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stash busting

Hearts and Flowers Scarf

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Sharing with you my latest heart based pattern – Hearts and Flowers Scarf. This pattern is based on the new large heart pattern I shared a couple of weeks ago. The pattern uses three sizes of heart but they are actually all the same pattern. To make the different sizes you simply stop after the first, second or third rounds. There are also two sizes of flower 🙂

hearts and flowers scarf
hearts and flowers scarf

Materials

The scarf pictured here is made from Stylecraft Special Chunky yarn. The shades used are Lipstick – 1246, Saffron – 1081 and White – 1001. I buy all my yarn from woolwarehouse here in the UK. The flowers and hearts are made using a 6mm crochet hook. TIP – have a smaller sized hook available to use for fiddly bits – more later on this!

You could make this scarf using oddments of any weight of yarn. It would be a great stash busting pattern if you did just use up any scraps you have. You could use a complete mix of colours but I think it would be most effective if you keep one pallet of colours for the hearts and a different pallet of colours for the flowers.

This pattern is ‘free form’ rather than being a specific layout. This means you make lots of hearts and flowers then lay them out as you like them before joining them together to make the scarf.

Start your own Hearts and Flowers Scarf

‘Free Form’ is all very well but you have to know what you are aiming for! There are two options for this. The first option is very simple if you have a scarf you already like the length and width of. Lay that scarf out on a flat surface. Second option, if you don’t have a suitable scarf to base your hearts and flowers scarf on then as a rough guide, a scarf is normally between six and eight inches wide and about as long as you are tall. Cut a template out of newspaper or tape together scrap paper till you have something the size and shape of the scarf you are making.

Whichever your base, the next step is to place on the hearts and flowers in a design you like. Bear in mind that you will need to join them up with a couple of stitches so aim for each shape to touch another in a couple of places without being bent or forced to do so. If you have to bend or stretch a shape to make it fit then you will end up with unwanted bumps and lumps in your scarf.

You could make the hearts and flowers and build the design up as you make them. Or, you could use paper templates to design the scarf first which then tells you how many of each shape you need to make.

Here is a free download which contains outlines of the hearts and flowers in all sizes. You can cut these out and play with shapes until you get the design you want. Note these sizes are representative of the space required only and not accurate versions of the flowers. They are based on my own tension using Stylecraft Special chunky and a 6mm hook. If you are using scraps of different yarns you will need to use your own shapes to make templates.

Hearts and Flowers template (43 downloads)
hearts and flowers scarf layout
laying out the hearts and flowers to design the scarf

Heart and flower patterns

The heart pattern can be found here. To make the three sizes simply finish off after the first, second or third round!

Large flower pattern

First round – in first yarn, make a magic loop, Chain 2 and work six DC (SC in US terms) into the loop. Pull closed and slip stitch into the top of the two chains to form a small disc.

Second round – join a contrast yarn, Chain 2 work a round of DC (Sc in US terms) work 2Dc (Sc in US terms) into the second and 5th stitch and slip stitch to join back to the start point.

Third round – with the wrong side of the disc facing you work 12 Chain then slip stitch into the next stitch. Work 12 chain and slip stitch into the following stitch. Proceed like this until you get back to the start of the round. This should give you 10 ‘petals’ but to be honest, if it gives you 11 or 9 it really doesn’t matter!

Small flower pattern

First round – make a magic loop, Chain 2 and work six DC (SC in US terms) into the loop. Pull closed and slip stitch into the top of the two chains to form a small disc.

Second round – with wrong side facing, chain 9 then slip stitch into the next stitch. Work 9 chain and slip stitch into the following stitch. Proceed like this until you get back to the start of the round. This should give you 7 ‘petals’ but again, if it gives you 6 or 8 it really doesn’t matter!

Finish off all the ends on the flower centres. Leave the ends on the petals and hearts and use these to join the hearts and flowers.

