The Patchwork Heart Colour Packs at Knitting Network

Hello my hooky friends,

 I have some very exciting news to share with you!

I have teamed up with the lovely people at 

Knitting Network

 and am delighted to announce that they will be stocking my 

Colour Packs

from now on!

I have received fantastic service

 when buying yarn from Knitting Network

 and want to offer you this fabulous service too.

You can look forward to

A Price Match Promise - best price or they refund the difference

Same Day Dispatch - they aim to dispatch orders received before 4pm

Excellent Customer Service - a readily available contact number should you need it

Free Royal Mail Delivery - when you spend over £20

Worldwide delivery in eco friendly packaging

A fabulous selection of patterns as seen in Woman's Weekly.

As well as making my colour packs available to purchase,

 I will also be working with patterns from Knitting Network

 and sharing ideas with you each month on

 Instagram 

and 

Facebook 

Baby blanket 64cm square

 To open up my Colour Pack Shop

I have begun with 2 rainbow packs
which are always great favourites

Child's blanket 88cm square

I have put together 2 packs for you to choose from

Each pack contains 

7 colours with 2 balls of cream

in my favourite

Stylecraft Special DK

This pack is enough to make

 a baby blanket 64cm square

or

a child's blanket 88cm square     

with plenty of colours left to add to your stash for future projects.

How to make a granny square blanket

If you are new to crocheting

 you will find the following tutorials helpful

(click on the links to take you to the tutorials)

Granny Square Tutorial

Sewing In Ends

Simple Edging

So now all that you need is your yarn,

you can buy the packs here

PINK RAINBOW

RED RAINBOW

These colour packs are exclusive to Knitting Network.

I do not sell colour packs anywhere else.

Don't forget to post your work on Instagram and use the tag

#inspiredbythepatchworkheart

so I can see what you are making.

Watch this space,

you can look forward to more packs being added,

including some popular favourite blanket packs from the past.

Take a look at some new additions to my blog page here

for all your favourite 

blankets 

tutorials

and 

colour packs

For future reference you can access these pages at the top right of my blog.

Wishing you all a happy hooky day,

remember crochet is therapy and makes for a happy day!

Heather

x x x

Geometric Granny Blankets

Granny square blankets hold a wonderful attraction for me.

The simplicity of the square allows the colours to triumph

 and enables different square sizes to be combined.

It's all about Maths using factors and multiples!

For this single size blanket

 I have used granny squares made with 8 rounds

 surrounded my smaller squares of 4 rounds.

I have joined my squares as I add the last round of colour.

This is called the Join As You Go (JAYG) method

and there is a good tutorial on Attic 24 blog

As you all know I'm a lover of Cath Kidston

 and for this colour recipe I took inspiration from my china.

You can buy this yarn

HERE

If you are a beginner you can read how I make a granny square

HERE

I am often asked how I make my grannies so perfectly square

and many people say they find a large square twists.

 Read my tutorial and you will learn a few tricks!

I worked in batches making a set of squares first, then joining them all later,

 as this was a more productive method.

Be careful to use all your 8 colours equally

 so that the final blanket looks balanced

 and also to ensure you don't run out of yarn!

 If you don't plan, you will find that you have a natural preference

 for putting certain colours together and these may dominate the blanket.

 You can read a blog post about how I plan colours 

HERE

Be sure to sew in your ends as you go, then its not a huge task at the end.

Beginners may like to read my tutorial on how I deal with ends

HERE

Here are the facts and figures that you will need to know to make this blanket.

Finished blanket weight 750g

size 100x125cm

Yarn needed 8 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK for the squares

PLUS 1 more ball for border in the colour of your choice.

Make 20 granny squares of 8 rounds (7 rounds for JAYG)

and 74 granny squares of 4 rounds (3 rounds for JAYG)

I used a 3.5mm hook with Stylecraft Special DK as this suits my tension.

 You should use a hook that suits your own tension.

So in the single size blanket I combined 8s and 4s,

you can easily see that 2 4s will sit along side an 8.

For the King size blanket I started with much larger squares

and have combined 12s 6s and 3s.

This time I worked from the centre of the blanket out,

starting with 9 granny squares of 12 rounds each.

This means you need to make 9 squares of 11 rounds,

 then the 12th round is added as you join the squares, using join as you go.

If you want to use another joining method,

 then make 12 round squares in the beginning.

Here my colour palette has been insipired by Orla Kiely

 using colours again from my mugs.

