Category: Crochet Adventures

Cute & easy Easter crochet ideas: Little Chicks & Mini Baskets

Looking for easy Easter crochet ideas? These adorable chicks and mini baskets are quick to make and perfect for gifts or decorations.

Are you looking for a cute and easy Easter decoration? Or a fun way to wrap a small gift?

Recently, I came across some adorable crochet patterns by Elke Eder that I just had to try: Sweet Little Chicks and Cute Little Baskets.

I found them as a bundle on Crazypatterns.net, but they’re also available separately there or on Ravelry.

Both patterns are quick and easy to make.
The instructions are very detailed and easy to follow. They include plenty of helpful photos covering stitches, assembly, and decorative details.

Besides basic stitches, both patterns use a special stitch called “Doppelmasche”, which is explained in a clear and easy-to-follow way.

Overall, the patterns are easy to follow and very beginner-friendly. That said, having a bit of experience with amigurumi is definitely helpful for making the little chicks.

The patterns are available in English (US terms) and German. You’ll find the pattern links at the end of this post.

A sweet little chick and matching basket

Sweet Little Chicks

The Sweet Little Chicks are about 5 cm tall and have simple, slightly triangular bodies. Their bright colours make them look really cheerful.

The pattern includes various suggestions for colour placement – from solid colours to two-tone or striped designs – as well as ideas for embroidery. Of course, there are no limits to your imagination, so you can easily get creative with your own variations.

So far, I’ve made three of the designs from the pattern. I especially like the ones with embroidered details. As I’m not very good at embroidery, I’ve only tried it on one of them so far.

The tiny combs and beaks are a bit fiddly to make and do require some patience – especially when it comes to attaching the beaks. But it’s absolutely worth the effort, as those little details really bring the chicks to life.

For the eyes, I decided to use small googly eyes instead of crocheting them, which gives them a slightly playful look that I really like.

The three chicks

Cute Little Baskets

The tiny baskets from the second pattern are perfect for wrapping small gifts and also make lovely Easter table decorations.

This pattern also comes with several ideas for decorations, such as small flowers, butterflies, and embroidery details.

The baskets are made in two parts: an inner and an outer layer. Everything is explained and illustrated very clearly. While I was working on mine, I was briefly worried that it might not stand up properly – but that turned out to be completely unfounded. The finished basket is nice and sturdy and stands upright without any problems.

So far, I’ve only made one basket, but I’ll definitely be making more!

The tiny basket

My yarn and colours

For my projects, I used various brands of cotton yarn from my stash:

  • Schachenmayr Catania
  • Schoeller + Stahl Limone
  • Woll Butt Camilla (a German Brand)

All are 100% Cotton with 125 m / 50 g

My colours used for chicks and baskets

I used the hook sizes recommended in the pattern (2.5 mm and 3.0 mm). However, since I noticed that my Doppelmasche-stitches turned out a bit looser than my single crochet stitches, I switched to a 2.25 mm hook for that part.

Pattern links

If you’d like to try them yourself, you can find the patterns here:

Sweet Little Chicks on Ravelry

Cute Baskets for tealight and other little things on Ravelry

Bundle Sweet Little Chicks and Cute Little Baskets on Crazypatterns.net

All in all, I really enjoyed working with these patterns. They’re quick, versatile, and perfect for adding a small handmade touch to Easter – whether as decoration or for little gifts. I’m really happy with how my chicks and basket turned out, and I’ll definitely be making a few more soon.

Have a lovely time 🐣

Current projects: Sophie Scarf and Nordic Shawl

A small knitting project and a crochet shawl: my progress on a Sophie Scarf inspired knit and the Nordic Shawl, a crochet project.

I know it has been very quiet here in recent weeks. I have been busy revising some older posts. In addition, I have reworked and redesigned pages from my „Good to know” section:

Tunisian Crochet – The Basics

Basic Tunisian Crochet Stitches

Filet Crochet – The Basics

That took quite a lot of time, so there was little time left for crochet or knitting. At the moment, I only have two small projects on my needles and hooks.

A Sophie Scarf inspired knitting project

My knitting project is sort of a Sophie Scarf. It is nearly finished and only needs washing and blocking.

I say “sort of” because I’m not entirely sure whether my version actually follows the Sophie Scarf instructions.

Last year, I bought the pattern for the Sophie Shawl and some beautiful wool to go with it.

The Sophie Shawl and the smaller version, the Sophie Scarf, seem to be everywhere at the moment. I like the simplicity of the design! But I am afraid it is not as easy to knit as it looks. At least I quickly realised that I probably needed a bit more practice.

I had never knitted an I-cord edge before. Once you get the technique, it is surprisingly easy. My edge itself turned out very well. Only the stitches directly after the edge looked a bit slouchy. Getting the tension right still seems to be one of my biggest problems in knitting! Besides, the increases and decreases that are needed to shape the shawl were very clearly visible. I didn’t like it at all.

So I decided to try making a small scarf first. I followed the instructions for the larger shawl. I only re-arranged the spacing for the increases and decreases at the sides as I thought best. So I am not sure whether it is exactly what is instructed for the Sophie scarf.

