Yarn Review - Stylecraft Bellissima

When Stylecraft asked me to do a yarn review,

 I chose the amazing

  Bellissima DK. 

I just could not resist the wonderful new colours,

 that have recently been added to the range.

 I'm a DK girl and its not often I stray away for Special DK

 but this yarn is special!

The 4 new shades that have recently been added,

 provide a fabulous pop of colour to the range

 and I knew I just had to use them immediately!

I've been busy making granny stripe cowls this winter

 and Bellissima is the perfect yarn to wear against your skin.

 It is 100% acrylic, smooth and silky soft,

 which makes it comfortable, cosy and non irritant.

 The yarn is round with a pearly appearance and satin feel. 

It has fabulous stitch definition,

 is luxurious to work with and to wear.

Bellissima DK is now available in 18 vibrant shades 

but you need to know that Bambino is identical!

This yarn marketed for the baby range comes in another 11 shades.

Combined together this gives us a total of 

29 beautiful colours which cover the whole spectrum,

 ranging from deep and vibrant to pale and pastel.

There is sure to be something for everyone here!

As you will have seen on IG and FB,

 I've had oodles of fun with my Yarn pegs

 coming up with fabulous colour recipes.

   Yarn Pegs from

Dotty'syarnpegs on Etsy 

One question I have been asked a lot,

 is how does it compare to Special DK

Both come in 100g balls, are beautiful to work with,

 are machine washable and can be tumble dried on low heat.

Bellissima details

Composition : 100% Acrylic                              

Ball Weight : 100g                                             

Yardage/Meterage : 293yds/268m                     

Needle Size : 4mm                                            

Tension : 22 stitches x 30 rows to 10cm square

Wash Care : Machine Wash at 30 Degrees C   

Cool Tumble Dry     

Cool Iron                  

May Dry Clean        

RRP : £3.10                                                    

For me, the main difference is quality.

Bellissima and Bambino are luxurious,

 perfectly suited for making garments.

Special DK is gorgeous, soft, extremely affordable

 and has a huge colour palette, which makes it

 my go to yarn for blanket making.

Bellissima is also available in Chunky

 which would be perfect for snuggly winter clothing!

If you would like to make your own granny stripe cowl

you can find my free tutorial

HERE

 

You will also find ready made granny stripe cowls

 for sale in my Etsy shop

HERE

If you have a go at making a cowl

don't forget to tag your work on

 Instagram with #inspiredbythepatchworkheart

I'd love to see what you are making

and do share your photos in my 

Facebook Group

Happy hooking friends

Heather

x x x

Stylecraft Blog Tour 2018 ~ C2C diamond blanket

Hello and welcome to the 2018 Stylecraft Blog Tour.

This year we are working with the wonderful new yarn called

 Bellissima

 and the baby version called

 Bambino 

(This is identical).

The team at Stylecraft put together 2 yarn packs

 for this years tour and I chose to work with Autumn Leaves.

It is fabulously squishy yarn

 with a beautiful soft finish and pearl like appearance.

The yarn is 100% premium acrylic, comes in 100g balls

 and is approximately 268 m /293 yards in length.

 It can be washed at 30 degrees and tumble dried on low heat.

Welcome if you are new to my blog, it's great to have you here!

The blog tour runs for about 2 weeks

 and there is a free pattern each day,

 along with chance to win a fabulous pack of yarn to make the project!

Here is a link to all the participating Blogstars.

 You can read yesterdays post here at

Crafternoon Treats

and tomorrow will be hosted by

Get Knotted Yarn Craft

Autumn Leaves

is 5 shades called

Rio Red

Single Cream

Mellow Yellow

Ash Rose

and

Sugar Snap

I used a 4mm hook as recommended on the ball band.

Yarn Pegs from The Polkadot Giraffe

I have designed a blanket using corner to corner or C2C.

This stitch is a favourite of mine. It works up so quickly

 and is very easy when you have learnt the basics.

 The texture created by this stitch makes a wonderful thick 3D blanket.

I first learnt using the free tutorial by Felted Button.

The blanket is made in 4 squares.

