A Free E-Book for You

I had a great idea today.


To make a little E-Book, with some of my favourite and most popular crochet tutorials in it for you!!!

It was one of those ideas that couldn't wait.  I had to get it done pronto or it would become one of those ideas that kind of dissolved and turned into a hazy memory if left, one that never got completed, and so, while the idea was fresh and exciting, I put it all together.


I decided to call it, quite simply 'Colourful Crochet'.  Because that is exactly what it is.

This little E-Book is completely FREE, available to read online (click on the pages to enlarge the text) or to print off at home to keep.  I've chosen the following patterns which I know alot of people have enjoyed using:


Garden Flower Mobile Phone Pocket

Popcorn Flower Granny Squares

Teeny Tiny Heart Bunting

Chunky Crocheted Bowl

Toasty Mitts Arm Warmers

So, after oodles of writing and outpourings of excitement and creative energy; here it is!  You will also be able to find this book on the Free Goodies and Tutorials page (tab above) and in the sidebar.

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Please feel free to spread the Crochet Love and share this with your friends and family.  I'd love to think this little book is going to travel far and wide and I do hope you enjoy it!


Next time:  Seaside sketches and paintings!


Mucho love
Julia x

Garden Flower Crocheted Mobile Phone Pocket

I recently got a new mobile phone (my old one was practically an antique and well past it's sell by date) and as my new one is actually a small computer in disguise, rather than just a phone I felt it needed something, a little pocket type protector to look after it.  I hadn't seen anything I really liked in the shops and all of sudden thought...hang on, why don't I crochet one!! Well of course!

So I looked for colour inspiration in my basket of odds and sods...

 ...and found a nice selection of Rowan Handknit Cotton DK.
I chose this particular wool as it can be crocheted up to be pretty sturdy.  Especially using SC (USA) stitches.

So I got busy.  Do you want the pattern?  You do?? Ah, OK then :D


The pocket is really easy.  It's just two stitches ~ chains and single crochet, so if you can do those then you can probably make this in an hour or less.


Choose your yarn.  I would suggest something fairly robust like a cotton but it's up to you.  I used a No. 4 hook and a selection of seven colours which were inspired by my Cath Kidston messenger bag.  The phone pocket is made up in stripes which consist of two rows of the same colour yarn in SC stitch.




The Pattern:


1:  Measure around your mobile phone.  Mine is a HTC and pretty small, so if you have an i-phone you may need extra chains to begin, and extra stripes to fit it height wise.  I will be giving the number of stitches that I used for mine, which may suit yours perfectly but do check before you begin.

2:  Ch 20 + CH1 

3:  SC in second stitch from hook. 

4:  1SC in each stitch all along the row to the end (20 stitches).  Turn for row 2, CH1 then in second stitch from hook, 1SC in each stitch til end of the row.

5:  *Finish off and add a new colour yarn

6:  Row 3:  Hook under 1st stitch of last row, CH1.  In same stitch, 1SC then 1SC in each stitch along the row to the end. (20 stitches).  Turn crochet piece for row 4, CH1 then 1SC in each stitch along the row to the end (20 stitches)*.
Repeat from * (step 5) for the rest of the pocket, until you have a rectangle of stripy crochet that fits just above your mobile phone.


Finish off, sew the edges of the pocket together (right sides facing) with yarn, leaving a space at the top to slide your phone in.  Turn the pocket the right way - almost done!

The flower...you will need to be able to do double crochet clusters (DCC) for this - see below flower tutorial for How To:

To embellish your pocket with a small flower, choose a contrasting yarn.

1:  CH 4 and join with a SS into first stitch
2:  *CH3, then 1DCC (see below), then SS into ring*.
3:  Repeat from * four more times, and finish off.
4:  Sew in ends and then sew the flower to your phone pocket, add buttons to finish.


Double Crochet Cluster stitch:  Here is an explanation of how to do this stitch - I hope it makes sense as there aren't any photos!


After doing your CH3, wrap yarn around hook and push hook through ring.
Pull yarn through (3 stitches on hook), wrap yarn around hook and pull through 2 stitches (2 stitches left on hook),  wrap yarn around hook (3 stitches on hook), push hook through thr ring, wrap yarn around hook and pull through (4 stitches on hook).  Wrap yarn around and pull through 2 stitches, wrap yarn around again and pull through remaining 3 stitches on hook.
Done.

So there you have it!

A pretty, protective, and unique little Mobile Phone Pocket!  I hope you like it, do have a go if you do, and please get in touch if you have any questions.


