Tag: Crochet Pattern

Tunisian Phone Cozies

As you may know, I’ve been experimenting a bit with Tunisian crochet lately.

I have mastered the basic stitches in Tunisian crochet for a long time and years ago I have also crocheted several patterns. But I never worked Tunisian crochet using two different colours or tried Tunisian mosaic crochet. I have also never looked into the possibilities of decorating a finished piece with cross stitch or weaving. And, besides a kind of ‚join as you go‘-method, I‘ve never joined pieces made with Tunisian crochet. So really time for me to experiment a bit!

The results are 4 different mobile phone covers for my iPhone that I would like to show you here. I will write down the patterns one by one, so that you can make one for yourself if you like.

In case you have never done Tunisian crochet before (or need a refresher), you can find the basics of this technique here.

Tunisian Mobile Cozy I

The first one is a really simple one and absolutely beginner friendly. It is more or less just made from a rectangle made with Tunisian Simple Stitch. No changing colors, no decreases, just some basics. So it’s a great starter piece!

My cozy – made for an iPhone 14 Pro – measures about 9,5 x 16 cm. If you need a different size, the pattern is easy to adjust.

If you are new to Tunisian crochet, please take a look at the detailed explanations first:

Materials

  • Small amount of Stylecraft Special DK, colour 1005 Cream
  • some leftover yarns in different colours
  • 4,5 mm Tunisian crochet hook
  • scissors
  • yarn needle

If you decide to use a different yarn or if you want your phone cover to be a different size, you will have to make a few adjustments:

  • you will probably have to adjust the number of chains you cast on.
    My phone is 7, 2 cm wide and 0,8 cm heigh. I made my chain about 9,5 cm long which is equal to: 1 times the width of my phone plus 2 times the height plus 0,5 cm (7,2 + 1,6 + 0,5 cm). The 0,5 cm are just to give it a bit ‚room‘ for joining.
  • you will probably also have to adjust the number of rows you work. You can easily measure this while working, your crochet piece should have twice the length of your phone. Just wrap it around your phone from time to time and you will know when you have to stop.

Stitches / Abbreviations

FwPForward Pass
RtPReturn Pass
TSSTunisian Simple Stitch
Insert hook from right to left under front vertical bar of the next stitch, pull up a loop and keep it on the hook
yoyarn over

Pattern

  • Foundation / Row 1
    • Cast on 16 chains loosely
    • FwP: Start in the 2nd chain from hook and pick up a loop from the back bar of every chain – 16 loops on hook
    • RtP: don’t turn your work, just work from left to right now
      yo and pull through the 1st loop on the hook, *yo and pull through the next 2 loops on hook, repeat from * until there is only 1 loop on hook
  • Row 2
    • FwP: working from right to left, skip first vertical bar, 14 TSS, work end stitch (16 loops on hook)
    • RtP: work Standard Return Pass like explained above
  • Row 3 – 43
    • repeat row 2
  • Bind off

My rectangle measured about 9,5 cm in width and 32 cm in length.

Decorating

Now you can start decorating your cozy by „weaving“ different yarns under the vertical bars of the Tunisian Simple Stitches.
If you like to do it similar to mine, here is what I’ve done:

I used some left over yarns from King Cole Comfort DK in the colour 1729, Glacier and Stylecraft Special DK in 1390, Clematis and 1064, Mocha.

I started in row 23, counted bottom up. (If you are unsure how to count the rows, this picture will help.)

Thread a needle and bring the yarn up under the horizontal bar of the last stitch (end stitch) on the left side (pic 1). Weave the yarn under the front vertical bar of the next stitch in the same row. Then go up a diagonal line, always going one stitch to the right and one row to the top (pic 2) until you reach the right edge (pic 3).
Continue doing the same with the next thread, starting in the same row but one stitch to the right (pic 4).
Gently sew away the loose yarn ends on the back.

Finishing

I simply joined the edges with a row of slip stitches. I used my main colour, so my stitches are nearly invisible. But it also can be a nice effect to use a contrasting colour.
Just fold the rectangle to the half. If you did 43 rows the middle will be row 22. Grab both loops of the first / last stitch of rows 21 and 23 and start with your first slip stitch. (Row 22 stays unworked.) . Go up the edge until the last stitches are joined. Finish off and work away the tails. Do the same on the other side. Finished!

copyright

I hope you enjoyed it 💗

Little Christmas Wreath

A new free pattern

Last week, I was looking for some easy-to-make Christmas decorations. My Christmas decorations are usually rather nostalgic, even though our house is more clear and straightforwardly furnished.
I was searching for something like a Candy Cane, Christmas Wreath or Gingerbread Man. I found a very cute Gingerbread Man (I am still working on it) and somehow came up with the idea of making a Christmas Wreath myself. So, I grabbed some yarn and got started…
I actually really like the result. That’s why I thought I might as well write down the pattern and share it with you. Maybe you like it too…

My wreaths are made with Schachenmayr Catania and a 2,75 mm hook. The finished size is about 6 cm (something between 21/4 and 21/2 inch) in diameter.

Any other yarn and matching hook size should work as well. It only might affect the size of the finished wreath. For example, I also tried one with Stylecraft Special DK and a 3.5 mm hook. It has a diameter of about 7 cm (2 3/4 inch). I prefer the smaller size though and also the structure of the cotton yarn, but that’s just a personal thing.

The colours I used are 00212 Khaki for the wreath and 00192 Weinrot and 00105 Natur for decoration. But of course you can use any other colour you like and decorate them with whatever comes to your mind.

