These crocheted Starry Dream Ornaments by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk (Lilla Björn Crochet) have been on my to-make list for a good few years now, so I finally decided to give them a try this Christmas! I think they’re so pretty (plus, a fun opportunity to revisit some of the crochet techniques I don’t get to use so often!).

I made 3 ornaments, using the same colour palette in different variations for 2 of them, and then using a single, solid colour for the final ornament, to see how that affected the finished product. Today, I’ll be chatting about which colour arrangement I liked best, how I adapted the pattern to use more/fewer colours and how I found the process overall!

In this post, as always with my 'Making a...' series, I'll be chatting about my experience making this pattern, as well as detailing any changes/adaptations I made. The pattern I have used belongs to Tatsiana Kupryianchyk (Lilla Björn Crochet). If you want to make your own Starry Dream Ornament, you can purchase the pattern from the designer here!

Table of Contents

• The Yarn
• Adapting the Pattern to Include Different Colours
• Making the Ornaments (My Experience Following this Pattern)
• Round-By-Round Colour List for My Ornaments
• Final Thoughts

The Yarn

For my ornaments, I chose a colour palette that I already had to hand, because I used it for a different, festive, yarn-y project (more on that later on this month, or you can check out my Ravelry page for a sneak peak!).

The palette is made up of the following colours:

• Dark blue (I used DROPS Fabel in the shade Blue 107).
• Dark red (I used DROPS Fabel in the shade Ruby Red 113).
• Cream (I used DROPS Fabel in the shade Off White 100).
• Gold (I used some unidentifiable (sorry!) scrap fingering weight yarn).

I really love this colour palette: it’s very rich and festive, but also not your typical Christmas colour scheme! It’s a little bit different, which I think makes it extra special.

For the Star #1, I used all 4 colours.

For Star #2, I used the blue, red and gold shades.

For Star #3, I used the cream shade on its own.

My cream yarn was slightly thicker than the other two Fabel shades, which I guess is why my all-cream star is a little larger than the other two ornaments. The gold yarn is also slightly thinner than the Fabel in general, so that could also be the reason!

Adapting the Pattern to Include Different Colours

The pattern is originally designed for 3 colours of yarn (as I’ve done with Star #2). It can easily be adapted to use 2 or 4 shades (you could even use more, if you wanted!), because you can just join a new colour at the start of the round. If you do use more colours, I would recommend planning out the colours, round-by-round, before you begin and making a note of them on the pattern itself, otherwise it can get a little confusing!

Surprisingly, it’s actually harder to use a single, block colour (like Star #3) for this design than it is to add more colours. I thought that using a single colour would be great, because I wouldn’t need to cut the yarn at all and, as a result, would be left with fewer ends to sew in. Alas, I was wrong. The position of the beginning of the round changes after most of the rows, so, honestly, I found it was still easiest to cut the yarn and reattach it in the right place. There’s probably a way around this (slip stitches, maybe?), but I didn’t want to risk confusing myself!

All in all, the solid colour star was not the revelation I thought it would be and, honestly, I don’t think it highlights the texture and features of the crochet like the multi-coloured stars do. A fun experiment (and completely possible, if it is the look you’re going for!), but I’ll stick to my stripes!

Making the Ornaments (My Experience Following this Pattern)

I made all of my stars exactly according to the pattern (except for the placement of the colours). For each ornament, I made two identical stars and joined them using the crochet method given in the pattern, stuffing them lightly as I went. I did not add a hanging loop at this stage, because I am toying with the idea of making many stars and stringing them together into a garland? Who knows! They’re just so pretty! If I want to hang the ornaments up individually, though, I figure I can always thread a piece of ribbon through the top?

My finished stars are slightly smaller than those in the pattern: the multicoloured ones are about 8cm from point to point, while the cream one is about 8.5cm. I used the same hook size listed (2.5mm), but the pattern samples are knitted in Scheepjes Catona. It could be the yarn, or it could be my tension!

I’ve made a quick list of pros and cons for you, detailing my overall impressions of this pattern, in case your considering making your own Starry Dream Ornament!

Pros!

• Quick project.
• LOADS of colour possibilities.
• Simple way to practise slightly more complicated techniques (there are lots of photo tutorials in the pattern!).
• Easy to join the stars together.
• SO PRETTY.

Cons!

• LOTS of ends to sew in.
• A little hard on the fingers (is this because of my tension? Possibly…).
• Not overly suitable for solid colour designs.

Round-By-Round Colour List for My Ornaments

Just in case you wanted to make your own stars and replicate my colour layouts, I thought I’d include the round-by-round breakdown below.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed making these Starry Dream Ornaments! In particular, I’m super happy with how the multicoloured ones turned out (the solid colour version was a fun experiment, but I just don’t like it quite as much as the other two!). I think my favourite is probably the 4-colour version, but the original, 3-colour version is also lovely.

I think this pattern is super clever in the way it forms the star shape while also creating the surface texture with the stitches: it looks super complicated, but, once you get down to it, it’s nothing too crazy! This project is complex enough to be fun and interesting to make, without being so complex that your brain feels tired afterwards (never fun, not the vibe).

I made some knitted stars last year (these Stjärna ornaments!), but I actually prefer these crocheted ones: I found them a lot less fiddly to make and I really love the extra detail on the design.

If you're interested...

You can find the Starry Dream Ornament pattern by Lilla Björn Crochet here.

You can find my Starry Dream Ornaments project page on Ravelry here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post (and the first yarn-y post of Blogmas 2025)!

Gemma

xxx

It’s been a while since I’ve released a crochet pattern but, in today’s post, that’s exactly what’s happening! This pattern is for a super quick & easy, festive project that can be whipped up using scraps of cotton yarn (that you probably already have!). These are my…

❄️☕️ SNOWFLAKE COASTERS ☕️❄️

You can find this pattern on Ravelry here, if you want to save it for later!

Table of Contents

• Materials & Tools
• Pattern Notes
• Abbreviations
• Written Pattern
• Photo Tutorial
• Blocking the Coasters
• Final Thoughts

Materials & Tools

To make these coasters, you will need the following:

• Stylecraft Naturals Organic Cotton, in the shade Gypsum (7168), (50g = 104 m [114 yds]) (or other, DK weight yarn). You will need about 5g of yarn per coaster.
• 3.00mm crochet hook.
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

Pattern Notes

• This pattern uses UK crochet terminology (please check the Abbreviations section below for stitch explanations if you’re unsure!)
• Gauge is not important for this project. I would recommend using a size down from whatever hook size you would usually use for a DK weight yarn- for me, this is a 4.00mm hook, so I’ve used a 3.00mm hook for this project.

Abbreviations

• ch = chain: yarn over and pull through.
• ss = slip stitch: insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through stitch and loop on hook.
• dc = UK double crochet: insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through. You will now have two loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through both loops.
• tr = UK treble crochet: Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over again and pull through. You will now have three loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through two of the loops, then yarn over again and pull through the remaining two loops.

Written Pattern

Round 1: 11 dc in a magic ring. Ss to join.

Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as first tr), then tr in the same stitch (at the base of the ch 3). *Ch 4, skip 1 stitch, 2 tr in next stitch* until there is 1 stitch remaining. Ch 4, then ss to top of the ch 3 to finish round.

Round 3: **Start by working a ‘long arm’: (*Ch 5, skip first ch, then ss in next 2 ch* twice. Ch 4, skip first ch then ss in next 3 ch. *Ch 3, skip first ch, then ss in next 2 ch AND first 2 ch from second ch 5* twice. Ss to the 2nd tr from Round 2). 2 dc over the ch 4 from Round 2, then work a ‘short arm’: (Ch 6, skip first ch, then ss into next 2 ch. Ch 4, skip first ch, then ss in next 3 ch. Ch 3, skip first ch, then ss into next 2 ch AND first 3 ch from previous ch 6). 2 dc over the same ch 4 from Round 2, then ss to top of the next tr from Round 2.*** Repeat from ** to *** around.

Cut yarn and fasten off. Darn in the ends, then block before using (see instructions at end of post).

Photo Tutorial

I’ve also created a photo tutorial for this pattern, just to help make everything super clear and easy to follow! If you find the above pattern a little hard to follow (I’m looking at your Round 3…), hopefully this will help you.

Start by working 11 dc in a magic ring.

After you’ve worked the stitches, pull the tail to tighten the loop.

Then, to finish off Round 1, slip stitch to the top of the first double crochet stitch. Andddd there you have it! 11 dc in a magic ring.

To begin Round 2, work 3 chains. This ch 3 counts as the first treble crochet of the round.

Next, you need to work a treble crochet in the same space (i.e. where you worked the slip stitch to finish off Round 1). I’ve used a needle here to indicate the stitch you need to work into.

Like this! As I mentioned, the ch 3 from the start of the round counts as one treble crochet, so you now have a cluster of 2 treble crochets.

Work 4 chains.

Then skip the next dc and work 2 treble crochets into the dc after that (again, indicated here by a needle).

Like so!

Keep repeating this process (ch 4, skip one dc, then work 2 tr into the next dc), until there is one dc remaining on the round below (you will have just worked 2 tr into the previous dc, as pictured).

Work 4 more chains.

Then, to finish off Round 2, slip stitch to the top of the ch 3 from the beginning of the round (indicated by the needle again).

Like so! Now you’ve finished Round 2.

Round 3 is where things get a little more complicated, but it’s also the final round of the coaster, so you’re nearly there! Start by working 5 chains.

Now you’re going to start by working into the 2nd chain from the hook (indicated by the needle). You’ll be doing this throughout the rest of this process (after any chaining), so try to remember that rule of thumb— it will make things a lot easier!

Slip stitch into the 2nd chain from the hook.

Then slip stitch into the next chain as well, so you have a little row of two slip stitches at the top of your chain. This forms the first ‘branch’ on the arm of the snowflake.

Next, you need to make another branch, so chain 5 again.

And, again, you’ll be working into the 2nd chain from the hook (indicated by the needle).

Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, work a slip stitch into each of the next two stitches to make the 2nd ‘branch’.

Now, it’s time to make the top of the snowflake arm. Start by chaining 4.

Then, starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, slip stitch into each of the next 3 stitches.

Now you’re going to come back down the other side of the arm, to make the branch symmetrical. Chain 3.

Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, slip stitch into each of the next two stitches to make the next branch.

Now you need to anchor this branch to the other side of the arm. To do this, you want to slip stitch into the two remaining, intact chains from the 2nd chain 5 (the first of which is indicated by the needle here). These two chains are the first 2 chains of that chain 5, that you didn’t make into a branch.

Slip stitch into those two stitches, and you’ll see that the branch you just made has lined itself up alongside the 2nd branch. Success!

Now, it’s time to make the final branch on this arm, in exactly the same way as the previous branch. Chain 3.

Starting with the 2nd chain from the hook, work 1 slip stitch in each of the next two chains, then work 1 slip stitch into each of the two remaining chains from the first ch 5 of the arm (the first of which is indicated by the needle).

Like so!

To finish off this first arm, you need to anchor it back onto the top of the 2 tr cluster from Round 2. To do this, slip stitch into the top of the 2nd tr, indicated here with the needle.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll have finished your first arm! I call this one a ‘long arm’, because it is the larger of the two arm styles used in this pattern. You’ll work a ‘long arm’ over every 2 tr cluster, and a ‘short arm’ in every ch 4 gap. Next up, then, it’s time to work a ‘short arm’.

To set up the short arm, you need to work 2 dc under the next ch 4 from Round 2. To do this, insert your crochet hook from front to back through the gap made by the ch 4, as pictured.

Pick up a loop of your working yarn with the hook and bring it back through to the front.

Then, pick up another loop of the working yarn (over the top of the ch 4, this time) and draw it through both of the loops on your hook to make a double crochet.

Work another double crochet in the same way, so that you have 2 dc around the ch 4.

Now it’s time to make the ‘short branch’. Start by working 6 chains. This slightly longer chain length helps to offset the ‘short arm’ with the ‘long arms’ on either side of it, so your snowflake coaster will lie flat more easily and look nice and even.