After several attempts, I am now reasonably satisfied with the result.

Sophie Shawl and Sophie Scarf are both designed by PetiteKnit and available on Ravelry.

Besides knitting I have also a crochet project on the go.

The Nordic Shawl – A crochet pattern

The Nordic Shawl by Lucia Luciano is my current crochet project. I spotted it on Ravelry shortly after the pattern was released last year.

The Nordic Shawl is also a rather minimalist design and has an elongated, flat triangular shape. The pattern looks different on the front and back and is very attractive on both sides.

Here too, it took me several attempts. This time, however, it was the yarn that caused me to start over three times. I initially wanted to use yarn from my stash, but in the end I ordered the original yarn used in the pattern. And I’m happy with it! It is Cotton Merino from Katia Concept. My colour is 132 – Whitish green. The yarn is so soft and fluffy. It is a pleasure to work with. I am using a 6 mm hook.

For the first few rows, Lucia’s video was very helpful and the Brioche stitch became clear to me.

But I have to admit, when working the first rows, I tended to skip a stitch at the beginning or end of a row. I had to count carefully. The different stitch counts in the front and back rows made it difficult for me. But I got the hang of it! Now it works without any problems. I only mark the first stitch of a row. That makes counting easier for me.

My progress on the shawl is rather slow, though. But winter is over here anyway. So there’s no rush. I’m simply enjoying the process.

Falling for Crochet – My Autumn-Inspired Makes

Autumn has finally arrived, and nature is showing its most beautiful colours! 🍂 Inspired by the golden leaves outside, I crocheted some colourful decorations for my home – easy, fun and perfect for cosy autumn days.

Last updated on January 15, 2026

Autumn has finally arrived in Germany. The temperatures have dropped, days get shorter and the trees have coloured their leaves in shades of yellow, orange and red.

I love this time of the year!

The beautiful colours of nature just have inspired me to make some autumn decorations. Just to bring a bit of autumn indoors.

At first I had the idea to browse Ravelry and look for some patterns there. Maybe little leaves or pumpkins. But then I remembered a book that I got a while ago: Crochet Collage Garden by Chris Norringon.

Do you know her work? She creates beautiful collages of flowers and leaves – all in crochet. You can find her under the name @chris.made.this on Instagram.

In 2023 she published a book with some of her beautiful collages. Of course there are corresponding patterns for each flower, each stem and each leaf. Both in written instructions and as a crochet diagram.

I assume the book is available in many places.

I bought my version – the Kindle edition – on Amazon.

As you may know, I prefer to work according to English pattern. So of course I got the English version. But there is also a German translation available, as well as many other languages.

As I said, I got this book a while ago. And although I have leafed through it many times, I have never found the time to work through it. Until now!

I didn’t even remember how many different leaves are in it!

Finally, I managed to crochet some of them!

My collection of leaves

Here’s an overview of the patterns I’ve made so far. However, there are still many in the book that are waiting to be reworked.

All of these leaves were quick and easy to make. However, I had to be quite careful: Since Chris lives in the UK, the book is written in UK terms. Personally, I’m more used to US terms. Therefore, I often had to think twice before crocheting a stitch. The diagrams were really helpful to me!

My yarn and colours

I used some yarn from my stash. A mixture of Limone from Schneller + Stahl and Catania from Schachenmayr. Both are 100 % mercerised cotton and have a yardage of 125 m / 50 g. I used a 2.5 mm hook for both.

A few autumnal impressions

Have you ever tried crocheting leaves or autumn decorations? I’d love to see your creations – feel free to share them in the comments or tag me on Instagram!

Have a lovely time 💕

Ein kleiner Nachtrag in meiner Muttersprache:

Der Herbst ist endlich da – und ich liebe diese gemütliche Jahreszeit! 🍂 Die bunten Blätter draußen haben mich inspiriert, ein paar kleine Häkelblätter und Dekorationen für mein Zuhause zu machen. Schnell gemacht, farbenfroh und einfach herbstlich schön – perfekt, um ein bisschen Gemütlichkeit ins Wohnzimmer zu zaubern. Das Buch, aus dem ich die Anleitungen für diese hübschen Blätter habe, gibt es auch in einer deutschen Übersetzung! Der deutsche Titel lautet: Zauberhafter Häkelgarten – 100 Blüten und Blätter für Collagen und Applikationen.

My Cozy Winter Blankets in Overlay Mosaic Crochet

Explore my overlay mosaic crochet winter blankets – patterns, yarn, and colourways to inspire your own cozy crochet creations.

Here in the northern hemisphere autumn is slowly setting in. The days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler. It feels like the perfect time to curl up with a cozy blanket and a hot cup of tea. With this in mind, I would like to show you some of the winter-themed blankets I’ve crocheted over the past few years.

Since 2021, I’ve had the joy of testing one of Ana’s (from One Skein of Love) beautiful winter designs each year. All were made using the overlay mosaic crochet technique.

