Here in the UK
November is the month when it really hits home that winter is on the horizon.
It always seems to me that we are in with a chance of getting lovely autumn
days with a few glimpses of sunshine right up until November 5th
when the weather seems to change almost over night – in fact it seems to change
from the moment we head out the door for the local firework display in honour of Guy Fawkes night! This year was no exception with yesterday being particularly chilly here in North London - we woke up to a frosty garden and had to crank up the heating here in the office, which came as a bit of a shock after the mild autumn days.
As I have said
before, I am a fan of the sunshine, but I do see that there can be something
really nice about snuggling up in front of an open fire and shutting out the
cold and wet of the outside world. We live in a drafty little house where the
temperature changes dramatically from room to room, so all of us tend to rely
heavily on blankets and wraps to keep us warm this time of year. Sitting and
crocheting a warm and comfy project is great for this time of year so do read
on to find out what happens in this installment of the Sunshine & Showers
blanket….
For the design this month I wanted to portray the idea of the autumn leaves falling from the trees. The first frost of the season has meant that many of the leaves in our garden have now fallen and we have patchy brown areas on the lawn where a carpet of gold, brown and yellow leaves are now scattered.
For the design this month I wanted to portray the idea of the autumn leaves falling from the trees. The first frost of the season has meant that many of the leaves in our garden have now fallen and we have patchy brown areas on the lawn where a carpet of gold, brown and yellow leaves are now scattered.
This month there
is quite a lot of hook changing – I have marked in bold the hook you should be
using for each row and have also written the instruction to change hook before
each row to reinforce the need to change!
If you want to purchase a download copy of the patterns for just 95p you can access the Stylecraft Special DK version by following this link and the Yarn Stories version by following this link. Please note that step by step images in all patterns are from the Special DK version.
If you want to purchase a download copy of the patterns for just 95p you can access the Stylecraft Special DK version by following this link and the Yarn Stories version by following this link. Please note that step by step images in all patterns are from the Special DK version.
Yarns used this month:
Stylecraft Special DK 100g balls
1711 Spice
1065 Meadow
1027 Khaki
1709 Gold
1712 Lime
1005 Cream
1063 Graphite
Yarn Stories Fine Merino DK 50g balls
2515 Rouge
2510 Leaf
2501 Bottle
2502 Burnt Sienna
2516 Spring Green
2504 Cream
2500 Anthracite
Equipment Special DK:
4mm & 4.5mm hook
Sewing Needle
Equipment Fine Merino DK:
4mm & 4.5mm hook
Sewing Needle
Dealing with yarn ends: Sewing yarn ends in as you go along makes the
finishing process much easier and means that you are less likely to loose
stitches or make errors with your tension.
Hook Changes:
This month there are quite a few hook chnages so make sure you take note of where they are.
Pattern Repeat:
If you have chosen to make the blanket in a differnt size you will need to calculate your stitch repeats accordingly.
The leaf shapes are made over a repeat of 16sts. To make this work with 171sts I had to calcualte the number of stitches left at the begginng of the row and at the end in order for the leaves to sit centrally. If you are chnaging the stitch count you will need to do the same.
Note: The pattern in written in UK terminology
Method
Leave the last remaining st on the stitch holder.
Row 27: (RS facing)
Using Spice (Rouge) and 4mm (3.5mm) hook skip 6sts, join yarn into next st by working 1ch,
(does not count as a st) 1dc into same st, * 1ch, skip next st, 1htr into next
st, 1ch, skip next st, 1tr into next st, 1ch, skip next st, [1dtr into next st,
1ch, skip next st] twice, 1tr into next st, 1ch, skip next st, 1htr into next
st, 1ch, skip next st, 1dc into next st, ** 1ch, skip next st, 1dc into next
st; repeat from * 9 times, finishing final repeat at **, turn
Change to 4.5mm (4mm)
hook
Row 28: Using 4.5mm (4mm)
hook 1ch, (does not count as a st), 1dc into st at base of 1ch, 1dc into next
ch sp, 2dc into each next 6ch sps, * 3ch, skip [1dc, 1ch, 1dc], 2dc into each
next 7 ch sps; repeat from * 8 times, 3ch, skip [1dc, 1ch, 1dc], 2dc
into each next 6 ch sps, 1dc into next ch sp, 1dc into next st, fasten off,
turn.
Change to 4mm (3.5mm) hook
Undo stitch from
holder (from previous month – Storm Blue) to the point where you can change
yarn shade to Meadow (Leaf) on the final step of the stitch, turn.