Making up your Hearts and Flowers Scarf

You can start anywhere when you make this scarf up. I started at one end adding each element as I went. I think if I was making this with scraps, I would start in the middle and keep each side more or less even with the colours.

Pick up your first heart. Using one of the ends that you left without finishing, thread a wool needle and work the end through the heart to the point where it touches the next element in your layout. Join to this next element with a couple of stitches then continue to finish off the end by weaving it into the heart as normal.

Lay the two joined elements back into your design. Pick up the next element that touches these and again join using the other unfinished end. If you have too many joins and not enough unfinished ends then you can thread your needle with a yarn scrap to form the join but I tried to get away without doing this!

One final point on the layout. Pushing the hearts and flowers together closely to minimise the gaps and spaces, will make the scarf more substantial and warmer. Spreading the hearts and flowers out, leaving larger gaps, will make the scarf more decorative than warm!

If you use this pattern please share your results – it would be lovely to see them. I am happy for anyone to use these or any of my patterns to make things to sell or share but please include a link back to my blog if you do.

I have one more heart based pattern to come for this years Valentines day so watch this space. Hope to be posting that one in the coming week. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Yarn salvage

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Hello, I am here to share my latest obsession!    Getting lots of yarn for very little money through yarn salvage and recycling…….. what’s not to like?!

This project started with me worrying about the cost of the yarn I am using to develop projects and patterns for the blog.   Even using cheaper yarns like my well loved Drops Paris, the cost mounts up when you are making a large blanket.   Crochet seems to ‘eat’ far more yarn than knitting, or is that just me?

I gave some thought to sources of cheap yarn and began to wonder about Charity shops/Thrift stores and yarn salvage.  

Yarn Salvage and recycle!

After a bit of research I can tell you that woollen/knitted garments typically cost between £2 and £5 in these outlets.   If the yarn could be salvaged that would be quite a lot of yarn for a very low cost.   One problem is that it is the wrong season currently with warmer temperatures shops are not selling much knitwear but we still managed to find some candidate garments.

I say we because I decided to rope my Mum into this project.   I remember from my childhood that she really enjoys undoing knots and taffles.   Turns out Mum also quite likes rummaging through Charity/Thrift shops for bargain items of knitwear!   A knitter herself for many years Mum understands the construction of garments.   This is a big help when choosing pieces for yarn salvage.

We are now some way into our project.    Mum has sourced some 15 garments and we have learned which types work best and the types to avoid.    Here are our tips for garment selection.

TOP TIPS for Garment Selection when Recycling yarn

1. Look at the washing label – that gives you the yarn type, % composition wool, acrylic etc.  This info is normally on the reverse of the label

2. Inspect the seams.  The shoulders will normally be overlocked (zigzag stitching over both joined edges on the inside of the seam).   This isn’t a problem but if you see this type of seam elsewhere on the garment this usually means the knitted fabric has been cut and joined which means there will be a break in the yarn on every row.   This gives very short lengths of yarn.   Avoid!

3. Unless you fall in love with a particular yarn, go for jumpers rather than jackets/cardigans.  Jumpers are normally easier to unpick.   Jackets and cardigans can be very difficult to deal with where the front band is attached and again are sometimes cut, resulting in short lengths of yarn.

4. Look at the texture.   Unravelling thicker yarn is generally easier than the finer ones.

5. Large garments often cost the same as smaller ones as pricing tends to be per garment.   The larger the garment the greater the quantity of yarn you can recover!

Read on for more tips on garment selection

6. Charity shops are seasonal.   Many will not display knitted garments in summer but it is always worth a look.   Lighter weight items will probably still be available.

7. One you have a stock, bear in mind the colours and weight of your yarns – look for items you can combine.

8. Shops have sales.    Even though these outlets are incredibly cheap to start with there are times when they discount.   There are also sometimes discount rails where items have been in store for a time and not sold.   Keep an eye out for sales!

