February can be a
pretty dull and dingy affair here in the UK and this year it seems especially cold for us after the warmth of a few weeks in Mysore! The weather is rarely anything but
cold, grey, wet and overcast here in North London at this time of year, so it is a good job that the month is brightened a
little by the red hearts of Valentines day and the first glimpses of crocuses
and daffodils in the garden.
By the end of
February we start to feel like spring might just be on it’s way, so within the
crochet patterns for this month I wanted to try to emulate those first sprigs
of new leaves and blossom appearing outside in the cold and of course include
some love hearts!
If you take a look
on line you will find lots of crochet heart patterns including the one pictured below on my
free download page:
One of the best
little heart patterns I have found is by Chic and Cheap and you will find a link to the video here on Youtube. The image below shows a slight variation of the Heart shown in the video.
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
1068 Turquoise
1072 Khaki
1065 Meadow
1712 Lime
1005 Cream
1023 Raspberry
1078 Petrol
Yarn Stories Fine Merino DK 50g Balls
3534 Iced Teal
2501 Bottle
2510 Leaf
2516 Spring Green
2504 Cream
2514 Raspberry
2503 Cobalt
2501 Bottle
2510 Leaf
2516 Spring Green
2504 Cream
2514 Raspberry
2503 Cobalt
Equipment Special DK:
4mm & 4.5mm hook
Sewing Needle
Equipment Fine Merino DK:
3.5mm & 4mm 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 a few hook changes, so make sure you take note of where they are.
Pattern Repeat:
If you have chosen to make the blanket in an alternative size then you will need to work out the stitch repeat calculations accordingly.
On Row 62 the pattern is worked over a repeat of 6sts (+1)
Note: The pattern in written in UK terminology
Method:
Method:
Undo stitch from
holder to the point where you can change yarn shade to Turquoise (Iced Teal) on the final
step of the stitch, turn.
Row 60: (RS facing)
Using Turquoise (Iced Teal) & 4.5mm (4mm) hook 1ch (does not count as a st) 1dc into each st to
end changing yarn shade to Khaki (Bottle) on the final step of the last st, turn.
Row 61: Using Khaki (Bottle) 1ch (does not count as a st), 1dc into each st to end, turn.
Change to 4mm (3.5mm) hook
Row 62: Using 4mm (3.5mm) hook
3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr into next st, * skip 2sts, 2tr into next st, 1ch, 2tr
into same st, skip 2sts, 1tr into next st; repeat from * to last st, 1tr into
next st changing yarn shade to Meadow (Leaf) on the final step of the last st, turn.
Working around the
post of a stitch:
On the next 2 rows
you need to work a stitch around either the back post of the treble stitch made
on the previous row or around the front post . Working around the post of a
stitch in this way creates 3D continuous looking stitches. You can create
textural and travelling stitches (that can look like knitted cables and ribs)
by working around the front and back posts and can create some other really
great effects.
Unlike knitted stitches,
which form continuous V shapes on the RS, crochet stitches are made up of more
than one part. They have a post (which is the vertical part of the stitch) and
a top yarn loop, which forms the chain that runs along the top of the stitch.
On a double
crochet stitch the post of the stitch is very small and looks like a V, but on
longer stitches like treble and double treble (where more steps are taken to
make the stitch) the post of the stitch gets longer and is clearly
distinguishable.
Over the next 2
rows you are going to work a new stitch around the post of the stitch, either
from the back or from the front, rather than into the chain stitch that runs
along the top of the stitches.
Working a treble
around back post:
This is referred to in the download pattern as (RtrB)
Yarn round hook.
From the back of the work insert your hook into the stitch space (st sp) to the
right of the post of the stitch, then take the hook around the post of the st
and through the next st sp (to the left of the post) so that the hook comes
through to the back of the work. Complete your treble in the usual way.
Row 63: (WS
facing) Using Meadow (Leaf) 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr around back post of next st, *
skip 2sts, 2tr into next st, 1ch, 2tr into same st, skip 2sts, 1tr around back
post of next st; repeat from * to last st, 1tr into 3rd ch of 3ch
made at beginning of last row changing yarn shade to Lime (Spring Green) on the final step of
the last st, turn.
Working a treble
around front post:
This is referred to in the download pattern as (RtrF)
Yarn round hook.
