Crochet Lamb pattern review

Pookie_Doodle

I  made this little lamb from the free pattern I found via Ravelry.

The pattern is very easy to follow and well set out with clear instructions. I made it in a couple of evenings.

I couldn’t get the recommended yarn but did have a ball of Drops Boucle which I thought would be good for the fleece effect.

I found the Boucle impossible to crochet with though. I just couldn’t see the stitches and kept missing them and getting holes and mis counted rounds.

So I tried holding the yarn along with some cream 4ply I had and it made the stitch definition much better and actually gave the fleece a two tone look.

The face, ears and hooves were done in brown double knit.

I recommend following the instructions for defining the eyes, it really made a big difference to the face and also the yarn wrapping to make the split hooves, it really finished off the look.

Very pleased with the finished lamb.

Free pattern here:

 https://hobbii.co.uk/teddy-basserne

Happy crocheting!

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Jordan Sleeveless Pineapple Top Pattern Review

Pookie_Doodle

I love how this crochet pineapple pattern top has come out.

The pattern is easy to follow with well written and diagram instructions.

I made the L/XL size and it fits perfectly - I am a UK 12/14 size.

I used Drops Safran yarn which is 100% cotton 4ply, I used the Denim Blue shade.

I used a 4.00mm crochet hook

It is a paid for pattern available via Ravelry, well worth the money.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jordan-sleeveless-pineapple-top
 
I did add a few extra rounds around the neck as it seemed very low cut.

I love how the pineapple design shows up if you wear a neutral colour beneath it. It looks better with something under it, rather than just your underwear but youngesters could probably get away with it! :)

I also like the pointed drop edges at each side which gives a lovely floaty look, much better than a straight finished.

Once you have made the yolk section you work from the top down, all in the round, all the way down to the bottom so if you wanted it would be possible to add more rows to make it longer. 


This also means there are no side seams to sew YAY!

 It might look a complicated design but once you get into the row repeats you begin to see how it comes together and can remember what stitches to do. The main thing is to add stitch markers at each side so you know where to increase as that is what gives the flare.


Happy crocheting!

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Sleevless top - Drops Design 'Come Winter' 173-46

I bought too much yarn when I made the Rudolf jumper (you can see it here if you want) so wasn't sure what to do with the left overs, then I saw this pattern for a sleeveless top.

The pattern has open sides, like a poncho, but I didn't like that idea so simply sewed them up.

I didn't have enough yarn to do it all in grey so used the cream and made a split at the centre working one stitch out into the grey on each row to give a V design, I think it gives a nice effect and used up all the left over yarn. I also split the neck as I don't like roll neck, again I think it looks effective and looks nice when worn.

The yarn is Paintbox Simply Chunky and is lovely to work with.

Free pattern "Drops Design 'Come Winter' 173-46" can be found here: https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=7528&cid=17

Happy knitting!

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Rudolf Jumper - Drops Design 122/1

I've been planning to do this since last year. Left it too late then so this time started in October. It only took a week to knit, it grew so fast being thick yarn on big needles.

The pattern calls for super chunky but I was worried it would be too hot to wear at Christmas especially if cooking so opted for just a chunky instead, I did a few test pieces to get the tension right for the needles I had. I used 6mm.

I used Paintbox Simply Chunky. First time I've used it and found it lovely to knit with. Unlike some acrylic which can feel quite rough this was very smooth.


Because it is worked in the round there are no side seams to sew (Yay!!) you might have guessed I don't like sewing up knitting :)


The pattern is easy to follow although one thing I would point out to a new knitter is that it says to work stocking stitch, which is one row knit one row purl, however as this jumper is done in the round you only need to knit each row to get the stocking stitch effect.

I changed the colours to my own design. I thought brown reindeer would stand out more and I also felt that as there is only one Ruldof that he should stand out on his own with a red nose while the others have small black noses. I also changed the neck as I don't like roll neck styles. I just did it as the pattern but folded it back and sewed it down.

FREE pattern can be found on Garnstudio https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=4761&cid=17

Happy knitting!

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My Greek Zig Zag Shawl

I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit Greece recently, the Greek islands in particular. What a stunningly beautiful place. The people are the kindest, most welcoming I've ever met.

Before we went I decided to make my own tribute to the beautiful island of Santorini by making a shawl in some of the colours found on the island. I chose a pattern by Drops/Garnstudio and wanted to do deep blue to signify the tops of the buildings, white for the walls of the buildings and a paler blue to signify the blue of the sea and sky. I bought Drops Safran yarn but sadly the 'ice blue' I chose turned out to be a mint green colour so I had to use only the turquoise and white.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and in this picture you can see Fira, the capital of Santorini, high on the top of the hill above my shawl.
If there are any Greek readers here, thank you for letting me visit your beautiful country, you should be very proud of it and all your hospitality.