9. Make sure you are looking in the right kind of shop.   Shops selling vintage or retro garments will be selecting stock based on the style and age of the garment and will be charging a much higher price than the average Charity Store.

10. Do not be put off by the style of a garment.   You will not be wearing it!  An item that is not attracting buyers in its current form might be made of very attractive yarn!

Recovering the yarn

We also learnt how best to recycle the yarn and to work out what to do with the yarn we recovered.   I will cover these in a later post.

The first few garments we bought are shown in the photos below.    When you start to take the garments apart you have to be very careful not to snip the yarn.   However, if you do snip the yarn in error it just gives shorter lengths or smaller balls which can still be used – depending on the project you select.

first garment for yarn salvage project
second garment for yarn salvage project
third garment for yarn salvage project

Yarn Salvage – Unpicking the garments

The first garment we unpicked was the flecked cardigan.   This one gave me the inspiration for a blanket project.    We picked creams and browns to go with it and unpicked the other two garments shown.    These photos show the quantity of balled yarn we ended up with.   More than 1kg of yarn for £6, not bad eh? On the subject of money a bit of small print I am obliged to share. Adverts and banners in this post are affiliate links. If you click on them I might receive a small payment which supports my blog and allows me to keep posting. Right – on to the interesting stuff. CHEAP YARN and free patterns!!

yarn salvage project - recycled yarn
yarn salvage project more recycled yarn
recycled yarn from yarn salvage project

The yarn is more or less Aran weight.   I will include more on how to identify the weight in the next post.   I used to have an obsession with knitting cabled sweaters so have a lot of oddments of plain aran yarn in my stash.    Some of the oddments were in similar colours to the yellow/orange flecks in the ‘inspiration’ yarn.   I put these oddments from my stash with the salvaged yarn to give me a large enough quantity to produce a blanket.

Yarn Salvage – Using the recycled yarn!

Next in my yarn salvage project, I came up with a block pattern that I can scale up and down to make three different sizes of square.   The pattern(s) are shown at the bottom of the post.    These are some of the blocks I have completed so far.

sample squares from salvaged yarn

Finally, turning this blanket into a whole family project, my husband designed a layout for the blocks.

blanket layout of different sizes of recycled yarn squares

Here are the patterns I am using for the three sizes of block.  I might need to amend these when it comes to stitching up if the weights of the yarn result in size differences.   I will either block them to the correct size or add additional rows to increase the size!   The change of colour instruction in these patterns shows you how I am working – you can change colour whenever you like or make the blocks solid colour.   It really depends on the yarn you have from your own yarn salvage project.

Instructions in UK terms – please SCROLL DOWN for US terms

Large Square – UK terms

1st round – make a magic loop, 2Ch, 9Dc slip stitch to join to the start point
2nd round – Ch3, 2Tr in each stitch, Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point
Change colour
3rd round – Ch2, Dc in each stitch (19), slip stitch to join to the start point
4th round – Ch3, 2xTr cluster, Ch1, (3Tr cluster Ch1)x 19. Slip stitch to join to the start point
5th round – Ch2, 3HTr, (2Tr, DTr, chain 3, DTr, 2Tr, 4HTr) x 3, 2Tr, DTr, chain 3, DTr, 2Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
6th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
7th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
8th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr 1Ch 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
9th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
10th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
11th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
12th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
13th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
14th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
15th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
16th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
17th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

Medium sized square – UK terms

1st round – Make a magic loop, 2Ch, 9Dc slip stitch to join to the start point
2nd round – Ch3, 2Tr in each stitch, Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point
Change colour
3rd round – Ch2, Dc in each stitch (19), slip stitch to join to the start point
4th round – Ch3, 2xTr cluster, Ch1, (3Tr cluster Ch1)x 19. Slip stitch to join to the start point.
5th round – Ch2, 3HTr, (2Tr, DTr, chain 3, DTr, 2Tr, 4HTr) x 3, 2Tr, DTr, chain 3, DTr, 2Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point.
6th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
7th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
8th round – Ch2, Tr round 2Tr, 1Ch, 2Tr in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
9th round – Ch2, Htr round, 2HTr, 1Ch, 2HTr, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