Each square has 24 rows along each side.

 I have made 2 rows in each colour,

 so that is 12 stripes along each side.

Stitch Marker from Chapel View Crafts

When you begin square 1, attach a stitch marker to the first corner.

 You will need to be able to identify this throughout the whole process.

 It doesn't need to be anything fancy,

a safety pin will do just fine or thread a piece of yarn through.

When you begin a new colour leave good length tails,

about 15 cm/6 inches for sewing in later.

 Knot the 2 tails securely using a reef knot.

Keep increasing till you have 12 stripes along the bottom and the right side.

 Then decrease at both ends to complete the square.

 (Note the left and top sides have 11 stripes with a half stripe at each end.)

Once the square is complete,

 use a darning needle and weave in the ends.

Leave your stitch marker attached.

If you have used my

c2cjayg tutorial

you will find the next part easy.

If not I suggest you have a read of it first,

as much of the joining technique involved is the same.

Begin square 2 as shown below.

The secret here is to make sure you have opposite blocks next to each other.

 Vertical stitches must be next to horizontal stitches.

 Do not worry about right side and wrong side in this pattern.

Work 2 rows of each colour to match with the stripes from square 1.

 Join as you go into the side of square 1.

 Full details of how to do this can be found in my

 c2cjayg tutorial.

Complete square 2 and then sew in the ends.

The join is almost invisible and your work looks like 1 piece!

Leave the stitch marker in place.

Square 3 begins where my hook is pointing.

Continue matching the stripes from the adjoining piece.

When the square is complete sew in the ends.

Remember when you begin a new square,

you are starting in the bottom right hand corner of the new square.

Here you will be attaching it to square 3 on the right and to square 1 below.

As you work now your diamond will appear!

The finished blanket looks as though it was made in 1 piece.

Both sides are identical and have a wonderful texture.

This really is the thickest warmest blanket I have ever made

 and that is a lot!

To edge the blanket I used the Geometric Edging which is in the

c2cjayg tutorial

At this stage I realised there wasn't much yarn left,

 so I made the foundation row in 1 colour and the triangular row in another.

 Scales are a great tool at this point.

 Weigh your yarn scraps to see which you have most of.

 The balls were all 100g, but tension varies when we work

 and so there may be different quantities left.

My finished blanket measures 76cm / 30inches, weighs 384g

 and is suitable for a small lap blanket or a large baby blanket.

When planning your blanket you must use less than a quarter

 of your yarn for square 1. To make a larger blanket

 buy 2 packs or add more colours to make larger squares.

If you would like to win a pack

 of this gorgeous yarn you can enter today's competition

HERE

This competition is open to readers of my blog

 for 24 hours, from 10am UK time, on 11th October 2018.

The winner will be notified by Stylecraft Yarns

Good Luck!

Of course you can buy a pack of yarn and begin work immediately!

Here is a link to some participating stockists

Happy hooking!

Heather x

Stylecraft Blog Tour 2017 - Granny Square Tablecloth

Hello my lovely friends

 and welcome to the

 2017 Stylecraft Blog Tour.

If you are visiting for the first time,

 may I offer you an extra special welcome!

 Do stop a while and have a browse, you will find many tutorials

 and colourful posts to inspire your crochet.

This year sees our 3rd blog tour

 and again I feel privileged to be a member of the 

Stylecraft Blogstars.

  Our numbers are continually growing and bloggers all round the globe

 will keep you inspired with knitting and crochet inspiration.

You can keep up with us on Facebook at

Stylecraft Yarns

and on Instagram at

Stylecraft Blogstars

The tour this year is celebrating the popular Batik yarn

 which comes in 20 fabulous shades,

 along with the newcomer Batik Elements

 which is available in 8 fantastic colourways.

The yarn is a beautiful soft blend of 80% acrylic and 20% wool

 coming in 100g balls. It is machine washable at 30 degrees

 and can be tumble dried on low heat.

 If you have been following along

you will have already seen a host of wonderful creations

 and patterns available to you.

 Yesterday we were treated to a gorgeous poncho pattern by 

Crafternoon Treats.

