I recently bought a sleeveless evening dress from Boohoo to wear to an evening wedding reception and had been pondering on what to wear with it just in case the evening was a bit on the chilly side.
After the success of making one shawl, I decided to make another one using a pattern I had for the Asterflora Shawl by Amy O'Neill Houck. Full video tutorial and instructions are available on www.BluePrint.com, a website dedicated to learning new skills.
I already had this lovely multi coloured yarn from King Cole called Riot so it was just a case of getting to grips with the pattern and making up the shawl. This is work in progress. I stopped to take a photo of the yarn because it reminded me of a pineapple as it was unravelling.
It didn't take too long to get into a stride and within a week I soon had the shawl made. Here is the finished shawl after I have blocked it.
And another with the dress that I intend to wear it with.
My front garden is a riot of colour at the moment so today's post is a Summer Shawl. This is a free pattern that was written by Nadia Fuad of Yarn Utopia. It was very easy to follow the instructions and there is a YouTube video to accompany this for anyone who is a visual learner.
This particular type of shawl can be made to any length you want as you start from the neck and work outwards. This means you can stop when you have the desired length.
I used Lion Brand Yarn - Mandala "Spirit" as I adore the colours and wanted a shawl that changed colour every couple of rows. I needed just over one mandala and I used a size 4mm crochet hook.
Here is the finished result. It is lovely and snug to wear.
I have had this bolster cushion for several years so it is not surprising that it is looking a little shabby now!
I couldn't bear to part with it as it gives me much needed back support when sitting on the sofa in the evenings, so I set about making a new cover for it.
Having just started making the Havana crochet blanket I learned a new crocheting technique and thought I would try this out and make myself a new cover.
There is a pattern repeat every 12th stitch which makes the design stand out. The rows are crocheted using the single crochet stitch which is worked in the back loop only. This leaves a horizontal stitch visible at the front of the fabric. The horizontal stitch gives you something to get your hook around to make a treble in the row below, every 12th stitch. This is what forms the pattern.
I began with 60 stitches + 3. 60 is divisible by 12 five times so I have 5 pattern repeats. One of the additional stitches is required for the turning chain leaving me with two additional stitches. These are needed either end of the piece of work and don't count when working up the pattern. I worked a single crochet in them but through both loops.
After making the piece the appropriate length I then hand stitched a zip in place. First I turned the work inside out and joined the seams either end leaving a gap for the zip. Then I pinned the zip in place and hand stitched this in using embroidery thread.
Now for the end pieces. These needed a circular piece of work large enough to fit the circumference of the roll shaped cover.
This is how I made them:
I made an adjustable ring and crocheted 10 trebles into the ring. Throughout the rows the turning chain counted as a stitch made up of 3 chains.
Row 2: Start with a turning chain. Crochet 19 trebles (2 in each stitch) total 20 stitches which includes turning chain.
Row 3: Turning chain followed by 2 treble in next stitch, (*I treble in next stitch, 2 treble in next stitch) *Repeat to end of round. (I, V). Total 30 stitches.
Row 4: Turning chain followed by 1 treble in next stitch, 2 treble in next stitch, (*1 treble in next two stitches, 2 treble in next stitch). *Repeat to end of round. (I, I, V). Total 40 stitches.
Row 5: Turning chain followed by 1 treble in next stitch, 1, treble in next stitch, 2 treble in next stitch, (*1 treble in next three stitches, 1 treble in next 2 treble in next stitch). *Repeat to end of round. (I, I, I, V). Total 50 stitches.
Row 6: Turning chain followed by 1 treble in next three stitches, 2 treble in next stitch, (*1 treble in next four stitches, 2 treble in next stitch). *Repeat to end of round. (I, I, I, I, V). Total 60 stitches.
I finished off the pieces with one row of single crochet which I would use to attach the pieces to the main piece.
I then folded the circles in half and put stitch markers top and bottom. I then re-folded and added more stitch markers until I had 8 stitch markers in place. I did the same with the tube shaped cover. This made it easy to then pin the two together. They were a perfect fit so I sewed them together. All the tail ends were left on the inside of the work. I worked with the cushion cover inside out when attaching the ends and when finished, turned it the right way around. This is what is looks like.
I am really pleased with the results. If you think it looks good, post your comments below as it would be lovely to get some feedback.
After the success of making one shawl, I decided to make another one using a pattern I had for the Asterflora Shawl by Amy O'Neill Houck. Full video tutorial and instructions are available on www.BluePrint.com, a website dedicated to learning new skills.
I already had this lovely multi coloured yarn from King Cole called Riot so it was just a case of getting to grips with the pattern and making up the shawl. This is work in progress. I stopped to take a photo of the yarn because it reminded me of a pineapple as it was unravelling.