Row 29: (RS
facing) Using Meadow (Leaf) and 4mm (3.5mm) hook 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr into each next 5sts,
* working along previous row 1dc into each next 13sts, skip next dc
made on Row 27, working in front of 2 previous rows 3tr into next dc
made on Row 26, skip 3ch made on previous row; repeat from * 8
times, working along previous row 1dc into each next 13sts, skip next dc,
working into Row 26, 1tr into each next 6sts, changing yarn shade
to Khaki (Bottle) on the final step of the last st, turn. (169sts)
Row 30: Using Khaki (Bottle) and 4.5mm (4mm)
hook, 1ch (does not count as a st) 1dc into st at base of 1ch, 1dc
into each next 4sts, 2dc into next st, 1dc into each st to last 6sts (including
3ch made at beginning of row), 2dc into next st, 1dc into each next 5sts
working final st into 3rd ch of tch, changing yarn shade to Gold (Burnt Sienna) on
the final step of the last st, turn. (171sts)
Change to 4mm hook
Note: On the
next round you will be working the first and last stitch of the row as half
treble crochet. It tends to be the norm that the 2ch made at the beginning of
the row would count as a half treble stitch, but in this pattern I have not
counted them in order to make the blanket edge firmer and so that stitches
don’t get lost from row to row.
Row 31: Using Gold (Burnt Sienna) and 4mm (3.5mm)
hook 2ch (does not count as a st) 1htr into st at base of 2ch, * 1ch,
skip next st, 1tr into next st, 1ch, skip next st, [1dtr into next st, 1ch,
skip next st] twice, 1tr into next st, 1ch, skip next st, 1htr into next st, **
1ch, skip next st, 1dc into next st, 1ch, skip next st, 1dc into next st, 1ch, 1htr
into next st; repeat from * 10 times ending last repeat at **, turn.
Change to 4.5mm (4mm)
hook
Row 32: Using 4.5mm (4mm)
hook 1ch (does not count as a st), skip st at base of 1ch, 2dc into each ch sp
to last st, 1dc into top of next st, turn. (171sts)
Change to 4mm (3.5mm) hook
Row 33: Using 4mm (3.5mm) hook, work as for Row 31 changing yarn shade to Khaki (Bottle) on the final step of the
last st, turn.
Row 34: Using Khaki (Bottle) and 4.5mm (4mm)
hook work as row 32, changing yarn shade to Lime (Spring Green) on the final step of
the last st, turn.
Row 35: Using Lime (Spring Green) and 4.5mm (4mm)
hook 1ch (does not count as a st) 1dc onto each st to end, fasten off.
Do not turn.
Note: On the next
row you need to work into the back loop of the chain that runs along the top
of the stitch rather than underneath the whole chain as you usually would.
Working into either the front loop or the back loop of the chain means that
part of the chain is left unused and this can create some really nice textural
effects. In this case I used the method so that a ridge remains on the Right
Side of the work along the top of the last row. Working into the front or back
loop can make the stitches feel quite loose, but your tension should even out
over the following few rows.
Row 36: (RS facing)
Using Cream (Cream) and 4mm (3.5mm) hook join yarn into back loop of the first st by working
1ch +2ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr into back loop of next st, 1htr into back loop of
each next 2sts, * 1dc into back loop of each next 3sts, 1htr into back loop of each
next 2sts, 1tr into back loop of each next 3sts, 1dtr into back loop of each
next 3sts, 1tr into back loop of each next 3sts, 1htr into back loop of each
next 2sts; repeat from * 9 times, 1dc into back loop of each next 3sts, 1htr
into back loop of each next 2sts, 1tr into back loop of each next 2sts, turn.
Change to 4.5mm
(4mm) hook
Row 37: (WS
facing) Using 4.5mm hook, 1ch (does not count as a st), 1dc into each st to end
working last st into tch made at the beginning of the last row and changing
yarn shade to Graphite (Anthracite) on the final step of the last st, turn. (171sts)
Row 38: Using
Graphite (Anthracite), 1ch (does not count as a st), 1dc into each st to end working last st
into tch made at the beginning of the last row and changing yarn shade to
Graphite on the final step of the last st, turn. (171sts)
Row 39: work as
Row 38, place last st on holder
Work another piece to
match
Sew in yarn ends
Each
piece should measure approximately 21cm from bottom edge x 92cm wide
It is hard to believe that there are now less than 7 weeks until Christmas and that we will be working on set 8 of the Sunshine and Showers patterns very soon. The patterns for November features (what I hoped would look like) a snowflake design and I used the warm pink shades to emulate the feelings of cosy festive days at home.
Pattern set 8 will be published here on Tuesday 5th December.
With thanks to the team at Crochet Now magazine.
Pattern set 8 will be published here on Tuesday 5th December.
With thanks to the team at Crochet Now magazine.