Waves and Ripples: How to customise a pattern

The other day I asked my Facebook fans if they had anything they needed help with and this is what Alycia Dooley asked:

I’ve been having trouble with coming up with a ripple stitch pattern for a 12inch pillow form. Doing the base chain in multiples of 14, it comes out too long or too short. I’m having a hard time figuring a pattern out on my own. Would love your input!

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

So, I did a bit of research into ripple patterns.
I haven’t actually made many ripple stitch projects, but the fact that you can alter the shape of a piece of crochet by adding and skipping stitches intrigues me.

As you may know by now, Robyn Chachula’s Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia (there’s a link in About Me) is my go-to book when it comes to crochet stitches. I analysed the stitches in the book, there are six wave (or ripple) stitch patterns in the book and the principle is always the  same, no matter how intricate the pattern may be.

I am going to illustrate the point with the help of a simple ripple pattern diagram.

Above is a fairly simple ripple pattern consisting of Double Crochets and Chains.
As you can see the pattern is a repeat of 12 +3. That means you need to chain a multiple of 12 and then add an extra 3 chains. The extra chains form the turning chain.
Row 1 consists of 5 DCs, 2 skipped chains, 5 DCs 2 added chains etc.

So, if like Alycia, you want to customise a pattern you can simply add, or leave out DCs.
You could also change the angle of the ripple by adding and skipping more stitches. So, instead of adding two and skipping two, as in the above example, you could add and skip three, or four.

There is really no right or wrong to this. You can do pretty much what ever you feel like.
You could also experiment with the type of stitches.
Why not try adding cluster stitches? Or change the stitches between rows, i.e. one row of DCs and one of SCs?
The variations are limitless. Just remember that the more complex the pattern the more difficult it will be to customise and/or play with.

Of course you do have to make a swatch for a wave or ripple pattern because the foundation chain will always be longer than the final product and if you want to make an object of a specific size a swatch is a good way to find out how many repeats you need for your project.
Remember, the nature of a ripple pattern is that it shortens in length, that’s how the ripples are formed.

I hope this has been helpful, Alycia.

For now let me leave you with some wave and ripple inspiration.

Here’s a simple ripple that has been given a bit of flair with the addition of some cluster stitches.

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

I really love the soft pastel colours and design of this star-shaped ripple baby blanket.

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

This ripple is so versatile. You could make a blanket using hexagons and then work the ripple around the blanket or you could alternate a row of hexagons and a broad stripe of the ripple.

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

I love the look of this fun and colourful blanket.

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

Isn’t this shell and fan ripple just gorgeous? Just imagine a shawl. Oh, I think I need one!

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

And lastly, I just had to add this fabulous bag.
I don’t know if you could recreate the look with a different yarn but it would be worth a try.
At first I thought it had been felted but it looks like the yarn is very fluffy.

Click on the image for the link to the pattern.

So, that’s it for today.

If you would like me to answer crochet related questions feel free to leave a comment below or to email me.
You can find my email address in About Me and don’t forget to sign up via email in order to receive your free copy of my Spring is Sprung Granny Square.

Spring is Sprung Granny Square

As a thank you to all my current (and future) email subscribers I will be sending you this lovely lacy flower granny square pattern for free!

UPDATE

I have now sent the pattern to all my email followers.
If you follow my blog via your own WordPress blog and have not received the pattern please send me a mail (stephanie[at]radiate[dot]co[dot]za with your user name.
You can also leave it as a comment below, if you like.

Changing Skeins and Weaving in Ends Simultaneously

Wow!
That heading is a bit of a mouthful but I really don’t know how to shorten it and still give you an idea of what this post is about.

I don’t know about you but weaving in ends can become quite a chore, especially when you’re working on something as daunting as a blanket for example.
I’ve been adding new skeins and weaving my ends in the ‘old fashioned way’ but thought, there must be a faster way to do this and came up with the following.

For the purpose of this tutorial I have used contrasting colours and have only made a little swatch counting 10 SCs across. That’s just so you can get the idea and also so you can clearly distinguish between the two skeins.

