pack but to the stars and lights.

Work out where you want to place the battery pack. Working from the opposite end of the support, wrap the lights around the branch/support. Try to space out the lights evenly along the support. You might need to secure the end of the lights with tape.

Adding the Stars to the Twinkling Star Decoration

Lay the branch or support on the table in front of you. Next, lay out the Stars you have made below the branch/support. Play with the positioning of the stars until you are happy with the overall look. Lengthen or shorten the chains to fit with your design. Pull the final loop through so that you have a big loop to attach the star to the branch or support.

If your branch or support has two ends that are equally easy to work with then I suggest you start with the stars in the middle of your layout. Slide each one onto the support. Once you have each star where you want pull the loop tight and tie it off with a knot. Using a wool needle thread the end of the yarn back through the chain to tidy up the work.

Finished twinkling stars decoration

I hope you like the result! If not, you can keep playing with the positioning of the stars. You could even built it up over the festive season, adding a new star each day!

Happy crocheting 🙂

Annie