Just like with the ‘long arm’, you’ll always start by working into the 2nd chain from the hook.

Starting with the 2nd chain from the hook, slip stitch into each of the next two chains to make the first ‘branch’.

Then, chain 4 to begin the top of the ‘short arm’.

Starting with the 2nd chain from the hook, slip stitch into each of the next 3 chains. This makes the top of the ‘short arm’.

To make the final branch, chain 3.

Starting with the 2nd chain from the hook, slip stitch into each of the next two chains. This makes the final branch, which will sit opposite the first branch on this arm. To anchor it to the other side of the arm, just like with the ‘long arm’, you need to slip stitch into the remaining chains from the initial ch 6 (i.e. the first 3 chains from that ch 6). The first of these stitches is indicated here by the needle.

Slip stitch into the three remaining chains from the initial chain 6 to finish off the ‘short arm’.

To finish off this section, work 2 more dc over the ch 4, so that your ‘short arm’ sits in the middle of 4 dc in total, which, in turn, sit over the ch 4 from Round 2.

Then, slip stitch into the top of the next treble crochet.

This sets you up for the next ‘long arm’, which you can work in exactly the same way as the first.

Like so!

After the 2nd ‘long arm’, work a second ‘short arm’, making sure to work 2 dc over the ch 4 from Round 2 before and after working the arm.

Like so!

Keep repeating that process, alternating between ‘long arms’ (on top of the 2 tr clusters) and ‘short arms’ (on top of the ch 4s), until you’ve worked right around the snowflake and come back to your first ‘long arm’.

Finish off by slip stitching to the top of the ch 3 from Round 2 (i.e. where you started that first ‘long arm’, indicated here by the needle), then cut the yarn and fasten off.

And that’s it! Your snowflake coaster is done. All you need to do now is weave in both ends and block the coasters to help them lie flat (the instructions for that are below).

Blocking the Coasters

Blocking the coasters helps them to lie flat and look more even. You can block them in whatever way you usually block projects made with cotton yarn, but I’ve used steam to block these ones!

To steam block your coasters, do the following:

Using a steam iron/clothes steamer, briefly steam the coaster.

Pin the steamed coaster onto a blocking mat. Place one pin at the top of each ‘long arm’, making sure they are nice and straight.

Give the pinned coaster another brief blast of steam, then leave in the pinned position overnight to set.

After that, you can unpin the coaster and start using it! The finished, blocked coasters are about 10cm in diameter.

Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Snowflake Coaster pattern: it’s such a quick, easy project to whip up, especially once you get the hang of the repeating pattern. I’ve actually made 7 of these coasters for our Christmas table this year, which I just know is going to look so lovely and festive!

As I mentioned earlier, you can find this pattern on Ravelry, so you can easily add it to your festive queue/favourites for next year, if you don’t have time to whip some up this year!

Gemma

xxx

Last year, just before Christmas, I saw this amazing crochet garland on Instagram by @deliacreates. It was designed to look like a string of popcorn and cranberries, which is a festive tradition in the US that I have always been fascinated by! I could never bring myself to sacrifice so much delicious popcorn in the pursuit of pretty, Christmassy decor (I love popcorn), so a crocheted version felt like the perfect, fun alternative. As an added bonus, the (free!) pattern looked super simple and straightforward, so I knew this would be a quick and easy project for the festive season. Unfortunately, I saw the post a little too late to make a garland in time for Christmas last year, so I carried it over and made it this year, instead!

Table of Contents

• Materials
  • Cygnet Seriously Chunky: Mini Review
• Making the Garland
• Final Thoughts

Materials

To make this garland, I used the following materials:

• 1 skein of Cygnet Seriously Chunky yarn, in the shade Cream (0288).
• 87 x 12mm dark red wooden beads (I bought this pack of 100 on Etsy).*
• 6.50mm crochet hook.
• 3.00mm crochet hook.**

That’s it! Because I already had the crochet hooks, I only had to buy the yarn and the beads (which worked out at just under £6), so this was a super budget-friendly project!

* The original pattern used bright red beads, but I wanted a more realistic-looking, muted garland, so I opted to use these dark red beads, which I felt had more of a cranberry vibe!

** The original pattern calls for a 3.25mm hook, but I found a 3.00mm hook was easier to insert through the beads and worked just as well.

Cygnet Seriously Chunky: Mini Review

Cygnet Seriously Chunky is a 100% acrylic, super chunky weight yarn that is sold in 100g skeins. Each 100g skein contains about 48 metres of yarn and (at time of posting), costs £2.99 on Wool Warehouse (my go-to for yarn-y purchases!). The yarn comes in a variety of colours (though it’s not the most extensive shade range I’ve seen), and I chose the shade Cream (0288) for this project, which was a nice, neutral, popcorn-esque colour.

I have to say, I truly forgot that this was an acrylic yarn as I was working with it- it has a real, wooly ‘fuzz’ to it that really tricked me into thinking it was made of natural fibres. While the ‘fuzzy’ look probably wasn’t quite the right vibe for making popcorn kernels, I do think this would be a great, budget alternative to a natural fibre yarn for other projects. Even though my kernels are a little on the fuzzy side, I still really love the way this yarn worked up for this project- I think it gives the garland a really homespun, felted look that feels very festive.

Making the Garland

When making this project, I followed the original pattern to the letter. It’s such a simple process, but it’s so effective (and so quick to work up- I made this whole garland in a single sitting!). The popcorn kernels are made from a simple puff stitch, worked in the super chunky yarn, and the cranberries are just wooden beads, added in between each kernel. I kept going until I ran out of yarn, then fastened off, and before I knew it, I had the perfect popcorn & cranberry garland, ready for Christmas. My finished garland, using a full skein of yarn and 87 cranberries, ended up being about 375cm long.

I did pick up a few little tricks and techniques when making this project, so I thought I’d share those with you here:

• Keep the beads at the front of the work.

When I first started working up my garland, I didn’t pay much attention to how I reinserted the 6.50mm hook into the working loop of yarn after I added each bead. After a little while, I found that this did have an effect on the garland- in some places, the beads were fully visible, while in others they were obscured by the yarn that runs along them. After a little bit of trial and error, I found that making sure the working loop wasn’t twisted when you reinsert the hook and making a conscious effort to keep the beads to the front of the work helped to minimise this problem. While the garland still twists a little, it’s much less noticeable than before!

• When adding the beads, keep the working loop of yarn as taut as possible.

Adding the beads is the fiddliest part of this project, because you have to pull a doubled piece of super chunky yarn through a pretty small hole! Honestly, this was easier than I expected- it took a couple of attempts sometimes, but, as the pattern says, if you split the yarn, you can just remove the hook, bring the yarn back together and try again! One thing that I found that really helped here was to hold the yarn as tightly as I could around the hook as I pulled it through the bead.

• Keep the beads in a bowl beside you.

This is such a small thing, it barely even warrants a bullet point of its own, but it made a big difference to my speed and efficiency! My beads came in a little, grip seal bag, which is great for storage, but not so great for quickly picking one up every time you need to add a ‘cranberry’ to the garland. I transferred my beads to a bowl and put the bowl on a flat surface beside me (a flat surface is important, if you would like to avoid beads rolling all over the place). This meant that I could just grab a bead super easily whenever I needed one, which really sped up the whole process for me.

Final Thoughts

I am so thrilled with how this garland turned out- it gives me such festive, homespun, felty vibes and I just love it! I particularly like how quickly it came together, how easy it was to work up and how effective the pattern was- I do really think it looks like a popcorn and cranberry garland!

I’m really glad that I opted to use the darker red beads- I think it not only makes this garland look more realistic, but it also looks a little more understated and classic. While the yarn I chose is a bit on the ‘fuzzy’ side, and so makes for slightly fuzzy popcorn kernels, I actually also really like that effect- this is, after all, a crocheted garland, and I don’t mind that being evident!

Overall, I loved working on this project almost as much as I love the finished product! It was the perfect, quick and easy festive project and I know I’ll be using it in my Christmas decorating for many years to come. Plus, no popcorn was harmed in the making of this garland, so that’s an extra little win.

If you're interested...

You can find the "Popcorn & Cranberry" Crochet Garland pattern here.

You can check out the Delia Creates website here.

You can find my Popcorn & Cranberry Garland project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

I thought this project would be a great way of trialling some of the amazing, free patterns out there for knitted/crocheted pumpkins. I wanted my pumpkins to have a variety of textures, colours and patterns, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out lots of different methods and styles. In total, I made 5 different pumpkins. In this post, I’ll go through all of the details for each pumpkin, link the patterns I used & share any amendments/changes I made.

I think it’s time for some pumpkins, don’t you?

Table of Contents

• Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #1
• Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #2
• Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #3
• Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #4
• Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel
  • Thoughts on Pumpkin #5
• Final Thoughts

Pumpkin #1: Wee Pumpkin by Susan Rainey

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Wee Pumpkins by Susan Rainey.

Yarn: King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply, in the shade Cinnamon (leftover from my Anthology Pumpkin Hat).

Needles: 2.75mm DPNs.

Stem Details: 5-stitch i-cord, made using King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply in Chocolate (023) on 2.75mm DPNs. I knitted 5 rows of i-cord, then pulled the yarn through the stitches to ‘cast off’.

Adaptations:

• Used fingering weight yarn instead of sport.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #1 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #1

• This makes a super small pumpkin. It’s SO cute, but a little flat.
• It’s quite easy to make the pumpkin ‘segments’ uneven by accident (I did).
• Pattern used BLCO for increases (not my fave method) and K2tog for decreases (a classic). This pattern, unlike some of the others, does include shaping, which gives the pumpkin a nice appearance.

Pumpkin #2: (Fluffy) Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Pepo Pumpkin Patch by Sandra Magalhães (large size, in-the-round version).

Yarn: Scheepjes Sweetheart Soft, in the shade 06 (leftover from a spontaneous mammoth amigurumi, made a while back for my soon-to-be sister-in-law).

Needles: 4.5mm circular needles (40cm).

Stem details: I followed a similar method to the stem of Pumpkin #5, using the same Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062), but made the stem a bit wider (24 stitches, as opposed to 12) to suit the larger pumpkin. Because of the larger stitch count, I worked an extra round of k2togs before finishing off.

Adaptations:

• Used fluffy, chunky weight yarn instead of worsted.
• I added stitch markers to mark where the purl stitches went on every round. This was super helpful, particularly at first, because the fluffy yarn is quite difficult to see/work with! It also made the knitting process much quicker/easier, because I didn’t have to keep double checking where I was in the round.
• I knitted the main piece until it measured 25cm.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #2 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #2

• I had planned to crochet a pumpkin using this yarn, but my GOODNESS it was hard to work with— it was a real struggle to feel where the stitches were! I decided to use it for a knitted pumpkin instead and it was MUCH easier.
• This particular pattern gave some very helpful information on the ratio between the length of the knitted piece and the height of the finished pumpkin (0.4 ish), which I was able to apply to all of my subsequent pumpkin-making endeavours.
• I LOVED the use of purl stitches as a guide in this pattern— it made dividing the pumpkin up evenly SO simple and easy.

Pumpkin #3: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry

Craft: Crochet

Pattern: Darlin’ Plaid Pumpkin by Stitchberry (regular size).

Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK, in the shades Cream (1005) and Gingerbread (1806) (from my excessive stash of Stylecraft Special DK).

Hook: 5.0mm

Stem details: I made a basic, crochet stem for this one using a single strand of the Gingerbread yarn and a 3.0mm hook. The pattern is as follows (as always, UK terminology is used):

Round 1: Work 6 dc into a magic loop (6)

Round 2: 2 dc in each stitch around (12)

Rounds 3-7: dc in each stitch around

Fasten off yarn, leaving long end for attaching to pumpkin.