Small Square – UK terms

1st round – Make a magic loop, 3Ch, 15Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
2nd round – Ch3, 2xTr cluster, Ch1, (3Tr cluster Ch1)x 15, slip stitch to join to the start point.
3rd round – Ch2, HTr, (2Tr, DTr, Ch3, DTr, 2Tr, 2HTr,) x 3,  2Tr, DTr, Ch3, DTr, 2Tr, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
4th round – Ch2 work Dc along each side, 2Dc, 2Ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

Instructions in US terms – please SCROLL UP for UK terms

Large Square – US terms

1st round – make a magic loop, 2Ch, 9Sc slip stitch to join to the start point
2nd round – Ch3, 2Dc in each stitch, Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point
Change Colour
3rd round – Ch2, Sc in each stitch (19), slip stitch to join to the start point
4th round – Ch3, 2xDc cluster, ch1, (3Dc cluster ch1)x 19. Slip stitch to join to the start point
5th round – Ch2, 3Hdc, (2Dc, Tr, chain 3, Tr, 2Dc, 4Hdc) x 3, 2Dc, Tr, chain 3, Tr, 2Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
6th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
7th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
8th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
9th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
10th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1Ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
11th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
12th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1Ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
13th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
14th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1Ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
15th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
16th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1Ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
17th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc 1Ch 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

Medium sized square – US terms

1st round – Make a magic loop, 2Ch, 9Sc slip stitch to join to the start point
2nd round – Ch3, 2Dc in each stitch, Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point
Change colour
3rd round – Ch2, Sc in each stitch (19), slip stitch to join to the start point
4th round – Ch3, 2xDc cluster, ch1, (3Dc cluster Ch1)x 19. Slip stitch to join to the start point.
5th round – Ch2, 3HDc, (2Dc, Tr, chain 3, Tr, 2Dc, 4HDc) x 3, 2Dc, Tr, chain 3, Tr, 2Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point.
6th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc, 1Ch, 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
7th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc, 1Ch, 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
8th round – Ch2, Dc round 2Dc, 1Ch, 2Dc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.
9th round – Ch2, HDc round, 2HDc, 1Ch, 2HDc, in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

 

Small Square – US terms

 

1st round – Make a magic loop, 3Ch, 15Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
2nd round – Ch3, 2xDc cluster, Ch1, (3Dc cluster Ch1)x 15, slip stitch to join to the start point.
3rd round – Ch2, HDc, (2Dc, Tr, Ch3, Tr, 2Dc, 2HDc,) x 3,  2Dc, Tr, ch3, Tr, 2Dc, slip stitch to join to the start point.
Change colour
4th round – Ch2 work Sc along each side, 2Sc, 2Ch, 2Sc in each corner, slip stitch to join to the start point.

And that is it from me.   I hope you enjoy rooting around for knit wear to recycle and yarn salvage!   Please share your stories.    Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Crochet blog – update #8

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Hello and SORRY – it has been a few weeks since my last post.    I was calling these ‘weekly’ updates but that just hasn’t been happening.    My day job has been REALLY busy for a few weeks but should be calming down now, so hopefully I will get to spend my weekends here again.

I have still been busy with my crochet projects on the train each day.    I have also been able to work on with my Hearts and Spots blanket in the evenings.  Although I don’t want to get my laptop out after a day in the office – I don’t mind a bit of crochet to wind down before bed.

Here are the latest views of the blanket.   I still have to tie in all the ends but it is all stitched together.  The border would be finished if I hadn’t run out of yarn!   The yarn order is in for just two more balls of Drops Paris to complete the project.   The patterns for the squares are on my blog, heart square pattern here and basic square pattern here.   I am not fully happy with the way they fit together so I will be tweaking them over the coming weeks.   I plan to put a smaller version of the blanket together as a kit so watch this space on that.

