Spring Bubbles Mandala

Pattern: Made in K-Town by Barbara

Please respect my rights as designer: do not sell, share, translate, or publish any parts of this pattern (including pictures) online or elsewhere without my permission.
Do not claim this pattern as your own.

Feel free to sell the finished items you’ve made from my pattern!

If you do, a link-back to my blog www.made-in-k-town.blogspot.de would be great. Thank you!

Material:

All you need for this Mandala are small amounts of your favorite yarn and the according hook. For this Tutorial I worked with 4 different colors of cotton yarn (Catania by Schachenmayr) and a 2.5mm hook. My Mandala measures 13,5 cm in diameter (5.3") but the size will vary depending on the yarn you use, so gauge is not important.

Pattern Notes and Special Stitches:

For this pattern I use US crochet terms. Starting with a magic ring, we’ll need the following stitches: chain stitch (ch), slip stitch (slst), single crochet (sc), double crochet (dc), treble crochet (tr) and some

Special Stitches:

Crossed Double Crochet (crossed dc):  yarn over (yo), and – working over the last dc you’ve just made – insert hook into the stitch before the dc you’ve just made and finish dc as usual. (Together with a dc and ch-1, the crossed dc form a kind of “crossed V-stitch”, you could say).

Surface Stitches: having a loop on your hook and holding the yarn behind your work, insert hook in between the next two dc’s, yo, pull loop through the gap and through the loop on your hook. Basically, it’s just working slip stitches around the body of the dc.

Double Single Crochet (dsc): insert your hook into the indicated stitch or space, yo, pull through space (2 loops on hook), yo, insert hook into the same space again, yo, pull through space (4 loops on hook), yo, pull through all 4 loops on your hook.

Some of the explanations in this pattern might sound a little bit difficult, but I promise you – with a hook in your hand, it’s all easy-peasy :) If you are an absolute beginner or don’t feel comfortable with the special stitches, I also give you some alternative (easier) solutions for the according rounds!

Please note:

I usually start all my rounds with a standing stitch (i.e. the recquired stitch right away) instead of starting with beginning chains. The written pattern however is with beginning chains, so don’t worry if the pictures don’t match your work exactly! It’s up to you, if you want to start a round with standing stitches or beginning chains.

Rnd 1

Start with a magic ring, ch-4 (counts as dc and ch-1), work (dc, ch-1) 15x into the ring, join with a slst to third ch of your beginning ch’s, fasten off. (16 dc, 16 ch-1 gaps)

Don’t pull the magic ring too tight yet!

Rnd 2

Attach another color with a slst to any ch-1 space, ch-1, sc in same space, ch-1, *sc in the next gap, ch-1*, repeat from * around and join with a slst to first sc, fasten off. (16 sc, 16 ch-1 gaps)

  

Rnd 3

Attach another color with a sl st to any ch-1 space, ch-4 (counts as dc and ch-1), crossed dc into the ch-1 gap before the gap where you’ve started, *dc into the next free gap, ch-1, crossed dc into the (already “taken”) gap before the stitch you’ve just made* repeat from * around and join with a slst to third ch of your beginning ch’s, fasten off. (16 crossed V-Stitches, 16 ch-1 gaps)

For the crossed dc see “Special Stitches” in the pattern notes above.

For the last dc/crossed dc repetition, place the dc into the space where you’ve already placed your first crossed dc at the beginning of the round – so actually this is not a “free” gap.

You should now have two dc’s (one regular, one crossed) coming out of each ch-1 gap of round 2, right?

You can now pull the magic ring tight, if you haven’t already.

Easy Alternative: just work regular V-Stitches (i.e. dc, ch-1, dc) in every ch-1 gap around.

Rnd 4

Attach another color with a slst to any ch-1 space, ch-3 (counts as dc) and 2 more dc into the same space, *3 dc into the next space*, repeat from * around and join with a slst to beginning ch-3, fasten off. (48 dc, no spaces)

Rnd 5

Holding the yarn at the back of your work, insert hook in between any two dc’s of the previous round, yo, pull loop through the gap and work surface stitches around. To finish the round, work the last surface stitch in the gap where you started, cut thread, and finish off. Use your hook or a needle to pull the loose end through to the back again, tie the two ends together and weave them in.