Adaptations:

• Used DK weight yarn held double, instead of worsted (obviously, this is not equivalent, so my pumpkin is a bit chunkier than it should be!).
• For the surface crochet, I worked all of the horizontal stripes on the right side, leaving 4 stitches between each one. For the vertical stripes, I alternated between working them on the right and wrong side (to add a bit of interest) and left 5 1/2 rows between each right-side, vertical row.
• I didn’t darn in the Gingerbread ends from the surface crochet, just used a needle to carry them right to the edge of the work, in the same chain pattern, then tied them off and caught them behind the work with the ‘cinching’ yarn (though I don’t actually think the pattern calls for darning in the ends either!).
• I used a few extra stitches as well as the ‘cinching’ method to close the pumpkin shut (because my fabric was so chunky!).
• I used the MC yarn (Cream), not the CC yarn (Gingerbread) to define the pumpkin ‘segments’. I think this looks a little more seamless.

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #3 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #3

• Using DK held double was probably a bit thick— it worked perfectly everywhere except the top and the bottom, where there was a bit too much stiff material to gather it in properly.
• I really liked the effect and colour combo of this pattern!

Pumpkin #4: Vertical Stripe Pumpkin by Sara Myers

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Trio of Pumpkins by Sara Myers (Pumpkin #1 (Maroon & Beige Vertical Stripe)).

Yarn: Cascade Cantata, in the shades Cocoa (15) and Sand (16) (leftover from my Atlantis Sweater).

Needles: 5.0mm circular needles (40cm).

Stem details: Using the darker shade (Cocoa), I made a 4-stitch i-cord that was about 10cm long, then twisted it back on itself and secured it in that shape with a few stitches before attaching it to the pumpkin.

Adaptations:

• I used smaller needles than suggested (even though I actually used the right yarn weight with this one!) because I was worried about the stuffing poking through. I’m actually glad I did this— I think I could have gone even smaller because this pumpkin definitely has the loosest gauge of all of them!

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #4 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #4

• I was a bit disappointed that my pumpkin wasn’t as ‘swirly’ looking as the pumpkin in the pattern photo? I’m not entirely sure how you could achieve that, and I do like the stripes, but it’s just not quite what I was hoping for.
• As I mentioned, I think I would use slightly smaller needles if I were to make this again— perhaps 4.0 or 4.5mm?

Pumpkin #5: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel

Craft: Knitting

Pattern: Handsome Cable Pumpkin by Sara Kiesel.

Yarn: Fyberspates CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, in the shade Citrine (118) (leftover from a project that I will be sharing soon!).

Needles: 2.75mm (DPNs and circular (40cm)).

Stem details: I followed the instructions for the stem from the pattern, but made it separately (as opposed to directly on from the pumpkin itself) and stitched it on after stuffing because I knew my pumpkin was a little more sparse at that end (because of my reduced row count) and wanted to stitch it together first! Like Pumpkin #2, I used Scheepjes Metropolis in Valencia (062).

Adaptations:

• Used fingering weight yarn instead of worsted.
• After round 62, I jumped straight to round 103 to decrease the height of the finished pumpkin.
• I intended to follow the pattern from there as written, but I was playing yarn chicken, so, I ended up working rounds 103-108, then only worked rounds 110, 112, 115, 117, 119, 121, 124 and 126-134 (i.e. the ones with shaping/cables, plus a few extra rows, just until I was confident I had enough yarn!). I don’t recommend doing this, because (obviously) the top of my pumpkin was a little sparse, but it was nothing a little darning couldn’t disguise.
• I made the stem separately (so that I could fix the problems caused by my above fudging more easily).

You can find the link to my Ravelry project page for Pumpkin #5 here!

Thoughts on Pumpkin #5

• I ran into SO MUCH trouble with this one at first, because I just couldn’t work out the increases vs the stitch count! Turns out you absolutely NEED to use an increase that doesn’t use an existing stitch (i.e. not KFB), otherwise the stitch count won’t add up right. I ended up using a combo of lifted increases and M1Ls.
• This pattern is a little bit fiddly to work up at the beginning and the end (when you’re on the DPNs), but becomes much more fluid on the circular needles.
• This definitely took the longest of all of my pumpkins— it involves a lot more knitting than the rest!
• If knitted as instructed (using worsted weight yarn/ and working the whole pattern), this pumpkin would be absolutely huge. Like, HUGE. If you want a massive pumpkin, this pattern is your friend.
• I absolutely LOVE the cable pattern and yarn colour.
• I’m also a big fan of the slip knot/crochet starting technique used in this pattern! It’s not a technique I’ve come across before, but I thought it was very neat and super snazzy.

Final Thoughts

I have to say, I really LOVE my yarn-y pumpkin patch. I think each pumpkin has so much character— they’re all so different and individual, but still all very pumpkin-y. I think that they make the perfect, autumnal decorations!

Overall, I think my favourite pumpkin is probably Pumpkin #5 (the Handsome Cable Pumpkin), which is funny because it was definitely the one that caused me the most grief as I was making it! I don’t think the written pattern is perfect, but the cable pattern is just so gorgeous, and the Fyberspates yarn is such a pretty shade of orange, I think it all came together really nicely (even with all of my fudging).

Sadly, I do think Pumpkin #4 (the Vertical Stripe Pumpkin) is my least favourite of the quintet. It just doesn’t have the same neatness (dare I say, elegance?) as the other pumpkins, and I was disappointed not to achieve the same swirly effect that the pumpkin from the pattern seems to have. I also think I could have knitted this pumpkin on even smaller needles, because it has a slightly more open fabric than I would have liked for a stuffed object.

Having said all that, I love all the pumpkins together and think they make a lovely, autumnal cluster! What do you think? Which pumpkin is your favourite?

Gemma

xxx

It was actually my mum who found this pattern and fell in love with it, but, because she’s not a big crocheter, she asked me to make it for her. Because I am a big crocheter- I readily agreed! It was perfect timing as well, because we ordered the yarn just before the Olympics began, so I was able to start making this blanket while watching the Opening Ceremony on 26th July 2024. Because I basically watched the games 24/7 while they were on, I had a lot of time to spend working on this project. In fact, as time went on, I got more and more hopeful that I’d get it all finished by the end of the Closing Ceremony on 11th August 2024, but, alas, it was not meant to be (read: I had to stop crocheting to take a nap). Instead, after 19 days of pretty hardcore crochet, I finished this blanket on 13th August 2024 (only 2 days off my target, though!). Still, to me, this blanket will forever be my Paris Olympics Blanket.

Table of Contents

• The Yarn
  • Wendy Supreme DK: Mini Review
  • Buying the Yarn
• The Starbursts
• Crocheting the Squares Together
• The Granny Rounds
• The Mini Grannies
• The Picot Edging
• Final Thoughts

The Yarn

I used the exact yarn specified by the pattern for my blanket, because a big part of what drew my mum to this blanket was the colours. The pattern calls for 19 balls of Wendy Supreme DK, which is an acrylic yarn that I’d actually never heard of before! If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know that I’m very loyal to my beloved Stylecraft Special DK, so I was tempted to get similar colours in the Stylecraft and use that instead. However, I was a bit worried that the shades wouldn’t be perfect matches. I also figured that this could be a nice way of getting out of my comfort zone (in the gentlest of ways) and testing out some other yarn, so I opted to use the Wendy Supreme DK.

Wendy Supreme DK: Mini Review

After using the yarn to make this blanket, I thought I’d share a few quick thoughts on it (and talk about how it measures up to my beloved Stylecraft)!

• The Wendy Supreme DK is pretty soft, but ever so slightly ‘squeaky’…? It also felt a little rougher than the Stylecraft– I actually gave myself yarn burn at one point (but that could very well have been due to the excessive amount of crochet I was doing on a daily basis…)! It definitely feels more like acrylic to me than the Stylecraft, but not so much that I couldn’t be tempted to use it again.
• The Wendy Supreme DK is significantly more ‘splitty’ than the Stylecraft. It’s not unmanageable, but it was definitely noticeable as I worked with it.
• The colour of the Wendy Supreme DK was really nice and even, much like the Stylecraft shades. No complaints on that front!
• In all 18 balls of the Wendy Supreme DK (that I used), there was not a single knot, which made me very happy (because, you know, fewer ends to sew in). Big win for Wendy (though, having said that, I don’t often find knots in the Stylecraft yarn either…)!
• This might just be because I was working with so much cream yarn, but I did feel that the Wendy Supreme DK was a tiny bit… sheddier… than the Stylecraft? I made the mistake of wearing black trousers for a couple of the days and it was definitely giving me white-dog-fur-curse vibes.
• The Wendy Supreme DK is slightly cheaper than the Stylecraft (£1.99 vs £2.35, respectively), which is good to know if you’re looking for a slightly more affordable option.

Overall, the Wendy Supreme DK was a perfectly pleasant yarn, but I don’t think I enjoyed using it quite enough for it to usurp the Stylecraft Special DK as my all-time favourite. It was a fun experiment though! Just for fun, I did take out my (beloved) Stylecraft yarn pegs to see if I could find the closest shades and managed to find some pretty good (but not quite exact) matches:

• Cream WD02 (Wendy Supreme DK) – Cream 1005 (Stylecraft Special DK)
• Duck Egg WD28 (Wendy Supreme DK) – Duck Egg 1820 (Stylecraft Special DK)
• Rose WD09 (Wendy Supreme DK) – Pale Rose 1080 (Stylecraft Special DK)
• Soft Peach WD52 (Wendy Supreme DK) – Soft Peach 1240 (Stylecraft Special DK)
• Natural WD17 (Wendy Supreme DK) – Parchment 1218 (Stylecraft Special DK)

In general, I would say these Stylecraft alternatives are ever so slightly lighter than their Wendy counterparts, but the tones are pretty spot on (aside from Soft Peach, which is also slightly brighter and pinker than its corresponding Wendy shade).

Buying the Yarn

You can actually buy a full yarn pack for this particular pattern from Black Sheep Wools, for £36.99. However, I had a discount code for Wool Warehouse (which is my usual go-to for wool purchases) and it actually worked out slightly cheaper to buy the balls individually from there, so that’s what I did (oh, she’s thrifty).

The blanket calls for:

• 2x100g balls of Rose, Soft Peach and Natural.
• 3x100g balls of Duck Egg.
• 10x100g balls of Cream.

However, I did have a bit of yarn leftover- particularly of the cream shade. I could definitely have gotten away with buying one fewer ball of cream, because I had just under 2 balls left by the end. Having said that, I am a pretty tight crocheter, so that might be why?

The Starbursts

The first step of the blanket is to make the central starbursts. I’ve never actually made starbursts like these before, though I have seen them frequently on social media, so I was excited to give them a try myself! They were super simple to make, but I did make a commitment to myself that I would sew in all of the ends as I went along (blegh). It was a bit of a drag at the time, but I was so relieved not to have thousands of ends to sew in at the end of the process, so I guess it was for the best.

The pattern provides colour charts for all of the starbursts, because the colour choices are intentionally random and don’t follow much of a pattern. Unfortunately, the colour chart isn’t colour-coded- I can completely understand why this is the case, because if you were following the pattern using different colours, it would be tricky to follow, but ohhhhhh… I struggled. Ultimately, I just colour coded the chart myself on my computer, which wasn’t too tricky for the first lot of starbursts, at least.

For the second lot of starbursts, the colour chart is arranged a little differently, so I ended up just making a separate spreadsheet and using the ‘conditional highlighting’ feature to quickly colour code it. I’m not too mad about that, though… I love a spreadsheet.

Crocheting the Squares Together

I’ve done a lot of crochet in my life, but, surprisingly, I’ve never actually crocheted granny squares together using the join-as-you-go method. I know- crazy right?! It took a little bit of time to get my head around it, but I got into a rhythm pretty quickly and, actually, those rounds always seemed to fly by!

The instructions were super detailed for the first couple of times, but I would have loved a slightly more detailed explanation for the joining of the second round of starbursts- the pattern (completely reasonably, I have to say) just says to follow the previous instructions, but I felt that this round was a little different from the previous two joining rounds (almost a combination of the two?), so I would have liked a recap at this point (if just to save me from having to scroll back and forth between the other two instructions- especially seeing as you have to keep an eye on the colour chart at this point, too!).