This project is waaay too big for the train now so I have been working on other things in the mornings and evenings.   I started work designing more blocks and produced a pentagon….  not terribly useful as they don’t tesselate or fit together easily.   I might turn out a pattern for a ball (think football/soccer) at some point using these and a hexagon or two 🙂  I will put the hexagon pattern up on here in case anyone finds it helpful for a five sided project!   I suppose you could just keep going round and make a pentagon shaped blanket.

My other project on the train has been a little bag.   I am quite pleased with this so far.   It looks a bit basic as it still needs handles, decoration.  I think I might include a lining.   Again I am thinking about putting this pattern together as a kit on Etsy but I will share the pattern for free on the blog as soon as I can get it written up.

I have been using a lighter weight yarn for these two projects, Drops Muskat.   Another winner from Drops as far as I am concerned.  This yarn again is incredible value and consistent quality.  I have yet to find a knot!  The yarn is 100% mercerized cotton with a lovely sheen and tight twist which means that it doesn’t split much if at all when being worked.   Easier if you want to be looking up from the work a bit!  I have been using a 4mm hook for this yarn which seems to work well.  The finished work has great stitch definition so would really show off complicated stitches.

Finally, a team project has started in my house.    It started with me worrying about the cost of yarn.   I began wondering whether it would be possible to get hold of some yarn very cheaply by buying old knitwear and dismantling garments to recover the yarn.   This is where my Mum came in and if I am honest has completely taken over!   A trawl of local charity/thrift shops turned up a number of candidate garments.    We got to work (carefully) with scissors, unpicking and balling and the results have been amazing.    I will put up a separate post on the process and results as I could fill pages with what we found and learned.   For this post, in summary, we have recovered a huge quantity of yarn so far for a tiny outlay.   My Mum is now unstoppable in her search for woollies to dismantle and I have started my first project using this recovered yarn!    I am trying to top up what we find with yarn from my stash but as it stands far more is going into my stash than is coming out!!

Here are some of the pics of the project using the recycled yarn.   The inspiration for the project was the first yarn we recovered – a soft brown boucle yarn flecked with yellow and orange.    I came up with a pattern for a block using a cluster stitch (another new one for me).    I will share the patterns in a separate post.

My husband loves drawing and designing and was once an engineer before moving on to other things so he likes a bit of geometry and maths.    I enlisted his help for this project as I was short on time.   He came up with this layout below which I really like – I think I will be asking him for designs more often!   Here is his sketch.

I have had a very exciting time with the blog this month.   One of my posts on pricing of handmade work seemed to catch attention out there and drove far more page views than I have had previously.   My income from ads ‘soared’ to £1.83 in one month 🙂 clearly still a long way to go to being financially secure!

That’s all from me for this post – I have promised a number of follow on posts and patterns so I had better get working!   Please get in touch either by leaving a comment or joining my mailing list.   I love hearing from you all.

Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

 

Crochet blog – update #6

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Hello and welcome to my sixth update!   This week I made more progress on my blanket project.   I realised I have been calling it different names as is has progressed.   It started life as my Shades of the Rainbow blanket but more recently I have been calling it Hearts and Spots!   Whatever name it ends up with I have to confess, I am ready to move on… I have never been great at finishing things but this blog acts as a conscience so I will get it done!

This photo shows four more completed rows of squares.   Only four more to go and I can start the making up.   I have already made the majority of the blocks for those last four rows but still need to fasten off the ends.

I started to look into pricing of this project, researching on Etsy and google for similar items and found a huge range of pricing.   Some of it was incredibly low and looks to cover the cost of materials at best.   This got me thinking!   I built myself a little spreadsheet to calculate the cost of producing the blanket.   I know what the yarn cost including shipping and I used the UK minimum wage to value my time. The blanket isn’t finished yet but when it is I will know what I should be charging. The spreadsheet has a section to record the number of hours worked.   I think I will use one for every project from now on.   I created it as a PDF and set up a FREE DOWNLOAD HERE.   Pricing basics (661 downloads)   I wrote a longer post on pricing which you can read here – pricing basics.

