Category: Pattern Tests

Mosaic Chevron

is another pattern test for BebaBlanket. She just released the pattern for this lovely chevron blanket in her Ravelry store.

I love chevron patterns. I have just dealt with this topic, so I know that there are a lot of different variations. But isn’t it amazing how you can influence the look of a simple chevron pattern by combining it with mosaic crochet?

I started with this test at the end of November last year, but I had a very slow start. I can’t say how many color combinations I’ve tried and discarded! Finally I decided to go with Stylecraft Special DK in Graphite and Duck Egg and I think this was a good decision.

The pattern is similar to the Chevron Apache Waves pattern that BebaBlanket released last year. Only the technique is different. Apache Waves is done Overlay Mosaic technique and Mosaic Chevron is worked in a technique that – in some places – is called Inset Mosaic.

In short words, the difference between both is, that Overlay is worked only from the frontside and the yarn is cut and the color is changed after every row. With Inset two rows are worked with the same color and the yarn is carried along the sides. (There are even more differences, but that is perhaps worth another blog post.)

I had the chance to test Chevron Apache Waves last year and made a place mat with this pattern.

It was my first pattern in overlay mosaic technique and so I didn‘t know much about the different border options. I just left all the tails as a fringe, which is one of the various options, and that works pretty good for a place mat or coaster.

In the meantime I have already done several mosaic patterns, both Inset and Overlay. I think Mosaic Chevron is my third blanket made with Inset mosaic technique. The result is a nice lap blanket. It measures about 74 x 102 cm.

Mosaic Chevron – pattern

Except for the mosaic double crochet the chevron pattern is done completely in single crochet and therefor I used a 4,5 mm hook. I was afraid that otherwise it would get too tight and I don‘t like blankets that feel hard and stiff.

As color A I used Duck Egg and color B is Graphite.

I started with 166 chains, that are 7 repeats in width and mixed the pattern with plain chevron sections.

Mosaic Chevron – My Layout

My layout looks like this:

• 3 pattern repeats
• plain section consisting of
  • 6 rows color B
  • 2 rows color A
  • 2 rows color B
  • 2 rows color A
  • 6 rows color B
• 3 pattern repeats, starting again with row 1
• plain section (as above)
• 3 pattern repeats starting with row 1

The pattern states to start with row 3 after the plain section. And when I write that I started with row 1 that‘s just a different way of writing. It means, that I did two more plain rows in color A, just to get the same color scheme I started with.

Mosaic Chevron – My border

Compared with my Apache Waves place mat my Mosaic Chevron had only a few yarn tails. But of course on one side the carried yarn is visible. So I was looking for a plain and simple border, just to hide the threads.

I decided to go with just one row of single crochet in Graphite, worked with a 4 mm hook.

Here my scheme:

• Top: following row 1 of the chevron pattern
• Left side: one single crochet in every row
• Bottom: following row 1 of the chevron pattern but without skipping stitches and the „tips“ worked in the chain spaces
• Right side: one single crochet in every row
• 3 single crochet in each of the four corner stitches

I really enjoyed working on this pattern. It is easy to memorize and relaxing! And the graphic result is great in my eyes!

My latest test …

This is my preliminary result of the lastest test from BebaBlanket, Mix and Match. I still have to decide about the border, but so far I am very happy with the result.

Tiramisu yarn

The yarn for this blanket was sponsored by Stenli yarns, a Bulgarian company. I am very glad about that! Thank you!

Tiramisu is a Cotton Merino Mix and comes in 450 g bobbles.
I already used it for my Greek Islands blanket and fell in love with it. It is soft and smooth to work with. (And I am NOT saying this because it was sponsored) It is considered to be a DK weight. Personally I think it is a bit thinner, so I used a 3,5 mm hook.

Both blankets I made with Tiramisu have a comfortable weight and a nice drape.

My Mix and Match journey

The pattern alone makes Mix and Match a good match to my Greek Islands blanket. Therefore I wanted to use not only the same yarn but also similar colors. For my Greek Island blanket I used Denim (my favorite color) as main color. The second color (it had no name, sorry) was color changing from beige to brown. So for my Mix and Match I decided to go also with Denim combined with the color Sea Shore, a combination of brown, creme and light blue. 

Stenli yarns are not available in any shops here in Germany. You have to order online, directly from the web-shop located in Bulgaria. That means: orders always take some time … I really was happy when my yarn arrived in November.The disappointment couldn‘t have been greater when I started with the test. What I didn’t realize when placing the order online was the fact that the color Sea Shore has not only color changes from blue over beige to brown. A white thread runs through each of the colors and therefore the brown in particular becomes very “busy”. It distracted the geometrical shapes of the pattern completely.

I had no choice but to reorder yarn – this time a harmless, solid beige – and started again at beginning of December.

Like in my Greek Islands I wanted to use Denim as base color (color A), but then the next problem arose: especially with design 3 there was kind of an optical illusion for me that drove me mad. 

The upper stripe shows my first attempt with Denim as color A. Even triple-checking the pattern didn’t help, my eyes kept seeing mistakes. I had to switch the colors and to restart for the second time. Does this only happen to me? 

So, admittedly my start was not the best! But the tide has turned! And t was worth the whole effort for me!

Mix and Match crochet pattern

Mix and Match is done in Mosaic Crochet, the so called Inset Mosaic. I don’t know if this in an official name or just a creation by the Facebook group, where I first read about it. In contrast to the Overlay Mosaic technique two rows are always worked in one color. The work is turned after each row – so worked from front- and backside – and there is no need to cut the yarn.

The pattern includes 4 different designs (squares) with identical stitch counts, so you can combine them any way you want. Or just follow one of the 5 suggested layouts that are also part of the pattern.

I choose layout 4, consisting of 3 designs arranged in 3 different ways. The complete layout has 6 squares in width and 9 in height. 

My blanket turned out about 98×117 cm without border, and I used about 500 g Denim (color B) and 465 g Beige (color A) so far.

The pattern is easy to follow but challenging. You have to work very carefully, otherwise you might mix up the designs. I often had to go back two rows to correct a mistake.

But again: the result was worth the effort!  The pattern is available on Ravelry.