Shine On by C J Brady crochet pattern review

Pookie_Doodle

I love C J Brady patterns so when I saw this one called Shine On I wanted to make it. Quite often she has special offers where you can buy one get one free and I got Shine On when buying another of her patterns called Plot Twist, I’ll review that in another blog post. 

Shine On is an infinity type scarf /small cowl crochet in one long piece and joined with a short seam to make it circular. The decorative lace edging gives a lovely drop at the centre front.

I loved the lace section so much that I made a second one but made it wider, I added another two repeats.
I used Lion brand shawl in a ball metallic.  One x150g ball will make two shawls.

Happy crocheting!

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Fire and Ice Shawl Pattern Review

Pookie_Doodle

This pattern makes a lovely shawl, I used the recommended yarn Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball metallic. "Moonstone" shade.

It is beautiful to work with and although described as an aran yarn it is much thinner, works more like a double knit to me. It is cotton and acrylic with added metallic thread.

I used a 6mm crochet hook to get the recommended gauge.


The pattern is by Marie Segares and is easy to follow, a free version is available on Marie's blog or you can buy a pdf ready made copy. Full details on Ravelry here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fire-and-ice-shawl-2

I did get a little confused with the instructions - for instance at the end of some rows it says "(Decrease 1 st to an even number of sts)" I thought this meant that you then decreased at the end of the row but what it is actually doing is just confirming what you have done in that row, you've decreased one stitch

After reading some comments on Ravelry I understood it better and I think once you get into actually working something it makes more sense than just reading a pattern. 

It is worked from side to side, starting at one point, working to a wide centre then decreasing down to the other side point.

One thing I did not like was the idea of making a separate small circle and stitching it on to the end to match the start. This is simply because I really hate sewing/joining :)

So, once I had come to the end instead of cutting my yarn I slip stitched over the the other side to make a small loop and into this I crocheted 6 trebles (dc in US terms) and weaved in the end to make it into a circle. It looks fine and certainly matches the start and any discrepancies, if there are any,  are hidden by the multi colour of the yarn. That's the best thing about multi colour yarns, they hide a multitude of sins. :)

I did work the edging stitches, someone said they didn't bother as they thought it did not look right as the colours changed along the row due to the yarn changes, but I think mine looked lovely and was happy with it. It's whatever suits you that matters.

I would highly recommend this pattern.

Happy crocheting!

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Selling my handmade crafts, knitted and crochet on Etsy

Wow! Has it really been 6 months since my last post? Where on earth does the time go? I must get more of the things I've made listed.

Well I've been so busy just lately, I looked in my craft cupboard and found there were so many things that I had made that were just sitting there I decided to try to sell them and raise money for a support group I am involved with.

I had a look at Etsy with a view to selling and decided to set up a shop.
You can find it here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PookieDoodleCrafts

I'm selling mainly shawls and scarves at the moment but there are also a few other things like baby clothes and teddies.

If you fancy having a go at selling on Etsy yourself and would like 40 free listings to get you started - YES 40 FREE then use this link:

https://etsy.me/2IJzmZP and it will give you the 40 free listings once you set up.

If you do buy anything - thank you so much for helping our support group.

Find me on:

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Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Wild Wheat Shawl Pattern Review

I recently found this FREE pattern for a lovely little neck shawl.

It is by Johanna Lindahl at Mijocrochet the pattern can be found here:

https://mijocrochet.se/2016/12/29/wild-wheat-shawl-sjal/

It is available in English, Swedish, Dutch and Danish. Thank you Johanna for sharing your beautiful work for free!

 

I made mine in Boyes 100% mercerised cotton yarn, it took just under one ball. I used a 2.5 mm crochet hook.

If you print out the pattern I would definitely recommend printing in colour if you can because the pattern shows the stitches on the chart in different colours and makes it easier to see what stitches you are going to be doing. 

I would definitely recommend this pattern, very easy to follow the instructions and it grew very quickly.

I've also done a video review showing the shawl and explaining a little about my experience of using the pattern, just click below:

 

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!

Find me on:

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Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Curly 'self tying' scarf

This is a really easy scarf to make and it is done in just a few rows!

Once made it is so curly that just by wrapping it over itself it stays in place and holds together in a 'self-tying' way.

I made it in a DK cotton yarn with a little bit of silver running through it which gave it a nice sparkly look. I used a 5mm hook and it took 150g for a scarf with 180 starting chains.