Now for the pattern review ....

The pattern was Drops design 146-6 Edelweiss shawl and is available for free: https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=6010&cid=17

The pattern suggested two strands of yarn group 'A' but as I wanted a lightweight shawl I decided to try it using a single strand of 4ply Safran. It came out fine and I used a 3.5 mm hook.

It took 3 balls of White (Safran 50g) and 4 balls of Turquoise (Safran 50g)

Like I said the colours I wanted to use sadly turned out not suitable but I was happy with the two tone result. I do love Safran yarn, it is smooth and easy to crochet with, it does not split like some cotton yarns. It has a beauitful sheen to it on finished items.

The pattern is easy to understand using basic stitches and due to the repetition it means that after a while you don't need to keep referring to the pattern because you get into a good rhythm of working, it grew very fast and was completed within a week.

You begin at the back neck with a magic ring or a few joined chains, and the shawl grows outwards and downwards as you work therefore you can make it as big or small as you wish simply by working to the size you want.

It is weighty enough to feel warm on a cool evening but the cotton yarn means it does not feel too hot around you if the weather does turn warmer.

You could experiment using any yarn, I'm sure the results would be just as beautiful.

Happy crocheting!

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Quick and easy scarf pattern review

I had a few 50g balls of a 4 ply mint green cotton yarn called Safran by Drops/Garnstudio in my stash so wanted to find a pattern that could use it up.

I came across this one for a scarf which looked really pretty. It is a free pattern called 'Rose Acacia Scarf' and can be found on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rose-acacia-scarf

I used two 50g balls and a 3.5 mm hook. It was a really easy pattern to follow, the chart is well set out and there is also written instructions, the crochet terms are US terms but easy to translate to UK terms as there is only one stitch apart from spaces, chains and yarn overs. This is the Triple Crochet (US) which is a Double Treble in the UK. It took me just a couple of evenings to make.

It did look rather thin so I decided to widen it slightly around the back neck, I'm not sure if I did the right thing but it looks OK. I widened it by working the first pattern repeat then increasing on the 1 st row of the next 4 subsequent pattern repeats, then working straight until I had the desired length. I then decreased in the same way on the other side.

It is a very versatile scarf which looks pretty tied at the front:

Draped around your neck:

or pinned with a scarf pin:

It did need blocking to bring out the full pattern, I blocked it out dry and then sprayed it with water and left it to dry.

 A lovely scarf with will look very pretty with different outfits from 'dressed up' to jeans and T.Shirt.

You could use any type of yarn and hook size, thinner yarn would give it a very lacy look and feel, thicker yarn would give a warmer scarf.

Thank you Zsu's Designs for sharing your pattern for free.

Happy crocheting!

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Amigurumi Little Monkeys in Hats

These little monkeys are made from two patterns.

Little Big Foot Monkey by Sharon Ojala at Amigurumi to Go and the little hats by Jennifer Wang.

I loved making these, both patterns have very clear instructions and are easy to follow.

Each pattern is set out with detailed step by step instructions and Jennifer explains how to alter the Little Big Foot Monkey pattern slightly so that the hats fit better.

Both patterns can be found on Ravelry and are FREE - how kind are these people? It inspires me to always offer my patterns for free too. :) Let's all share!

Little Big Foot Monkey by Sharon Ojala: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-bigfoot-monkey-2014

Little Hats by Jennifer Wang: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amigurumi-monkey-hats

I made mine using Drops Safran yarn which is a 4ply cotton in brown and white for the monkey and pink and yellow for the hats. The monkey comes out at around 5" tall when sitting.

I made two hats, the sun hat and the newsboy hat. There is also a cowboy hat and a Fedora to make.

I'm going to be making more monkeys in hats so will add photos as they are made.

Happy crocheting!

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Tunisian Crochet Shawl

I first dabbled in Tunisian crochet way back in the early 1970s and had never revisited it until recently when I came across a pattern and I fancied having another go.

The pattern looked beautiful and it was also free, something which I like! 

It is this pattern which can be found on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/schmetterwurm by Christina Adorjan

I've called it my warm berry scarf as I used Drops Fabel in Berry Dreams and Grey in two shades, light and dark. 