Winter Wonderland (2021)

Winter Wonderland was my first winter blanket back in 2021.

I found inspiration for my colours in a mood board. It showed a (Swedish?) winter landscape with a red house.
Nevertheless, when I started crocheting, I had no clear idea of how I would arrange the colours. I chose them step by step as I went along. And I was very happy with the result in the end!

To my surprise (and of course delight), many crocheters ended up following my color scheme. I hadn’t expected that!

And Mary Maxim even created yarn packs not only in Ana’s original colours but also in mine. I still feel a little proud!

My Winter Wonderland Blanket –
with a colour palette of white, various shades of grey and a little red 

Materials used

For Winter Wonderland I used Stylecraft Special DK and a 4 mm hook. In total, I used something over 1,000 g of yarn.

The finished size of the blanket is 114 x 148 cm.


My colours are

  • 1001 – White
  • 1203 – Silver
  • 1099 – Grey
  • 1246 – Lipstick
  • 1063 – Graphite

My colour placement is listed in a downloadable PDF which you can find in this post.

The pattern is available through Ravelry.

Wintry Forest (2022)

In 2022, Ana released Wintry Forest. The pattern was originally designed for a blanket similar in size to Winter Wonderland. However, when I saw it, I immediately had the idea of turning it into a wall decoration instead. Therefore I worked the pattern only over one repeat and divided it in three parts.

I still remember what difficulties I had in putting together the colours. So many failed attempts … But again, in the end, I was very happy with the result.

My Wintry Forest wall decoration –
with a colour palette of creme, blue, grey and mocha

And my wall hangings also attracted a lot of attention and kind feedback:
In November 2022, they we’re featured in „Eye Candy: No Place Like Home“, an article on the Ravelry front page.

Another proud moment! It meant a lot to me!

Materials used

For the wall hangings, I chose a combination of Stylecraft Special DK (SSDK):and King Cole Comfort DK.

My colours are

  • 1005 – Cream, SSDK
  • 1728 – Stonewash, King Cole
  • 1099 – Grey, SSDK
  • 1064 – Mocha, SSDK
  • 1302 – Denim, SSDK

My colour placement is listed in a downloadable PDF wich you can find in this post.

The pattern is available through Ravelry.

Oh, and if you are interested in my colour-journey you will find some details here.

Magic Winter (2023)

Do you know those icy winter mornings, when the sun rises with a soft pink glow? On those days my grandma used to say, „The angles are baking in heaven“. That memory instantly came back to me when I saw Ana’s 2023 design. And I knew I wanted my blanket to capture that feeling.

My Magic Winter Blanket –
with a colour palette of white, grey and peach

Materials used

Again my blanket was made with Stylecraft Special DK and a 4.0 mm hook.

Then finished blanket measures about 121 x 146 cm and I again needed something over 1,000 g of yarn.

My colours are

  • 1001 – White
  • 1203 – Silver
  • 1836 – Vintage Peach

My colour placement is listed in a downloadable PDF which you can find in this post

The pattern is available through Ravelry.

Winter’s Love (2024)

And so far the last in my series of winter blankets is Winter’s Love from 2024.

When I saw the design for the first time, I could immediately imagine it in a classic, Nordic style. So I choose a classic red- and white palette. Though I can also imagine it looking beautiful in cream and taupe tones.

Working on this blanket was a little different for me, as I was struggling with eye health issues during that time (and I’m still receiving treatment …). But despite this challenges, I love this blanket no less.

My Winter‘s Love Blanket –
with a colour palette of white and red

Materials used

My Winter‘s Love is made with Yarnsmiths Create DK. It was the first time I had worked with this yarn, but certainly not the last!

The size of finished blanket is 120 x 150 cm, using a 4. 0 mm hook. I needed 10 balls / 1,000 g of yarn. I had almost nothing left. So, with a different tension, it could be tight.

My colours are

  • 3045 – Off White
  • 3090 – Claret Red

My colour placement is listed in a downloadable PDF which you can find in this post

The pattern is available through Ravelry.

For me, finishing a big crochet project is always a very special moment – do you feel the same?

I truly love each one of my blankets, and for me they all stand for warmth and comfort during the long, dark winter months.

I hope my winter blankets have inspired you as well! There’s still plenty of time before the season begins to create your own cosy piece.

Which colours would you choose for your winter blanket?

Happy Circles II – A Quick Update

Actually, I wanted to have finished my Happy Circles cushion cover a long time ago! But sometimes life turns out differently than you might think. 

Everything had started out so nicely …

End of May is my birthday, so we travelled to the Black Forest for about 10 days. Even though the weather wasn’t so good, we really enjoyed our time. I love the Black Forest, especially at this time of year! Due to the mountainous landscape and the altitude, there is relatively little agriculture but all the more livestock breeding with cows, sheep and goats. The meadows just bloom wonderfully at this time of year! We had beautiful long walks and a very relaxing time!