Some ideas for decoration

For decorating the little Christmas Wreaths, you can simply sew on a few beads or stars, for example. Or cut out small shapes from felt and stick them on …

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of these to hand, so I concentrated on what you can do with yarn. For instance embroider some French Knots like shown in the picture below (bottom right). Or make some ribbons and bows.

Simple red Ribbon

Somehow this one is my favorite and the one I started with. In my first version, I had only made a round of slip stitches – in the stitches of round 1 – and had simply tied the ends of the threads in a bow. However, the bow could have done with a little more volume, so I thought about making kind of a little ribbon, made of chains.

I used a 1,75 mm hook for the ribbons – just to make the chains as small as possible. And a 3,5 mm hook for the slip stitches – just to make them not too tight.
Since the working yarn for the slip stitches has to be at the back, but is needed in the front for the chains, you first have to prepare your yarn.

Here is what to do:

  • bring your yarn from back to front between two hdc of round 1
  • with the smaller hook: make a slip knot and chain 22 (my chain was about 7 cm / 2 3/4 inch long)
  • change to the bigger hook and slip stitch in all the stitches of round 1, starting in the stitch to the left of the chain
  • after finishing the round of slip stitches change to the smaller hook again and make another 22 chains
  • fasten off and secure the ends – either with some knots or just sew them away on the back side
  • the bow is not tied or knotted, so just lay it in shape and fix it with a thread as described below (two-coloured bow).

Two-coloured Bow

This bow is made with an approximately 15 or 16 cm (about 6 inch) long chain. I used two different colours and again a 1,75 mm hook. The colours are changed with every stitch. Simple but quite effective in my opinion. However, you have to work a little more slowly and tighten the previous stitch slightly with each colour change. In my final version I secured the ends of the chain with a knot and carefully sewed the threads on the back.

As said before, the bow is not tied or knotted. I simply laid it in shape and fixed it with a matching double thread. I brought the thread with a needle from back to front, around the middle of the bow and to back again. Before you knot the thread on the back side of the wreath, you can slip the bow a little so that it lies nicely.

Two-coloured Ribbon

For this two-coloured ribbon, I again brought the yarn from the back to the front. Again between two stitches of round 1, but this time two threads at once. I left them about 20 cm long, made a slip knot in one of them and slip stitched around the stitch of round 1, directly to the left of the thread. For the second slip stich I changed the colour, bringing in the other thread to the front – and so on.

As with the two-colored chain, you will probably have to tighten the previous stitch a bit after the color change. At the end of the round, cut the yarn, leaving a long tail again. Bring the ends to the front and tie a bow, then shorten them just as you like.

If you like to hang your little wreaths, just attach a thread, ribbon, or cord on the back side. Take care that it is approximately in line with the middle of the bow (if you have one).

If you like my little Christmas Wreath and would like to make one too, you can download the free pattern here

little-christmas-wreathDownload

The pattern is not tested yet. So, if you spot any errors or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
And please, feel free to add your projects to my Ravelry page.

Have fun 💕

Soap Cozy

Revised pattern

Have you already seen ‚Grünschnabel’, my pattern for a little soap cozy?

I wrote this pattern back in 2021 after I started (more or less) banning plastic from my bathroom. You can read about it here.

I have just revised the pattern and the new version is ready for free download on my ‚Patterns’ page.

The size ( 9,5 x 10,5 cm – 3,75 x 4,25 inch) is big enough for a soap bar of about 7,5 x 7,5 cm ( 3 x 3 inch). But in the new pattern version I have also added some notes on how to adjust the size if needed.

The soap cozy you see in the picture above is made with Schachenmayr Catania in the colour # 130, Creme with a I-cord in # 399, Malve. It is worked with 18 starting chains and 18 rounds. As I used a different yarn and a bigger hook (2,75 mm) the size is similar to my green ‚prototype‘.

I hope you like it!

New Colourway

Mere Curiosity

I have spent the last days with translating the Mere Curiosity pattern into German. Oh dear! Since German is my mother tongue I actually thought this was a good idea. Well … I hadn’t considered how long it had been since I had worked with a German pattern! In some places it was really difficult for me to find the right terms. I hope I have done it well! Any feedback is welcome!

However … To check the German instructions I made a new square. Originally I had planned to use four colours. After 10 rounds it looked too much like 70s for me, so I decided to add another colour. So now there is a new colourway available using 5 colours!

I used yarn from my stash, the brands are a bit mixed.

Schachenmayr Catania
# 206 – Honig
# 254 – Taupe
#+392 – Lime

Scheepjes Catona
# 520 – Lavender

Uschi Wolle Superglanz
# 63 – ?

Uschi Wolle is a German brand and unfortunately I only have the colour number and no name. I’d call it ‘Lachs’ which means ‘salmon’ in English. It is a little bit lighter than # 427 Scampi from Catania.

If you are interested you can download the new colour chart here.

mere-curiosity-colourway-3Download

Please also see my other posts about Mere Curiosity and

Have a nice weekend 💕

Mere Curiosity

Mere Curiosity is Live

Mere Curiosity is live

Phew, I finally managed to set up the Ravelry store and Mere Curiosity is uploaded! I am really excited!

The pattern is now available here.
As already mentioned, we will donate the proceeds for the Ukraine aid to Unicef.

You will find some more details about the Mere Curiosity Square either on Ravelry or in my previous post.

Although all special stitches used are explained in the pattern: if you are not familiar with some stitches or e.g. the technique of working in the 3rd loop, have a look at the ‘Good to know’ section. I have put together some explanations there in the last few days.

Have fun crocheting Mere Curiosity!