You can follow the tour backwards from here

 by visiting each blog in turn

 and following the links given to the previous days posts. 

Tomorrow is the final day of the tour

 and will be the turn of

 Jane Crowfoot 

 I cant wait to see what she has made!

We were given a choice, of 4 wonderful colour packs

 specially created for the tour.

I chose the pack called Country Garden

as these colours match perfectly with my living room.

It contains 4 balls of Batik Elements in Bismuth

 and 6 balls of Batik in raspberry, pistachio, heather, mint, coral and graphite.

You can enter a giveaway today

 just for readers of my blog

HERE

to win your self a pack of this gorgeous yarn!

 It will be open to all entrants worldwide

 between the hours of

 10am GMT Monday October 30th

 and 10am GMT Tuesday 31st October 2017.

So what did I make?

As soon as I saw the pack I new it coordinated perfectly

 with my new curtains. Many of you will know that we moved house

 1 year ago and so I am still gradually making home.

This old table was due a makeover as its old much loved cloth,

 had seen better days and no longer matched with my colour scheme.

 A new granny table cloth was the perfect project for me,

 to test out this exciting new yarn.

I used the Batik Elements in Bismuth

along with the 4 shades that matched my curtains,

 raspberry, pistachio, heather and mint.

My table is a small side table with top measuring

44cm / 17 inches.

I chose a simple pattern to let the yarn do the talking,

 so the humble granny square was perfect

 to make a table cloth for this square table.

 If you are a beginner you may like to read my

Granny Square Tutorial

as it contains many tips and tricks,

 for how to make a perfectly square granny that does not twist.

I began with Bismuth for the centre

then alternated it with the other 4 shades in the following order

bismuth raspberry bismuth pistachio bismuth heather bismuth mint.

It's as simple as that, just keep repeating the colour sequence

 until you reach your desired size.

Its good practice to take care of your ends as you work,

 so that you don't have a dreadful task at the end. 

You can read my tutorial

 of how I deal with ends on a granny square

HERE

I was inspired to create this look

 by the wonderful work I have seen on Instagram on #crochetrabbithole .

Take a look and you will see many wonderful inspiring

 creations made with remnants of variegated sock yarn.

The colours blend so well

 and it's difficult to see where one colour starts and another ends!

I am really pleased with how it turned out

 and the result is a soft squishy fabric

 which would make a wonderful warm blanket or shawl.

However my table needed a treat!

To turn my granny square into a pretty cloth

 it needed a lovely edging.

To make the edging

(UK crochet terms)

Ch 1 = chain 1   dc = double crochet  tr = treble

dc 2 tog = double crochet 2 together

Round 1

Use any colour of your choice

 (I used raspberry but ran out so ended in bismuth. 

Any combination of scraps will work as it blends in with the square)

Starting in a stitch 3 to the left of a corner,

dc around the whole square making 3 dc in corner stitches.

Round 2

Ch 1, dc in same stitch, * ch 1 skip 3 stitches,

 [(tr chain 1) 3 times in next stitch, tr in same stitch,]

 this creates a shell,

 chain 1 skip 3 stitches dc in next stitch.

Repeat from * to 2 stitches before a corner stitch,

 ch 1 skip 2 stitches, make a shell in corner stitch,

 ch 1 skip 2 stitches dc in next stitch, repeat from *

 around omitting last dc, join with slip stitch to first dc.

Round 3

Ch 1, *[dc in next treble, dc in ch space, dc in treble, 

dc ch 3 dc in top ch space,

 dc in treble, dc in ch space, dc in treble,

 hdc in ch space hdc in next ch sp, pull yarn through both to make dc2 tog.]

Repeat from * and join with slip stitch into first ch 1.

My square measures 66cm / 26 inches

 which is perfect for my table with a lovely overhang. 

I used only part of each of the 4 batik and 

2.5 balls of the Bismuth. So there is enough in the pack

to make a larger square than mine.

I am delighted with the effect

and my table is now dressed!

Keep calm and crochet on!

You can check back tomorrow

 and I will post the winner of the giveaway.

I hope you all have a lovely hooky day

Heather

x x x