Here some

Holiday impressions

Of course, I also had my crochet stuff with me (and a little bit of knitting). But I have to admit that I didn’t get as far with it as I had intended.
Towards the end of the holiday I was kind of tired and at the same time my bones were aching … When we got home, I realised that I had contracted a COVID infection. Unfortunately, that put me out of action for another 10 days …

I’m starting to feel better now, even if my voice is still a bit raspy and I’m still coughing – at least my brain is working again!!

My crochet progress

Unfortunately there’s not much news to report about my cushion cover. Let alone a final photo and / or a pattern.

At least I have finished the front panel. All my squares are joined and I also added a small border.

still unblocked …

… the front side

The finished size of the panel is 46 x 46 cm (about 18 x 18 inch).
I would like to use the cover for a 50 x 50 cm (20 in) cushion. I read somewhere that the cover for a square cushion should be about 5 cm (2 in) smaller than the insert to ensure a nice fit. Until now, I have always made the cushion covers to fit exactly. I then often had the problem that they tended to look too big, especially at the corners. So I thought I’d give the smaller size a try. I only hope that it will work out well! Otherwise I will have to start over.

At the moment I’m working on the back. I opted for a simple square. Crocheted in rounds with double crochet. I still have two or three rounds to go, then the joining can begin.

Work in progress …

… the back side


I can’t wait to see how it turns out …

I hope to finish it in the course of next week. Then it’s time to write down the pattern!

Have a lovely weekend 💕

Edit 06.07.2025:
I’ve just stumbled over my notes: I was wrong about the size of the cushion cover. It should not be 10 % smaller as I had originally written, but 5 cm (2 in). I have just corrected this – sorry!

Happy Circles II – My new experiment in random colour placement

Last updated on January 11, 2026

Although I really didn’t crochet much this year, I’m actually working on a new project right now. A cushion cover!

I’m still a long way from having finished it. But so far I like it so much that I wanted to show it off!

I opted for a similar design to the Happy Circles wall hangings I made last year.

Do you remember them?

You can find the free pattern here or on Ravelry.

Back then I used 15 different colours and created the random arrangement of the colours with a random generator. I was totally happy with the result! You‘ll find all information about it in this post.

Choosing colours for my new project

Although I am using a similar pattern, the colours will be different in my new project. I’m using a colour combination that I’ve wanted to try for a long time. 

My inspiration is a cushion I have from IKEA.

A mixture of green and blue tones, with a yellow undertone in the green shades.

My colours

Stylecraft Special DK

1822 – Pistachio
1027 – Khaki
1065 – Meadow
1725 – Sage
1820 – Duck Egg

My colour placement – Random or not?

For my Happy Circles wall hangings, the random colour placement worked so well, so I wanted to use the same method for the cushion cover.

Well…

Using a random generator

Unfortunately, using a random generator didn’t work out as expected this time.

No matter how many times I started the random generator and regardless of the order in which I entered the colours., they were not evenly distributed. Certain colours appeared more frequently than others.

What happened?

A bit frustrated, I then took a closer look at the topic, and it is actually logical. This effect is known as ‚true randomness‘ and that’s exactly what random.org provides. Without any corrections, repetitions and clusters are not only possible but even to be expected in true randomness.

What I learned is:

A pure random generator aims to be random, not uniform – therefore repetitions can occur that quickly catch the eye and may feel unbalanced in a small colour set. In a larger colour set, however, this same kind of distribution can create an attractive tension that supports the design.

So it wasn’t a mistake of the randomizer, it just wasn’t the right tool for this specific project

That’s why I decided to create my own ‚controlled’ randomness with a more balanced distribution of colours.

Creating my own randomness

My starting point was

  • The five colours I wanted to use
    • First, I assigned a letter from A – E to each colour – without a specific scheme, just to make it easier
  • The sixteen circles I needed to create the squares for my front panel
    • The layout I planned was a 4 x 4 layout – 4 squares wide and 4 squares high

A – Duck Egg
B – Meadow
C – Sage
D – Pistachio
E – Khaki

I decided to start 4 circles with the same colour and 3 circles each with one of the other 4 colours. Makes a total of 16.

So I listed the 16 circles in a table and assigned them the colours A – E. Circles 1 – 4 started with colour A, circles 5 -7 with colour B and so on. This was the colour placement for the first round.

To determine the colours for the second round, I started at circle #1 with colour B (as it had already colour A for round 1) In the following I entered the colours consecutively downwards. To avoid two rounds having the same colour, I skipped the relevant letter in these cases. For example: in circle #6, following the sequence, it should have been colour B for round 2. I skipped this to C as B was already assigned for round 1.

Afterwards I did the same for round 3, starting at circle #1 with colour C.

The final result is shown in the table below. In this way, the colour combination looks much more balanced.

Random colour sequence

The finished circles were then ‚squared’ by adding two more rounds in Cream.

Creating a layout

Similar to my wall hangings, I created the final layout with the random generator.

Very easy, although it sounds a bit complicated when written.