As a break from my big project this week I designed this new block in the picture above.   I have made it up in a few colours with some of my left over scraps. I am very pleased with the way it turned out.   Here is a link to the FREE PATTERN. There are no complicated stitches so it should be suitable for beginners.   I have listed the instructions in both UK and US notation.   I haven’t decided on my next big project but I would quite like to make a blanket with this block.   I worked it in Drops Paris yarn on a 5mm hook and the finished blocks are about 14cms square.

The problem with these little side projects is that they hold up work on the main project.   I do tend to get a bit distracted by new things.   Confession time, I have three other side projects on the go.   I am working on a cushion design, a summer top and a shoulder bag design.   The good news is that I will be able to share those patterns with you soon I hope.

For now it is back to finishing of little Hearts and Spots squares.   I hope you have a good week. Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Wagon Wheel Block

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Hello!   This post contains a Free Pattern for my Wagon Wheel Block.   I wanted to create a block that would lend itself to Ombre projects and would also be suitable for stash busting as I have a lot of small remnants of yarn left over from my larger crochet blanket projects.

The pattern is made of simple stitches so should be suitable for beginners.    I made this up in Drops Paris which is 100% cotton in aran weight and works up on a 5mm hook.

Wagon Wheel Block – UK terms

Round 1.    Chain five and join to make a circle.

Round 2.    Chain 2, work 12 DC into the circle and join with a slip stitch to the second chain that started the round.

Round 3.     Chain 4,  (Tr, chain 1) repeat 11 times so that you have thirteen spokes to the wheel – (the chain that started the round plus 12 more spokes).   Slip stitch into the third chain of the 4 chains that started the round.

Round 4.     chain 2, DC into the space between the trebles on the previous round.   (2 DC into the space between trebles) repeat 11 times.   So you have two DC between each of the trebles on the previous row.   Join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 5.     Chain 4, (Tr, chain 1) repeat 24 times so that you have 26 spokes to the wheel – (the chain that started the round plus 25 more spokes).   Slip stitch into the third chain of the 4 chains that started the round.

Round 6.     Chain 2, DC into the space between the trebles on the previous round.   (2 DC into the space between trebles) repeat 24 times.   So you have two DC between each of the trebles on the previous row.   Join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 7.    Chain 2, (2DC into same stitch, Htr, 2 Tr into same stitch, DTr,  chain 5, miss three stitches and DTr into fourth stitch, 2Tr into same stitch, Htr, 2 DC into same stitch, DC, DC)  repeat twice, 2DC into same stitch, Htr, 2 Tr into same stitch, DTr,  chain 5, miss three stitches and DTr into fourth stitch, 2Tr into same stitch, Htr, 2 DC into same stitch, DC.  join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 8.   Chain 2, DC into each stitch from the row below to the corner 5 chains.   Work into each corner 3 DC, 2 chain, 3 DC.  Repeat to end of round and join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 9.     Chain 2, DC into each stitch from the row below.   At each corner work 2DC, chain 2, 2DC into the 2 chain space on the row below.    At end of round join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

NOTE – where you are changing colour on each round to create the ombre effect it works well if you move the start of each colour around rather than start and stop in the same place each time.

Wagon Wheel Block – US terms

Round 1.    Chain five and join to make a circle.

Round 2.    Chain 2, work 12 SC into the circle and join with a slip stitch to the second chain that started the round.

Round 3.     Chain 4,  (DC, chain 1) repeat 11 times so that you have thirteen spokes to the wheel – (the chain that started the round plus 12 more spokes).   Slip stitch into the third chain of the 4 chains that started the round.

