March is National Crochet Month in the US and has, over several years, expanded to become International Crochet Month. I love to do something special for this crochet month and this year I decided I would look to one of my designs from 2014 – March Crochet Scarf. 2014 was the year I challenged myself to design one scarf a month, and March was the one I designed in March!
So what better way to celebrate than to offer March Crochet Scarf at a sale price for the whole month. So from midnight GMT tonight until midnight GMT on 31st March, you can get 25% off the price of the March Crochet Scarf pattern on Ravelry. No coupon code required, the sale is automatic.
Now this is a pattern I love – it uses just one skein (100g) of 4 ply yarn but can be adapted to any yarn weight. So I am going for a rummage in my stash and plan to make another March Crochet Scarf this month. Check back here for updates! Meanwhile here is a photo of this lovely scarf
I hope you have made lots of little circles from Part 1. I’ve been blown away by the many lovely circles I’ve seen! This week we make a simple variation of the first circle in Circles 2 and 3 which use slightly less yarn, great if you have a few scraps that weren’t quite enough for Circle 1.
Keep those scales out as it really is useful to weigh them as you make them. I found each used just a little less than 3g/12m. And keep that ruler/tape handy as I know many of you have found variations in size and needed to adjust.
These are a selection of Circles 2 and 3, they have ‘spokes’ in them so that’s why I chose their names.
The patterns are written in UK crochet terms and use the same stitches as last week, with just one addition: ch-sp which means chain space. The other abbreviations can be found in that post. Don’t forget there is a paid for pattern on Ravelry which is also being released in parts and has a US crochet terms available too.
Circle 2 – centre spoke
Foundation: 4ch, join into a ring with a ss.
Round 1: 4ch (counts as 1tr, 1ch), (1tr in ring, 1ch) 7 times, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [8tr, 8 1ch-sps]
Round 2: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in st at base of ch, 2tr in each st and in each 1ch-sp around, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [32tr]
Round 3: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr in next st, *1tr in next st, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [48tr]
Round 4: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in next st, 2tr in next st, *1tr in each of next 2 sts, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join, break yarn and fasten off. [64tr]
Circle 3 – mid spoke
Foundation: 4ch, join into a ring with a ss.
Round 1: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 15tr in ring, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [16tr]
Round 2: 4ch (counts as 1tr, 1ch), (1tr, 1ch) in each st around, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [16tr, 16 1ch-sps]
Round 3: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr in next 1ch-sp, *1tr in next st, 2tr in next 1ch-sp; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [48tr]
Round 4: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in next st, 2tr in next st, *1tr in each of next 2 sts, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join, break yarn and fasten off. [64tr]
I made 24 each of Circles 2 and 3 for my blanket.
I would love to see photos of your little circles, please share them on Facebook and Ravelry.
Next week the circle has a bit more texture.
Until then, happy crocheting xxx
The patterns and photographs in this post are copyright
I hope you are all ready for Part 1 of the Round Again Blanket CAL. This is the first of 6 parts of the CAL and introduces the simple circle. This is not at all difficult provided you know how to work in the round and count stitches. There are only 4 rounds and I made quite a few of these, however they are very quick to make. They will help you to see how some of your variegated scrap sock yarns look in the round and I recommend you make one of these circles for each of your different scrap yarns. Don’t forget there is a paid for pattern on Ravelry which is also being released in parts and has a US crochet terms available too.
When you have made a few circles in different yarns, measure each of them. They should all be roughly the same size at around 9cm across. If you are using sock yarn of different wool blends or meterage you may find that the motifs vary a little in size; provided this variation isn’t too great then it won’t really matter. But some may vary significantly so you may need to adjust. I found small variations, mainly only a mm or so, but a few were a bit too big. I adjusted these by reducing the height changing the stitches on the final round, for example I used half treble (US half double crochet) rather than treble (US double crochet) on the final round; this was much quicker than frogging the whole circle and trying a smaller hook!
If you find the odd one is a bit small you may find working larger stitches on the final round will adjust sufficiently.
You may also wish to weigh them. Knowing how much yarn is used for each motif may help you decide which to make with your remaining yarn. I found each Circle 1 used about 3g/12m of sock yarn.
The pattern here is written in UK crochet terms and these are the abbreviations used
ch chain
tr treble
ss slip stitch
Circle 1 in sparkly yarn
Pattern
Foundation: 4ch, join into a ring with a ss.
Round 1: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 15tr in ring, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [16tr]
Round 2: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in st at base of ch, 2tr in each st around, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [32tr]
Round 3: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr in next st, *1tr in next st, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join. [48tr]
Round 4: 3ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr in next st, 2tr in next st, *1tr in each of next 2 sts, 2tr in next st; rep from * to end of round, ss in 3rd ch from start to join, break yarn and fasten off. [64tr]
I made 52 of these for my blanket.
I would love to see photos of your little circles, please share them on Facebook and Ravelry.
A selection of my 52 circles
Next week in Part 2 I will be giving some very simple variations to Circle 1.
My 2022 blanket for the CAL has a name – it is called Round Again Blanket. Round because it is made of circles and Again because I’m using scrap yarn so I’m using the yarn again!
In my last post I shared photos of all my little circles and promised I would give you details of start and timescale soon. Well soon is now! Testing is finished and I’m feeling very happy about the CAL.
I’ve had some lovely feedback from the testers including:
addictive
easy to crochet
fly off the hook
look great in variegated yarn
These are things I was aiming for and it looks like I have achieved them. So, after being so far behind in the preparation a few weeks ago, I am ready to share the details with you.
The CAL will be released in 6 parts
Basic circle
Variations 1 and 2
Variations 3, 4 and 5
Variations 6 and 7
Squaring off and joining the circle motifs
The border
Size, yarnand hook
The blanket I made is about 110cm by 160cm. I used approx. 650g/2600m of scrap sock yarn and 200g/800m of a mid grey sock yarn for joining and some of the border. These figures are approx. because I used scraps of different types and ever so slightly different meterage. I made 187 motifs in total. As I used sock yarn I used a 3mm hook. But of course you could use any yarn you like as long as you use a suitable hook size. And you can make it any size you like.
Stitches
The stitches used are all the normal sts – in UK terms these are ch, dc, htr, tr, dtr, ss and some sts worked together, nothing fancy at all. Everything is worked in the round, so you need to know how to do this, but otherwise I think a beginner could cope.
The pattern
The motifs will be published here on my blog in UK crochet terms and a comprehensive paid for pattern will be available on Ravelry in both UK and US terms.
When
Part 1 (the basic circle) will be published here on Saturday 19th February, and each further part follows every Saturday with the final part (the border) on 26th March. The Ravelry pattern will be updated on the same days.
Just before I blocked my blanket I took a few photos including several of the back of the blanket because I think it looks just as lovely on the back, making it reversible. The back doesn’t show some of the detail of the motifs but it does show the lovely colours and it’s amazing how beautiful scraps of sock yarn can be together. It also makes a good sneak preview photo!
If you join the CAL it would be lovely if you share progress on Facebook or Ravelry.
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