  • Each of my squares already had a number, defined by the colour arrangement (according to the table above / random colour sequence)
  • I also numbered the places in a 4 x 4 grid symbolizing the layout (shown as mall grid, upper left in the picture below)
  • I entered numbers 1 -16, symbolizing the squares into the list generator of random.org and generated a random result
  • I arranged the squares according to this result in the 4×4 grid, made some changes and voilà …


Below my detailed list of the colours used for the circles for each round and the corresponding layout.

Final colour scheme and layout

Joining the squares

Currently I am working on the join…

For my wall hangings, I had opted for a relatively inconspicuous joining method in the colour of the squares. In comparison, I now use Pistachio, so it’s more of a contrasting colour. And I opted for the Zig Zag Slip Stitch Join.

I really like how this turns out!

After joining, I will probably have to work a few more rounds around the whole panel to achieve the desired size.

However, I’m still not sure what the back should look like. Single coloured or colourful? I think I’m leaning towards single-coloured, but that could still change …

Have a great start to the new week 💕

My Crochet Flower Collage: Fresh Spring Craft Ideas

Last updated on January 10, 2026

About a week ago, we returned from a relaxing holiday on the North Sea coast. Those were wonderful days! The weather was cold but mostly sunny. So we had long walks on the beach … Sigh*

Back home – we live about 500 kilometres south in central Germany – we then noticed that spring is slowly arriving…

The birds start singing, the apple tree is showing tiny green leaves, and our little peach tree has the first pink blossoms. Spring time!

These first delicate shades of green and pink inspired me to bring some colour into our home as well.

Although I really don’t crochet much at the moment, I spontaneously thought of making something Easter-themed. The search for a pattern led me back to a site that I had actually discovered last year: Bomuldskys .

It is a Danish site, and Emilie, the person behind it, lives in Copenhagen. She offers both, paid and free patterns. I just LOVE her style and her designs, especially the greeting cards.

Last year I already fell in love with one of her Christmas designs. Due to my eye problems, however, I didn’t have the patience to make it. This time Summer Flowers caught my eye. It is a pattern for a greeting card that shows a bunch of roses, tucked in a paper bag. The pattern is available for free on her website and I just had to try it!

Summer Flowers – The Pattern

The pattern is written in US terms. It contains the instructions for the small and the large flowers, as well as the leaves. The instructions only require a few basic stitches. I found it easy to understand and I think it should be doable even for beginners. And it’s really quick and easy to make!

Yarn and colours I used

I used a mixture of different cotton yarns from my stash. All are classified as sport weight (#2) yarns. I worked them with a 2.5 and 2.75 crochet hook.
Please note: you will find some detailed notes about the hook sizes at the end of this post.

  • Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 (160 m / 50 g)
    • 64 – Dark Powder Rose
    • 46 – Old Rose
  • Drops Safran (160 m / 50 g)
    • 57 – Mauve
    • 10 – Vanilla Cream
  • Cotton Kings Cotton 8/4
    • 41 – a green shade, I have no name for this one, sorry

Please note: I got the Cotton King some time ago as part of a colour pack from Hobbii yarn shop but it looks like the brand doesn’t exist any more.

My Greeting Card

My materials for the greeting card

For the greeting card I made

  • 1 big and 2 small flowers in Dark Powder Rose (Hobbii Rainbow Cotton)
  • 1 big flower in Old Rose (Hobbii Rainbow Cotton)
  • 2 small flowers in Mauve (Drops Safran)
  • 4 leaves in green (Cotton King)
  • The stamen are embroidered in Vanilla Cream (Drops Safran)

I found a suitable card and paper (for the little bag) in the stationery shop. The card is a craft card with a window on the front where you can place a photo or similar. The pattern calls for an A6 card, mine was a bit different, about 12 x 17 cm (4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inch).

Assembling of my greeting card

For the assembly of the flower bouquet I orientated myself on the instructions and the photo from the pattern.
I first made the little bag and glued it on using a craft glue. Afterwards, I arranged the flowers and leaves until I found a position I liked and glued them on.

I absolutely love the result, although I think that my ‚bag’ turned out a little too big.

I will probably use it as birthday card for a dear friend. But it would also make a nice Easter card, wouldn‘t it?

The flowers and leaves are really quick and easy to make! This made me want to do more, so I crocheted some more flowers and leaves and made a

Flower Collage

My materials for the flower collage

I used the same yarn and colours as for the card. I made another

  • 1 big and 3 small flowers in Dark Powder Rose (Hobbii Rainbow Cotton)
  • 3 small flowers in Old Rose (Hobbii Rainbow Cotton)
  • 1 big and 1 small flower in Mauve (Drops Safran)
  • 5 leaves and 3 stems in green

The little stems were not part of the pattern.

I just made a chain in a suitable length (mine are between 18 and 20 chains long) and slip stitched all the way back in each chain.

For the collage I got a white picture frame that is 13 x 18 cm (5 x 7 inch) in size.

Assembling of my flower collage

First, I disassembled the frame, removed the glass, and cut a piece of cardboard to the right size. I then inserted the cardboard into the frame to create a nice background for my bouquet of flowers.

