Friday, 16 December 2011

Crochet Christmas tree decoration tutorial

Well, here is my first attempt at a tutorial, for the little Christmas tree I made earlier in the week, and here's hoping that it works out for you if you want to give it a go. It is a beginner's project, I guess, but we've all got to start somewhere!

Here's the finished tree


Abbreviations :- dc: US double crochet, (uk treble crochet), yarn round hook, insert hook in stitch, yarn round hook and draw through (three loops on hook), yarn round, draw through 2, yarn round, draw through remaining 2 loops.

I used dark green DMC Petra crochet cotton, size 3. That's about 4 or 5 ply US I think. And a 2.5mm crochet hook. But any size yarn and hook as long as the stitches are firm and quite densely crocheted.

Triangle, make two. It is easier than it sounds, as you will see when you work through the steps:
Make a loop, leave a long tail, this will be the hanging loop when you sew it all together.

Foundation row: Chain 4 (3ch counts as first dc of row 1)

Row 1: 2 dc in 4th chain from hook, 1st row completed, (3 stitches) turn

Row 2: Ch 3, 1dc in first dc from previous row, dc in second stitch, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (5 stitches in row), turn

Row 3: Ch 3, 1 dc in first dc from previous row, dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (7 stitches), turn.

Row 4: Ch 3, 1 dc in first dc from previous row, dc in each of next 5 stitches, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (9 stitches), turn.



5 - 11: Continue to increase 1 stitch at each end of every row until the triangle is the size you want it. Mine is 11 rows and finishes with 23 dc in the last row.

Here is a picture of the last stitch in a row before and after the increase. I have always found it fiddly, finding which stitch is the third one of the turning chain. I still fudge it occasionally, as long as the edge looks straight! Sorry, to all those expert crocheters out there:)


First stitch going in:

First stitch at three loops stage


Do the same again, in the same place, and there is your increase:


Cut yarn, leaving a reasonable length tail which you will use to sew the triangles together. Draw yarn through loop to fasten off.

When you have made two triangles join them together, if you darn over the edge carefully you can blend the stitch in with your crochet. I placed a slightly smaller triangle of green felt in between the layers to hide the 'holes' and to give the tree more body. Or you could stuff the body of the tree if you prefer.



Make a loop to hang the tree up from your original tail end of yarn right at the beginning, sew firmly to the top of the triangle, darn in all the ends and trim.



Decorate both sides of the tree with shiny embroidery, I used a chain stitch for tinsel, and sewed on little beads as baubles (from a discarded child's bead kit actually, from many years ago, I never throw anything away!). Or you could glue them on for speed.



And there you have it, a festive tree decoration!

Hope all is clear and correct, feedback would be great, my first tutorial!

Boy does it make you concentrate on what you are doing:)


P.S. Here are the instructions without the pictures, if you want to copy/ print them. Have fun :)

Make a loop, leave a long tail, on one of the triangles anyway.

Foundation row: Chain 4 (3ch counts as first dc of row 1)

Row 1: 2 dc in 4th chain from hook, 1st row completed, (3 stitches) turn

Row 2: Ch 3, 1dc in first dc from previous row, dc in second stitch, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (5 stitches in row), turn

Row 3: Ch 3, 1 dc in first dc from previous row, dc in each of next 3 stitches, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (7 stitches), turn.

Row 4: Ch 3, 1 dc in first dc from previous row, dc in each of next 5 stitches, 2 dc in third stitch of turning chain from previous row (9 stitches), turn.

5 - 11: Continue to increase 1 stitch at each end of every row until the triangle is the size you want it. E.g 11 rows finishing with 23 dc in the last row.

Cut yarn, leaving a reasonable length tail which you will use to sew the triangles together. Draw yarn through loop to fasten off.

Repeat the above to make another triangle, join them together using the end tail of thread and a whip stitch or similar.

Make a loop to hang the tree up from your original tail end of yarn right at the beginning, sew firmly to the top of the triangle, darn in all the ends and trim.

Decorate both sides of the tree with shiny embroidery thread, beads or other decoration. Hang and admire :)

Sunday, 11 December 2011

Little Christmas tree

Here is a little thing I am working on, and I am so happy because.... I made it up myself:). So just going to decorate it this evening and the big ta-da tomorrow. I can even do a tutorial:) Although it is a simple little thing, anyone who can do crochet could probably make it up.... But maybe there are people out there just starting, like me, who need little simple projects?

Here's a little sneak preview (sorry about the quality of the photos - it gets dark so early)

Friday, 9 December 2011

First attempt, needs some work

A little decoration from here, not quite perfect but recognisable. It was a challenge, being so small, but I was quite pleased with the result. Oh I do love blogland, people are so generous with their knowledge. Thank you!

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

City lights

I am weak! I didn't need another project but couldn't resist this kit when I went to the fabric shop for some coloured thread. I shouldn't have even stopped to look, I know. But then I had this little internal conversation. The thing is, I say to justify it to myself, I know exactly who I am going to make this for. So really I am just thinking ahead to her birthday next August....

And the fabric is just so beautiful.

Monday, 5 December 2011

Hubble Bubble

I haven't done any crafting for a few days - but I do have an excuse. I signed up a while ago for an intensive weekend advanced Italian course, and that was where I was this weekend. Boy was my brain hurting by Sunday night! So today was spent catching up washing, cleaning and ... Going for a walk with a friend who tore me away from the housework :)
Anyway, in the absence of creative crafts, can you guess what this is?

It's a sourdough starter for a friendship cake, bizzarely named Herman! I look forward to baking it tomorrow, and passing on the starter to a couple of friends.
Hope you all had a good weekend
X

Friday, 2 December 2011

Another one bites the dust

Another wip that is. My nearly-finished table mats and napkins are now officially - Finished.

Hope you like it!

Inspiration - again pre-blogging, so I don't have the exact web reference, but it was a picture of colour block placemats and similar napkins by Elizabeth Hartman from Ohfransson.com. Although I made it up my own way :)

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Fairisle

Oh dear, been busy and no blog for a week! I have managed a little bit of craft, I've been experimenting with the sock wool and after many hours hunting through patterns and charts, consulting my knitting book and wrestling with swatches and samples I have come up with this:

Not much to show for two mornings' work is it? But I have learned a lot about the technique. I've never been a big knitter so it was quite a steep learning curve. Now I have to learn how to knit on double pointed needles..... Another learning curve.