I used 1x50g ball in each colour and also had to buy the Tunisian Crochet hook as the one I had was the wrong size, the whole lot cost around £11 (Nov 2016) so not a bad price for a nice new scarf and a hook to use in the future. Drops Fabel is a very soft and warm yarn and clings around your neck without being scratchy.

It took a bit of reading and a few rows of trial and error to fully understand the pattern but we need to remember that I was the equivalent of a complete novice and going into an intermediate pattern, so it should be expected that I might not fully understand. 

I think I made some mistakes, especially in the  short rows but to be honest I don't think anyone would notice. In row nine I misunderstood where there were a few dots ..... and thought it meant to move on to the next part of that row, what it meant was to continue as before until the required number of stitches were done THEN continue to the next part.

Once I had understood it all it was very easy to work the rows, you do need to concentrate though on the short rows especially and also if you are new to Tunisian Crochet. It grew very quickly and was made within a week.

It did need blocking to get the correct shape and stop it curling up, I pinned it out damp on my foam pads let it dry for a while and then removed the pins and rolled it up in a towel where I left it over night, it is keeping it's shape really well.

There are instructions within the pattern for some of the basic stitches of Tunisian Crochet.


Well worth having a go if you fancy trying Tunisian Crochet. 

Would I make this pattern again? Yes - definitely.

Happy crocheting!

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Crochet Pizza Play Food

My youngest grandson loves playing with his play kitchen and play food so as one of his Christmas gifts I made him a crochet pizza with removable toppings.

The pattern is by Drops/Garnstudio and can be found on Ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/s24-44-pizza-party

It was a very easy pattern to follow and the pieces were made within a few days, as the pizza slices are made with a chunky yarn and also double thickness they are quite firm and keep their shape. The toppings I made in double knit yarn.

The toppings are:

Pepperoni
Olives
Pepper pieces
Tomato
Calamari or Onion rings

I also designed my own mushroom slice by making the pepper piece in beige and then slip stitching around the side until on the other side near the centre and then working a few rows to make a stalk.

To help with the overall effect I used a pizza box and covered it with plain paper and then printed a 'logo' of Freddie wearing a chef's hat.

It was an instant success and he was thrilled with it.

I didn't sew the toppings in place, I wanted them to be removable. I did try sticking velcro on the pieces to hold them on

but the velcro pulled threads on the crochet work so I abandoned that idea and simply left them loose, it works fine and means they can be put wherever you like making different types of pizza.

Happy crocheting!

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Bride and Groom Love Birds Amigurumi

This is the second pair of little amigurumi love birds I've made, again as a little gift for a friends wedding.

I changed the pattern slightly as I decided to crochet the wings rather than use felt, I just made 4 crochet wing shapes and sewed them on each side and I also added a decorative heart at the top, joining the two birds together.

I used Drops Cotton Light in white for the birds, it is a DK yarn which I always buy from the Wool Warehouse.

The flowers, heart and top hat were just oddments of yarn that I had in my stash, a little bit of netting finished off the bride's veil and I added two felt beaks, but you could embroider or crochet them.

The pattern is free on Ravelry, big thank you to magg314 for sharing it for free: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bride-and-groom-lovebirds

The pattern for the tiny heart is from Attic24 "Teeny Tiny Heart", thank you to Lucy for that, again a free pattern: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-hearts.html 

It was really easy to do and the instructions are clear. This is the first one I made a few years ago:

Happy crocheting!

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Drops/Garnstudio 'Lace Affair' 159-2 Knitted Jacket/Cardigan

Hi All

Well I've finally finished my knitted jacket, I started it in April 2015 and finished it October 2015, I have been working on other things in between as I found the pattern needed good concentration to begin with and it was hard to do unless all was quiet or I was on my own!

It got easier with time and by the end I could do it while watching TV but still made a few mistakes particularly with the shaping of the armholes - there are no pattern stitch instructions on how to incorporate increased or decreased stitches into the design, all it says is 'keep pattern correct', which I found a bit easier said than done.

I'm a little bit disappointed with the length, the pattern showed it as almost thigh length and although my tension was correct and I stuck to the measurements in the instructions it actually came out at around hip length.

Having said all that I am really pleased with it, the effect is fabulous with no side seams to stitch so the pattern goes all the way around with no breaks.

It did however mean that you have a very large piece of work to deal with.

I did it in Drops Love You 5 in 'Heather', it is an Aran weight yarn.

Recommended yarn is Drops Bomull-Lin
Link to Free Pattern: Lace Affair 159-2 Drops Garnstudio

I've done a video review of the pattern and my experience of knitting it, along with a few tips and ideas which I hope will help if you try the pattern.