The further process was basically the same as for the card. I first arranged the flowers and leaves until I liked the placement and colour distribution. Then I glued on the individual parts. I started with the stems and then worked from the bottom upwards.

A Word about the Hook Size

According to the instructions, a 2.0 mm crochet hook should be used. I understand the intention behind it. Amigurumi etc. Are often worked with a smaller crochet hook to obtain the necessary stability. Still, 2.0 mm seemed to me personally too small for the yarn I used. Especially as both yarns tend to split a bit when a small hook is used.

But please, don’t get me wrong! I love both, Hobbii Rainbow Cotton and Drops Safran. I especially like their softness and the matte look. I just find it difficult to work them with a smaller hook than recommended on the label.

For the card, I therefore crocheted the flowers with a 2.75 mm hook. This is the size I normally use with this yarn. At first they seemed a bit loose to me. So I went down to a 2.25 mm hook when I made the flowers for the collage. There were pros and cons: I preferred the structure of the flowers made with the smaller hook. But the ones made with the bigger hook were easier to shape.

I think you can’t see any difference in the end. So both seems to be ok.

I hope I was able to inspire you a little for a beautiful and quickly made spring decoration.

Have a nice time 💕

My New Coasters – Mastering short rows in crochet

You might be wondering why it’s been so quiet here – so here’s what’s been going on. I’m still dealing with some health issues. As I mentioned last year, one of my eyes has been troubling me. About four months ago, my vision suddenly worsened, and my ophthalmologist diagnosed an oedema – a kind of swelling inside the eye.

I’m now receiving injections as part of the treatment (right into the eye – definitely not my favourite experience!). After each treatment, I have to give my eye several days of rest, which means no reading, no sports, no bending over, and so on. Needless to say, this limits what I can do with my crochet projects.  

Still, I’m feeling hopeful! Subjectively, the treatment seems to be helping, but focusing on anything for too long remains a challenge. So I’m taking things slowly and sticking mostly to smaller projects for now. And yay – slowly but happily – I finally finished a set of coasters!  

What’s more, this project taught me something completely new: short rows in crochet. Until now, I had only known short rows from knitting – where I‘ve often used them for shaping sock heels.

Despite the differences between knitting and crochet, the idea behind short rows is pretty much the same in both: as the name suggests, only part of a row is worked, which helps you create specific shapes. But before this project, I had never tried them in crochet at all.

Gift Coasters

Last December, I bought an eBook from Tatsiana of Lilla Bjorn Crochet, who hosted a mystery make-along with four delightful patterns: Gift Coaster, Gift Bauble, Gift Mandala Garland, and Pixel Coaster & Purse. Even though the MAL has ended, the patterns remain available on Ravelry – either individually or bundled as an eBook. 

Although I got the eBook in December, it wasn’t until now that I finally had the time and energy to start one of the projects. I chose to begin with the Gift Coaster, which happens to use short rows. 

I am absolutely fascinated by the effects you can achieve with short rows and working in the back loops.

The coaster consists of eight sections, crocheted one after the other to form a circle. The instructions are very detailed, and the PDF even includes a photo tutorial showing exactly where to place the stitches at the transition from short to full rows.
If you prefer visual and spoken guidance, there’s also a link to a video tutorial. Personally, I normally don’t like watching videos. But I found this one very helpful, especially the section about the joining at the end to finish the coaster.

My version of the Gift Coaster

For my samples, I used Schachenmayr Catania yarn with a 3 mm hook. Catania is 100 % mercerized cotton with 125 m / 137 yds per 50 g. It is classified as a #2 Fine / Sport weight yarn.
My colours were 0244 Agave and 00507 Salbei (Sage) – a combination I absolutely love.

Salbei was from a limited edition back in 2022, so I’m not even sure if it’s still available!

My coasters finished at about 15 cm in diameter, just as they should.

I’m completely happy with how they turned out! 

Happy Circles – A new pattern

New Year – new wall decorations

It is already mid January and I hope you had a great start in the new year! Hubby and I got off to a very cosy start.
However, right at the beginning of January, we started renovating another room in our house – very much in keeping with the theme of “new beginnings”. And a never ending story …

Yet, within all the renovation stuff, we have a new wall decoration in our living room! But these are not the result of our renovation work but of my colour experiments last year.

My colour experiment in 2024

You may remember that last year I experimented a little with random colour placement. This project really opened my eyes to new ways of combining colours.

I started by selecting yarn in 15 different shades from my Stylecraft Special DK stash. Mostly leftovers from other projects.

But instead of manually compiling all possible colour combinations in a table, I tried an online random generator, Random.org . They offer a lot of free services, including a list randomizer. It works wonderfully for generating random colour combinations. I described in detail how this works in an earlier post. You can read all about it here

I needed a bit of colour – Colour Experiment Part 1

My first Panel

To try out the random colour combinations, I started crocheting little circles. Each with 3 rounds. In doing so, I have strictly adhered to the results that the random colour generator had given me. I only replaced a colour if it would otherwise have appeared twice in a circle. In the end, this resulted in 25 colourful circles, which I then turned into small squares. I joined them in a 5 x 5 layout. The arrangement of the squares was also generated by using the random generator.