Love Julia x

Popcorn Flower Granny Squares Tutorial

Hello!

What a smashing response to the Popcorn Flower Grannies!! I was over the moon to read how much you liked them, thank you so very much!

Without any more messing about, I reckon we need to get down to the serious hooky business of a PATTERN for you lovely people. I have taken plenty of helpful photographs for you, and done my best to write an understandable and easy pattern for you to follow.

And here it is! For info purposes, the stitches are in Ameican terminology, so I hope it doesn't cause too much confusion!

Popcorn Flower Granny Tutorial!

Ch 4 and join with a SS to make a ring.

Ch 3

1 DC into the ring

Ch 1

This is the first cluster.

The next cluster stitches are going to be DC2TOG (or sometimes, I think they're called Bobble Stitches) ~ Here is how you do it:

Into the ring, do 1 DC as usual, but stop when you have 2 loops left on your hook.

Next, yarn over, hook through the ring, pull up another loop (4 loops on the hook), and pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook) and then yarn over and pull through remaining 3 loops on hook.

Following this, Ch 1

DC2TOG, Ch 1*; Repeat from the * 6 more times so you have 8 DC2TOG stitches in the ring.

Join with a SS to the 3rd stitch in the first chain to finish.

Fasten off.

Your circle should look something like this, if it does and you are happy with it, count up the stitches round the edge and make sure there are 16 in total.

Join your next shade of yarn.

Into the first stitch of the ring, hook under and chain 3.

This next part is the Popcorn Stitch. If you aren't sure how to do it, here is how:

In the same stitch, DC4 (the chain counts as the first DC stitch here)

Next, pull up a loop on the last DC, and take your hook out...don't panic, this is the fun bit!

Count back 5 stitches (this should take you to the top of the first chain) and insert your hook under the stitch.

Then, push your hook through the raised loop on the last DC, and pull this through the first stitch.

This draws the stitch together, secure it with a chain stitch which will sit nicely just at the back.

(We are going to do seven more of these, to make a total of 8 popcorn stitches). So, lets just go through it one more time:

Into the next stitch, do 1DC

Into the next stitch, do 1 Popcorn = 5 DC into same stitch, pull up a loop on last stitch, hook under 1st DC stitch, collect the loop, pull through and secure with 1 chain stitch.

Repeat 6 more times until you have 8 popcorns each seperated by 1 DC.

To join, make a SS into the 3rd stitch of the very first chain you made. You will discover this has laid down a bit behind the first popcorn stitch, and may take a bit of hunting out...don't mistake it for the chain stitch you made to secure the popcorn stitch.

The picture above is a rough guide to show you where your 3rd chain stitch will be, can you see it, hidden down the bottom there where my hook is shoved through?!.

Fasten off.

And this is how your Popcorn Flower will be looking now you have fastened off!

Attach another shade of yarn.

This is the part where we start to turn it all into a granny square. Look for the chain stitch you made to secure the popcorn stitches, it will be laying just behind it and these chain stitches are what we are going to crochet into all around the flower.

Hook under the Chain Stitch (where my hook is pointing), and Ch4

Into the same stitch, 3 DC.

Ch1

3 DC into next chain behind next popcorn

Ch 1

3 DC into next chain behind next popcorn, Ch 2, 3 DC into SAME chain behind same popcorn to form a corner.

This should complete your first side.

Continue your way around the flower, until you have completed the 4 sides with granny stitches. The last stitch will be 2 DC instead of 3, the first chain you made at the beginning of the round counting as the last DC stitch.

Join with a SS into the 3rd stitch of the original chain and fasten off.

We're getting there!! Its starting to look like a granny!! Hurrah!

Attach your next shade of yarn, this bit will be plain sailing for most as its literally a case of granny around as usual, starting with a Ch 4 and 3DC into the first space:

I know many of you are familiar with granny squares, but for those of you who aren't, then you are going to be crocheting into the spaces below that you created on the last round of granny stitches.

On each row you simply DC 3 into a space and follow with Ch1...and so on until you reach a corner, where you do 3 DC, Ch2, 3 DC all into the same space, and then continue as before.

When you have finished the 4 sides, you will make just 2 DC into the last space, and join with a SS into the 3rd stitch of the original chain. Fasten off and attach new yarn colour.

This is the final edging round if you want to add it (or feel free to just granny away and run off and make a blanket at this point).

Push your yarn under the first corner stitch next to your yarn, as shown in the picture.

