Hello and welcome to Patchwork House . . . . .
my little corner of the world in England, where you will find me addicted to colour and playing with yarn!


13 October 2019

Heart Granny Blanket


The heart granny blanket has been so popular,
 here is some information about how I made my blanket,
 to help those of you who would like to have a go.


I used 10 beautiful vintage shades of Stylecraft Special DK

vintage peach
buttermilk
cream
duck egg
 sage
pale rose
toy
parchment
pistachio
blush

you need 1 of each colour and 2 of the border colour.
I used toy for my border but you can use any of the shades.
If you want a striped border, there is no need to buy 2 of any shade,
 as there is plenty of yarn left.

I use a 3.5mm hook as this suits my tension.
 I like the neat stitches it makes.
 The ball band recommends 4mm for Stylecraft Special DK,
 but you may find 4.5 or even 5 works for you if you are a tight crocheter.
 Try a few sample squares on different hooks and see which you prefer.


I set about making a blanket big enough
 for use on the sofa by 1 person.
I had 1100g yarn and made a blanket measuring
 approx 128 x 96cm / 50 x 38 inches which weighs 650g.
So you can see there is plenty of yarn left to make a larger blanket if you wish.

My completed squares measure 29cm / 11.5 inches.
You can make them smaller or bigger the choice is yours.


When planning a blanket I always make a sample square first.
This enables me to take measurements and calculate how many squares
 I need to make, for my desired blanket size.
So I made 12 squares and each square is totally different.

To make a heart granny square
read my tutorial


I made 11 more heart squares after my sample square
 giving me a total of 12.

I used join as you go,
 so the final round on every square is made at the same time as joining.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked, is how I plan colours.
I do not provide a list of colour order,s as I think this is the maker's pleasure,
 but if this is something you struggle with,
 you can read a blog post about how I plan colours


I added 2 rows of each colour which cuts down the number of ends by half!
Remember to flip your work after each round,
 to keep your granny perfectly square and avoid that ghastly twist.
 If you would like to read more about this you can read my granny square tutorial 

When making 2 rounds of each colour, complete the first round,
 flip your work, then slip stitch back into the corner space.
 You are then ready to make the 2nd round in the same colour.


Keep adding rounds until your squares are the size you require.
Make sure you deal with your ends as you go.
Use a darning needle and weave them in, it only takes seconds, be disciplined!



Have fun laying your squares out
 and try to get an even distribution of the colours.


Remember square 1 (top right) is my sample square.
It will have 1 more colour / 2 more rounds than the others.
The final 2 rounds of colour will be added when joining takes place.


Lay the squares out and plan which colour will be used
 for the final rounds / joining colour.

If you are not familiar with join as you go
there is a great tutorial by Lucy on Attic 24 Blog
Lucy has a wonderful blog which I can highly recommend. 
She has many tutorials suitable for beginners.


At this stage your blanket will be growing before your eyes!
It comes together very fast with these huge squares and the quick join as you go.


If at this point you fancy a larger blanket,
 it would be easy to make 4 more squares and add them on to make a square.


I chose to have all my hearts facing the same way.
An alternative which I may do next,
 is to have the heart on 1 colour background in a smaller square
 and arrange them facing in different directions.


Every blanket needs a border, just as a picture has a frame.
Once again I turned to my favourite border book.
This book is a fabulous resource which I highly recommend.
 It has excellent colour photographs, clear charts
 and written instructions in US crochet terms



To continue the feminine feel of this blanket I wanted to add a deep lacey border.
I chose border 30 to compliment the soft vintage shades and used the colour toy.
You can use any colour from the 10 shades, its personal choice,
 but remember you will need an extra ball of the border colour.
 An alternative which I considered,
 would be a striped border using any of the left over yarn.


To begin any border I always make 1 round of trebles (UK crochet terms)
as this adds extra depth to the border.


Feminine
dreamy
romantic
just
absolutely beautiful!


I love this blanket so much


and hope many of you will now enjoy making one too.


Do tag your work on Instagram using
#inspiredbythepatchworkheart
so I can see and share your fun

If you use Facebook do share your makes in my group called
 we'd all love to share the fun.


With my left over yarn I made some pretty hot water bottle covers to match!
 What a super gift this would be to gift a blanket and matching hottie.


I'm sorry I don't write patterns and have no interest in doing that.
I am told though that you can find hot water bottle patterns to buy on Etsy.


If you have enjoyed this free tutorial
please consider how you can support my work here at Patchwork House.

My pleasure comes from making, not pattern writing.
To enable me to keep doing this,
 may be you would like to purchase something from my


or you can make a donation via Paypal
using the donate button on the sidebar of the blog.


Time spent on a tutorial means
 taking millions of photos,
editing them,
uploading them
and
writing instructions,
 which
means days when I am not able to crochet
 and so not make any income.


Thank you all for your support.
My daily posts on Instagram and Facebook
have brought me crochet friends worldwide
and I really value this wonderful community.

I wish you all happy heart making

Heather
x x x








Heart Granny Square Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how I make 
a heart granny square.


This is my own method, devised after
 simply having a go and seeing what worked best!
There are also video tutorials available on You Tube.

It is assumed that you know how to crochet a granny square.
If not, have a read of my granny square tutorial
it contains a few tips.
UK crochet terms are used.

