As part of my re-found love of kidsilk blend yarn I have designed another wrap.  This is Cloud Line Wrap:

It uses 4 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, but any kidsilk blend yarn would work and you could mix and match them as I mentioned in this blog post.  It is designed to have an inbuilt fringe so that you have no ends to sew, which is a deliberate bonus! The yarn is so fine that the fringe needs something extra to give it substance and I thought there would be no better way than to add some beads because this also adds a touch of glamour.

I used 4 balls in my stash – colours Jelly, Liquer, Steel and Fern.  And I used approx. 100 lime green silver lined size 6/0 beads.  The wrap is approx. 220cm by 45cm (excluding fringe) and weighs only 100g.  The beads go so well with the colours, especially the Jelly colour, and I have 2 balls of Jelly left in my stash so I may well make another – did I mention it’s a great stashbuster?

The pattern costs £3 and can be found on Ravelry and LoveCrochet.  It is written in UK and US terms, and has some photos to help with the beaded fringe.

I would love to see this is other colourways – which colours would you choose?

Happy crocheting xxx

One of the most successful plastic reduction campaigns in the UK in recent years has been the introduction of the single use plastic carrier bag charge.  Sadly the UK was one of the last European countries to introduce it in 2015 (Ireland and Denmark being the earliest in 2003).   However, already the introduction has reduced single use plastic carrier bags from major UK retailers by 85% on previous levels and appears to have had a significant reduction (some estimates at 30%) on plastic bags on the seabed.

Long before the charge was introduced I was using reusable bags of many types – including hessian, fabric and crocheted.  Some of my bags are over 15 years old and they will last for many years to come.  So I do not often need a new shopping bag but when I do I always turn to crochet.  I find the best types of crochet shopping bags are those that can expand easily – so anything with a loose or netting structure works best.    This one is a favourite:

It is called the Cheshire Bag and is made using granny stitches.  You can make it any size you like but mine is big enough to take 2 blankets, try out lots of colours (even do some Stashbusting) and I can guarantee it will not be mistaken for anyone else’s bag!

You can find the pattern here and until midnight GMT on Sunday (26th August) it is on offer at half price, if you use the coupon code PLASTIC at checkout.

Happy crocheting xxx

I’m interrupting my mini blog series on plastic reduction to talk shawls, well only 2 and one is what I call a wrap (not a plastic wrap!).

The first is Queen of May which was published in Inside Crochet issue number 101.

This is a luxury wrap made with 4 skeins of Willow Knits  hand-dyed worsted weight silk yarn.  The pattern rights returned to me at the end of last month and I published it last week as a single pattern.  You can find it on Ravelry here.  And you will see the wrap at all the yarn festivals that Willow Knits is going to, including Yarndale, and a paper pattern will be available on Willow Knits stand also.

The second is a triangular shawl and I absolutely love it.  It is made in a kidsilk blend yarn which I have been enjoying working with in the heat this summer, it is light and fluffy and worked on a 4mm hook so it is perfectly airy.  This is Pluming Lovely Shawl.

Why is it called Pluming Lovely?  Well it is made with Willow & Lark Plume, available from LoveCrochet here.  You need just 3 balls of the yarn and you can choose whatever colours you like.   What I love about it is the weight – it weighs under 75g yet is lovely and warm, so is perfect for a holiday as it takes up no space or weight in your luggage!

You can find the pattern on Ravelry or LoveCrochet.

Happy crocheting xxx

PS normal blog series posts will resume shortly!

 

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I would love to eliminate plastic from my life but I know this is impossible.  I have so much plastic in my home and my life already; trying to remove it would just release that plastic into the wider environment.  So what I will do with the plastic I have is use it and re-use it for as long as possible – it is there so using it is better than sending it to be recycled (which often doesn’t happen) or to landfill.

But I can take steps to keep new plastic out of my life and in this, my second, blog post about how yarn craft can help reduce plastic I will show you another small step that I take.  That step is with cloths, be they dishcloths or washcloths.   Microfibre cloths and manmade sponges are used frequently in cleaning; these are plastic based and, worse still, microfibre cloths release small microfibres into our water systems and ultimately into marine environments.  So making my own cotton or linen wash and dish cloths is one of those small steps which can make a difference.  Once they are used, they are  added to the washing which happens on a daily basis, so are sparkling and clean ready for the next use.

I have made dishcloths for a long time, usually out of cotton.  The simplest ones to make are just granny squares but it is more fun to play with stitches and that is what I do frequently.    Below are a selection of some of my cloths

The one on the right is a well used dishcloth.   It is a sample square for a blanket I designed 5 years ago – so it has been around for a while but wasn’t used as a dishcloth immediately.  Still it has had good use and been in the washing machine umpteen times.

 
The other 2 are shown again above.  On the left is one I made a few evenings ago – I just doodled with my hook and out came a pretty washcloth.  I haven’t written the pattern up, maybe I will soon.   On the right is an old washcloth pattern from 6 years ago – used in a workshop.   I had forgotten about this until I started thinking about this blog post.  The pattern was written 6 years ago, so I decided to release it and remake the washcloth in 2 colours.  It’s a sampler washcloth worked in rows. The lovely thing about a sampler washcloth is that it is a fabulous way to practice your stitches and if it turns out beautiful then it would make a lovely present – so win, win!  But if it turns out a little less than perfect it is still very useful as a dishcloth for yourself – so still win, win!.

You can find the pattern here.  And if you want to take a small step to reduce plastic use, then you can get the pattern free if you use coupon code PLASTIC when purchasing – this is available until midnight GMT on Sunday 5th August 2018.

Until I share my next little step…….

Happy crocheting xxx