Tag: patterns

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 💗

Something nice and small – Still feasible before Christmas

Are you celebrating Christmas and still looking for a little something to give as a gift or decorate? These two patterns are really quick to crochet and look – as I think – fantastic.
I’ve had a lot of fun crocheting them over the last few day and found them a bit addictive. And they don’t necessarily have to look Christmassy. Depending on the yarn you use, they will look very different – it just depends on you.

Both patterns require very little yarn, so they are great for using up any leftovers.

Glittery Christmas Baubles

This is a pattern from Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love.
As the name of the pattern suggests, Ana actually used yarn with glitter in some of the rounds. I did not have anything with glitter on hand – so mine are made with some leftover yarn from my Legacy Blanket.
Side note: Yes, my Legacy Blanket is finished! In fact, it has been finished for about a fortnight. So far, I just haven’t managed to take some nice pictures. The weather here is mostly pretty grey at the moment – clouds, rain or fog … I hope it gets better in the next few days!

But back to my baubles: I think mine show quite clearly what I meant at the beginning – they look more rustic rather than glittery and Christmassy. I am totally in love with this look!

I used

  • Drops Lima (100 m / 50 g) – colour 100, Off White
  • Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 07, Light Brown
  • Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 15, Light Greyish Green

with a 3,5 mm hook.

The bauble itself consists of 2 halves that are sewn together. So you first crochet the two halves and then join them together while inserting a bauble.
Ana inserted a Christmas bauble in hers. I didn’t have a suitable size, so I used a styrofoam ball in mine. It is a 7 cm (2 3/4 inch) ball (which has a circumference of about 22 cm / something over 8,5 inches)and fits perfectly.
Of course, you can use all kinds of decorative stitches to join the two halves. If you don’t want to stitch them together, a crochet join – for instance, a simple zipper join – also works very well.

I tried different joins and the one shown on the left is my favorite It is made with slip stitches worked through the back loops. On each half I inserted the hook top down – from outside to inside. I started with a slip stitch through the back loop of a stitch on the lower half, then slip stitched through the corresponding stitch on the upper half. And so on … It creates a nice kind of braided effect.

Sparkly Stars

Sparkly Stars is a pattern by Joy Clements / Crochet Road that I spotted on Ravelry. These five-pointed stars are as quick to make and as addictive as Ana’s baubles. And really great as a wintry decoration.

Here, too, the final look can be influenced by the yarn and colours used.

The pattern offers two different sizes, contains detailed pictures and also a link to a video tutorial.

I used the same yarn and colours as for the baubles but this time with a 4 mm hook. So again, no sparkle or glitter.
My small stars are about 9 cm and the tall ones about 14 cm.

Both patterns, the Glittery Christmas Baubles and the Sparkly Stars are available on Ravelry.

Glittery Christmas Baubles on Ravelry
Sparkly Stars on Ravelry

I will definitely make some more baubles and stars using different yarns.

Have a lovely time 💕