I admit, I was a bit worried about how smooth the joins would be using this join-as-you-go method, and, for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised! I felt the method was really good for the bigger starbursts, but maybe not quite so smooth for the mini granny squares? My mini granny rounds are just a little bit bumpier around the joins than I would have liked, but perhaps that will smooth itself out in the wash…?

The Granny Rounds

The granny rounds really brought me back to my early crochet days and I really loved having the blue rows every now and then to break things up. The initial, photographic instructions for the granny sections were super clear and worked really well- though I do think that after that first set of instructions, the directions for the setup rows aren’t quite so clear (I feel there’s a couple of treble crochet instructions missing when joining the squares?). That doesn’t really matter though, seeing as the detailed instructions are right there at the start of the pattern anyway.

The Mini Grannies

Ah, we get to the part of this blanket that nearly, nearly got me. The mini grannies.

I opted to make all of the mini granny centres for the first round to start with, sewing in the starting ends after making all of the centres for a particular colour, so that I could work the joining round continuously. Honestly, I would still do it this way if I were to make this blanket again, but, my goodness, when I had to make 152 of the things for the second mini granny round, I really had to force myself to stay strong. I survived though! Big win for Gemma At Home.

I wasn’t crazy about the crocheting over the end technique used for these mini squares. On the one hand, I hate sewing in ends, so it should have been right up my alley, but I just feel like it’s not the… neatest? The pattern assures me it’s super secure, but I’ve already had a few little ends poking out… Maybe I did it wrong? Plus, you still have to sew in half of the ends, so I guess I’m wondering if it’s really worth it?

The Picot Edging

The joy I felt when I got to the picot edging- I can’t even tell you. Not because I struggled with this project, or didn’t enjoy it- I actually loved the process of this (except the mini grannies. Screw you, mini grannies.)! You know that feeling, though, when you know you’re going to finish a project that day? I had that. Also, I knew I only had about 6 ends left to sew in at this point, so I didn’t have the impending doom of thousands of ends waiting to be darned in, staring up at me from the depths of hell. Thank you for that, past Gemma. Your sacrifice is very much appreciated.

I don’t know why, but I found it so hard to get into a rhythm with this edging! I think because I was so used to doing treble crochets by this point, working double crochets and chains just threw me off. I had to keep checking to make sure I was actually doing it right, so it took me a bit longer than it should have. I also added an extra dc at the end of the round, alongside the first cluster, because I just felt it looked a bit uneven compared to the rest of the picots, but that was just a tiny, spur-of-the-moment thing.

To be honest, I’m not usually crazy about picot edgings on blankets (or borders, in general, really), but I actually really like this one??? The blanket pattern, admittedly, is not overly modern-looking, so maybe it just fits the vibe, but I think the picot edging really finishes this blanket off. I’m super happy with how it turned out!

Final Thoughts

So, after 19 days, 17 of those spent non-stop watching the Paris 2024 Olympics (including 2 pretty early mornings to watch the Triathlon events), 1 ominous case of yarn-burn, 5 padded plasters on top of said case of yarn-burn (so that I could continue crocheting through the pain), 18 balls of yarn, 232 cursed mini grannies, thousands of ends and, surprisingly, only 2 naps, my Grace Blanket was finished. I’m so proud of this one- I love that I’ll forever associate it with the Olympics, but also that I didn’t let myself get scared off by the idea of all. those. ends. (and that I darned them in as I went along which was… groundbreaking for me).

What do you think? Would you ever make a Grace Blanket for yourself? It’s such a clear and easy-to-follow pattern, I think it’s a great project for beginners and hardcore crocheters alike!

If you're interested... 

You can download the Grace Blanket pattern here. 

You can find the original pattern page on Ravelry for the Grace Blanket here.

You can find my Grace Blanket project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

If you missed the first 5 parts of the series, you can find them here:

• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #1: Introduction
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #2: Making the Brick Blanket
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #3: Adding the Surface Crochet Vines
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #4: Making the Rose Pieces
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #5: Making the Wisteria Pieces

Table of Contents

• A Note on Child Safety
• Equipment
• Positioning the Elements
  • The Layout
    • The Wisteria
    • The Roses
• Sewing on the Wisteria Pieces
• Sewing on the Rose Leaves
• Sewing on the Roses
• Final Thoughts

A Note on Child Safety

Obviously, because this is a baby blanket, it’s important to make it as safe as possible for young children. When developing this pattern, child safety was always at the forefront of my mind, so I have used specific techniques for sewing on each of the appliqué elements to make sure everything is attached as securely as possible. Having said this, anything handmade will only be as safe and secure as you make it- if any elements are not sewn on securely, they will pose a serious choking hazard. Additionally, accidents can happen- appliqué elements may become loose after repeated use, or as a result of the wear-and-tear of daily life, so, just to be on the safe side I would not recommend leaving a young child/baby with this blanket unsupervised.

Equipment

To assemble the blanket, you will need the following equipment:

• All of the appliqué elements (i.e. the roses, rose leaves and wisteria pieces from parts #4 and #5).
• Sewing needle (with an eye large enough to fit DK weight yarn).
• Scissors.
• Crochet hook (optional: I used this to help position the elements before I stitched them down, to ensure I was happy with the overall look before attaching anything permanently).

That’s it! If you’ve left long ends on each of the appliqué elements, as instructed in the specific posts (one pink end for each rose piece, one dark green end for each rose leaf and two light green ends for the wisteria pieces), you shouldn’t need any additional yarn at this stage. This means that you will end up with fewer ends to darn in (a major win, if you ask me) and the appliqué elements will be attached more securely.

Positioning the Elements

Before you start sewing, it’s a good idea to lay out all of the elements on the blanket, so you can get an idea of how the finished blanket will look. You can absolutely just lay the elements on top, but I found that all of the loose ends lying on top of the blanket made it difficult to visualise the finished product. This is where the crochet hook comes in! Lay the elements out where you want them, then pull the ends through to the back of the blanket using the crochet hook (the size of the hook doesn’t really matter- use whatever you have to hand). That way, you’ll get a much better idea of how the finished blanket will look.

The Layout

You can attach the appliqué elements in whatever layout you choose, but, if you want to mimic my blanket, here’s a rough overview of how I did it:

The Wisteria

The wisteria pieces are grouped together in clusters of 2 (1 long piece, 1 short piece). You should have 10 long wisteria pieces and 10 small, so you’ll end up with 10 wisteria clusters around the perimeter of the blanket. Start by placing one wisteria cluster in each of the four corners. Then place one wisteria cluster in the centre of each short side. Finally, space 2 wisteria clusters evenly down each long side of the blanket. Like this, you should have ten, equally-spaced wisteria clusters all around the perimeter of the blanket.

When it comes to positioning the individual wisteria pieces, make sure that each wisteria piece sits right on top of (or up against) one of the brown, surface crochet ‘vines’. This is important because that surface crochet is supposed to mimic the wisteria branch, so the wisteria flowers need to look as if they are growing from it! Make sure that the leafy end of the wisteria pieces sits closest to the branch, as pictured. I opted to position all of the clusters so that they were pointing inwards, towards the centre of the blanket, as if they are hanging down from the branch.

The Roses

Each of the spaces between the wisteria clusters is filled with a rose cluster, so you end up with a continuous, alternating pattern all around the perimeter of the blanket: wisteria, rose, wisteria, rose, etc.

For the most part, rose clusters consist of two rose pieces (1 large, 1 small) and one rose leaf piece. The only two exceptions to this are the clusters in the centre of each long side of the blanket: these rose clusters consist of three rose pieces (2 large, 1 small) and two rose leaf pieces. You should end up with 8 x 2-rose clusters and 2 x 3-rose clusters.

Much like how the wisteria pieces should look as if they are growing out of the brown surface crochet ‘vine’, the rose clusters should sit on the green surface crochet ‘vine’, so they look like they are growing from it. The roses can be placed in any orientation, but the leaves should always be positioned so that the round end sits on the green vine, while the pointed end points away from it.

Sewing on the Wisteria Pieces

Each wisteria piece should have two long, green ends left attached for sewing onto the blanket. One end will be at the base of the petals, while the other will be at the top of the petals (i.e. the base of the leaves). The end at the base of the petals will be used to attach the purple part of the wisteria to the blanket, while the other end will be used to secure the leaves. This will add an extra layer of security, while also giving you the freedom to position both the petals and the leaves however you would like.

Let’s start with attaching the petals. Each wisteria piece is sewn on individually, one at a time. I prefer to start with a long wisteria piece and create an organic shape with that, then move onto a shorter piece and ‘nestle’ it alongside the first piece. After both petal pieces are attached, I stitch down both of the leaves. We’ll be using a simple running stitch to stitch the central, green chain that runs through all of the petals to the blanket.

Thread the petal end onto your needle, then insert the needle through the blanket, from front to back, as pictured, where you want the bottom of your wisteria piece to sit.

Bring the needle back up in a slightly different spot, so that it comes through the green starting chain, close to the end.

Bring the needle back down to the other side of the blanket, bringing it back through the green starting chain, a little further along the wisteria piece.

Keep going, weaving the needle up and down through the blanket and the starting chain, until you come to the end of the petals. I prefer to wait until I’ve attached all the elements before weaving in the ends, just in case I want to change any positions, but you can sew them in whenever you want. For the neatest finish, I recommend bringing the end to the front of the work and darning it into the starting chain underneath the petals. This way, the petals will hide it from the front and the back will still look nice and neat.

Once you’ve sewn the first, long wisteria piece on, you can attach the second, shorter wisteria piece. The two pieces should sit snugly alongside each other, to give the illusion of a single, full wisteria bloom. Attach the second wisteria piece in exactly the same manner as the first, using a running stitch that is worked through the central green chain.

At this point, you should have one wisteria cluster with all the petals stitched down. Now, it’s time to attach the leaves. Attaching the leaves will add an extra layer of safety to the blanket and allows you to control how they sit.

I like to stitch the leaves down in a wide ‘v’ shape, so that the top of the wisteria petals sits within the leaves.

Use the same running stitch technique as the petal section for the leaves. When attaching the leaves, I like to run my stitches right down the centre of the leaf piece, so that the leaves on either side can still move and stand up, to make them look more natural.

Start by threading the end (the one from the base of the leaf piece/top of the petals) onto a needle, then pull the needle through to the back of the blanket, where you want the top of the leaf piece to sit.

Bring the needle back up through the blanket, coming up through the centre of the leaf piece, near the top edge.

Bring the needle back down, slightly further along the centre line of the leaf piece to make the next stitch.

Repeat this until you have stitched all the way down the centre of the leaf, stopping just before the end, so that the final little leaf is left free to curl up/move. When sewing in the end, I like to darn it into the leaf piece itself, again, to keep the back of the blanket looking tidy.

Repeat this process for both leaves, then you’ll have your first, completely attached, wisteria cluster! Repeat for all ten of the clusters, aiming to keep the shapes of the petals and leaves as organic and natural-looking as you can.

Sewing on the Rose Leaves

The technique for attaching the rose leaves is exactly the same as for the wisteria leaves. The aim is to run a line of stitching down the very centre of the leaf, leaving the sides and pointed top free to give the leaf some dimension. The long end that we left on the leaf pieces should sit at the base of each leaf (i.e. the rounded end, not the pointy end). We’ll use this to attach the leaves to the blanket.

I like to sew the rose leaves on first, before the roses themselves, so that the roses can overlap the leaf slightly- it just makes everything look a bit more natural.

Start by threading the end onto the needle, then bring it down through the blanket, from front to back, where you want the base of the leaf to sit (i.e. on the green surface crochet ‘vine’).

Come back up through the blanket, from back to front this time, a little bit further down the centre of the leaf, sticking to that centre line. Because of how we crocheted these leaves, it’s pretty easy to see where that centre line is, so use that as your guide.