You can buy this yarn

HERE

This colour recipe has 12 shades

 but I must make it clear that this was

 NOT ENOUGH

 for the king size blanket

 and I needed a little more than 100g of each colour

 and more for the border.

Again I worked in batches, making 64 grannies of 5 rounds.

These were then added using the join as you go method

 and they become 6 round grannies.

Finally a batch of 176, 2 round grannies were made,

 to be joined and become 3 round grannies.

This blanket is a labour of love,

 don't make it if you don't like dealing with ends!!!

This is a huge blanket to cover the top of a king sized bed,

so at the end it becomes quite heavy and difficult to work on

 and very warm to sit under!

But I'm sure you will agree it is fascinating

and these colours are truly wonderful.

Here are the facts and figures that you will need to know to make this blanket.

Finished blanket weight 1650g

size 150cm square

Make 9 granny squares of 12 rounds (11 rounds for JAYG)

 64 granny squares of 6 rounds (5 rounds for JAYG)

and 176 granny squares of 3 rounds (2 rounds for JAYG)

I used a 3.5mm hook with Stylecraft Special DK as this suits my tension.

 You should use a hook that suits your own tension.

Finally a blanket deserves a border just as a picture has a frame.

I have used number 27 from the book

Around The Corner Crochet Borders

by Edie Eckman

It has written instructions in US terms

 with clear charts and photographs

You need 8 balls to make a single size blanket plus

you will need 1 extra ball,

 in the colour of your choice, for the border.

For a king size blanket you need 1600g

 so buy 2 of each shade 

 PLUS 2 more for the border.

Here are some suggestions of colour recipes to help

Now you have all you need to know

 to make a geometric granny blanket.

There are oodles of possible combinations.

 Have lots of fun creating

and be sure to share your photos in the

 Facebook Group.

If you have been inspired by my work

and would like to make a donation for this free pattern,

you will find a Paypal donate app on the sidebar of this blog.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on Facebook and Instagram

 it is truly wonderful to know that my work is appreciated.

 Because of my loyal followers,

 my crochet has grown to fill a void in my life

 from having to give up teaching and for this I'm truly thankful. 

Happy hookin friends

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

The Beginners Blanket

If you would like to make your first blanket,

 then carry on reading, 

I will take you through the process of all you need to know!

To begin with most people learn how to make a granny square.

I have a tutorial to teach you with step by step photos to help.

When you have a pile of squares come back for the joining

 and then for the border.

For this beautiful vintage style granny blanket 

I have used 8 shades of Stylecraft Special DK.

You can buy this yarn

HERE

You can of course use your own colours too. 

8 colours is enough to make

 49 granny squares of 7 rounds,

 so you can choose

 a square blanket 7 by 7 or a rectangular blanket 8 by 6.

I used

duck egg, buttermilk, sage, vintage peach, parma violet, grape,

 storm blue, pale rose and duck egg joined with mushroom

I made a rectangular blanket so needed 48 squares. 

This works out nicely at 6 centres of each of the 8 colours.

You can learn how to make a granny square

HERE

Organisation is very important to me.

It makes the process quicker and ensures an even balance of colour.

You can read about how I plan colours 

HERE

I would encourage you to start good habits now

and sew the ends in as you go!

Once the granny squares have 7 rounds,

 they are ready to edge in mushroom for joining.

I use the bed for this next step, to save bending down on the floor!

Lay the squares out in your desired arrangement,

 trying to ensure an even distribution of colour.

I then number each row using a scrap of paper

 and store the piles in a basket ready for joining.

There are many joining methods available.

My favourite is to crochet the squares together to give a strong join.

For beginners I recommend

crocheting together from the back, using UK dc, through both loops.

You can read how to do this

HERE

The join is made in rows of 1 direction first,

 then repeated in the opposite direction.

This makes a strong flat join with a ridge on the back.

Every blanket needs a border,

 just like a picture needs a frame!

I recommend the book

"Around The Corner" by Edie Eckman.

You can buy this on Amazon

HERE

(Please note this book is written in US terms.)

I have used border 27 for this blanket.

The final things I do for every blanket is to wash it.

This has the effect of blocking and helps to settle the joins.

Follow the instructions on the ball band.

For Stylecraft Special DK I wash in the machine

 at 30 degrees using my regular soap powder and softener.

 I then tumble dry on LOW HEAT.

So now the fun begins!

 Go and choose your yarn.

If you have any questions not explained in my tutorials,

 please email me at

 thepatchworkheartuk@gmail.com

 and I will try to help.

Have fun blanket making

I wish you many happy hours of hooking!

Heather

xxx