From the front of the work insert your hook into the stitch space (st sp) to
the right of the post of the stitch, then take the hook around the back of the
st and through the next st sp (to the left of the post) so that the hook comes
through to the front of the work. Complete your treble in the usual way.
Row 64: Using Lime (Spring Green) 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr around front post of next st, * skip 2sts, 2tr into
next st, 1ch, 2tr into same st, skip 2sts, 1tr around front post of next st;
repeat from * to last st, 1tr into 3rd ch of 3ch made at beginning
of last row changing yarn shade to Cream (Cream) on the final step of the last st, turn.
Row 65: Using
Cream (Cream) 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr around back post of next st next st, * skip 2sts,
2tr into next st, 1ch, 2tr into same st, skip 2sts, 1tr around back post of
next st; repeat from * to last st, 1tr into 3rd ch of 3ch made at
beginning of last row, turn.
Heart Pattern:
To make the heart
pattern on the next row you need to carry your pink shade of yarn across the
back of the work between hearts. The method for moving the yarn is called
stranding as in the knitted fairisle technique. In this instance you are asked
to strand (carry) the yarn across 3sts, but if you had a pattern which asked you
to carry across more than about 5 stitches then you would be wise to catch the
yarn in mid way or a couple of times to avoid large loops of yarn at the back.
I have included an image of the back of the work so that you can see what mine
looks like.
The colour changes
between the hearts is done in the same way as for the bobbles we made back in October and if you have forgotten how to do tr3tog you could refer to
the flower edging made in August where we worked a tr4tog.
Note on yarn swaps:
Throughout the blanket Fuchsia Fine Merino DK has been used as the alternative shade to Raspberry Special DK. For the Hearts made in Row 66 our crocheter used Raspberry and not Fuchsia as the swap. Fuchsia is not used within the blanket again until you put the edging on at the end, but if you feel you have enough yarn (we cant guarantee this) you may wish to use Fuchsia in place of Raspberry.
Row 66 & 67 do not show alternative yarn shades in brackets as the shade names are the same for both Special DK and Fine Merino DK.
Note on yarn swaps:
Throughout the blanket Fuchsia Fine Merino DK has been used as the alternative shade to Raspberry Special DK. For the Hearts made in Row 66 our crocheter used Raspberry and not Fuchsia as the swap. Fuchsia is not used within the blanket again until you put the edging on at the end, but if you feel you have enough yarn (we cant guarantee this) you may wish to use Fuchsia in place of Raspberry.
Row 66 & 67 do not show alternative yarn shades in brackets as the shade names are the same for both Special DK and Fine Merino DK.
Row 66: 3ch
(counts as 1tr) * 1tr into next st, tr2tog over next 2sts changing yarn shade
to Raspberry on the final step of the st,
skip 2tr, using Raspberry tr3tog into
next ch sp changing yarn shade back to Cream on the final step of the st,
using
Cream 1tr into same ch sp changing yarn shade back to Raspberry on the final
step of the st,
using Raspberry tr3tog into same ch sp changing yarn shade to
Cream on the final step of the st, using Cream tr2tog over next 2sts; repeat
from * to last 2sts, 1tr into next st, 1tr into 3rd ch of 3ch made
at beginning of last row, turn.
 |
| Right Side |
 |
| Wrong Side |
Change to 4.5mm (4mm) hook
Row 67: Using Cream
and 4.5mm (4mm) hook 1ch (does not count as a st) 1dc into each next 3sts, * skip
next st (Raspberry) 3dc into next st, skip next st (Raspberry), 1dc into each
next 3sts; repeat from * to end working final st into 3rd ch of 3ch
made at beginning of last row, turn.
Row 68: 1ch (does
not count as a st) 1dc into each st to end changing yarn shade to Petrol (Cobalt) on the
final step of the last st, turn. (171sts)
Row 69: Using Petrol (Cobalt) 1ch (does not count as a st) 1dc into each st to end, place last st on holder.
(171sts)
Measurement: Each
piece should measure approximately 46cm (18in) from bottom edge x 92cm wide
Work another piece to
match
Sew in yarn ends
The next set of patterns will be available here on Tuesday March 6th. The patterns predominantly feature cluster stitches which I hoped would be reminiscent of the first spring time flowers beginning to bloom - something I am already really looking forward to!
With thanks to the team at Crochet Now magazine.