Happy knitting!

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Drops/Garnstudio knitted Bolero Jacket - Pattern number 130-12

This is my experience of using the Drops/Garnstudio free pattern for the knitted Bolero Jacket Pattern number 130-12

This is a short Bolero jacket and although the pattern is not a difficult one I did find myself undoing it several times. There are lots of different panels made with simple stitches such as stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter st etc. but I kept forgetting which I was doing and would knit when I should be purling or purl when I should be knitting. Concentration is definitely needed for this pattern!

The pieces are made into a curved shape by making short rows: You do a row half way, then turn around and go back, then the next two rows are knitted normally, then you repeat the process. It is quiet effective and easy to do.
Once the pieces are finished the two sides are sewn around the back piece, the pattern gives really good instructions on how to do this, with diagrams showing which piece joins where.

The sides and back have a pretty half diamond pattern running through them.

 

The two side pieces were a bit difficult to join as each had a point from the pattern (as shown below), I joined them by folding back the point, but wonder if I did something wrong, although I'm sure I followed the pattern carefully. I did change the sleeves slightly as I wanted them a bit different to the pattern.

You can also see my video here: https://youtu.be/rNSBHNjGKkM

I used Drops Love You 5 which is an aran yarn, 100% recycled cotton. The recommended yarn is Drops Paris, but Love You 5 is listed as an alternative.

Hope I've helped you decide if this pattern is for you!

Happy knitting!

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Haze jacket by Drops Design/Garnstudio, Free Pattern Number 150-22

"Haze" Jacket from Drops/Garnstudio, knitted in Drops Big Delight 100% Wool.

This is knitted diagonally starting in the bottom corner, on circular needles so you can fit on all the stitches. A really easy pattern as it is knitted in garter stitch (all rows knit) the varigated yarn making the pattern, plus being a thick aran yarn it grew very quickly.

I loved doing this and would definitely do it again. The back is really effective and is created by starting the back pieces in the corner on two stitches and the putting both sides on the needles, by decreasing at the centre it makes the effect of the yarn into a 'V' shape.

Lovely and warm for an Autumn evening, I've had lots of compliments on it.

Remember being wool that you need to take care when washing or it will shrink!

Pictures show front and back view:

Lots of colours to choose from, this one is greys and creams. Free pattern http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/pattern.php?id=6195&lang=en


Video of the finished item and some details of how it was worked:
https://youtu.be/upGH1f14tNY

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Drops/Garnstudio free pattern for the crochet top 'Shy Violet' Pattern number 162-15

This is my experience of using the Drops/Garnstudio free pattern for the crochet top 'Shy Violet' Pattern number 162-15


I really loved doing this pattern, it was the first Garnstudio/Drops pattern that I'd ever done and I wasn't disappointed.

The patterns are written well and if you do have a problem you can submit a request for help, I found that any questions I had were answered within a few hours.

Crocheted in what they call 'top down', you start at the shoulders working the sleeves at the same time, then join the pieces at the sides.


I used the recommended yarn - Drops Safran, which is a cotton yarn, 4 ply. I used peach colour. The yarn is soft and has a silky feel, was really nice to work with and didn't split like some cotton yarns do.


I did find that the side seams were a bit tight, might have been my tension but I added an extra chain stitch on each turning chain section just to help ease the tightness.

The pattern repeat is 7 rows and the instructions are given in diagram form which to be honest I can't get on with, so once I've studied the pattern I always write it out into a notebook writing the instructions for each row stitch by stitch.  (e.g. 1 dc, 10 treble in next stitch etc.)

Below is a video of the finished top https://youtu.be/p_aQN1KNZmg:

Happy Crocheting!

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Garnstudio / Drops Free Patterns

The vast array of FREE patterns available from Garnstudio never ceases to amaze me, they are often unusual designs too, away from the run of  the mill stuff.

You can find everything from accessories such as shawls, boleros and bags to dresses, cardigans, jumpers etc. Both in knitted and crochet patterns.

There are lots of children's clothes and toys too.

I don't think I will ever have to buy another pattern again as the ones available for free are fabulous.

If you haven't discovered Garnstudio and their wonderful "Drops" yarn then pop over there now!

www.garnstudio.com

I will be sharing my experiences of all the things I knit from their patterns, so check back soon.

I've already done 3 items - a knitted jacket, crochet top and a hat, which I will review soon. I am in the process of making a knitted bolero and a cardigan - the cardigan is knitted all in one on circular needles, fronts and back all in one piece.

Happy knitting ..... and crocheting!

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