Crocheted Feather Necklace

I first saw this pendant in the Creative Crochet Crew – The Group. People were talking about it and some of us were trying to figure out how did the designer make it. The designer wrote briefly what she does on her blog but she has no pattern written up. So I asked her if she wouldn’t mind I use her idea in my design and write up a pattern. To my surprise she say yes. Thanks Regina Rioux for the inspiration. See Regina and her fabulous creations on her blog in this link http://reginarioux.blogspot.com/2012/07/crocheted-feather-pendants.html

Now after making two of these using different thickness of yarns, so many ideas come to mind. Do imagine making this using bulky yarns and make a skirt for a little girls  party dress? Must be fun.

Difficulty: Super Easy

Yarns: Any size and type of yarns.

Hook: Any size to go with the size of yarns you are using

Here I am using my left over Angora Batik/DK size and hook size E/3.5mm and B/2.25mm. You can make it into a smaller size pendant by using crochet threads.

A 10 mm split ring or a bail.

A leather string

Finished size: 6 inches

Stitches Used:

Ch = chain

Sl st = slip stitch

Download PDF from Ravelry.

Flower of the Week No. 2 - Lotus

Last week I posted about making one flower a week. So here I am posting this before this week ended. Hey, it's Finished by Friday:-) 

This week flower is Lotus as many friends in our LCG (Lagos Crochet Group) requested. If you are following my post and make the Lotus flower with me,  feel free to make yours with any color combination of your choice. It would be interesting to see purple, amethyst, white and orange lotus blooming... 

You will need: scrap yarns in these color, white, pink and dark pink.

The flower is worked in round. A round of petals was added at the back of the previous petals by making a round of new foundation chains.

Hook: F/3.75mm

R1: Using white, 2ch loosely, 8 sc into 2nd ch from hook. join with sl st.

R2: *(Ch 2, work 3hdc bobbles

Working toward the bottom of the petal, sl st in same sp as the bobble st, 1sc in next sc) 7  times. (8 petals)

R3: Working behind the petals, (sc into the ch loop under the center of next petal, 2 ch) 7 times. Join with sl st to first sl st. (8 ch-2 sp)

R4: Insert hook into any ch-2 sp, pick up pink, (sc in next ch-2 sp, ch 5, work 3tr bobble, pc, ch 5. Working toward the bottom of the petal, sl st in same ch-2 sp); repeat 7 more times, sl st to first sc. Cut off pink. (8 petals) 

R5: Working behind the petals, *(sc to ch loop under the center of first petal, 2ch) repeat 7 more times—8 ch-2 sp. Cut off pink.

(I must admitted I may have forgotten to take the photograph of the Round 6 but the instruction is as below).

R6: Insert hook in any ch-2 sp, pick up dark pink, *(sc in next ch-2 sp, 6ch, work 3dtr bobble, 1ch, sl st into the previous ch-1 sp. Working toward the bottom of the petal, 6ch, sl st in same ch-2 sp); repeat 7 more times, sl st to first sc—8 petals. Cut off yarn leaving 15cm tail.

Flower center: Using eyelashes, leaving 10 cm tail, loosely make 2 ch, 4 sc into 2nd ch from hook. Join with sl st to first sc. Cut off yarn leaving 10 cm tail.  Tie a knot using the two ends. From behind the petals, insert the hook into the center of the flower all the way through the front, pull the tail from the eyelashes all the way to the back of the petals. Gather all the tails at the back of the petals and tie a knot to secure and dub a drop of nail polish to the knot to secure.

Backing fabric:  Using dark pink, 2 ch loosely, 4 ch, 16 dtr into 2nd ch from hook. join with sl st to 4th of ch-4. Cut off yarn leaving  30 cm tail.  Thread the end into a yarn needle, stitch the backing to the  back of  the flower then stitch the pin into the backing.

If you like what you see and made something from my free patterns, please credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.

Mulberry Silk is Coming to Crochet Rockstar

I am very excited to let you know that these luxury Mulberry Silk is coming to Crochet Rockstar soon InsyaAllah. Please follow me for more info in next few weeks. InsyaAllah we all can enjoy these silk yarns at affordable retail price soon.

Lyba - 01

Reeled-01

Reeled - 02

Queen - 01

One Flower a Week (1)

Hi everyone... I hope this finds you well and in good spirits.  It is still a bit quite on my side here in term of school. School here is going to be opened again only on October 13 InsyaAllah. All schools in Nigeria are closed at the moment and all to comply with the government regulations for our own good insyaAllah. My son has been studying at home through online courses now but he is busy as usual, go to gym regularly and study, study and study. He is in 12 grade so I guess you know how it is for him... very hard.

Anyway, last week I crocheted this moon orchid. I was intrigued by the hybiscus flower pattern my friend made in Tunisian crochet and thought hey, what a great idea. I have forgotten how much I love this stitch and she reminded me of that. I learned Tunisian on and off and thought this is the best way for me to keep on track with this unique stitch without embarking on a large project. Well, I have one Tunisian scarf which is yet to finish... but I thought, this one should not take so long to make.