Then, bring the needle back down through the centre of the leaf and the blanket beneath.

Keep bringing the needle up and down, through the work, until you come to just before the end of the leaf. Leaving the pointed end unattached will help the leaf to look more organic.

Now, you have an attached leaf! As before, I like to leave all the sewing in of ends until I’ve attached everything, but, when you do sew in the ends for the leaves, try to sew them into the leaves themselves, keeping the ends at the back of the leaves, if possible.

Sewing on the Roses

The roses are, unfortunately, the trickiest element to attach to the blanket, but, once you get the hang of it, it shouldn’t take too long to attach each one. Each rose piece should have one, long end for sewing in at the back. The aim is to use this end to work a running stitch all around the base of the rose, in a rough circle. This technique will provide the most strength and security.

Start by threading the end onto your needle, then bring the needle through to the back of the work, anchoring the rose wherever you want it to sit.

Next, bring the needle back up through the work, slightly further around the circumference of the rose, and catch a few stitches from the lower side of the rose as you do this.

Bring the needle back down through to the other side of the blanket, slightly further around the circumference of the rose again, catching a few more stitches from the lower side of the rose as you go.

Work all the way around the rose like this, running the stitches through both the blanket and the rose as you go, until you have stitched a wide circle all around the rose. The wider your circle of stitching, the more secure the rose will be. Don’t go too wide, though, or you’ll be able to see the stitches.

Ta-da! Now you have one attached rose!

Attach any other roses in the cluster in the exact same way, with the circle of stitching. However, when you come to the area where the new rose abuts the old rose, push your needle horizontally through the side of the first rose, as shown (you’re not going through the blanket itself at this stage, just the rose!).

Then do the same thing to the new rose, pushing the needle through horizontally, before continuing on your way around the rose, stitching it to the blanket again.

These two stitches just help to pull the roses together a little bit. This is optional, but will help to make the rose clusters look more organic and less like two separate roses, sitting near each other.

Now you’ll have a perfect little rose cluster! Repeat this process for all of the remaining clusters, then sew in all the ends (once you are happy with your finished blanket, of course!). As with the other elements, I recommend bringing the rose ends through to the front of the work and sewing them into the underside of the roses, for the neatest finish.

Final Thoughts

And… that’s it! Once everything’s sewn on, you’ll have your very own, Bridgerton House Baby Blanket ready to be used!

These instructions may seem a little overwhelming, but once you get into the swing of things, the sewing-up part of the process will go really quickly. Of course, you don’t have to follow my instructions- if you have a preferred method of sewing on embellishments, or just think of a better way to do it, you can absolutely go ahead and do that!

In other news…

Now that this pattern is finally complete, I’ve put it on Ravelry! You can find it here (and you can check out some of my other designs here, if you’re interested!).

I’ve had so much fun designing and developing this pattern for you over the past couple of years- I’m so glad it’s finally yours in its entirety! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Gemma

xxx

• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #1: Introduction
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #2: Making the Brick Blanket
• Bridgerton House Baby Blanket #3: Adding the Surface Crochet Vines

Table of Contents

• Crochet Roses: The Basics
• Making the Large Roses
• Making the Small Roses
• Winding the Roses
  • Not All Rolls Are Made Equal
• Making the Rose Leaves
• Written Pattern
  • Materials & Tools
  • Large Rose (make 12):
  • Small Rose (make 10):
  • Rose Leaf (make 12):
• Final Thoughts

Crochet Roses: The Basics

Each rose is crocheted as one piece, which is then rolled up and sewn together to create the flower shape. The roses are crocheted on a very small hook (2mm). This helps to give the roses more structure and creates a neater finish. If you find using a small hook with DK weight yarn to be too much of a struggle (it can be a bit hard on your fingers!), you can absolutely use a larger hook- just be aware that your roses will be larger in size and less rigid.

For this blanket, you will need to make 2 different sizes of rose: large and small, using 3 different shades of pink. This provides dimension and reflects the roses seen in the show, where the centre of each flower is a darker shade that gradually lightens to the pale pink outer petals. To keep things simple, I’ve opted to use a few different shades to make multiple, plain-coloured roses, rather than incorporate the gradient into each individual rose.

The roses are arranged in clusters around the perimeter of the blanket. For the most part, the clusters are formed of 1 large + 1 small rose, though, in the centre of each long side of the blanket, there is one larger cluster consisting of 1 small + 2 large roses. For my blanket, I made the following number of roses in each shade of pink, but you can, of course, change this to suit your yarn/preference:

• Pale Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Powder Pink): 4 large, 3 small.
• Mid Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Pale Rose): 4 large, 4 small.
• Dark Pink (Stylecraft Special DK in Raspberry): 4 large, 3 small.

To help integrate the appliqué roses into the background, rose leaves are crocheted separately and sewn onto the blanket alongside the rose clusters. Each cluster is adorned with one rose leaf, except for the larger, 3-rose clusters, which have 2 leaves. The leaves are crocheted using the same Khaki shade used to make the surface crochet rose vine from the previous instalment. All in all, you’ll need to make 12 rose leaves for this blanket.

Making the Large Roses

You will need to make 12 large roses.

Using a 2mm hook, chain 25. Leave a long end (approx. 30cm) for attaching the rose to the blanket later on.

When starting the first row, work into the 3rd chain from the hook.

Work 4 dc into this stitch. Consider these 4 stitches, combined with the 2 turning chains, as a cluster of 5 dc, or 1 ‘petal’.

Skip the next stitch, so that you will be working into the second chain from your hook.

Slip stitch into that stitch.

Skip the next stitch, so that, again, you will be working into the second chain from your hook.

Work 5 dc into that stitch.

Keep working in this pattern (skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to the end of the row. You should now have 6 x 5 dc clusters (or 6 ‘petals’).

Turn and chain 1 to start the next round.

Skip the first slip stitch, so that you will start by working into the 2nd stitch from your hook (i.e. the first dc stitch).

Htr into each of the next 5 stitches (i.e. into each of the 5 dc from the row below).

Slip stitch into the next stitch (which is also a slip stitch, from the row before).

Continue working in this pattern (htr 5, ss) to the last 5 stitches (or the last petal). Work 4 htr into the next 4 stitches (the 4 dc from the row below), then work one final htr into the top of the ch 2 from the previous row.

Turn and chain 1 to start the next row. From now on, you will be working into the front loops only. This helps to give a delicate shape to the petals.

Dc into the first stitch (the last htr from the row below).

Work 2dc into each of the next 3 stitches, then dc into the next stitch. Finish off this first petal by working a slip stitch into the next stitch.

Work in this pattern (dc, 2 dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to the end of the row.

Cut the yarn and sew in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain to secure the rose after winding/sew the rose onto the blanket.

Making the Small Roses

The smaller roses are made in a very similar manner to the larger roses, except they have fewer petals and are worked up in 2 rows, as opposed to 3.

Using a 2mm hook, chain 17. Leave a long end (approx. 30cm) for attaching the rose to the blanket later on.

Work 4 dc into the 3rd chain from the hook. Like with the larger rose, these 4 stitches, combined with the 2 starting chains, count as a cluster of 5 dc, or 1 ‘petal’.

Skip 1 stitch, then slip stitch into the next. Work in the following pattern: (skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to the end of the row. You should end up with 4 x 5 dc clusters (or 4 ‘petals’).

Turn and chain 1 to start the next row. From now on, you will be working into the front loops only. This helps to shape to the rose petals.

Skip the first slip stitch, then work in the following pattern to the end of the row: (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut the yarn and sew in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain to secure the rose after winding/sew the rose onto the blanket.

Winding the Roses

To take the roses from flat, scalloped pieces to 3D flowers, you need to roll up the crocheted piece.

Start by threading the remaining end onto a sewing needle. You will use this end to secure the roll and it’s much easier to thread it before you’ve rolled up the rose!

Roll the rose up along the inner edge (i.e. the straight, non-scalloped edge), this will form the bottom of the rose, with the scalloped edge forming the top of the petals. Keep the bottom edge level as you roll and aim to roll it nice and tightly, for the most secure rose.

Once you have your roll, you need to secure it. Use the threaded needle and push it through the base of the rose a few times, staying relatively close to that bottom edge and making sure to catch each of layers of the spiral at some point.

Once your rose ‘roll’ is firmly secured, you can remove the sewing needle. Do NOT cut the yarn at this point- you will still need it to attach the rose to the blanket! Just set the rose aside as it is, ready for when you assemble the blanket.

Not All Rolls Are Made Equal

The direction in which you roll the rose does make a difference! Luckily, it just changes the appearance of the roses ever so slightly- so you can roll whichever way you prefer. I’ve used a combination of the two styles for my blanket, but you can do whatever you like!

Consider the initial, flat crocheted piece. Because of the way we worked the final round, working into the front loops only, there is a clear distinction between the two sides of the fabric.

If you roll the rose with the right side facing inwards, you’ll end up with a rose that looks a little like this- it’s got a slightly cupped, bulbous shape, as if the rose hasn’t quite fully opened yet.

If you roll the rose with the right side facing outwards, you’ll end up with a rose that looks like this- the spiral effect is slightly more prominent and the rose looks like it is a little more ‘open’ and ‘in bloom’.

As I mentioned, you can roll your roses whichever way you prefer- or you can be like me and use both! I did choose to roll all of the small roses outward, because they are so tiny I found that, when rolling them inward, they lost a little of their structure and rose-like appearance. Again though, it’s entirely up to you!

Making the Rose Leaves

For the rose leaves, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s very much a one-size-fits-all kind of situation! I used a slightly larger hook for the leaves, compared to the roses, to a) give my fingers a rest and b) allow the leaves to look a little more organic and natural looking (i.e. less stiff). It’s still a pretty small hook (2.5mm), to keep the leaves in proportion to the roses, but it won’t be quite as tight as the roses!

Using a 2.5mm hook and Khaki yarn, start by chaining 7. Leave a long end (approx. 25cm) to attach the leaf to the blanket later on.

Start by working into the 2nd chain from the hook. You’ll only be working into the top loops of the chains for this first part.

Work one dc into the 2nd chain from the hook.

Then, work a htr into the next stitch.

Work a tr into each of the next 2 stitches.

Then work another htr into the next stitch.

Work a dc into the final stitch.

Then, slip stitch into that same stitch.

This will allow you to curve around the base of the leaf, so that you can work back up the other side of your starting chain.

From now on, you’ll be working into the back loops of your starting chain (i.e. into the same stitches as before, just from the other side of the chain!

Work in the same pattern as before (dc, htr, tr 2, dc) all the way back up the starting chain.

To finish off the leaf and create the ‘pointy’ end, slip stitch to the top of the first dc.

Cut the yarn and weave in this end, leaving the long end from the starting chain for attaching the leaf to the blanket later on.

Written Pattern

Materials & Tools

• Stylecraft Special DK in the shades Powder Pink, Pale Rose and Raspberry (for the roses) and Khaki (for the rose leaves).*
• 2mm crochet hook (for the roses).
• 2.5mm crochet hook (for the rose leaves).
• Scissors
• Darning needle

* You can find the specific quantities for each of the yarn colours on the introductory post for this pattern, under ‘Master Material List’.

Large Rose (make 12):

Ch 25, leaving long end to attach onto blanket (approx. 30cm).

R1: 4dc in 3^rd ch from hook (counts as 5dc). Skip 1 stitch, ss into next. (Skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to end (6x 5dc clusters). 

R2: Turn and ch1. Skip first ss. (Htr in next 5 stitches, ss into ss from previous round) to last cluster. Htr in next 5 stitches, working the final htr into the top of the ch 2 from the previous round. 

R3: Turn and ch1. Working in front loops only, (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut yarn and sew in short end. Roll and secure (using long end) to form rose (inward or outward). Leave this end attached to sew rose onto blanket later.

Small Rose (make 10):

Ch 17 leaving long end to attach onto blanket (approx. 30cm).