I find that this method leaves a neat, non-bulky finish and an added bonus is the fact that you don’t have to use a needle, which means you won’t accidentally split the yarn by poking the needle between the fibers.

You can use this with most stitches, except with lacy stitches (well, I haven’t tried, you could experiment. Let me know how it goes, if you do )
I’m using SCs for this tutorial.

So, here it goes…
You’re crocheting along and notice that your current skein is coming to a swift end.
Instead of breaking out into a horrible sweat due to the nightmare of ends to be woven in do the following:

Step 1

Make sure you still have a good half meter of the working skein left because you’re going to start weaving the new skein into the fabric for a while before you change over. Ideally you should weave the new skein in for at least 10-15 stitches, to make sure it is secure.

Step 2

Before you YO to finish off your stitch (turquoise) wind a section of yarn from the new skein (pink)  around your hook and draw both pieces of yarn through the loops on the hook to complete the stitch.

Step 3

As you can see you now have two pieces of yarn forming the loop on your hook.
You don’t want that though because it would thicken your fabric and make the finished work uneven.

Instead, pull the working end of yarn from the new skein free, so that it is no longer forming a loop around the hook.
The yarn from the new skein should sit below your hook and sit between the front and back loops of the current stitch, as shown in the photo below.

Step 4

Continue working with the yarn from the old skein but make sure that you hide the new yarn between the stitches by crocheting around the yarn.

Step 5

Once you have crocheted about 10-15 stitches, swap from the old to the new skein.
You’re going to YO the yarn from the new skein together with the yarn from the old skein before you finish off the stitch.

Again you have two pieces of yarn on your hook and you need to get rid of one. This time it’s the loop formed by the yarn from the old skein (turquoise).

Pull the yarn up and through the stitch so that it is lying under the hook.

Step 6

Continue crocheting with the yarn from the new skein but don’t forget to hide the yarn from the old skein between the stitches, as shown in Step 4.

Step 7

Carry on hiding the yarn ends by crocheting around them. Be careful not to hide more than one yarn end at a time though. If the two ends are in danger of overlapping repeat Step 5. This will move the yarn end up a row and you can carry on weaving it in on the return row.
Do this until the ends are woven in sufficiently, and try to hide them in both directions (i.e. in a zig zag shape) by moving the ends up a row occasionally.

This is the swatch I made for the tutorial. You can see the bits of turquoise peeking out between the pink. Obviously you won’t be able to tell where the yarn is if you’re using only one colour.

Here is the swatch form the other side with bits of pink peeking through the turquoise.

Please let me know if this tutorial was helpful to you and if I explained things well enough.

Don’t forget to send me some of your completed crochet projects so that I can showcase them on my blog.

Granny Rectangle Blanket

I was at my LYS on Monday and a lady needed some help creating a granny rectangle blanket.
We, the lady, store owner and I, threw some ideas around but it was a rush and I wasn’t really happy with what I had drawn, so yesterday I sat down to work it out properly and thought I’d share the how-to with you

Firstly, just a reminder, I use US stitch names, so don’t get confused.

I’ve included a step-by-step photo tutorial as well as a diagramme, for those of you who prefer that method. It’s hand drawn, but pretty clear. Of course I’ve also flipped the photos so all you right handed crochet lovers won’t be totally confused by my left handedness

So, here goes…

ROUND 1
CH6

Place 3DCs into the third CH from hook (I do not use the CHs instead of DCs that’s why I only use CH2 here and use SS and CH1 in all consecutive rounds.)

Also, make sure you only use one loop of the CH, or you will not be able to finish the rectangle.

CH3 (this is the first corner).

3DC into next chain space, CH1, 3DC into next chain space, CH3 (second corner),

3DC into next chain space, CH3 (third corner),

3DC into the same chain space as the third set of DCs,

CH1, 3DC into same chain space as the second set of DCs.

To close the rectangle off CH1 followed by HDC into the first DC of the round.

