Search This Blog

Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday's How To: Free Sunburst Flower Crochet Pattern

On Wednesday in my ramblings about the custom pearl choker I just finished, I promised you the pattern for the little flowers I came up with as a side project.  Today, I deliver!  These work up in just a few minutes (only 2 rounds of crochet) and you could use them as appliques and on headbands and hairclips and in jewelry and all kinds of things.  Enjoy!

Little Sunburst Flowers

Materials:
I used Aunt Lydia's Classic Size 10 crochet thread, but almost anything will do
Crochet hook appropriate to yarn weight

Gauge:
 Gauge doesn't really matter, but if there's a specific size you want, try making one and then go up or down a hook size or two to make it bigger or smaller.

Stitch Explanation: 

Tr3tog- Treble (triple) crochet 3 together- *Yarn over twice, insert hook into ring, yarn over, draw up loop.  [Yarn over, draw through 2 loops] twice*  Repeat 2 more times.  Yarn over, draw through all 6 loops on the hook.  Cluster made.
Tr2tog- Same as above but repeat only 1 time instead of 2.

Instructions:
Ch 8.  Sl st in 1st ch to form ring

Round 1: Sc in ring, ch 3; tr2tog (counts as first cluster) in ring, ch 3.  *tr3tog, ch 3* 7 times (8 clusters in all).  Sl st in top of 1st cluster.
Round 2: [*Sc, 3 dc, sc* in next ch 3 sp] 8 times.  Sl st in 1st sc, fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Note:  For an even smaller flower, I used only 6 chains for the starting ring, double crochets instead of treble crochets in the clusters, and I only made 6 clusters.

Abbreviations:
ch= chain
sc= single crochet
dc= double crochet
tr= treble (triple) crochet
sl st= slip stitch



That's it!  I love how easy they are.  This pattern is ClockQuirks' intellectual property so please give credit if you blog about it, but you may do what you like with the finished product, including sell them.  If you decide to try it, I would love for you to post a link to your blog or a picture in the comments!

Happy hooking, everyone!  May your yarn stash be heavy and your crochet hook light.  ~Ellie, Maitresse de Crochet

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Klondike Krafts - Hawkeye's Bow

Greetings, CQers young and old!  On Thursdays the blog is invaded by Klondike, our resident advocate for young crafters.  Here is a project he came up with himself for all you superhero fans.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that Marvel's the Avengers is kind of a popular movie right now.  We picked up our copy of the DVD+BluRay combo pack on Tuesday and have watched it twice already.  Klondike is a HUGE fan of the movie and it's characters and while he has an Iron Man helmet and a Captain America shield, he doesn't have any of Hawkeye's awesome archery equipment.  To remedy this, he pulled out his favorite craft supply, a pizza box lid, and started crafting.  Here's what you'll need:

Materials:
Yarn
Pizza box lid or other cardboard (you could also use foam core board)
Scissors
Pencil
Stuff to decorate it with, like markers or paint
A grown up



Instructions:

1. Sketch out the shape of your bow with the pencil.  You'll need to make each end wide enough that you can cut a slit in it for the yarn.  We found that sketching corner to corner gave us the most room.  We also Googled images from the movie as a guide.
 2.With an adult's supervision, cut out the bow.  We used our kitchen scissors because they're much sturdier than our "regular" scissors.

3.  Cut a slit at each end for the "bowstring" (yarn).  Tie a loop at the end of the yarn and slip it over the end and down into the slit.  Do the same at the other end, measuring your yarn carefully so that it will be taught when you're done without bending your bow (which is not the sturdiest).
4. Now to decorate!  Klondike was home sick from school this day and by the time he got it all finished, he was ready to lay down again and not feeling like decorating.  Maybe tomorrow!



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

In the Works: Lady Sara's Pearls

Recently I got a message on Etsy from a lovely lady named Sara who asked if I could crochet a choker for a costume she was making for Halloween based on this picture:

According to my client, this is from the fireplace episode of Dr. Who.

The opportunity was too good to pass up.  After a few messages back and forth about price point and preferences (we agreed that something like this deserved Swarovski crystal pearls), I dove in, working on the design.  Part of doing a project like this is translating the craft of the original (which I believe to be bobbin lace) to my craft (crochet, of course).  To do that, I had to break down the different elements to capture the essence of the original.  On looking closely at the necklace, I decided 3 things were absolutely necessary:
Le collier en question in close up
1. The beads
2. The scallops (which would be slightly openwork and which I gauged would need to be made in 3 tiers)
3. The solid rows at the top to anchor it all

The scallops, not surprisingly, were what required the most time from a design standpoint.  I tried all kinds of patterns.  The scale and the dimensions took some tinkering; a lot of what I tried was just too big, and most of them had scallops that were complete half circles.  I realized that the drop pearls wouldn't have the necessary support if the scallop was too deep.  Here are some of my attempts:
3 times was not a charm.  These are the ones I didn't just unravel and start over.  Swatches like these inspire future projects.
The top attempt was both too big and too deeply scalloped.  The bottom left was too deeply scalloped and there weren't enough rows in the scallops to do the swags of pearls between the drops properly.  The one in the bottom right corner was so overcrowded that it practically wrapped around itself.  It is fairly close to what I ended up doing, but it still wasn't quite right.  Here's what I finally came up with:
I knew I'd finally found the right combination and was ready to go into production.  Once I knew what I was doing, the crochet part went quickly.  Adding the pearls one section at a time took longer, but it was all worth it when I saw the finished result:
Et Voila!

Sadly, this is the only photo I took of the finished product.  A word of advice to fellow artists: take good pictures of your work, no matter how late at night you finished!  Those photos are your portfolio and once you've sent the piece out into the world, they're all you have to show for it!  Luckily, I do take careful notes on my original patterns and I can recreate this necklace with relative ease.  I'm already working on one in candlelight; I'll take plenty of pictures of that one!

In an interesting example of, as Robert Frost would say, "how way leads on to way", one of my failed attempts led to an interesting side project.  This swatch, from a vintage lace pattern, got me thinking:

I soon turned the scallop part of the lace into a a complete flower:
The green flower had more stitches in the ring that starts the pattern; the purple is a later refinement that I like better.
I made several in different sizes and tried stitching them together:
I realize now I took the picture of the wrong side.  On the front you can't see where the pieces are stitched together.
I have an as-yet unrealized intention of turning this concept into a bracelet (I've actually made one, but it still doesn't really look like the one in my head), but I think this one will end up being an applique or maybe even a statement necklace on chain (Bonnie's suggestion).

Have you had any memorable projects that took some hammering out?  Any design that led to a completely separate project or to a fun variation?  Leave us a comment!  Pictures are always welcome.

Vive l'artiste!  ~Ellie, Maitresse de Crochet

P.S.  On Friday, mon amis, I will post the pattern for these little flowers so that you fellow crocheters can try them out yourself.  Happy hooking!  ~E.S.