If you want a longer scarf you can begin with as many chains as you need to get the length of scarf you are looking for - keep chaining and holding it around your neck until you have about the length you want.

Worked in UK terms:

Double Knit Cotton yarn - 150g approx.
5mm hook

Foundation row: Make 180 chains or the number you require for your own length

Row 1: one double crochet in second chain from hook, one double crochet in each chain until last one then work 3 double crochet into this last chain.
Do not turn, work down the other side into the loops of the foundation chains working one double crochet in each. Turn

Row 2: chain 2, work 2 double crochet in each double crochet of previous row to end. Turn

Row 3: 3 chain then work two trebles in each double crochet of previous row to end. Turn.

Row 4: 3 chain then two trebles in each treble of previous row to end.

Fasten off, weave in ends and wear!

Terms of use: Please feel free to share the pattern but please don't copy and paste the pattern - please link back to my page instead - thank you.

Happy crocheting!

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Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Minion double ended glove scarf

I made this scarf for my grandson, he loves Bob the Minion.

I used the basics from this pattern which is available free via Ravelry and written by Patricia King: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/minion-scarf-2

However I did make some alterations as I wanted to add pockets on the end which he could use as gloves so I added extra rows in blue and yellow and worked in the round until the pockets were the size I wanted then continued with the pattern to make the faces, then I worked in trebles all the way up to the back neck where I stopped.

I then made the other side the same way but with the one eye Minion and once it was finished I joined the two pieces at the back neck.

It came out really nice and he is thrilled with it.

Thank you Patricia for the pattern.

Happy crocheting!

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Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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Butterfly stitch crochet shawl

After the success of my Summer Sprigs scarf I felt like getting into some more fine lace type work so have begun another but larger project.

This is more a shawl that a scarf and as it begins at the neck you can make it as long as you wish.

The design is by njSharon and DebiAdams and can be found as a free download on Ravlery: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/butterfly-stitch-prayer-shawl

I am doing it in the 100% mercerised crochet cotton again which I used for the Summer Sprigs Scarf. This time I am using Ecru, which has a nice shiny gold look to it. I am using a 2.00 mm crochet hook.

I'm tempted to try some bead work on the edging, something I've never done before but will see how it looks when finished. You can add a choice of edging, or your own if you wish so I might find something that would work well with a bead on each point, I am thinking that it would give a bit of edge weight to the shawl too.

As you can see the design makes little butterfly shapes which are staggered on alternate rows, they are easy to do using chain stitch and a long double treble which draws up the chains by being placed in one of the rows below.

Each pattern repeat (4 rows) adds another butterfly at each end so the shawl grows very quickly. I only started this yesterday and is just a few hours of work so far.

It is worth noting that the pattern is written in US crochet terms so you will have to convert them to English terms. However, it only uses basic stitches so it was really easy to go through the pattern to change them. There is also a drawn chart of the stitches included in the pattern.

I will post updates when the shawl has grown a little more.

The shawl is now finished and you can see more details and photos here:

http://www.pookiedoodlecrafts.co.uk/2016/04/butterfly-stitch-crochet-shawl.html

Happy crocheting!

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts and 
Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle
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Summer Sprigs Lace Scarf Crochet Pattern Review

If you saw my post from last month you would have read that I was looking for a project that was light and easy to carry. I wanted something to make while I was away on a winter holiday and this pattern really fit the bill. It fitted easily into a small bag to carry around with me and crochet when the fancy took me.

It took 2 weeks to complete and the pattern is easy to follow with drawn diagrams too to help describe the stitches and where they go on the pattern.

It is a free pattern by Esther at Make My Day Creative and it certainly did make my day and the finished scarf is beautiful and it cost me just £3.20 (Nov 2015) using 100% mercerised crochet cotton from 'Boyes' the high street store.

The nearest yarn I can find online to what I used is this crochet cotton on Amazon:
http://tiny.cc/a5t96x 

I used a 2.00 mm needle and used all but a few yards of the ball. (I began to wonder if I was going to run out at one point!)

This is the link to the FREE pattern: http://makemydaycreative.com/2014/05/02/summer-sprigs-lace-scarf/

You could use many other yarns such as light lace ones, alpaca, cottons and wool. You might need to block some of the other yarns but I didn't find it necessary with the cotton I used.

Below is a link to a video so you can see just what my finished scarf looks like.

I would like to thank Esther at www.makemydaycreative.com for making and sharing for FREE such a beautiful pattern.

Happy crocheting!

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PookieDoodleCrafts and Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/people/pookiedoodle

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