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

HERE

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

HERE

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 

HERE

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

HERE

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

Around The Corner Crochet Borders

by Edie Eckman

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

Crochet Inspired by The Patchwork Heart

 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

ETSY SHOP

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

Rainbow baby blankets

 This winter I've been making rainbows!

I love the simplicity of these baby blankets

 that are very quickly finished. I have chosen 7 shades

 to make a rainbow, with a contrasting background colour

 and made 7 different versions so far! They have been

 so popular on

 Facebook

 and

 Instagram

 that I thought I'd make a permanent record

 of the colour recipes here for you!

 Of course in true Patchwork Heart fashion

 there's been a lot of mug matching going on as you can see here! 

I've been playing with colour recipes for girls,

 colour recipes for boys, neutrals that should suit all tastes,

 pastels, brights and more muted tones,

 so I'm hoping there will be something here to please all!

If you are new to crochet 

then a granny square baby blanket is a perfect beginners project.

You can follow my 

granny square tutorial

and learn how I make my blankets so perfectly square!

When you've completed the square to the size that you want add a 

simple edging

 and bingo your blanket complete!

All the blankets are made in

 Stylecraft Special DK

 and I have used a 3.5mm hook

 (but you need to use whatever suits your tension.

 The recommended size on the ball band is 4mm).

You need 2 balls of the background colour

 and small amounts of the 7 colours.

 My blankets are approximately 60cm square.

You can now find these rainbow baby blankets for sale in my Etsy shop!

 Here are the colour recipes underneath each photo:

1. Lipstick, spice, saffron, pistachio, aster, plum and magenta

 on a parchment background.

2. Fondant, shrimp, citron, pistachio, aspen, bluebell and wisteria

 on a soft peach background.

3. Candyfloss, apricot, lemon, spring green, sherbet, wisteria and clematis

on a white background.

4. Pomegranate,blush, saffron, pistachio, aspen, wisteria and magenta 

on a cream background.

5. Lipstick, spice, saffron, kelly green, aster, plum and magenta

on a grey background.

6. Claret, tomato, mustard, kelly green, turquoise, plum and magenta

on a petrol (blue) background

Here is a collage

 to help you compare and choose which to make.

I definitely have a passion for crocheting rainbows,

 now my hook has turned to spotty blankets!

 Keep watching this spring for more spotty creations

 and more colour recipes to entice you!

7. Claret. tomato, mustard cypress, storm blue and grape

 on a teal background

Stylecraft Special DK

 is such a wonderful tool for us crochet addicts

 with a colour palette of over 80 shades to choose from!

I am delighted to announce

 that soon some of these colour recipes will be available in my

 Colour Pack Shop!

Do remember to share your makes in the 

Facebook Group

I love to see what my makes have inspired you to do!

I wish you all lots of colourful hours crocheting rainbows

Heather

x x 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