Willow block help

I have made many willow blankets over the past few years

 and they never fail to delight !

There is something very special about this beautiful block

with its intricate lace detail and crisp corners

but sadly every time I post pictures

 I get flooded with requests for help

 and cries of despair from frustrated hooksters !

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

The willow block is by Jan Eaton

 and is pattern 189 in the book 200 Crochet Blocks. 

It is a fabulous book with written patterns for 200 blocks

 that you can mix and match to make blankets

and I highly recommend it!

(this book is written in UK crochet terms)

I have chosen to make my squares in 1 colour only

 as I think it enhances the pattern.

 I have adapted the pattern

 and just keep working in 1 colour until finished.

So now to help the many of you who say they can't master

 round 4 ! Please note this is how I make my blocks. 

Other people may have interpreted the pattern differently, 

but this works for me !

This pattern is from a book

 so I will not post pattern details here just my hints and tips.

If you buy the book it is clearly written

 and with these extra photos I hope you will manage!

Rounds 1 2 & 3 

Check you have 48 trebles in round 3.

This is important!

48 divided by 4 = 12 stitches for each side

ready to start round 4 with 1 dc in 1st stitch

5 chain

now put your hook into the bottom chain

 and make a slip stitch

this forms a little 'ear'

make a slip stitch in 1st chain

Now this is where it may start to go wrong.

We are going to make the circle into a square.

So I find it helps to calculate how many stitches will be for each side.

48 divided by 4 = 12 stitches for each side of the square

slip stitch in 1st chain complete

next you must MISS 2 STITCHES

make 2 chain

then 1dc where the needle is

miss 2 stitches 

it will look like this

miss next 2 stitches chain 2 then dc where needle is

again miss 2 stitches chain 2

then 1dc

miss 2 stitches chain 3

then 1dc

miss 2 stitches chain 2

then 1dc

(each time we miss 2 stitches)

this completes 1 side of the square

you have used 13 stitches

1 side of the square

now you will repeat that little sequence

for the next 3 sides of the square

chain 5 then slip stitch into bottom chain

when all 4 sides are done

you will have 4 'ears' 

equally spaced in the corners

4 sides complete

now for round 5

slip stitch into next 5 chain space

this will be the first corner

continue from the book

slip stitch into 1st ear

If making in 1 colour

I begin round 6 where round 5 ends

to save breaking off the yarn.

I start with 7 chain

 (2 to replace a treble then 5 for the chains)

then 1dc 3 chain 1dc in the corner etc

willow square complete

Finally I add an extra round of dc

 to each square in my joining colour

making 3 dc in each corner stitch.

When calculating my squares

 I try to make an equal amount of each shade

to ensure an even balance

 but you don't need to be too fussy about this!

I lay them out like a Sudoku puzzle

 in a random arrangement but trying to get

 only 1 of each colour in any row or column!

This is great fun!

My favourite method of joining for these squares

is crocheting the squares together from the front

using UK dc through both loops.

This creates a really strong join

 with the ridge on the front.

First I join all the rows in 1 direction.

Then in the opposite direction.

You will find a detailed picture tutorial

HERE

My blankets are made in

Stylecraft Special DK

It is my favourite blanket making yarn

as it is soft and snuggly, very affordable,

 can be machine washed and tumble dried

 and comes in over 80 wonderful shades.

Crochet Borders

Finally to complete a blanket you need a border.

It is like a frame around a picture and sets it off !

My border comes from the book

 Around the Corner by Edie Eckman

I added 1 round of trebles first to add depth

then used border 93.

(do note this book is written using US crochet terms)

So there you are !

Easy when you know how ?!

I do hope this has helped the many of you who have written to me.

It is my pleasure

 as a teacher and crochet artist to share and encourage others.

However blogging takes much time when I am not making orders.

If you have been helped or inspired by my work

please consider a small donation to support my crochet journey.

You can do this by using the Paypal donation button on the sidebar.

Many thanks

and happy hookin!

Heather

X X X

Autumn Jewels

I love the seasons

 and believe them to be a real gift

 from God our creator. 

At this time of year the artist in me

 is so excited by the changing colour palette around us.

 Autumn is one of my favourite seasons

 with its rich warm cosy tones.

 Working with one colour is a wonderful change

 to celebrate the stitch pattern in a block.

 For a while now I have been inspired by the crochet world

 on Instagram and tracked down this wonderful

 Victorian Lattice Square.

This is a free pattern available on Ravelry by Destany Wymore.

It is very well written and includes a chart

 but please note it uses US crochet terms!

You will find a handy conversion here on the

crochet conversions page of my blog.

To add wonderful stitch definition to this block I chose to work in

Deramores Studio DK.

This is a fairly new yarn labelled as 'anti pilling' and I highly recommend it.

It is slightly finer than other popular DK yarns,

 has a gorgeous satin quality and comes in 27 shades.

I chose mist chocolate oatmeal heather aubergine mustard

 amethyst wine and malachite for the squares with 

smoke for the joining and border.

The yarn is a dream to work with gliding over your hook so easily. 

I used a 3mm hook to produce a nice firm texture

 ( half a size smaller than my usual)

 as it is slightly finer yarn than my normal DK.

The squares are large at about 17cm each

and with my tension I was able to make 5 from each 100g ball.

This means I had 45 squares from my 9 shades

so the largest blanket I could make was 

6 rows of 7 using 42 of the blocks.

Please note different people have different tensions

 and yarn used may vary!

For joining and edging I chose the dark grey called smoke.

So to prepare for joining I completed each square

 with an extra round of UK dc making 3 dc in each corner.

This now made the squares about 18cm in width.

Laying the squares out in a rectangle is such fun!

I like to make a random arrangement rather like sudoku

 trying to avoid 2 of the same colour in any row or column!

For joining I prefer to crochet the squares together.

This makes a strong neat join which will not come undone.

I crocheted together from the back with right sides together.

You will find a tutorial 

HERE

The above photo shows clearly how

 the squares are first joined in 1 direction leaving gaps.

Then you join in the other direction

crocheting over the joins to complete the blanket

I was delighted with the results

and think it looks rather like a stained glass window

 with the lead between the coloured glass!

front view of join

Here you can see clearly that this method creates

 a smooth flat finish on the front with a ridge on the back.

back view of join

Just like a picture needs a frame

so a blanket needs a border.

I began with a round of UK trebles.

One of my most used books is

Around the Corner Crochet Borders

by Edie Eckman

I chose a deep lace border to compliment the square.

To complete my blankets I always wash and tumble dry them.

I do not block my squares

 as with my tension I am lucky and they are flat.

 However I do find that a wash at 30c

 with my normal soap powder and fabric softener

 followed by tumble drying on LOW

adds a certain magic to the blanket

 helping to settle the joins and soften the crochet.

My finished blanket of 6x7=42 squares with the border

measured approximately 120x140cm.

This is a great size for a sofa or single bed.

Wishing you all a happy autumn

the perfect time for blanket making!

Heather

X X X

Winner of the Stylecraft Draw

Good morning my hooky friends!

What a fun day yesterday was

 with 1330 of you entering the draw

 to win the limited edition colour pack from 

Stylecraft Yarns

Today it is my pleasure to announce

that the winner is

Emma Smith-Horne

 from the UK

Congratulations to Emma, 

Stylecraft will be in touch with you

 and you will soon be the lucky owner of the 10 new shades!

If you would like another chance to win

remember that the blog tour continues and today you can visit

Angie at Le Monde de Sucrette

 to see what she has been making

 and have another chance at winning!

Happy hookin!

Heather

X X X