ROUND 2

SS, CH1

3DC around HDC from ROUND 1, CH1, [3DC , CH3, 3DC] into corner chain space, CH1, 3DC into CH1, [3DC , CH3, 3DC] into corner chain space, CH1, [3DC , CH3, 3DC] into corner chain space,  CH1, 3DC into CH1, 3DC around CH1 from ROUND 1, CH1, HDC into first DC of the round.

And that’s pretty much it. You can carry on like this indefinitely.

Just remember to place  3DC, CH3, 3DC into each of the corners, except for the closing corner.

Here’s the diagramme, for those of you who find it easier to read those (I love diagrammes and find them much easier to follow than written patterns.)

This particular Granny Square is from Robyn Chachula’s book Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia. An absolute must have for any crocheter, whether novice or advanced.

Tips on Doll Making

So, after introducing you to Eve I was asked by quite a few readers to share the pattern.

Unfortunately I did not write down a pattern, for several reasons.
I was actually just playing around, trying to design a doll to see if I could really do it and I really didn’t feel like writing the pattern down.
I also primarily made Eve for my daughter, who loves her to bits.

However, since so many of you asked for the pattern, I have decided to give you some pointers on how to design a doll.

So, where does one begin when designing a doll?
I guess, the first part would be to make some sketches, notes or do planning of some sort.
I must say that my planning generally happens in my head. Even at school and university, during art class I really struggled to produce enough sketches to satisfy my teachers and lecturers.
For Eve I had a fairly clear idea of what I wanted her to look like in my head. The head-shape, hair and cape were crystal clear in my head and the rest fell into place as I created her.

As you may know, crochet is quite a mathematical craft. Please don’t let that scare you off!
It may be mathematical but it’s all pretty simple multiplication. If you do battle figuring patterns out spend some time reading patterns designed by reputable crochet designers. Some patterns may create articles that look good but they are actually not mathematically sound.

With regards to doll making you really only need to know the rule of increasing used for hats and circles.
Since we’re making a doll we’re going to be using SCs and we’re going to start from the head down creating the entire body and legs in one piece. The arms will be separate and will be attached after stuffing.

It doesn’t matter how big your doll will be, what shape you plan on making it or what yarn you will be using, the principle is always the same.
Start with a magic ring and 6SC into the magic ring.
Now you will work with multiples of 6, so in the second round you will double the number of SCs (6×2=12). That means you need to place two SC in each ST.
In the next round you need to end up with 18 stitches, so you need to add six stitches. To do this evenly you want to make 2SC in every second stitch.
You will continue this pattern of adding six stitches every round. That means 2SC in every third, fourth, fifth etc. SC of the following rounds. Continue until you are satisfied with the circumference of the head.

Now add a number of rounds without increasing to give the head length and better shape. You need to decide how round (less rounds without increases) or oval (more rounds without increases) you want your doll’s head.

Once you are satisfied with the shape of the head you need to start decreasing using the same principle but this time you need to subtract six stitches in each round. I use the invisible decrease because it really IS invisible.

I think I deceased until I was left with 12 or 18 stitches. You want to decrease quite a bit in order to create definition between the head and body and in order to give your doll a chin.

Body shape is up to you, in order to shape the body you will need to increase, again using multiples of six. If you want a slender doll you want to increase more gradually, which means you might increase two or three rounds in a row (to create a sense of shoulders) followed by several rounds without increases.
Add a round of increases now and again, until you have the desired length and shape.
With a rounder doll you will have to increase more often.
To finish the body off properly you will want to decrease by a few rounds to give the impression of hips and also just to add a bit more interest to the body shape.

For the legs count the number of stitches in the last round and divide it by two. So, if you have 24 stitches your legs will each have 12 stitches to begin with.
Start the first leg by crocheting 12 stitches, then join the last stitch to the first of that round. Now continue with the leg until it is the desired length.
I did not add a foot so I decreased the stitches down to six and closed the bottom off with a bit of sewing.

I think at this point I think I stuffed the body because once the second leg is  added there’s only a tiny hole for stuffing, so it’s easier.