Details on my colour placement and layout can be found in this post

Random Layout – Colour Experiment Part 2

After adding a small border my finished panel was about 52 x 52 cm.

At first I had thought of making a cushion cover out of it. But then I decided to use it as a wall decoration.

My second Panel

Overall, I was so thrilled with the result that I have since made a second panel.

I used the same colours and the same process as with the first panel. The colour combinations are completely different, but it looks just as great.

Here the results:

The table below shows the colour combinations that I have used for my second panel. The colours are listed for each circle in the order of rounds 1, 2 and 3. As for my first panel each circle was squared with two more rounds in the colour Graphite.
At the same time, the table shows the layout in which I have arranged the squares. 

I had already listed the pattern for the squares, joining, and border in a separate post. If you are interested you can find it here

Step by step – A new wall decoration – Colour experiment Part 3

But in addition, I have now written down the pattern again and summarised it in a pdf file. Besides the actual pattern, this document contains the colour combinations and layouts for both panels.
So you can also download the complete file here.

Please note: Some left over yarns and 1 ball of Stylecraft Special DK for squaring and joining are sufficient for one panel.

Happy CirclesDownload

I hope you like it as much as I did!

Have a lovely time 💕

Step by Step: A new wall decoration – Colour Experiment Part 3

The result of my experiment with random colour placement

In the last few weeks I have been experimenting a bit with random colour placement.

I wanted to try if a random colour placement, generated by a list randomizer from the internet, really would work. And I was curious to see whether the result would look really good in the end.

I started my „experiment” by putting together 15 different colours – mostly leftovers. All 15 looked good together. However, I personally wouldn’t place some colours right next to each other. For example, Camel and Vintage Peach or Sage and Meadow.

For a first try, I crocheted some circles. Each one with 3 rounds and each of the three rounds in a different colour. To generate the random colour placement, I used the list randomizer on Random.org.

What can I say, I was absolutely happy with the first results!

In the end I had 25 colorful circles that I wanted to keep using. So I decided to turn them into squares and combine these into a wall decoration.

Colours, Colour Placement and Layout

The colours for the circles were picked from these 15 colours, all from Stylecraft Special DK. To square the circles I used Stylecraft Special DK in the colour 1063 Graphite.

This graph shows the colours I used for each circle. They are listed in the order for rounds 1, 2 and 3.

The chart also shows the layout I have chosen for my wall hanging.

The layout is also based on the random generator.

If you want to know how this works and what exactly I did, you can read about it here:

I needed a bit of Colour – Colour Experiment Part 1

Random Layout – Colour Experiment Part 2

The Pattern

Making the Circles and Squares

There are a couple of different ways to crochet circles and turn them into squares.
I have tried several of them while I made my circles / squares. The way described below is what worked best for me. It is adopted from a method for crocheting circles that Polly Plum describes on her site.
This gives the circles a very neat look. Another advantage is that you can easily crochet over most of the yarn ends. Simply start a new round at a position opposite the end of the previous round. You can crochet over the starting tail for half a round. Then, crochet over the tail from the previous round.

I started by making all 25 circles first. Each circle consists of 3 rounds in the colours A, B and C. A, B and C change for each circle, as shown in the layout chart above.
Colour D – the colour to square the circles – stays the same throughout.

  • Round 1, Colour A
    Start with a Magic Ring, ch2 (counts as first dc) , 11 dc in the ring ; close the ring and slst loosely to the first dc; cut yarn [12 dc]
  • Round 2, Colour B
    attach yarn in any stitch, ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc in same st; *2 dc in next st **; repeat from * to ** around; slst loosely to the first dc; cut yarn [24 dc]
  • Round 3, Colour C
    attach yarn in any stitch, ch2 (counts as first dc), 1 dc in same st, 1 dc in next st; *2 dc in next st, 1 dc in next st**; repeat from * to ** around ; slst loosely to the first dc; cut yarn [36 dc]
  • Round 4, Colour D
    attach yarn in any st , ch 2, (1 dc, ch1, 2 dc) in same stitch; *1 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 1 dc in the following 8 sts; (2 dc, ch1, 2 dc) in next st **; repeat from * to ** 3 times omitting the last corner sts; slst to first dc [per side: 6 dc, 4 hdc, 2 sc, 1 ch1-corner sp / 48 sts, 4 ch1-corner sps in total]
  • Round 5, Colour D
    Ch1 loosely (doesn’t count as a stitch) and hdc in same stitch (the one you slipped stitched in at the end of round 4); *(2 hdc, ch2, 2 hdc) in ch1-sp, hdc in next 12 sts **; repeat from * to ** 2 times; (2 hdc, ch2, 2 hdc) in next corner sp; hdc in next 11 sts; invisible join to the second hdc [per side: 16 hdc, 1 ch2-corner sp / 64 sts, 4 ch2-corner sps in total]

Using a 3,75 mm hook my squares are about 10 cm / 4 inch each.