Ch 5 (this counts as 3 + 2 = 1 DC stitch + corner)

1 DC into next stitch*; repeat from * until you reach the next corner.

Ch 2 (to make a corner)

1 DC into next stitch as shown above.

1 DC in next stitch*; repeat from * until you reach end of row, and continue until the 4 sides are completed.

SS into 3rd stitch of original chain to finish, and fasten off.

Sew in your ends...grrrrr, I don't like this bit especially, but it does make things look much better if we do it.

So, with my little edged 'PFG' squares, Im going to be making a little bag - but now, Im also tempted to begin another blanket, and perhaps you will be too!! Will you let me know if you make anything with this pattern? I hope you have fun with it, and if you get stuck, just holler and I'll do my best to try and help you. I really hope it has made sense and that I haven't missed any bits out (I've read through a couple of times so fingers crossed, it looks alright and I haven't forgotten anything).

Phew!! I feel a cuppa coming on after that!

Good luck and Happy Hooking!!

Love J x

Teeny Tiny Crochet Heart Bunting

The Teeny Tiny Heart Bunting is finished! And it's now hanging in my Little Daughter's bedroom, much to her delight!

As there was a bit of interest in this bunting from some of you, I thought I would attempt a step by step pattern for you to follow. I hope I've done it as simple as possible for you. Each heart doesn't take that long to do either, so its one of those smashing projects that you could probably complete in less than an afternoon.

I used Rowan Hand Knit Cotton DK for my hearts, and a 4mm hook, but feel free to use any other wool/hook size that you might prefer. I like Hand Knit Cotton as it tends to be a bit stiffer than some other wools, and holds its shape well (the colours in this range are also very bright and scrumptious!)

OK, lets begin! You're going to need to know how to do a slip stitch (SS), a chain (Ch), a single crochet (SC), a double crochet (DC) and a treble crochet (TR) (*Ive added a little 'How To' for the TR for those of you who aren't sure)

The Pattern

Round 1: Make 4 Chain stitches and join into first chain with a SS.

Next, SC 10 times into the middle of the ring as shown below:

Join with a SS into the top of the first SC stitch to finish the round.

Make sure you have 10 stitches to work into for the next round:

Round 2: Next, you are going to do 5 DC into the first stitch, this is going to be the first top curve of your heart and it will look something like this:

In the following 3 stitches, you need to do 1 DC into each.

This is followed by a TR, the bit that will form the pointy part of the heart. For those of you not sure how to do a Treble Crochet, here is a little explanation:

Wrap your yarn around your hook twice and push your hook under the stitch.

Wrap your yarn around your hook and pull back through (4 loops on the hook).

Wrap your yarn around your hook and pull through 2 loops (3 loops left on hook)

Wrap your yarn around your hook again and pull through the remaining 3 loops ~ Voila!! A Treble Crochet Stitch!! :D

By now, your heart should be looking a bit like this:

Into the next 3 stitches, you need to do 1 DC into each.

Then work 5 DC together into the following stitch. This makes the second curvy top of the heart.

You will see a stitch space (as shown below, where I'm pointing the tip of the hook)...you need to do a SS into this to finish off the heart before securing with a knot.

Round 3: Join your second colour by knotting your new yarn onto the first colour neatly.

Start by making 1 CH into the last SS of the previous round.

To continue with your edging, do 1 Sc into the next stitch.

The next 3 stitches all need 2 SC into EACH stitch.

Into the next 4 stitches make 1 SC into each.

Then do 3 SC into the following stitch which is the tip of the heart, the 3 SC's will help to make it more pointy shaped.

Working up the opposite side, its a case of reversing the stitch pattern that we've just done. So after doing the 3 SC into the tip of the heart, we need to do do 1SC into the next 4 stitches.

Then do 2SC into each of the next 3 stitches.

Into the next to last stitch, do 1 SC.

The last stitch just requires a little SS to finish, and a wee knot to secure.

Be sure to weave in any loose ends at the back!

Here is a brief run down of the stitches for you:

Round 1:

Ch 4,

SS to join into 1st chain stitch.

10 SC into centre of ring

SS to join into 1st SC stitch.

Round 2:

5 DC into first stitch

1 DC into next 3 stitches

1 TR

1 DC into next 3 stitches

5 DC into next stitch

SS to finish into last stitch

Round 3:

1 CH into cleavage of heart

1 SC into next stitch

2 SC into each of the next 3 stitches

1 SC into next 4 stitches

3SC into bottom point of heart stitch

1 SC into next 4 stitches

2 SC into each of the next 3 stitches

1 SC into next stitch.

Finish by SS into next stitch and secure with a knot.