To make the second leg crochet 12 SCs into the remaining SCs from the body and duplicate the first leg.
You could make the legs a bit thinner towards the bottom by decreasing by one stitch for one or two rounds.
Stuff the remaining leg and sew up the hole.

To make the arms I suggest starting with less stitches. So for this example I would begin with 5SC into a magic ring. The arms are worked from the hand up.
Increase to 10SC and then crochet to the desired length. Stuff the arms and sew to the top of the body. The placement is really up to you.

In terms of proportions there aren’t really any hard and fast rules but a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio is probably best for a doll. For Eve I think I used a 1:2 ratio, so her body and legs are about twice as long as her head.

Right, I hope this gives you some ideas in terms of creating your own doll.
You’ll notice that I haven’t touched on hair and clothing. Firstly, I think this post is quite long enough already and I don’t want to keep you much longer.
Secondly, with regards to hair there are many, many blogs with different ideas out there (you can find some on one of my Pinterest boards) and I also think that hair is a very personal thing too. You will need to experiment and find which method works best for you.
Lastly, with regards to clothes, again it’s up to you how to dress your doll. I must say that making doll clothes is much easier than designing human clothes

So, have fun designing your dolls and please do send me (stephanie@radiate.co.za) photographs of your completed dolls so I can showcase them in a future post.

One side note:
When you send me photographs of items that you have crocheted please make sure that your photographs are well lit and clear. Unfortunately I cannot showcase items that are not clearly visible in the photographs on my blog.
Also, if you could give me your name and tell me a bit about yourself and the item that would be great

Doll-making 101

Meet Eve.

My first proper crochet doll.
I have made one other doll but I wasn’t 100% satisfied with her, so I had to try again.

Those of you who have been following my work for a while will know that I rarely work with a pattern.
I love the challenge and creativity that comes with designing my own articles.
Plus, it’s kind of awesome to look at something and think, ‘I made that! all by myself! From scratch!’

It’s also pretty cool to think that no one else will have the same thing, well, unless I sell the article of course. Or share the tutorial with all you lovely people, like I did with my overlay heart for example.

I must say that I am not a very good planner. I never have. Even at school and university I never did much planning for my artworks. I did a sketch or two because I had too but that was pretty much it.
That’s not to say I didn’t plan my work. It was all done in my head though.
And that’s what I did with Eve too.

I had an idea in my head, mainly an thick braid, a hat of some sort and a cape. She had to have a cape.
That was pretty much it.
I started out by making her body, beginning with the head and working all the way down to the legs in one piece.
The arms were added on afterwards.

Then I gave her hair, which is one of the most difficult things about doll making, I think.
So, here I had this naked doll with a big braid and of course she had to be called ‘Eve’. There was no other choice really.

Over the next few days I gave her a hat, dress, underwear, boots and finally a cape.

I am exceptionally pleased with the result and will definitely be making more dolls in the future.
I’ve already got an idea for a little ‘Adam’

A few statistics:
Eve is just over 20cm tall
It took me around five days to crochet her, not continuously, obviously
I used Vinnis Colour Nikkim 100% cotton yarn and a 4.5mm hook.
I used SC stitches for the body, boots (with a few HDCs) and underwear. The hat, dress and cape are made with an extended SC stitch, which creates a lighter, flowing fabric.

Ruffles and Sunshine

So I had a little photo shoot with the lacy doily scarf yesterday afternoon and I adore the photos and cannot just pick a few. I hope you like them too.

First the stats:
Yarn: Vinnis Colours Nikkim 100% cotton DK yarn
Colours: Stone, Purple-Pink and Slate
Hook: 4mm

I used 390.32m/164gr or just over three balls, like I said in my previous post doily scarves are yarn eaters, so do keep that in mind.
Having said that I do think that the end result is worth it though.
I definitely want to make another one with some lovely Mohair yarn. Oh, the frothy, fluffy goodness <3

Well, without further ado I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story (I had to add one of Eliana, who was trying to photo bomb the shoot. Little model)