Tag-Archive for » fringed shawl «

Aug

Yesterday I received a lovely comment from Tracey about the fringed shawl that I recently made and also a query about the pattern. So it struck me that maybe other people are also having the same problem.

The pattern is from Issue 4 of The Art of Crochet partworks. Now the pattern itself is easy but the really hard part is keeping the diamonds evenly matched and spaced out as you increase. I must admit I found it very difficult at first, just couldn’t get my head round it. I reckon I must’ve ripped back at least a dozen times before it finally clicked. It took an awful lot of staring at the photo illustrations in the pattern and lots of counting and scribbling but this is what I did.

Have another look at the close up picture of the pattern detail below and see if you can follow where I’m going

There are 3 rows to the diamond. Notice that when you complete the row that ends the top of the diamond, the following row will commence the bottom of the next set of diamonds. With me so far? Cool cool

Now, the open weave pattern of 5ch, 1 dc in next 5ch arch is what separates the diamonds. If you notice, when you place the bottom of the diamond it is exactly 2 sets of open weave from the top of the diamond on the previous row. Using this you should be able to work out where to start placing the bottom of the diamonds as you increase at the sides.

So, going back to the original pattern instructions in the part work. The 8th row and 9th row would finish the diamonds following the pattern as set. The next set of diamonds would start on the 10th row and the open weave would be repeated as follows. 5ch, 1dc in 2 ch sp, (5ch, 1 dc in next 5ch arch) 5 times. I then placed the diamonds as set in the pattern.

The next set would start on row 13. This time I would start the row as above but work the open weave 4 times. The set after would start in row 16, repeat open weave 3 times. Row 19 twice, then row 22, once. Then start again at 5 times.

I found that this worked for me and all the diamonds matched up perfectly.

I hope I’ve explained that properly as I’m pretty lousy at written instructions.

Hope that helps anybody who’s stuck with this out there. If not you can always leave me a message on the blog and I’ll try to explain myself better directly in a personal email.

Category: Crochet, The Art of Crochet Tags: crochet, fringed shawl, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Jul

Fringed Shawl

Ruby

Well I’ve finished crocheting my first shawl. In my previous post I was hoping to have it finished by the weekend. Well, I finished it on Wednesday evening. Spent yesterday blocking it and adding the tassels.

The pattern came from Issue 4 of The Art of Crochet. They used a designer yarn, as in the majority of the patterns in the part work. The original pattern was done in Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK. At £4 for a 50g ball it’s a bit out of my price range for this particular project. I decided to look for a substitute yarn and whilst in my local Hobbycraft, I found some Sirdar Juicy DK. Better still, it was half price

I picked a nice pale blue colour called Foam. It’s a lovely soft yarn, 80% bamboo and 20% cotton, just right for a summer project. The only thing I did find was that the yarn was extremely splitty.

Here’s a photo I took, it’s a little bit blurry as I was trying to focus on the yarn on the hook, but I think you can see what I mean.

The pattern itself is fairly easy once you get into the rhythm. It’s a triangular shawl featuring an open weave pattern with diamonds. It does take some concentration to work the diamonds as you increase. I did have to unravel it a few times as I missed the spots to place the diamonds. Here’s a piccie of the shawl taken at the beginning of the month as a WIP (work in progress)

Here you can see a close up of the pattern detail.

So 3 weeks and 10 1/2 balls later here is the final finished project modeled by yours truly.

Perfect as a cover up for those cooler summer nights.

So what’s my next project??? Well, I’ve already made a start on it. I’m just waiting for the rest of the wool to turn up from the US. Should be here sometime today as yesterday I paid the custom charges.

Wanna know more? OK. This is it.

It’s a lovely rug made in a pom pom style yarn. When I showed it to my daughter LJ, she fell in love with it. So I’m making it for her to brighten up her room for when she starts Uni.

Category: Crochet, The Art of Crochet Tags: crochet, fringed shawl, sirdar juicy dk, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Jul

The Art Of Crochet & The Vintage Style Throw

Ruby

As you now know my new best friends are my crochet hook and yarn I’ve subscribed to The Art of Crochet and currently I’ve received up to Issue 13. With each issue you get 3 patterns for making projects for around the house, designer style garments and bits and pieces. You also get instructions and yarn to crochet a square to make this vintage style throw. As you can see there’s a different colour and pattern for each square.

You get to learn techniques, different stitches and there’s also a Q & A section. At £2.99 a weekly issue it does work out expensive in the long run, but then I don’t really mind too much and I’ve not subscribed to a part work for years. Besides, I’ve got to spend George’s money on something

So how’s the throw coming along? Well, at the moment I’ve done 9 squares. I still have 4 to do but I’ve got a work in progress (WIP) at the moment that I’m about 85% of the way through. It’s a shawl from Issue 4 that I’m making for myself. So I want to get that finished first.

Wanna have a peek?? Sure?? Oh OK, here it is.

Here’s a close up of the pattern. As you see it is open weaved with a diamond pattern.

Lovely to wear on a summer’s evening at the BBQ with a strappy dress. So, back to the throw, yes …… well, I think I’ll talk about that in my next post, with pictures and comments.