R1: 4dc in 3^rd ch from hook (counts as 5dc). Skip 1 stitch, ss into next. (Skip 1 stitch, 5dc in next chain, skip 1 stitch, ss into next) to end.

R2: R3: Turn and ch1. Skip first ss, then, working in front loops only, (dc, 2dc in next 3 stitches, dc, ss in next stitch) to end.

Cut yarn and darn in short end. Roll outward and secure (using long end) to form rose. Leave this end attached to sew rose onto blanket later.

Rose Leaf (make 12):

Ch 7, leaving long end to attach to blanket (approx. 25cm)

Working in top loops only, dc in 2^nd ch from hook. Htr, tr in next 2, htr, dc. Ss into same stitch.

Work back down the chain (working in back loops now). Dc, htr, tr 2, dc. Ss to top of first sc.

Cut yarn and weave in end. Leave the long end attached to sew leaf onto blanket later.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve made 12 large roses, 10 small roses and 12 rose leaves, you’ll have all of your rose appliqué pieces ready to go! I’ll be providing detailed instructions for attaching all of these elements onto the blanket in a later post, so keep them safe until then.

I really love these roses, because they’re actually pretty straightforward to make, even though they look a little complicated. They’re also super customisable- you can use any colour of yarn you want, you can roll them up in different directions, make as many/as few as you like and vary the sizes as much as you need. I admit, crocheting DK weight yarn on a 2mm hook is a bit of a trial, but it makes for such neat, structural roses that I really do think it’s worth it. If it’s not feasible for you, absolutely just increase the hook size- a slight improvement in structure and appearance is obviously NOT worth any sort of crochet-induced insanity!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this rose embellishment tutorial! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not super experienced at writing crochet patterns, so please do let me know if you run into any problems with this and I will do my best to help you out! I’ll see you next week for Part 5!

Gemma

xxx

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Table of Contents

• Surface Crochet: Explained
  • Surface Crochet vs Chain Stitch
• How to Surface Crochet
• Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop
• Crocheting into Surface Crochet
• Interweaving Surface Crochet Paths
  • Weaving the Vine Over
  • Weaving the Vine Under
• Mapping Out the Curved Path
• Pattern
  • Materials & Tools
  • Surface Crochet Vines: Written Pattern
  • Pattern Note
• Final Thoughts

Surface Crochet: Explained

Surface crochet is a crochet technique that can be used to create decorative lines of stitching on top of a piece of crocheted/knitted fabric. It produces a very similar effect to chain stitch in embroidery. Essentially, surface crochet is just a series of slip stitches that are worked onto the surface (hence the name) of an existing fabric. Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy to do!

Surface Crochet vs Chain Stitch

As I mentioned, surface crochet produces a very similar effect to the embroidery technique known as ‘chain stitch’. If you’re a seasoned embroiderer, or find the surface crochet technique difficult to master, you can absolutely make this blanket using chain stitch, with a sewing needle instead of a crochet hook. However, I prefer using the surface crochet technique for a couple of reasons:

• Unlike with embroidery, when you surface crochet, you work directly from the ball of yarn (i.e. you don’t have to keep cutting new pieces of yarn to work with). I would do anything to minimise the amount of ends I have to sew in, so this is a real plus for me! Additionally, because the colour is visible on the back of the blanket, fewer ends to sew in also makes for a neater finish, so it’s a win-win!
• Although the basic shape of the stitches is the same, there is a slight difference in appearance between chain stitch and surface crochet. Embroidered chain stitches can look a little lacy and ‘gappy’, whereas surface crochet stitches are naturally a little less open, which makes for a bolder, cleaner line of stitching.
• It’s easier to keep an even, controlled tension with surface crochet. To adjust the tension when surface crocheting, you can simply adjust the hook size (where a bigger hook gives you a looser tension). When using a sewing needle, you have to be more mindful of your tension for each stitch. This is particularly important for this blanket, because the surface crochet stitches have to be quite loose, so that a) they don’t distort the blanket and b) they can be crocheted into.

How to Surface Crochet

When surface crocheting, the yarn should always be held at the back of the fabric, while the hook is held at the front.

Always use a larger hook when surface crocheting, to help keep the tension loose and prevent the fabric from warping. For this project, I’ve used a 5.5mm hook (with DK weight yarn, which I would normally use a 4mm hook for).

Throughout the process, hold the hook in your dominant hand and tension the yarn using your non-dominant hand, just like you would for regular crochet.

Start by inserting your hook into the fabric, from front to back, like so.

Pull up a loop of yarn from the back of the fabric.

Insert the hook into the fabric again, from front to back, a short distance from the entry point. This distance will be the length of your stitch- for this project, my stitches were about 0.5-0.75mm long, but you want to try and mimic the length of the chain that you would make with the same hook size/yarn weight.

Draw up another loop of yarn from the back of the fabric, then pull it through. You should now have two loops on your hook.

Pull the top loop through the bottom loop to make a slip stitch. Don’t pull this too tight- keep your tension nice and loose throughout the process, to prevent the fabric from warping.

This is your first surface crochet! As you can see, the ‘v’ of the slip stitch sits on top of the fabric, while, on the back of the fabric, you’ll see something more akin to a running stitch.

Keep making surface crochet stitches, following your desired shape, until you have finished your design.

To fasten off the surface crochet, cut the yarn at the back and pull the loop on the needle through from the front. At this point, you can either join your surface crochet line into a continuous loop (see the instructions in the next sections), or sew in the end.

If you plan to sew in the end at this stage, thread it onto a sewing needle. Insert the threaded needle into the fabric, from front to back, over the top of your last surface crochet stitch to secure it, before sewing in the end on the back.

At first, this technique will feel very counterintuitive, but, once you get into the swing of things, you’ll fly through it! I find it helpful to treat it as if I’m ‘doodling’ on the fabric and ‘drawing’ lines of stitches. Remember that you can always rip out some of the stitching and start again if you’re not happy with the shape of the line/stitch length.

Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop

For this pattern, we’ll be making multiple continuous chains of surface crochet around the perimeter of the blanket. To make a seamless join between the start and end of the surface crochet line, follow these steps:

Finish your surface crochet line when you’re about one stitch’s distance away from the start of your line. Fasten off the surface crochet, leaving a long end.

Take a blunt darning needle and insert it under both legs of the first surface crochet stitch, like so. Pull the yarn end through, so that it runs underneath both legs of that first stitch.

Insert your needle into the fabric, down through the centre of the last surface crochet stitch (i.e. between the the two legs).

Pull the yarn end through to the back of the fabric. You’ve now made a ‘faux’ surface crochet stitch, which joins your first and last stitches and gives your surface crochet line a continuous appearance. Darn in the end on the back of the fabric, and you’re done!

Crocheting into Surface Crochet

For part of this pattern, you will need to crochet into one of your surface crochet paths. This helps to add thickness and texture to the surface crochet vines, an effect that I’ve used in my pattern to differentiate between the thicker wisteria branches and the more delicate rose vines. Crocheting into surface crochet might sound a bit complicated, but it’s really not!

When crocheting into surface crochet, switch back to your regular hook size for your yarn weight (for this project, I’m using a 4mm hook). From now on, we’ll always be working from the front of the fabric, so you can hold the hook and the yarn on the same side of the fabric.

Insert your hook underneath both legs of one of the surface crochet stitches, like so.

Pull through a loop of yarn.

Make a chain, by pulling another loop of yarn through the loop on your hook.

Now you’ve attached the yarn, you can work into the surface crochet. Any time you work into a new surface crochet stitch, make sure to insert your hook under both legs of the stitch. Continue stitching with the working yarn as you work your way around, following the pattern. For this project, the pattern is a simple repeat: (Ch 1, ss) into every stitch.

Once you have worked around the entire line of surface crochet, you can cut and fasten off the yarn.

You can then follow the above instructions on ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’ to join this round of crochet into a continuous loop as well. Instead of working into the surface crochet stitches though, just insert the needle under the round of stitches you have just worked.

Interweaving Surface Crochet Paths

For this project, you’ll also need to know how to interlace your surface crochet paths. In total, we’ll be making 3 rounds of surface crochet: 2 brown, ‘wisteria’ rounds and 1 green, ‘rose’ round.

For the wisteria rounds, because we’ll be crocheting into the surface crochet, this isn’t important. You can just work the second round of crochet over the top of the first round any time the two rounds intersect. For the rose round, you’ll need to do a few extra steps, so that you can give the vine the appearance of ‘weaving’ in and out of the wisteria branches!

To get this woven effect, I like to alternate between the vine going over and under the vine below.

Weaving the Vine Over

To make the vine go over the vine below, just work the surface crochet over the round below. Start by making one stitch that ends just before the vine below.

Make the next stitch by inserting the hook into the fabric on the other side of the vine.

The new stitch will sit over the top of the vine.

Weaving the Vine Under

To make the vine go underneath the wisteria branch, you’ll need to remove the hook. Once you’ve made the last stitch before the vine below, pull the loop to enlarge it a little (so that it doesn’t unravel!), then remove your hook.

Insert your hook underneath the vine below, from left to right (i.e. so that the hook is pointing towards the open loop). I like to switch to a finer hook for this step, just to make it easier to get the hook through the stitching, but this is optional.

Pick up the loop you left open and pull it through to the other side of the vine.

Switch back to your larger hook and continue surface crocheting as usual until you get to the next intersection, where you will be working over the vine.

Again, this is a technique that sounds much more complicated than it is- once you get into the swing of it, you’ll be flying around. The switching of hooks makes it a little bit finicky, but you only need to do that every second intersection.

Mapping Out the Curved Path

Unfortunately, with surface crochet, you can’t really give specific instructions as to where to insert your hook to make the perfect path. Ideally, for these vines, you just want to create organic, wavy lines that go all the way around the perimeter of the blanket.

When I made my blanket, I used the mortar lines as a general guide- I tried to keep my lines largely within the outer bricks to keep the border even (though I did occasionally go a little way past them, just to make it look natural). Try your best to make your curves as gradual as possible- you don’t want any sharp points or corners! Otherwise, I found it easiest to just be guided by the fabric and where you can insert your hook. The first round will be the trickiest, because for the second, you can just be guided by the first to create a rough mirror image.

Ultimately (and unfortunately), this stage of the blanket involves lots of unavoidable, mini decisions. If you’re worried about this, you can always make yourself a guide by using lengths of yarn to map out your surface crochet path beforehand. If you lay the yarn on top of the blanket, you’ll be able to get an idea of what your vines will look like and adjust the waves/position to your liking. You can then use lockable stitch markers/safety pins to mark the peaks and troughs of each wave, to guide you as you crochet.

Pattern

Because of the complexity and discretionary nature of surface crochet, this written pattern is not extensive or overly specific. It should be referred to in conjunction with all of the above information- together all of these elements form a complete tutorial for the surface crochet vines on the Bridgerton House Baby Blanket.

Materials & Tools

• Stylecraft Special DK in the shades Mocha (for the wisteria branches) and Khaki (for the rose vines). For a breakdown of approximate yarn quantities needed for this project as a whole, please see the ‘Master Material List’ on the original Bridgerton House Baby Blanket post.
• 5.5mm hook (for the surface crochet).
• 4mm hook (for working into the surface crochet).
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

Surface Crochet Vines: Written Pattern

Round 1 (surface crochet): Using a 5.5mm hook, join Mocha yarn for surface crochet. Working in surface crochet, make a continuous wavy line around the perimeter of the blanket (see Pattern Note below).

Round 2 (surface crochet): Continue with Mocha yarn and a 5.5mm hook and work another continuous wavy line of surface crochet, creating a rough mirror image of the first line.

Round 3: Using Mocha yarn and a 4mm hook, work into the surface crochet from round 1. (Ch 1, ss) into each stitch around. When you come to the end of the round, cut the yarn and follow the above instructions on ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’, working under Round 3, instead of the surface crochet, to join the round.