Round 4.     chain 2, SC into the space between the trebles on the previous round.   (2 SC into the space between trebles) repeat 11 times.   So you have two SC between each of the trebles on the previous row.   Join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 5.     Chain 4, (DC, chain 1) repeat 24 times so that you have 26 spokes to the wheel – (the chain that started the round plus 25 more spokes).   Slip stitch into the third chain of the 4 chains that started the round.

Round 6.     Chain 2, SC into the space between the trebles on the previous round.   (2 SC into the space between trebles) repeat 24 times.   So you have two SC between each of the trebles on the previous row.   Join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 7.    Chain 2, (2SC into same stitch, HDC, 2 DC into same stitch, TRC,  chain 5, miss three stitches and TRC into fourth stitch, 2DC into same stitch, HDC, 2 SC into same stitch, SC, SC)  repeat twice, 2SC into same stitch, HDC, 2 DC into same stitch, TRC,  chain 5, miss three stitches and TRC into fourth stitch, 2DC into same stitch, HDC, 2 SC into same stitch, SC.  join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 8.   Chain 2, SC into each stitch from the row below to the corner 5 chains.   Work into each corner 3 SC, 2 chain, 3 SC.  Repeat to end of round and join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round.

Round 9.     Chain 2, SC into each stitch from the row below.   At each corner work 2SC, chain 2, 2SC into the 2 chain space on the row below.    At end of round join with a slip stitch to the second of the chains that started the round

And there it is.   I hope you like it as much as I do.   Happy Crocheting!

Annie 🙂

Crochet blog – update #5

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Hello and welcome to my fifth weekly update!

This week has been all about getting my heart and spot squares finished.    I have completed all the blocks for four of the colours.   Sewing in the ends has been a long long job!   I laid out the finished blocks  in the order I want them to sit in the finished piece and I am preparing to start joining them up.   I plan to join them using the mid shade in each colour way but I might change my mind on that after testing a few styles.   Here is the layout I am working on.


The picture shows almost all the squares in a row and there are are another eight rows to complete!  I was given a single ball of every colour of Paris Drops cotton yarn for Christmas and this is the project I came up with for that yarn.   The pattern would be great for using up oddments though and the design would look very different with random colours instead of these single colour stripes.   I am planning to make it again mixing all the colours up as an experiment 🙂

Yarn Review –  Drops Paris – this is a strong cotton yarn that works up using a 5mm hook/needles.    The yarn comes in a wide range of colours – 47 available at the time of writing.  Some of the colours say that they are made from recycled denim and those tend to be more harsh in texture.   In general the yarn is relatively soft for cotton.   Drops Paris is made up of many thin strands and does have a tendency to split.  This means you have to watch carefully as you work but if you do find it splitting it is easy to pull back out and correct.    One really big plus for me is that I have hardly found any breaks/knots in the yarn.   It is very reasonably priced – I am picking up odd additional balls as required for around £1 per 50g ball.

Stash buster project – Even though this blanket project is a stash buster itself, using small bits of yarn, I am still finding that I have oddments left over.   As a break from sewing in the ends on all these blocks I came up with a use for those oddments.    This is a hair accessory I made.

I have put up a separate post  – hair accessory instructions in case you want to have a go at this.    It is soooo quick and I am really pleased with the results.    I am using fairly thick cotton per the review above, but if made using lighter, softer acrylic yarn the strands form lovely spirals which you can mix and match with the straighter ribbons.

In other (non-crochet) news, I have been working on two knitted blanket patterns which I will be sharing next week.   One of them is a chunky, soft and cosy blanket made with some lovely 100% merino wool (shown below) that I picked up at a craft show.   The other is a much lighter baby blanket with stripes and hearts.   I am looking to back the baby blanket with fleece and put some crochet edging round it but at this stage the blocks are waiting to be sewn together.

I think that is all I have this week – back to sewing in ends and sewing up blocks for me!   Happy crocheting!

Annie 🙂