For the surface stitches see “Special Stitches” in the pattern notes above.
You can also add this round in the end when you're finished with the rest - this is a suggestion from my sister who tested this pattern for me. Danke Sabine! :) 

Easy Alternative: just skip this round, it’s just for decoration and won’t change the stitch count.

Rnd 6

Turn your work, so that the left side is facing you! Attach another color with a slst to any dc of rnd 4. Ch-1, sc in the same stitch, tr in the next stitch, *sc in the next stitch, tr in the next stitch* repeat from * around and join with a slst to first sc, fasten off and turn again. (24 sc/tr pairs)

Now you should see the “bubbles” (or bobbles, but I like bubbles better *gg*), that have formed by working the sc/tr combinations.

Make sure you don’t accidently grab the surfaces stitches of round 5 while working this round! (I mention that, because it happened to me before)

  

Rnd 7

With the right side facing you again, attach another color with a slst to any sc of the previous round (those are the smaller looking, tighter stitches of the two). Ch-1, sc in the same stitch, ch-3, skip the tr, *sc in the next sc, ch-3, skip the tr*, repeat from * around and join with a slst to first sc, fasten off. (24 sc, 24 ch-3 gaps)

Rnd 8

Attach another color with a slst to any ch-3 space, ch-3 (counts as dc) and 2 more dc into the same space, *3 dc into the next space*, repeat from * around and join with a slst to beginning ch-3, fasten off. (72 dc, no spaces)

Rnd 9

Attach another color with a slst to any dc, ch-4 (counts as dc and ch-1), crossed dc into the dc before the stitch where you’ve started, *skip the next free dc, dc into the next dc, ch-1, crossed dc into the skipped dc before the stitch you’ve just made* repeat from * around and join with a slst to third ch of your beginning ch’s, fasten off. (36 crossed V-Stitches, 36 ch-1 gaps)

For the crossed dc see “Special Stitches” in the pattern notes above. Notice the difference to round 3? This time you’ve only got one dc (regular or crossed) coming out of each stitch of the previous round. The crossed V-Stitches don’t “touch” at the base like in round 3.

Easy Alternative:  just work regular V-Stitches (i.e. dc, ch-1, dc) in every second dc around, i.e. skip one dc between the V-Stitches.

Rnd 10

Attach another color with a slst to any ch-1 gap of the previous round, ch-1, 2 double sc (dsc) in the same gap, ch-1, *2 dsc in the next gap, ch-1*, repeat from * around and join with a slst to first dsc, fasten off and weave in all the ends. (36x2 dsc, 36 ch-1 spaces)

For the double sc see “Special Stitches” in the pattern notes above.

Easy Alternative: instead of double sc’s use regular sc’s and work (2sc, ch-1) in every ch-1 gap around. But I really hope you try this fun and easy stitch, though – it makes for a nice, dense finish!

I hope you've enjoyed making this easy new Mandala. If you've got any questions or find errors in this pattern, please let me know!

edit: after I had taken all the pictures and written down the pattern, I noticed that crossed dc's are usually worked behind the first dc and not over the dc, like I did here. Maybe you want to try both version and see which alternative you like better! (I go with the behind-cross next time *gg*)

You can also share your Spring Bubbles Mandala in the Project Gallery on Ravelry!

Pattern Preview: A New Mandala

Hello there!

I've only just realized, that my last post - the pattern for the Easter Bunny ornaments - was my 400th post on this blog! Wow... 

The most popular of all my posts - with almost 600.000 visits - is still my Little Spring Mandala. So, to celebrate 400 posts and the fact that you're still here with me, I thought I'd design another Mandala to share with you:

I thought about "Little Spring Mandala 2.0" for a name, but didn't really like it. So - because the one round in the middle is kind of "bubbly" and because it's spring again - I thought I'd call it "Spring Bubbles Mandala"

What you see in the pictures above and in the next one below was my prototype, and I have to say, I like the colors a lot :)

The next picture is the mandala I've made for the picture tutorial. I'll be posting the pattern at the end of this week, and I hope you all gonna like my Spring Bubbles Mandala as much as you liked the Little Spring Mandala!

Thank you all for hanging in there with me, and have a great week! :)

Easter Bunny Ornaments

Pattern: Made in K-Town by Barbara

This pattern is inspired by a picture I’ve seen on Pinterest.

