4 Jun 2021

A Textured Spiral Square

by | posted in: Bernat yarn, crochet blanket, crochet deco, Crochet projects, textured crochet stitches, Uncategorized | 0

I always like to try new twists to regular stitches or patterns. As I was thinking of a new Father’s Day gift, I wanted to design a sign with a twist. I had a couple of options on my mind, but I decided to go with a plain simple design and work with this textured spiral square as the building block. 
It is an easy pattern once you get the hang of it.

You can play with colors by making the square part in one color and changing it for the spiral part. 
I worked my DAD sign with a 4 mm hook to get a tight square. However, if you will be using this square to make a blanket, I highly recommend using a 5.5 mm hook. 

If you want to know more about how to increase the flat circle diameter before turning it to a square, this tutorial explains it.

You can also find this tutorial explaining how to join squares together helpful. 

And finally, for the DAD sign, I used 3 colors: black, grey and red.
All squares are made with worsted yarn (4) and a 4 mm hook. 
I skipped the black edging in the graph as I did not have enough black yarn. I also decided to make the black squares plain (I did not do the half double crochets on the spirals) for the same reason.
That affected the size of the final squares due to the lack of tension added by HDC stitches.
But overall, I am happy with the final project and my husband liked it as well (Yes, he saw it when I was finishing it.. An early Father’s Day gift 🙂 )

You will need to crochet the following number of squares:
Black: 76
Red: 12
Grey: 24

Each square is about 2.75″
Width: 44″ = 111.7 cm
Length: 19.25″ = 48.9 cm

That’s all for today. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and pattern. 
Till next time, stay safe and keep crocheting 🙂

7 Oct 2020

The Blossom Pattern

by | posted in: Bernat yarn, crochet cables, crochet deco, Crochet projects, riche textured crochet projects, textured crochet stitches | 3

Hello everyone and welcome back.

I have recently come across a photo of a very rich and textured knitted pattern. I have done some knitting when I was young but it was only the basics; knitting and purling and never learned how to read a knitting diagram. 

And so I decided to challenge myself to crochet it instead. I haven’t done this before and after several trial and errors and lots of frogging, I am now ready to introduce the Blossom crochet pattern to you. 

Unfortunately, most of my stash is of weight 4. I am sure that if it’s done with a DK, the outcome will be even better. 

So let’s get started with the pattern. A video tutorial is available here 

Abbreviations:
Ch: Chain
Hdc: Half double crochet
Bpdc: Back post double crochet
Fpdc: Front post double crochet
Popcorn: 5 double crochet stitches into the same stitch, take the hook out of the loop, insert the hook into the first double crochet stitch, pull the loop through and chain 1

For one repeat as shown in the video tutorial, start by chaining 17 foundation chains;

Row 1: Ch 1, turn, hdc into the 2nd chain from hook, hdc x 16   
Row 2: Ch 1, turn, hdc x 2, bpdc x 2, sk 2 sts, fpdc x 2, fpdc x 2 around the posts of the skipped sts (working them behind the posts of the previous 2 fpdc sts), popcorn, skip 2 sts, fpdc x 2, fpdc x 2 around the posts of the skipped sts (working them infront of the posts of the previous 2 fpdc sts), bpdc x 2, hdc x 2 .. Refer to the video tutorial at 4:49 for illustration.
Row 3: Ch 1, turn, hdc x 2, fpdc x 2, bpdc x 2, hdc x 5, bpdc x 2, fpdc x 2, hdc x 2
Row 4: Ch 1, turn, hdc x 2, bpdc x 2, fpdc x 2, hdc, popcorn, hdc, popcorn, hdc, fpdc x 2, bpdc x 2, hdc x 2

In the video, I worked row 5 just for the fact that in row 2 we were working around hdc posts throughout the row while in row 4 we have front and back posts stitches already made and we will be working around these posts. Otherwise the repeat of stitches is still the same.

Now, if you want to make more than one unit side by side, you need to change the foundation chain to a multiple of 15 + 2. The pattern will be followed as explained earlier until you reach the last 2 stitches (hdc x 2 at the end of each row) which will be skipped.

