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الاثنين، 25 نوفمبر 2013

Laura's Loop: Flannel Receiving Blankets.......غرزه النهايات


Laura's Loop: Flannel Receiving Blankets


I'm starting to think that there is something in the water. Friends, left and right, are turning up pregnant. Thrilled with the good news, I've become a receivin'-blanket-makin' machine. No sooner am I done with one, then I am on to the next. With each blanket I find myself guessing baby names, picturing my friends in the role of 'Mom' and imagining the nervous excitement of the dads-to-be.

I am so happy sitting with this super soft flannel draped in my lap, hypnotized by the rhythm of crochet and the feeling of merino wool as it winds through my fingers. The soft touch of these remarkable materials soothes me in the same way I know it will the new babes!

While it is a pleasure to make these Receiving Blankets, it is an even greater joy to think of them in use. The foggy, warm stripes of Ecrulet's Flannel and the crisp, rich colors of Koigu's merino combine in such pretty harmony, that I can’t wait to see my friends’ littles bundles all wrapped up inside! 


Congrats to all those expecting! --Laura
PS: Check out Molly's Lap Duvets for more ideas on how to use Ecrulet’s magnificent Flannel Stripes!

The Materials

To make one 41-inch by 41-inch blanket:

Cut and Wind

Cut the flannel into a 42-inch by 42-inch square.
Wind your yarn. Place the yarn to the side for now.

Pin and Sew


Fold and press each edge of the flannel 1/4-inch. Fold and press each edge 1/4-inch once more. Pin and machine sew.

Crochet the Edge


Orient the blanket so the front is facing you and the stripes are vertical.
Insert hook just below the hemmed edge, into the middle of a stripe. Pull a loop through. Grab the yarn from the back and pull it through the loop you just made.

Insert hook back through the same hole, and make a single crochet along the edge of the fabric.
*Chain one.

Insert hook into the next stripe, and make a single crochet.

Insert hook back through the same hole, and make a single crochet

Insert hook through the same hole, for a third time. Make a single crochet.
Chain one.

Repeat from * until you reach the corner.

Turn the Corner


When you reach the corner, chain 3 rather than 1. For the next stitch, insert the hook into the last hold you made, as pictured above.
Now that you have turned the corner, you no longer has stripes to guide your placement. You can mark the fabric every 1/4 to 5/8-inch using a Chaco Marker if you would like a guide or you can just eye-ball it.
Continue around the 2nd, 3rd and 4th edge of the blanket, turn the 4th corner and work up to the stripe where you first began.

Connect at the End


Chain one.
Insert hook into the first strip, where you began, and make a single crochet.
Cut yarn and pull through. Using a tapestry needle, weave in your ends.

You have done it!

Now you can do it again to make a pair!!!

How to crochet granny ripple

How to crochet granny ripple

I am sure many of you who can crochet fairly well may not know how to crochet a granny ripple. While I was crocheting my vibrant pillow 3 I thought I would make a tutorial on granny ripple but for some reason I couldn't do it then. Here it is now.
Once you get started and go in the right direction granny ripples are fun to make, but getting started is what irks me a lot.  The major problem here is deciding upon the number of chains to start with. Since you are not going to work in a straight pattern the length of the chains that you make at the beginning have to be somewhere around one and half times the length of the finished pattern. (I am saying this from my experience, but it may not be correct). So the safest bet is to make extra chains, you can always sew in the extra length of the chains instead of having to pull everything apart in case your work becomes shorter.
So to start with, make chains of length that you desire. Then in the 6th chain from the hook make 3 dc (cluster).

1. Skip 2 chains, in the next chain make another cluster (3 dc).
2. Skip 2 chains, in the next chain make one more cluster.
3. Skip 5 chains and make a cluster in the next chain.
4. Skip 2 chains, make a cluster in the next chain.

5. Skip 2 chains. Make a cluster, 3 chains and another cluster all into the next chain.



6. Skip 2 chains, make a cluster into the next chain.
7. Skip 2 chains, make a cluster into next chain.

8. Skip 5 chains, make a cluster into the next chain.
9. You have to repeat this pattern through the length of the chains. You can see the peak and the valley forming. You have to end this row in a peak (cluster + 3 chains + cluster). 
10. Now make 5 chains and turn your work and make a cluster into the 3-chain space.

Since some of you are having doubts about ending and starting a row I have included these additional instructions and photos to elaborate on them.


In the above picture you can see that I have made 5 turning chains and made 3 dc (cluster) into the space between the two clusters in the previous row.

11.  Into the next space make another dc cluster.


12. Into the next space one more cluster.


13. Skip the next space which forms a valley and make a cluster into the next one.
14. A cluster into the next space. Then a cluster, 3 ch, a cluster into the next space where the peak is formed. Continue the pattern until the end of the row.
15. At the end of the 2nd row make a cluster, 3 ch, cluster into the 5-ch turning space. (Remember I told you earlier make pattern such that you end with a peak).
16. For row 3 repeat from step 10 until the end of row.  In the picture below you can see that I have come to the end of row 3.
17. You can see below that I have made a cluster, 3 ch, cluster all into the 5-ch turning space. Make 5 chains and turn your work and repeat the pattern.
The below picture shows the end of row 4.
 And end of row 5.
Now you can see the edges of the pattern evolving. You have to repeat this pattern all along.
As I have told you at the beginning of the tutorial it is always safe to make extra chains at the start of the pattern so that you can ensure that you have adequate chains to make the required length of the pattern and that you end with a peak. You can sew in the extra chains. In case you do not want to have extra chains an anonymous reader has commented that you have to make chains of multiples of 18+5.  You can give it a try.