Joining

Joining, em, yes …
If you follow my blog, you know that I haven’t joined many squares so far. So I first had to find out what options are available, and tried several different joining techniques.
In the end, I decided on a kind of slip stitch join. I’m not sure if there is a special name for it. I have seen this join in various places with sc, hdc, or even dc. I finally opted for a simple slip stitch. This produces a really nice flat ridge.

With this join, the actual stitch is only crocheted in one of the two squares to be connected. The opposite square is joined by pulling the loop through the corresponding opposite stitch. It may look a little complicated at first, but I’m sure you’ll find the rhythm after a few stitches.

I first worked the horizontal joins, afterwards the vertical joins. If you like to follow my joining method, here is what to do:

My joining method

First arrange the first two rows of squares according to your planned layout. The right sides of the squares should be facing you.
The join is only worked through the back loops (the inner loops). The hook is always inserted from top to bottom (from the right side of the square to the wrong side).

This graph helps to visualize what square I am talking about in the next.

Tip:
Make sure not to twist the squares while connecting them. It is helpful to use a locking stitch marker especially when joining the first two rows of squares. This helps to hold them together.
And take care to work the join not too tight. Best is to go up a hook size. I used a 4.5 mm crochet hook for mine.

Horizontal join

Referring to the graph above: Work from right to left (provided you are right-handed, like me). Start with joining square F to square A, square G to square B and so on.

  • First joining row
    • Begin with square F. Start with a slip knot on the hook. Insert the hook in the chain next to the first hdc of square F. Work the first slip stitch on square F. Remove the hook from the loop. Insert the hook in the corresponding chain of square A, grab the loop and pull it through.
    • Leave the loop on the hook and work a slip stitch through the first hdc of square F. Connect to square A by pulling the loop through the corresponding stitch of square A, like described above.
    • Continue until you reach the corner spaces of squares F and A. Work a slip stitch / „pull through“ in the first chain of the ch2-corner spaces.
    • Move on to squares G and B. Start in the second chain of the corner space. Work the same steps as above.
    • Repeat these steps until all squares of this row are joined, fasten off.
  • Second, third and fourth joining row
    • For the second horizontal join start with connecting square K to square F, square L to square G and so on – work the same steps as above
    • repeat the same steps for the third and fourth horizontal join
Vertical join

For the vertical join repeat the same steps as before, also working from right to left. I started with joining square V to square U. At the transition from two squares to the next two squares, simply work over the existing horizontal join.

Work away all tails.

Border

  • Round 1, Colour D
    Start with a standing stitch in any corner sp
    *(Sc, ch2, sc) in corner sp; BLsc in next 16 sts; 1 hdc in corner sp, skip join; [1 hdc in corner sp; BLsc in next 16 sts; 1 hdc in corner sp, skip join] 3 times; BLsc in next 16 sts **; repeat from* to ** 3 more times, slst to the first sc [per side: 82 sc, 8 hdc, 1 ch2-corner sp / 360 sts, 4 ch2-corner sps in total]
  • Round 2, Colour D
    ch 1, *3 sc in corner-sp, BLsc across to next corner sp **; repeat from * 3 more times, slst in BL of first sc [per side: 93 sc / 372 sts in total]
  • Round 3, Colour D
    Slip stitch in back loop of each stitch around [372 sts in total]
    fasten off and work away the tails

Abbreviations (US terms)

  • slst – slip stitch
  • ch – chain
  • sc – single crochet
  • hdc – half double crochet
  • dc – double crochet
  • BL – back loop
  • BLsc – back loop single crochet
  • sp(s) – space(s)
  • st(s) – stitch(es)
  • * … ** – marks a repeat
  • [… ] – repeat instructions as many times as specified

For an explanation on how to work these stitches have a look here

Finishing

So far all my crocheted wall hangings a made from patterns using Overlay Mosaic. This technique gives the panel a bit of weight. The dropped down dc practically double every row. Additionally, the double border adds some weight and you can also easily stabilise the panel with rods. So it’s no problem to hang it up nice and straight.

That’s exactly what I missed when I was thinking about mounting my new panel! Using an Acrylic yarn made it very light weight and I was afraid that it might not hang straight.

So, I got myself some felt – 4 mm thick and anthracite-coloured. I cut this to size and pinned my panel in place. I let the felt overlap a few cm at the top edge. This was later used to create a tunnel for the mounting.
I sewed the panel in place along the edges using a running stitch.

Now that I’ve finished, I think the panel could also have been sewn on with a sewing machine. But, I hadn’t worked with felt of this thickness before, so I just didn’t dare. Especially as I was so short on felt that I didn’t have a test piece. Lessons learnt!

After sewing, I folded the upper overhang of the felt back at the edge. I fixed it on the backside with some suitable glue. This created a tunnel through which I can push the rod for hanging. Finished!

My panel measures about 52 x 52 cm / 20 1/2 inch.

In my living room

I think I will make another one. Same colours, different placement. And of course I will use the randomizer again for the placement of the colours and for the layout. I am already curious how it will look like!

So long – Have a lovely time 💕