Making your hearts into Bunting

This is really quite easy, and of course the exciting bit that turns all your colourful hearts into actual bunting. All you need to do is know how to chain stitch and slip stitch, and Im guessing if you have got this far with me, then yes, of course you can!! :D

I started my chain off with 15 CH stitches, this is the part you can use to tie or attach your bunting to something with.

Find the topmost stitch on your heart, and simply SS into it. You might find it a little bit fiddly at first, but you'll soon get the hang of joining the heart to the hanging chain.

Here's what it looks like:

Next, CH 4 across and work a SS into the next topmost stitch of the opposite heart top.

I then went on to crochet 7 CH stitches between each heart, but of course you could do more or less depending on the look you want for your bunting.

And here it is, all finished!

I hope you enjoyed the pattern, and found it straightforward enough. I've spent a while tweaking it, and re-writing bits so I hope I've explained it clearly for you - if there are any parts you aren't sure on though, please let me know and I'll do my best to help!

Oh, before I go, a good tip is to spray the backs of the hearts with a little spray starch and then iron gently - I found it helps the hearts to hold their shape even better and you can tweak them into shape if they're looking a bit too rounded on the bottom.

Much love

Julia x x x

Shells & Flowers

Hello there!

Well, after a couple of you asked me how I did the shell stitch which Im using to make my current cushion cover (pic above) I offered to share how I did it. Well, Im afraid Im one of those horribly honest people who fear policemen and anyone in charge so I began to wonder if I would be in trouble for writing out how I did it...anyway, I looked about on the internet a bit, and it seems this is the basic shell stitch and there seems to be quite a few tutorials online for it, so I thought if I write in my words exactly how I did it, it would probably be alright.

So, here we go. I am using American stitch descriptions as that is how I learnt. The stitches you will use are Single Crochet (SC) and Double Crochet (DC)

You will need to find a hook that is suitable for your chosen wool. I am using Sirdar Baby Bamboo DK wool and a hook number 4.

Start your chain by making multiples of 6 then add 2 at the end of your chain.

First of all, you need to do a SC into the second stitch from your hook. Then, miss the next 2 stitches out and DC 5 stitches into the next stitch.

Miss the next 2 stitches and SC into the next stitch. Carry on like this until you reach the end - you should be doing a SC into the last stitch to finish the row.

Turn your work and chain 3 - this will turn out to be the middle of a half shell. Into the SAME stitch, do 2 DC's.

Miss 2 stitches, and then do 1 SC into the next stitch ~ this should be the top of the middle shell that you created in your previous row . Miss the next 2 stitches and then do 5 DC's into the next stitch. Miss the next 2 stitches and SC into the following one....do this to the end of the row - if you've done it right you should be doing 3 DC stitches into the last stitch on this row, to make another half shell.

Turn your work and do a single crochet into the top of the last DC stitch (which is the last stitch of the previous half shell), then miss 2 stitches and work 5 DC's into the next stitch...thats it - just keep repeating the pattern til you're done! You will notice that your single crochet stitches sit on the middle stitch of every shell and that your current shell sits between the two on the row below. This is how the lovely flowing pattern starts to emerge.

To add new colours, finish at the end of each row and just knot your new colour as close to the stitch as possible before carrying on.

Oh I do hope this makes sense and your shells turn out alright!! If you're still a bit confused, and I do apologise for the lack of helpful photographs, you can check out this helpful video tutorial I found for you which should sort out any hiccups :)

Talking of crochet...last night I started to crochet my sunny summer garden blocks together - Im working on the granny square pattern that Lucy shared on Attic24 (that lady has alot to answer for and I hold her completely responsible for my current addiction heehee!!)

Here's how its looking so far - I worked out last night (with a rather large sigh of relief) that it needn't be as big as I was thinking, having laid it out on our rug for size, Ive discovered that instead of 31 more of these blocks, I only really need 21 to make a very good sized blanket! Hurrah!!!

Well May is upon us already, and its the bank holiday - we don't have any plans as such for it right now but if the weather is fine I can feel a picnic near a stream coming on, perhaps a wander round a nice garden centre and a country stroll...I seem to repell against joining long traffic queues on motorways these days as the masses throng to the coast, fight for parking spots, get rained on and drive home in a grump - I don't want to sound miserable but that just ain't my idea of fun, no, Id rather have a peaceful weekend closer to home with my nearest and dearest and leave it up to serendipity what happens.

I hope you all have lovely bank holidays, whatever your plans - and I send you sunshine, warm days, and scoops of extra time for things that delight you.

Love J xxx