Terms:
If you intend to sell projects made from my free patterns you find on my YouTube Channel (Erini’s Crochet Corner), Instagram account or blog, I would appreciate it if you link it back to any of my accounts on social media. Thank you and happy crocheting 🙂

31 Mar 2020

Kid’s Room Crochet Project

by | posted in: Bernat yarn, crochet deco, Crochet projects | 0


Hello everyone,

Let’s take a break from all the news going around us and focus on something positive.
What are the projects you are currently working on?

This week, I decided to work on a decoration project for my kid’s room. 
I did him a project a couple of years ago. I was trying myself in embroidery. It was my first and last embroidery project 😎 to be honest, but what melts my heart is that he still cherishes it till this day. That makes me think that no matter how you see yourself unworthy and imperfect, you are always flawless in the eyes of someone who loves you.



Back to our project and since we are all advised to limit going out, I had to work with the supplies I had at home. A while ago, I got a small black canvas (I was probably thinking of working small doilies and mounting them on the canvas, but this project never saw the light) 😏. And thankfully, about 3 weeks ago I was at Michael’s and got some Bernat Handicrafter Cotton yarn. So I was set pretty quick on this project.


My son draw me some flowers and butterflies and I started crocheting them.
He chose the layout to be vertical. He also wanted to add a 🌞 but there was no room for it.
He is now asking for another canvas to go on the opposite side of this one; something on my to do list once we are allowed to go out again.

If you are more of a visual person, I have a YouTube video explaining the project step by step.

Otherwise, here is the written pattern (US terms) for both flowers and the butterfly. I used 4.5 mm hook. I apologize for not taking pictures as I worked this project but I promise I will make sure to take pictures of each step in the coming projects.  

Abbreviations:
ch: Chain
st(s): stitch(es)
sc: single crochet
sl st: slip stitch
sc-blo: single crochet in the back loop only
dc: double crochet

Blue Flower:
– Start with a magic ring.
– Ch 1, (sc x 3, ch 5) x 5, sl st into the first sc to join.
– Sl st into the 2nd sc, skip the 3rd sc, (into the next chain 5 loop, sc x 11, sk next sc, sl st into the middle sc). Repeat (_) 4 more times. In the last sl st, switch to green yarn to start working the stem.

Stem: 
– Chain a foundation chain equal to the length of the stem you like (depending on the size of your canvas and where you want to place the flower).
– Ch 1 to turn, skip 1 st, sc into each st back to the flower body. At the end sl st into the flower sc to secure the stem.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail (used to sew the flowers on the canvas).

Yellow / Orange Flower:
– Start with a magic ring.
– Ch 1, sc – blo x 6, sl st to join (6)
– Ch 1, sc – blo x 2 into each st (12). If you wish to switch colors, you can add it in the sl st step.
– Ch 1, (sc – blo x 1, 2 sc-blo into the next st). Repeat (_) till the end of the round (18). Sl st to join.
– Ch 1, (2sc – blo x 1, sc – blo in the next 2 sts).  Repeat (_) till the end of the round (24). Sl st using the green yarn.

For the stem, follow the same instructions for the blue flower.

Butterfly:
– Magic ring.
– Ch 2, dc x 5, ch 2 and go into the magic ring and sl st (One wing is formed). Repeat these steps one more time for the second wing.
– Over the ch 2 of the first wing, sl st twice to reach the top of the chains. In the next st make 2 dc, then dc x 3, in the last st make 2 dc, then ch 2 and into the ch 2 of the previous round, make 2 sl st to reach the magic ring again. Make a sl st into the ring. Repeat the same steps on the other wing.
– For the antenna (if you decide to make it with a different color, sl st with the new color through the magic ring).
– Rotate the butterfly 180 °, sl st over the sl st of previous round.
– Ch 8, sk 2 sts, and sl st into the 3rd st and into each st back to the butterfly body. Repeat the same steps for the second antenna.
Fasten off, leaving enough yarn to sew the butterfly to the canvas.

Now your project is ready to be assembled. Try different layouts before sewing.

Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section.

Till next time,
Stay safe 😊