Happy Holidays!!

How long will it take me to crochet this?

Namaste friends!

Gifting season is fast approaching and since we are already in October I am sure you are frantically crocheting/knitting/painting or crafting whatever you are best at. :)

Handmade gifts are any day preferable to store bought ones. But very often we are hesistant to start a handmade project, and there could be various reasons for that;

a) you are a newbie crocheter

b) you have a large family which means tons of gifts to make!

c) you have very little time for crochet given your busy schedule

d) you have a tough time deciding what to make.

Of course there could be tons of other reasons too.

So, when I came across this wonderful fun calculator at lovecrafts.com that will solve the problems listed above, I knew I had to share it with you.

This lovely calculator tells you exactly how much time it will take to crochet a particular project! 

What? You are a beginner crocheter? You can spare only 2 hours per day?

No problem. As you can see below, this calculator takes into account various factors like your level of crochet expertise, the number of hours you can spare per day and has a wide range of projects to choose from. 

Also lovecrafts.com  has a ton of free patterns for you to try.

I urge you to try out this calculator and, dive right in and get crocheting. Maybe this year you can make that warm shawl for Granma or a lovely hat for someone special.

Do let me know if you try it out and whether you found it helpful. 

And while you are at it try these free crochet patterns on my blog. As well as these easy patterns on Ravelry and Etsy.

So, Happy Crocheting and I hope you make tons of crochet gifts this year for your loved ones. :)

Stardust Melodies Afghan Ta-Dah

* This post contains affiliate links which if you use for any purchase, may yield me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
Namaste friends, Happy Republic Day.

Today India celebrates its 70th Republic Day and it is a proud day for every Indian. As per the tradition started by my Dad, I watched the Republic Day parade on TV. I love watching the parade, the spirited marching, the tableaus and the dances performed by school children. 
Don't patriotic celebrations and the National Anthem leave you teary-eyed? 
No? Only me?... Okay, never mind. 

On a side note, I don't understand all this controversy about (not) standing up for the National Anthem when it is played at the beginning of movies, at the theatres. 
Young men are giving up their lives at our borders so that you can relax, live a normal life and watch a movie whenever you want to. And you cannot stand up for 52 seconds while the National Anthem is playing! Disgusting!!
Worry not, that is the end of my rant :)

Now, on to the crochet front, I am going to share my most favourite project till date - the Stardust Melodies Blanket.

The Pattern:

This pattern was a CAL on Every Trick on the Hook by the super talented Polly Plum. 
It consists of 24 squares and 2 different types of borders. The CAL ran for 13 weeks with two patterns being released per week.

Now for the best part! Twelve of the squares were free (still free on the blog) and twelve were paid patterns on Ravelry. I decided to make only the free ones and repeat them to make my blanket. 
But two weeks into the CAL I was in love with the patterns and decided to make all the squares. :)

As you can see it was totally worth it!

Yarn:

The reason I was excited about this project was that it gave me a chance to get out my favourite yarn which I had been hoarding for years viz: Stylecraft Special DK.*

I had purchased the yarn from Deramores over the years, in small lots. Mainly because the cost of yarn along with shipping fees made it a bit expensive. And I was going to use it only for a very special project. 

The shades I chose are Apricot, Citron, Meadow, Pomegranate, Sherbet, Shrimp and Turquoise. I wanted a bright nursery theme and a mix of colours that would make the blanket lovely enough for a girl or a boy. :)

Hook:

I used a 4.50 mm hook* for the blanket, which was the recommended hook. It has given a lovely drape to the blanket.

I was going to block the blanket before posting it, but as "done is better than perfect", I decided to proceed with the blog post and not succumb to procrastination.

Each square was a delight and while some squares were a bit difficult, the ebook has charts for all squares. Polly has even added how-to videos on Youtube.

I joined the squares by holding them wrong sides together and sc into the back loops only. Since the squares were textured, I liked the ridge between the squares.

In spite of all that texture going on, on the front, the back of the blanket is really neat making it just right for little ones!

Can you tell I am in love with the blanket!