Unfortunately there was no pattern or source attached to the Pin,

so I’ve designed this pattern myself, based on what I saw on the picture.

If you happen to be the original designer, please let me know,
so I can give you credit for the idea.

Material:

For this pattern I’ve worked with small amounts of cotton yarn (Rico essentials cotton dk) and a slightly thinner hook than it is suggested for the yarn (suggestion is 3-4, I've worked with a 2.5mm hook). I highly recommend that you use cotton yarn as well, so that the ornaments – and mainly the ears – keep their shape. You’ll also need a ring (crochet ring or key ring). Mine measures 36 mm (1,4”) in diameter, but the pattern is easy to adjust to any other kind of yarn or ring-size.

Stitches:

For this pattern I use US crochet terms. We’ll need the following stitches: chain stitch (ch), slip stitch (slst), single crochet (sc), and half double crochet (hdc).

First, let’s start with

The Ring:

1st Round

Attach yarn with a slst to your ring, ch-1, 1 sc into the ring, ch-20, slst in the first ch to form a big loop. 3 sc into the ring, ch-20, slst in the first ch to make the second ear. 30 sc into the ring, close the round with a slst to where you started.

2nd Round

Slst in the first sc, slst in every back bump of each of the next 20 ch, slst in the next 3 sc, slst in every back bump of each of the next 20 ch, slst in the next 30 sc. Close the round with a slst to the first slst of this round.

Cut thread, fasten off, and weave in the ends.

Try to work the 20ch-loops a littler looser than you normally would, that makes it easier to work into the back bumps later! Depending on the yarn you use and the size of your ring, you might want to adjust the number of chains worked for the ears and the number of stitches you have to work into the ring: The ring should have enough stitches to be covered (i.e. "invisible") completely, but not too many so it doesn't ruffle. For the ears, adjust the number of chains according to the desired size of the bunny ears.

Next, we’re gonna make

The Bow:

For the bow, start with a magic ring and a longer tail than usual (about the length you want for the hanger), ch1, 3 hdc, ch1, slst into the ring. Then once again: ch1, 3 hdc, ch1, slst into the ring. Cut the thread (about as long as the other end) and fasten off. Wrap the two ends (in two different directions) tightly around the middle of the bow once or twice, and secure with a knot on the back.

If you want to make a bigger bow, you can also work 2x *ch2, 3dc, ch2, slst into the ring*

And now, we’re gonna bring it all together:

Position the bow (I like to cover the beginning, which is sometimes not that neat), and - using a tapestry needle - pull the ends to the backside of your work, using the spaces left and right to the according stitch (what I want to say is: don't use the same gap for both ends). Make a knot to hold the bow in place. With the tapestry needle pull the two ends behind the stitches up to the middle sc between the ears. Tie the ends together at the desired length of your hanger.

And that's it! :)

I hope you've enjoyed making this quick and easy ornament. If you've got any questions or find errors in this pattern, please let me know! You can also share your easter bunnies in the Project Gallery on Ravelry!

Pattern Preview: Easter Bunny Ornaments

Hi there!

Have you noticed? It's less than five weeks until Easter, so I've been working on some cute little Easter decorations, and this is what I've made:

Actually this is not a new pattern. In fact, I had already posted a picture of these on my Facebook page in April 2014, and that was the last post there until February this year.

This pattern wasn't my own idea, but is inspired by a picture I’ve seen on Pinterest. Unfortunately there was no pattern or source attached to the Pin (otherwise I'd give credit), so I’ve designed this pattern myself, based on what I saw on the picture.

So, what do you think? Do you want to make some of those cute little fellas, too? I hope so, because I've already written down the pattern and prepared the next blog post :) Just check back in a few days for the free tutorial. You can also follow me on Facebook, so that you'll never miss a new post! In the meantime, you might want to get some key- or crochet-rings (if you don't have any), because we're going to need them for the ornaments. Mine measure 36mm (1.4"), but the pattern is easy adjustable to any other size, too.

Have a great day everyone! :)

A Tale of Five Blankets - Chapter 5

Welcome to the last (but not final) chapter of my Tale of Five Blankets!

As I've already mentioned in my last post, the last blanket in this series is one that I've made just a few weeks ago.