Round 4: Using Mocha yarn and a 4mm hook, work into the surface crochet from round 1. (Ch 1, ss) into each stitch around. Whenever you come to an intersection point between the two vines, continue working in pattern over the top of the round below. When you come to the end of the round, cut the yarn and follow the above instructions on ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’, working under Round 4, instead of the surface crochet, to join the round.

Round 5 (surface crochet): Using a 5.5mm hook, join Khaki yarn for surface crochet. Work in surface crochet, making a continuous wavy line around the perimeter of the blanket, weaving the khaki vine over and under the wisteria branches (see instructions above). When you come to the end of the round, cut the yarn and follow the above instructions on ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’.

Pattern Note

For rounds 1-2, you can either complete each round individually, joining a new thread of Mocha yarn and fastening it off after each round (using the above instructions on ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’) OR you can work continuously. If you want to do this, please refer to the following instructions:

• When attaching the Mocha yarn for Round 1, join the yarn at an intersection point (about halfway between what will become a wave peak and trough). If you haven’t mapped out your path and are just freehanding it, I recommend joining the yarn at a centre point of a brick.

• When you come to the end of Round 1, insert your hook for your final surface crochet stitch into the first surface crochet stitch (i.e. between the legs of that first stitch).

• To start Round 2, insert your hook a stitch’s distance away, perpendicular to the path of the round before (to make the intersection point)Work all the way around, then follow the instructions for ‘Seamlessly Joining a Surface Crochet Loop’ to fasten off the yarn.

Final Thoughts

Once you’ve completed all 5 rounds of crochet, you’ll be left with a fully vine-d blanket, ready for all of your appliqué florals and leaves! Like I said, if you’ve never done it before, the surface crochet technique will seem quite counterintuitive and weird, but, once you get used to it, it’s a really useful skill to have under your belt!

As I mentioned in the last post, I’m not super experienced at writing crochet patterns, so please do let me know if you run into any problems with this and I will do my best to help you out! I’ll see you next week for Part 4!

Gemma

xxx

The brick blanket is predominantly worked in linen stitch– a squidgy, easy-to-work stitch that gives the blanket a lovely texture, feel and professional look. The blanket also utilises some colourwork (using yarn bobbins) to achieve a ‘bricks and mortar’ effect-. This post contains a full tutorial for all of the techniques and stitches used in the pattern, so please do not worry if you haven’t done some of the techniques before- it’ll just be a fun challenge!

Once you get the hang of it, the pattern itself is quite straightforward and nicely repetitive (even though the written pattern, I admit, might look a little daunting!). I have also included a photo tutorial to help demonstrate some of the techniques and to help you visualise the slightly trickier elements of the pattern, in the interest of making this pattern as beginner-friendly as possible!

Table of Contents

• Linen Stitch: The Basics
• Using Yarn Bobbins
• Materials & Tools
• Pattern Notes
• Abbreviations
• Written Pattern
• Photo Tutorial

Linen Stitch: The Basics

Linen Stitch, or Moss Stitch, is a simple crochet stitch made using a combination of two basic elements: double crochet and chains. Rows are worked in the following pattern: (Ch 1, skip the next stitch, dc in the next stitch), where, after the first ‘setup’ row, the dc stitches are worked into the ch spaces from the row below. The result is a fabric that is slightly denser than standard double crochet and has a fine, even texture.

I love linen stitch, but it can sometimes be a little bit tricky to maintain a consistent tension when working in it. Luckily, with this blanket, the vertical mortar lines (which are worked in plain double crochet, not linen stitch), act as ‘pillars’ which help to keep the linen stitch bricks even. If you’ve had trouble with linen stitch before, this would be a great project to give it another go!

Using Yarn Bobbins

Yarn bobbins are essentially flat ‘spools’, onto which small amounts of yarn can be wound, to make the colourwork process easier. For this blanket, there are times when you need 5 working threads of Walnut yarn at once, so yarn bobbins are a necessity (unless you fancy buying 5 balls of yarn, which I wouldn’t recommend because a) it would be expensive and probably wasteful, b) you’re much more likely to get into a tangle and c) your project will be super heavy and difficult to manoeuvre while you work on it!). There’s a slight learning curve when it comes to working with yarn bobbins, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it will make your life so much easier!

There’s a couple of things you need to keep in mind when you’re using the yarn bobbins for this pattern:

• Don’t overload the bobbins.

This is a general rule for yarn bobbins! It can be tempting to wind as much yarn as possible onto each bobbin, to minimise the number of ends you’ll have to sew in later. However, overloading yarn bobbins can lead to tangles and distorted fabric (because of the added weight). I found that winding about 3g of yarn onto each bobbin was perfect- it was enough that I wasn’t constantly having to refill them, but not so much that I ran into problems.

• Once you’ve worked with the yarn from the bobbin and re-joined the brick colour, always move the bobbin to the front of your work.

Keeping a consistent bobbin placement routine will make your work look super neat, and keeping the bobbins at the front of the work makes it easier to crochet the next row. Trust me!

Materials & Tools

I listed all of the materials and tools you need to make the complete Bridgerton House Baby Blanket in the previous post, but, if you would just like to make the brick blanket (sans floral embellishments), you’ll need the following equipment:

• 4 x 100g balls Stylecraft Highland Heathers DK in Marmalade.
• 1 x 100g ball Stylecraft Special DK in Walnut.
• 4.00 mm crochet hook.
• 3.50 mm crochet hook (for the starting chain only).
• 5 yarn bobbins.
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

Pattern Notes

• This pattern uses UK crochet terminology.
• Gauge: Each full-sized, linen-stitch brick should measure approx. 13 x 6cm. Worked at the this gauge, the finished blanket will measure approximately 90 x 65cm.
• The blanket is worked back and forth, using a combination of linen stitch (for the bricks and horizontal mortar lines) and double crochet (for the vertical mortar lines). As a general rule of thumb, a dc should be worked before each vertical mortar line and a ch should be worked after each vertical mortar line. Use this rule as a handy checkpoint to keep yourself on track!
• Colourwork techniques are used to create the vertical mortar lines, for which yarn bobbins are used. You will need 5 bobbins, each wound with about 3g of Walnut yarn, for the mortar. Keep the main ball of Walnut to hand for rewinding the bobbins and crocheting the longer, horizontal mortar lines.
• A 3.5mm hook is used only for the initial starting chain, to ensure a neat edge. The rest of the blanket is worked using a 4mm hook.

Abbreviations

• MC = Main colour: Stylecraft Highland Heathers DK in Marmalade.
• CC = Contrast colour: Stylecraft Special DK in Walnut.
• ch = Chain: yarn over and pull through. 
• dc = UK double crochet: insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull through. You will now have two loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through both loops. 
• ss = Slip stitch: yarn over and pull through loop on hook.

Written Pattern

Using MC and 3.5mm hook, ch 178.

Row 1: Change to 4mm hook. Dc in 2nd chain from hook. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in next stitch) 16 times. Join a CC yarn bobbin. Dc in next 2 chains using CC yarn, making sure to crochet over the MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn. Bring CC yarn bobbin to the front of the work, then continue with MC yarn. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in next stitch) 17 times with MC yarn. *Join new CC yarn bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in next stitch) 17 times* to end.

Rows 2-16: Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 16 times. *Rejoin CC yarn from row below, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* to end.

Cut MC and all CC bobbins, leaving ends to darn in later. Attach main ball of CC.

Rows 17-18: *Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space* to end.

Cut CC, join MC.

**Rows 19-34: Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 7 times, then *Join CC bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* 4 times. Join CC bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 8 times.

Cut MC and all CC bobbins, leaving ends to darn in later. Attach main ball of CC.

Rows 35-36: *Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space* to end.

Cut CC, join MC.

Rows 37-52: Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 16 times. *Join CC bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* to end.***

Repeat from ** to *** 5 more times, working the last 2 rows of the blanket as follows:

Rows 231-232: Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 16 times. *Join CC bobbin, (ss in first stitch, dc in next) with CC, working over MC yarn. Join MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* to end.***

Cut all yarns and darn in all ends. Steam gently before adding surface crochet details and appliqué embellishments.

Photo Tutorial

This photo tutorial is designed to be used in conjunction with the written pattern above. Hopefully, it will help to illustrate some of the techniques and help you to visualise the brick pattern (which will make the pattern feel much more intuitive!).

First, you need to make the starting chain. Using a 3.5mm hook and the Marmalade yarn, ch 178. Using a slightly smaller hook for the starting chain will help to keep the bottom edge of the blanket neat and uniform (typically, I use a larger hook to form my starting chains, but, when working in linen stitch, I like to use a smaller hook).

Switch to a 4mm hook and work 1 dc into the 2nd chain from the hook. This counts as one (ch 1, dc) in the linen stitch pattern repeat.

*Ch 1, skip next stitch, dc into next stitch* 16 times. Alongside the initial (ch 1, dc), that gives a total of 17 times, which equals one brick. All of the full-sized bricks throughout this pattern are made up of 17 repeats (or 34 stitches), like this.

When you get to the final stitch in the first brick, pull through Walnut yarn (from a yarn bobbin), instead of Marmalade, to join the new colour. This makes for a neat colour change.

Using Walnut yarn, dc into the next 2 stitches, making sure to carry the Marmalade yarn. To do this, lie the Marmalade yarn along the top of the work and crochet over it with the Walnut yarn. This will conceal the Marmalade yarn, while ensuring it is in the right position to be picked back up for the next brick. Remember that the vertical mortar stripes are not worked in linen stitch- they are worked in standard dc.

Pull the Marmalade yarn through at the end of the 2nd dc, to rejoin the brick colour. Don’t forget to bring the Walnut yarn bobbin to the front of the work at this point- this will make the next row easier to crochet and doing this every time will make the blanket look super neat and consistent.

Set up another linen stitch brick. *Ch 1, skip next stitch, dc into next stitch* 17 times.

Make the vertical mortar line as before. Join another bobbin of Walnut yarn in the final dc of the previous brick and dc in the next 2 stitches, carrying the Marmalade yarn so that you can seamlessly rejoin it for the next brick.

Repeat the brick + mortar pattern to the end of the row. You should end up with 5 full-sized ‘bricks’, separated by 4 vertical mortar lines.

Continue in the 5-brick pattern for 15 more rows. Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 16 times. *Rejoin Walnut yarn from row below, dc 2, working over Marmalade yarn. Rejoin Marmalade yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* to end.

Once the first brick row is finished, cut all the working yarns, leaving the ends to sew in later. That includes the Marmalade yarn and all 4 Walnut strands! You can either sew the ends in as you go along, or be like me and leave them all to sew in in one (hellish) sitting. The choice is yours.

Join the main ball of Walnut yarn and work in linen stitch for 2 rows. *Ch 1, skip next stitch, dc into next stitch* to the end of the row. Turn and repeat. This will act as the first horizontal mortar stripe.

Start setting up the first offset brick row. For the next row of bricks, you’ll be working in the following pattern: 1 half brick, 4 whole bricks, 1 half brick. To make the first brick, Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 7 times (this gives an 8-repeat brick, which is just under half as wide as the regular, 17-repeat brick).

Add the first vertical mortar line after the half brick. Do this in exactly the same way as you did in the regular brick row, joining one of the Walnut bobbins for the colour change.

Finish the offset brick row. Work 4 regular, 17-repeat bricks, with mortar in between, then finish off the row with another 8-repeat brick. You should have 2 half bricks, 4 whole bricks and 5 vertical mortar stripes.

Complete 15 more rows in the offset brick pattern. Ch 1, turn and dc in next ch space. (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 7 times, then *Join CC bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 17 times* 4 times. Join CC bobbin, dc 2 with CC, working over MC yarn. Rejoin MC yarn, bring bobbin to front of work, then (Ch 1, skip one stitch, dc in ch space) 8 times.

Cut all the working yarns, join the main ball of Walnut yarn and work in linen stitch for 2 rows. *Ch 1, skip next stitch, dc into next stitch* to the end of the row. Turn and repeat. This will act as the second horizontal mortar stripe, made in exactly the same way as the first.