You will need 2 contrasting colours of the same weight yarn,
 the correct hook for your yarn and tension,
 a darning needle and sharp scissors.

I am using Stylecraft Special DK  in pale rose and sage with a 3.5mm hook.
I will be making a pink heart on a green background.



The heart granny square is a square of 5 rounds.
     
Rounds 1 & 2 in pink (heart colour)                         
Round 3 in pink and green (heart and background) 
Rounds 4 & 5 in green (background)                       




Round 1
Using your heart colour make round 1 of the granny square


 Flip your work over, so you now have the back facing you. 


Slip stitch into the corner space shown by my needle,
 ready to start round 2.




Round 2
Chain 3 for the first treble and make round 2 in your heart colour.


Flip your work over to have the front facing you
then slip stitch into the corner space where my needle is pointing,
 ready to start round 3.




Round 3
This is the difficult round where you will be working with both colours.

I have worked out a method,
 for keeping the heart colour going all the way round
 and only cutting the background colour. 
This reduces the amount of ends left for sewing in.

Begin with the first group of trebles in the top right corner.
This is the front and top right of the heart.
We are now going to change colour and
to do this we always pull the new colour through,
 on the last stitch of the previous treble.
So here you start with 3 chain to replace the first treble,
 treble 1, then on the 3rd treble stop before the last pull through.


Make a stitch in your background colour (green) and put it on your hook


pull the green through the pink, to complete that 3rd treble.
Now we are ready to use the green for the next group of 3 trebles but
 STOP!
First we have to move the pink along to where it will be needed next.


Remember I said we are
  not going to cut the heart colour.


Simply push the green stitch further up your hook out of the way,
 pick up a stitch in pink and slip stitch along,
 till you reach where my needle is pointing.


Make the 3 chain for the first treble
 and pull the loop bigger than is needed.
 Now it is safe to take off your hook and leave,
 while you go back and work with the green.


Using the background colour (green) make 3 trebles,
finishing before the last pull through on the last treble.


Now grab the pink loop with your hook,
 tighten it back to normal size and pull it through to complete that 3rd treble.
You have now changed colour and are ready to continue with the heart.


Cut the back ground colour (green),
 leaving a tail about 10cm / 4 inches for sewing in later.

Continue with your heart colour (pink)
and make the corner and 1 more group of trebles
again finish before the last pull through on the 3rd treble.


Time to change colour again.
Make a stitch in the background colour (green) and put it on your hook.


Pull the green through the pink to complete that 3rd treble.


leave the green stitch higher up your hook and now work with the pink.


Pick up a stitch in pink 


and we have to slip stitch along 
 to get it to where it will be needed next.


Slip stitch to where my needle is pointing


Make the 3 chain for the first treble and pull the loop larger than normal,
 to keep it safe while you go back and work with the green.


Make a corner with the background colour (green)
finishing before the last pull through on the final treble.


Grab the pink loop with your hook,
 tighten it back to normal size and
 pull the pink through the green to complete the 3rd treble.

The heart is now upside down
 and we are going to make the point of the heart. 
This is 1 group of 3 trebles, in the heart colour (pink)


Finish before the last pull through on the 3rd treble.


Make a stitch in the green and pull it through the pink to change colour.


Now working with the pink, pick up a stitch 


and slip stitch along to where it is needed next


keep going to where my needle is pointing.


Make 3 chain for the first treble and
 leave a large loop in the pink to keep it safe,


Continue working with the background colour (green)
and make the 2nd corner


Change back to the heart colour (pink) and complete round 3,
 joining with a slip stitch into the top of the 3 chain you started with.

Cut both colours leaving tails of 10cm / 4 inches to sew in later.

This photo shows the front of the heart
and you can clearly see 4 pairs of ends
to deal with later.



Round 4
Flip your work over to have the wrong side facing you
and attach your background colour to the top right corner of the heart.


Crochet round 4,
DO NOT CUT YARN


Flip your work over to have right side facing
and slip stitch into the corner space where my needle is pointing.



Round 5



Crochet round 5 in your background colour.
Complete round and cut yarn leaving a tail of 10cm / 4 inches.


Using your hook pull all ends through to wrong side of square.


The front is looking good


but the back needs some serious work doing!


Separate the ends into 5 pairs as shown above.
 This enables us to knot the 2 tails in each pair
 and then sew them in as 1 thread.
 This halves the amount of sewing in!


Using your darning needle, thread 1 end
 though the same coloured crochet to meet its partner.
Tie a reef knot with the 2 ends, making your work secure
 and trim to make the ends identical in length.
Then using the 2 ends together, thread them through your darning needle
 and weave them into the same coloured crochet.


Trim the ends off and now the back looks as good as the front!


and there you have a heart granny square.

I do hope this tutorial enables you to have fun with your crochet.

Please share your work on Instagram using
#inspiredbythepatchworkheart
so we can all share the fun

On Facebook join my group
and share with a lovely group of makers who also enjoy my work.

This tutorial has taken many days to write.
If you have enjoyed this free tutorial please support my work.
Consider a small donation via Paypal
 using the donate button on the sidebar of this blog
or
visit my
and make a purchase.


If you would like to read how I made the
 heart granny blanket
 you can read about it

Happy hooking Friends!
Heather
x x x




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