Here is how it looks like and this is the final version after making 4 other versions before this.
This crochet flower is now being tested and will be available to download from Ravelry soon InsyaAllah.

And then just now this thought came to mind.. .why not making one flower once a week? In a year I would have a collections. Would you like  to join me making one flower a week? Some of my patterns might not be free (small amount for creating the  PDF) but many will be posted as step by step photos insyaAllah and it will be free from this blog.

See you next stitch... InsyaAllah :-)

If you like what you see and made something from my free pattern, all I ask is that you credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.

Joining Blocks using Raised Zipper Stitch Method

I accidentally found this new stitch while working on my crochet ball projects and I was quite happy with the way my project turned out after using it. The first ball project I used needle and thread but I wasn't very happy as it looks a bit weak although technically it is quite strong as I double both the thread and the stitches was done twice. Here is the first ball I made...

... and here is the second ball.

Which one do you like better?

I have created a video tutorial on how to do the stitch if you would like to learn.   I am not happy with the quality of the video, it's blurry although on my iPhone it was ok and it was just cut off near the finish line. Obviously I need o learn more about videography and uploading Youtube videos. That being said, I hope you still get the idea how to join this stitch. The pattern for the pentagon and the ball is free till September 26, 2014 from  Ravelry. Included in the pattern is the chart and step-by-step pictures to guide you in making the pentagon and to stitch them together to form a pretty crochet ball.
If you have been crocheting for a while chance is you might not need to buy new yarns for this project. 25 meters in total is approximately what you need to make one pentagon and you only need to make 12 of them.

If you like what you see and made something from my free pattern, all I ask is that you credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.

Row of Daffodils

Daffodils, crochet and photographs above and below by © Swathi Bopanna 2014.
Yarns: Vardaman 4 ply

Thanks Swathi Bopanna for testing the pattern. These look really awesome.

This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

I made this flower as an entry for the FB group Passionate About Crochet theme “India Independence Day.” The bright colour of saffron gives a very nice touch to the pure white I am using and the green softens the shades, giving a pleasant looking piece of crochet art. One complete stem takes about 60 – 90 minutes to make. There are two options to finish the flower; ruffle and thin edging and both patterns are included.

Stitches Used

Sl st = slip stitch

Sc = single crochet

Hdc = half double crochet

Dc = double crochet

Standing sc = standing single crochet

Yo = yarn over

Reverse Sc: Reverse single crochet

This pattern has  been tested.

If you like what you see and made something from my free pattern, all I ask is that you credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.

Crochet Strawberries

I promised some friends in FB group that I will post the instructions for this strawberry crochet fruit. This fruit pattern is part of the pattern I wrote for the strawberry crochet bag available in Ravelry. 

Below are the step by step pictures. Hope my instructions are clear enough and help those who is making this for the first time. I have used yarns of different thickness in making the fruits using the same pattern and the result are different sizes.

Pattern

The crocheted fruit begins in center down, and spirals outward and up. There is no increase in the

number of stitches after round 6 when the stitches reach 30 sc. Place marker on the last stitch of each round.

Materials: Yarn size 3 in red and green and small amount of size 2 cream or light yellow. Small amount of toy stuffing. Hook C/2.75 and a yarn needle.

Using red, ch 2

Round 1: 5 sc into 1st ch—5 sc

Round 2: 2 sc into each of 5 sc—10 sc

Round 3: (2 sc into next st, 1 sc into next st) repeat around —15 sc

Round 4: (2 sc into next st, 1 sc into each of next 2 st) repeat around —20 sc

Round 5: (2 sc into next st, 1 sc into each of next 3 st) repeat around —25 sc

Round 6: (2 sc into next st, 1 sc into each of next 4 st) repeat around—30 sc

Round 7: 1 sc into each of next 4 st—30 sc

Round 8: 1 sc into each of next 4 st—30 sc

Round 9: 1 sc into each of next 4 st—30 sc

Round 10: (sc2tog, sc in next st) repeat around—20 sc

Thread a yarn needle with cream, stitch around the fruit from the inside out starting from the bottom

skipping one round alternatively. 

Dump the remaining threads inside then insert the stuffing. Place any

left over yarn on top layer of the toy stuffing to prevent the needle pulling out any hair. Thanks Lola Pool  of Lagos Crochet Group for this idea of dumping the thread inside.

Round 11:Round 11: sc2tog front loop only all the way around—10 sc

Round 12: sc2tog front loop only all the way around—5 sc

Stitch around to tighten. Cut yarn.

The leafs

Ch 2, 6 sc into the first ch, join with sl st.

*Ch 4, slip stitch into 2nd ch from hook, sc into each of next 2 st, sc into next sc) repeat from * 6

times. Cut the yarn leaving 20 cm tails. Sew the leaf into the strawberry.  

Cut the yarn leaving 20 cm tails. Sew the leaf into the strawberry.

If you like what you see and made something from my free pattern, all I ask is that you credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.