Work in pattern, alternating between the regular, 5-brick pattern and the offset brick pattern, until you have 13 rows of bricks in total. Each row of bricks is 16 rows of crochet deep. You should begin and end with a row of the regular, 5-brick pattern. Pause before completing the final 2 rows of the blanket.

Work the final 2 rows of the blanket. When crocheting the vertical mortar stripes on the final 2 rows, instead of working 2 dc as usual, ss into the first stitch, then dc into the second. Do this for each vertical mortar stripe, on both rows. This will give you a straighter edge along the top of your blanket.

Cut all working yarns and weave in any ends. Give the blanket a gentle steam to help it lie flat before attaching any embellishments/decorations. Because the yarn I’ve used is acrylic, it won’t ‘block’ the same way a natural fibre was, but it will loosen out ever so slightly with gentle steaming. Just be careful not to over-steam the blanket, or you might end up with a too-floppy blanket (which, unfortunately, there’s no way back from!).

Once you’ve done all that, you’ll be left with a lovely, brick-pattern blanket that you can decorate however you like- whether that’s in the same, Bridgerton style as mine, or something different entirely!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial- I’m not super experienced at writing crochet patterns, so please do let me know if you run into any problems with this and I will do my best to help you out! I’ll see you next time for Part 3!

Gemma

xxx

HAPPY BRIDGERTON SEASON 3 (PART 1) RELEASE DAY!!!!!!

Phew, now that’s out the way- it’s time to celebrate! Bridgerton Watch Party Week may be over, but, evidently, my thoughts of the show never end. This post is the first in another Bridgerton-inspired series, which will be coming out in weekly instalments (interspersed with other, non-Bridgerton posts, though- so please don’t be put off if Bridgerton isn’t really your thing!). Over the next 5 weeks, I’ll be sharing my new, original (and free!) crochet pattern, inspired by Bridgerton. This is my…

🌸🧱BRIDGERTON HOUSE BABY BLANKET🧱🌸

This pattern has been 2 whole years in the making (yep, you read that right. Can you tell I’m somewhat of a perfectionist?). One of the things I love most about Bridgerton is the aesthetic- the effort and thought that goes into the costuming, the settings and the symbolism just makes my heart so happy. This pattern is a direct consequence of that love- it’s me, letting myself be inspired by something that genuinely brings me joy and creating something I’m truly, truly proud of. I can’t wait to share it with you.

In this post, I’ll be introducing you to the blanket and giving you a little bit of backstory on the design process, as well as a roadmap for how the rollout of this pattern will look. I’ve decided to split the pattern up into several posts, to ensure that I can give all of the elements enough attention and consideration (without overwhelming everyone with an insanely long post). Once all of the parts are out, I’ll release the pattern on Ravelry, so that you can save it/link your own projects to it more easily!

Also: this blanket is actually a super versatile pattern- even if you’re not a die-hard Bridgerton fan like me, you can still use the basic brick blanket pattern as a basis for all manner of projects and baby blankets. The possibilities are endless!

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Table of Contents

• Inspiration
• The Design Process
• Trialling Techniques
  • The Brick Blanket
  • The Flowers
  • The Vines
• Putting It All Together
• Master Material List
• Pattern Release Roadmap

Inspiration

As I’m sure you can tell from the name, this blanket is inspired by Bridgerton House, one of the buildings in the show and, unsurprisingly, the home of the titular family. Its deep, red brick stands out among the other, more neutral, stone buildings of the ‘ton’, and purple wisteria runs along the facade. The front courtyard is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, which is decorated with rose bushes that add little splashes of pink, here and there. The building itself is actually Ranger’s House, in London- though, in real life (sadly), the wisteria and roses are nowhere to be seen.

For the blanket, I opted to include three of the most iconic elements of the house: the red bricks, the purple wisteria and the pink roses. One of the most interesting things about Bridgerton is how it blends the regency and modern eras, so I really wanted the blanket to reflect that dichotomy- to seem ornate and opulent, but also simple and elegant- almost minimal.

The Design Process

I first started dreaming about this blanket when I was struggling through some withdrawal symptoms after finishing Season 2. I have a little book where I jot down little notes or sketches of ideas I have for crochet projects and I drew this (super precise and accurate) sketch in the throes of my Bridgerton-induced fever:

I spent a bit of time muddling around with the general concept- trying out different arrangements, designs and elements that I could try to incorporate, until I had a clearer idea of what I really wanted to achieve with this blanket. I then created a slightly more detailed sketch on Procreate, which is an iPad drawing app:

I ended up with this design, which I think really encompassed everything I had hoped to achieve- the blanket itself is fairly simple and minimal, but the flowers and twisting branches add that sense of over-the-top, floral opulence.

Sketching my design like this also meant that I could easily try out different arrangements of the elements- I wanted the wisteria to be pointing downwards (because, you know, gravity), but I also wanted it to go right around the perimeter of the blanket. By fiddling around with my sketch on Procreate, I could try out different options super easily, until I finally came to this half-and-half design, where the top half of the blanket is always pointing downwards. I did end up deviating from the design ever so slightly, here and there, by adding wisteria leaves and positioning the roses in clusters, but, otherwise, I stayed pretty true to my original idea!

Trialling Techniques

Ah, finally. We come to the bit of this project that took me the longest (most of the 2 years, to be exact). Trialling the techniques to work out the pattern for this blanket- to turn my sketch into a reality!

The Brick Blanket

I decided pretty early on that I would create the brick blanket first, then crochet some wisteria and rose embellishments separately to appliqué onto that blanket. Truthfully, I expected the flowers to be the trickiest part of this, but, no, no- it was the bricks!

I started by deciding on what stitch to use for the bricks. I wanted something that had a little bit of texture (because bricks are not perfectly smooth), but also something that looked professional and neat. After a lot of sampling, I settled on using linen stitch (sometimes called moss stitch), which produces a lovely texture and feel- it’s soft, squishy and looks really neat. It’s also super easy to work up, so you can really get into a mindless, crochet rhythm (my favourite thing).

Initially, I had planned to make the bricks separately and crochet them together with a darker yarn (acting as the ‘mortar’) but, ultimately, I just wasn’t happy with the end result. I desperately wanted to leave the edges of the blanket as they were, without a border, for a more minimal, modern vibe, but the edges weren’t smooth enough for that. I tried so many things to get around this, but it just wasn’t working for me, so I had to go back to the drawing board. Eventually, I worked out a way, using colourwork techniques, to make the whole blanket in one piece, bricks and mortar together, which gave perfectly straight, neat sides. It was so perfect (and so much easier), I almost couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it in the first place! Not only does this method make for much neater edges, it also drastically reduces the amount of sewing required for this blanket (which is a huge win, by my standards!).

The Flowers

As I mentioned, I was pretty sure that developing the patterns for the flowers would be a tricky undertaking. Truthfully, it was a challenge, but, after the whole brick saga, it honestly felt pretty straightforward! After (quite a lot) of samples and lots of trialling different hook sizes and petal numbers and colour combinations, I ended up with two different sizes of both the wisteria fronds and the roses. Admittedly, the wisteria isn’t anywhere near anatomically correct (my apologies to all of the botanists and wisteria-worshippers out there), but I think it still gives a pretty good impression of it!

I did also want to include some greenery here and there, so I moved on to trying to create some leaves for each of my flowers. Again, this took a bit of trial and error- the rose leaves were pretty straight forward, but the wisteria leaves took a bit more work. In the end, I worked out a way to crochet the whole wisteria flower, leaves and all, as one piece, which makes sewing the blanket together that little bit easier (a big win)! The rose leaves, on the other hand, did have to be made separately, but I suppose you can’t win them all.

The Vines

Another thing I had to figure out was how to make the vines (is it accurate to call these vines? Or is that just for grapes? Gah- my plant knowledge is severely lacking)- I wanted to include both the woody, twisty, branches of the wisteria plants and the green stems of the roses weaving all around the perimeter of the blanket . After some research (and more testing), I opted to use a technique called surface crochet for this. This is a great technique that produces a similar result to the embroidery technique ‘chain stitch’, but you can use yarn straight from the ball, instead of having to cut a certain length (and recut, when you inevitably either run out or get into a major tangle).

To add even more dimension, I opted to crochet into the surface crochet for my wisteria branches. This allowed me to make the branches thicker, providing some differentiation between the two ‘vines’, and to add some texture to the branches, to make them a little bit more realistic (though I do, of course, use that term very loosely).

Putting It All Together

After months of testing, trialling and researching, I was finally ready to make my blanket. It came out… perfectly. As in, I was kind of amazed at how similar it looks to my design- I’m SO proud of it! Usually with crafting, you’ll have an idea in your head of how something will look and it will turn out completely different- not bad, just different. This blanket looks exactly like the design I had in my head and I’m still kind of baffled by that. Honestly though, for 2 years of work, it probably should, so I won’t complain.

All in all, the final blanket measures approximately 90cm x 65cm. I designed it as a baby blanket, but you could use it as a lap blanket, or perhaps even a wall hanging (if that’s your vibe), instead.

Master Material List

While I will include a list of everything you need to make each stage of the Bridgerton House Blanket in their individual posts, I wanted to include a master post of materials and notions here as well.

To make this blanket, you will need:

• 4x100g balls Stylecraft Highland Heathers DK in the shade Marmalade.
• 1x100g ball of Stylecraft Special DK in the shade Walnut.
• Small amounts of Stylecraft Special DK in the shades: Khaki, Mocha, Pale Rose, Parma Violet, Pistachio, Powder Pink, Raspberry and Wisteria.*
• Crochet hooks (2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm, 5.0mm).**
• 5x yarn bobbins.
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.

For this blanket, I’ve used Stylecraft yarn. Stylecraft is always my (acrylic) yarn of choice- it’s so soft and easy to work with, plus it comes in a great range of colours! You can use a different DK weight yarn, if you prefer, though, for all of the embellishments. I would recommend using the Stylecraft Highland Heathers (specifically in the shade Marmalade) for the main blanket though, because it is the perfect brick-red shade and quite a unique yarn!

* In the interest of being as informative as possible, I did actually work out exactly how much of each of each colour you’ll need for this project, so you can work out if any scraps you may have lying around are large enough. If you are a little under the listed quantities, I would recommend seeing how far you can get with what you have, before buying another ball. Because each element is so small, you don’t need to worry about dye lots/changing colours, so you can always buy more yarn later on, if needed!

** I can only apologise for the ridiculous number of different hook sizes- a number of the elements require multiple different sizes in order to come together properly, so it just kind of happened. I have this set of crochet hooks, which includes every hook size needed for this project. The hooks themselves are really good quality (and ergonomic!), so it’s a great option for this project (or just, you know, in general).

Pattern Release Roadmap

Finally, then, after 2 whole years, this pattern is ready to be shared! As I mentioned, I’ll be releasing it in weekly instalments. I’ll be coming back to this ‘master post’ as each instalments is released, to link in the new posts and make it super easy for you to find all of the sections). Without further ado, though, here’s the roadmap (along with some little sneak peaks of what each post will encompass), so that you can stay in the loop:

• Week 1: Making the Brick Blanket

Linen stitch, main blanket pattern & colourwork using yarn bobbins.

• Week 2: Using Surface Crochet to Add the Vines

Surface crochet, working into surface crochet & interlacing surface crochet paths.

• Week 3: Making the Rose Pieces

Making large and small roses, working with a fine hook & making rose leaves.

• Week 4: Making the Wisteria Pieces

Crocheting a spiral of petals around a central chain & making attached leaves.

• Week 5: Assembly

Positioning, sewing on the elements & child safety tips.

And that’s it! As I mentioned, once all 5 instalments have been released, I will be creating a pattern page for this project on Ravelry, so that you can save it for later, or link your own projects to it.

UPDATE: 

This pattern is now on Ravelry! You can find it here.

I hope you’re as excited as I am for the next 5 weeks- I’ll see you back here soon!

Gemma

xxx