While it is all fine to say "Age is just a number", I think nature always catches up. I am now in my early fifties and while making this blanket I got a sudden and real urge to have little grand-babies playing around me.

Since that is a few years away I will just keep this blanket safely wrapped up, in anticipation. :)

In the meanwhile, my hexagon blanket is still in the WIPs basket waiting for a border and hopefully, I can reach a decision soon.

I hope you are following me on Instagram as I share my progress pics and crochet experiments there, before posting on the blog.

Another bit of news is that all my patterns are now available on Ravelry 

See you soon with some more crochet goodness. :) 

* This post contains affiliate links which if you use for any purchase, may yield me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

Crochet Hexagon Blanket - Half Hexagon pattern and Joining

Namaste friends, How has 2019 begun for you?

This year I have chosen "Persistence" as my Word of the Year. I think in 2018 I gave up very easily on things that could have been simply awesome. 

Yes, moving across states, an overseas trip, a change of job by hubby are facts that cannot be ignored. 
But, at the end of the day, these are just excuses and not reasons.

For now, let us "persist" with the hexagon blanket and proceed towards completion. :)

Crochet Half Hexagon pattern

Materials:

Yarn: DK wt yarn*

Hook: 4.5 mm*

Yarn needle

Quantity of yarn and blanket size will be updated upon completion.

Gauge: Each half hexagon is approx 4" from centre to side and 8.5" corner to corner

Note: Ch 3 at beg of each round counts as a dc.

          The pattern is written in US terms.

Stitch abbreviations (In US terms)

beg: beginning 

ch: chain

sl st; slip stitch

dc: double crochet

rep: repeat

sp: space

Rnd: round

nxt: next

Ch 4, join with sl st to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 3, dc into ring, ch 2, 2dc into ring, ch2, 2dc into ring. Turn. (6 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt st, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp,  dc in nxt 2 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt st, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. Turn. (12 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 3: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt 3 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, * dc in nxt 4 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt 3 sts, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. Turn. (18 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 4: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt 5 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp,  dc in nxt 6 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt 5 sts, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. Turn. (24 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 5: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt 7 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp,  dc in nxt 8 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt 7 sts, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. Turn. (30 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 6: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt 9 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp,  dc in nxt 10 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt 9 sts, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. Turn. (36 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Rnd 7: Ch 3, dc in same st, dc in nxt 11 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp,  dc in nxt 12 sts, (dc, ch 2, dc) into ch-2 sp, dc in nxt 11 sts, 2dc into top of beg ch 3. 

Fasten off (42 dc, 2 ch-2 sps).

Get the free pattern for the full hexagons in this post.

Joining the Hexagons

Hexagons can be joined using many different methods. 
For this blanket, I joined the hexagons by slip stitching them together in the back loops only.

Here a photo tutorial:

Hold two hexagons with the right sides together. With a slip knot on the hook, insert hook into the second ch of the ch-2 space on both hexagons, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.

Now insert hook into the back loops only of the next stitch on both hexagons.

Once again yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on hook.  Slip stitch in back loops only is done.

Continue slip stitching through the back loops of remaining stitches.

Then, slip stitch through the first ch of the ch-2 space.

Crochet quite loosely ensuring there are no puckers and don't join too many hexagons at one go, or else the hexagons turn into bowls.

Ask me how I know...LOL!

This is how the seam will look on the wrong side.

And here is a look at the front side, with the seam not visible at all.

Now, we will attach the next hexagon by holding it right sides together, just like before.

Insert hook into the second chain of ch-2 space on BOTH hexagons. Yarn over and pull through all loops.

Proceed as before by slip stitching through the back loops of remaining stitches

End with slip stitch in first ch of ch-2 space.

Each ch in the ch-2 sp is joined to the adjacent hexagon. Three hexagons will join at any corner.

You can follow this exact method to SEW your hexagons together using a sewing needle, but I prefer to crochet them together.

I hope you found this tutorial useful. Do give this blanket a try as it is a very, very simple pattern.

Now off I go to decide a border for this blanket.

Let me know if you have any queries. Happy crocheting.

* This post contains affiliate links which if you use for any purchase, may yield me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you.