I've also mentioned earlier, that I've sold most of my yarn on Ebay a while ago. And while the auction was still on, I was shopping with John (yeah, he's still around, too *gg*) and my Mom at a big grocery store and saw this color gradient acrylic yarn and thought right away that this would be perfect for a baby blanket. My Mom liked it, too, but I told her that I definitely won't buy any more yarn, when I've just managed to finally get rid of most of my stash. But of course the yarn kept sitting and nagging in the back of my mind.

So, just a few days later I gave in, drove back to the grocery store, bought four balls with two different color gradients, and started this blanket right away. Four days later it was finished :)

I've used my favorite double-ended crochet pattern again, and the final size is 81 x 71cm. For the border, I've worked a round of sc's, followed by a round of 2dc's in every second sc, followed by a final round of a front-post dc / regular sc combination, that I had already used for the previous blanket in this series.

The yarn for the front side is Calista Color acrylic yarn by Schachenmayr, but either it's a brandnew yarn or completely outdated, because Google hasn't found a single (correct) entry to this! Thank god I've found it at the grocery store!

For the back I've used Stylecraft Special DK in cream, because it's the same quality and yarn-weight as Calista.

So that was it - the fifth chapter of my Tale of Five Blankets. But the whole story isn't told yet...

I'm so glad that I've found my way back to crochet and I'm really back in "the flow" right now. While I was posting these five blankets here, I've managed to

- finish three (!) more baby blankets

- make some cute little easter ornaments

- design a brand-new mandala pattern

- design another brand-new mandala with matching coasters

and

- (accidently) design a new square pattern.

So, there's a lot to look forward to. Just hope I don't lose my mojo again :)

Have a great Sunday,

A Tale of Five Blankets - Chapter 4

Hey girls!

I'm back today with Chapter 4 of my Tale of Five Blankets. Today it's another (classic) Granny Square Blanket.

It's been a while since I've made it, but I think I had seen a picture on Pinterest of a crochet blanket with a grey background and thought I'd like to try this, too.

I really like the way the colors "pop" on this background, don't you?

Once more, I've used the fabulous Stylecraft Special DK acrylic yarn, and although I haven't written down the colors, meanwhile I'm able to recognize them by heart: Clematis, Sherbet, Saffron, Shrimp, Apricot, and Aspen. The tiny squares are framed with one round in Cream, and then joined with the continuous join-as-you-go method in Graphite (okay, I had to look that one up *gg*)

For the border I've used the block stitch pattern again, and finished it off with border no. 120 from Edie Eckman's book "Around The Corner - Crochet Borders", it's a front-post dc/regular sc combination. The final blanket measures 78x78 cm.

I'm also happy to say that this is the first blanket I've actually sold. My sister-in-law wanted something special to give to her friend who recently had her first baby, and this blanket was the one she picked from my pile of the five blankets that I'm showing you in this series.

The first four blankets you've seen now have one thing in common: I've made them all before or during my long blog break. The last one in the series is a brand-new one, that I've made just a few weeks ago. Turned out I still know how to hold a hook and where to place my stitches! :)

See you all next time for the final chapter of my Tale of Five Blankets!

A Tale of Five Blankets - Chapter 3

Hello World!

I hope you've enjoyed your week-end and found some time for crocheting or enjoyed the weather - which btw has been exceptionally nice in k-town on Saturday! I've been crocheting a lot in the past few weeks, too, but before I show you my new stuff, there are still some more chapters in my Tale of Five Blankets.

Usually I have two or three go-to patterns when I start a new blanket, but this one is different. I've found the pattern on Pinterest, it's the "Juicy Fruit Afghan Crochet Pattern" and it's available for free on favecrafts.

The finished blanket (it's a baby blanket again) measures 90 x 70 cm and of course I've worked with Stylecraft Special DK again. The colors are Cream, Clematis, Sherbet and Saffron.

What I really liked about this pattern is the border: It starts with shells right away, so there's no need to work into the side of the stitches when you're making the side border. I've never been good at that, so this edging really did me a favor here :)

All in all it's a fun and easy pattern, and I've really enjoyed making it. Maybe I'll be using it again one day :)

Coming up next: one more Granny Square Blanket :)

Wishing you all a great start into the new week,