Christmas Bunting!

You might remember several months ago I ordered some cotton to make bunting with, then I posted an update about how I was getting along, today I have the big reveal post!  It's done, well, almost done, I have a couple of triangles still to do so I can make a second string but I am waiting on some lovely people sending me a little more cotton as I ran out at the last minute.

Once the triangles are all crocheted up they need to be blocked so they hold their shape, and look more like actual triangles than the curved edge triangles they are when you crochet them.  I blocked mine by securing them onto an old bath mat with some little pins. 

 I held an iron just above them and blasted them with steam and then left them to dry off and cool down so that they would hold their shape.

Then it's just a case of taking them off and laying them out ready to be strung together, as you can see I am two triangles short of two sets of 7 triangle bunting.  You can also see that some of my triangles are a bit smaller than other, next time I think I should measure as I pin them because some got more stretched out than others.

The final stage before hanging is to attach all the triangles together, I did this by creating a chain to start and then slip stitching into each of the triangles right along the top edge, then some more chain stitches in between and at the other end so I had something to use to hang it up.

I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out, it definitely does look like bunting which is a big bonus, unfortunately by the time I was done the light had gone so the pictures are a little dull looking, it's more festive in natural light, I promise.

I found this a relatively simple project to do and it's made me want to buy more cotton in other colours and make a large set of bunting, maybe for my little niece's bedroom, that's a project - and purchase - that can wait until the new year though!

Rainbow Ripple Progress

A few quick photos of my progress with the rainbow ripple blanket.

 

 

I'm pleased with how this is coming along, I've crocheted 25 rows so far which means I am on to my second run through the rainbow. 

 

It's hard to tell at the moment but I think the balance of colours is pretty good, roughly even hot and cool shades which is what I was aiming for - it's definitely bright enough...

 

The one thing I am not 100% happy with is how many colours I have used, I wonder if it might have looked better with fewer shades and more rainbow repeats?

 

I think it's the sort of blanket which needs to be worked up fully before I can decide, it's hard to get an idea of how it will look with the repeating rainbow pattern until I have worked a good few more rows.



Rainbow Ripple Progress

I finally decided on a definite order for my rainbow and started work on the blanket.

 

 

I've had some assistance and supervision...

 

...and so far it's going well, I think having previously done a smaller version of the ripple blanket I have a good grasp of the pattern so I find it quite therapeutic to work away at it without having to think too much, it's working up fairly quickly and I'm pretty pleased with the size of it - it's wide enough to cover my lap but not so wide that there's loads of extra to scrunch up and get in the way.

 

I'm still not 100% on the colours, I am beginning to wonder if less might have been more and I've tried to cram too many different shades in but I'm fairly determined to carry on and see how it goes, it's certainly very bright!

Bunting Progress...

My bunting is coming along nicely, so far I have 7 little triangles, a few more and I think I can start to string them together, I'm planning on putting them above my fire so I shouldn't need too many of them to stretch across the hearth.

 

 

I'm really enjoying working with the cotton, it's quite a different feel to the acrylic yarn I am used to and I'm definitely tempted to order some other colour and maybe try a blanket with it at some point.

 

I'm not totally sure just yet how I am going to string the triangles together, I want something fairly simple but sturdy so that they bunting holds it's shape when it's hung up.

 

I still have a lot of ends to sew in and a few more triangles to make but so far I'm really pleased with hos this little Christmas project is coming along.

Christmas Crochet - Bunting

My second idea for Christmas, crochet wise, is to try and make some bunting.  Again I think I will probably end up going with Lucy from Attic24's pattern as it seems simple enough and the bunting for Yarndale looked pretty effective.

 

To keep it looking Christmasssy I decided to use very specific colours, and a new type of yarn...

 

 

After having read about Rico creative cotton on various blogs I was really keen to try it out but not quite brave enough, or rich enough, to order enough to make a full blanket without knowing I would love it.  So I thought choosing a selection of festive colours and making some bunting might be a good start amd would give me an idea how it was to work with.

 

Hopefully the colours alone will make it obviously Christmassy although I can't help thinking ITALY when I look at the pictures. :D  I'll post an update when I've had a go and, hopefully, created a few triangles!



Christmas Crochet - Snowflakes

 I'm making an attempt to get ahead with Christmas planning this year and I wanted to try and make some form of decoration for the flat. You may remember that I brought back some thin crochet cotton from Spain with me, this seemed like the ideal way to try it out.   Although I have to admit it was by far the most fiddly crochet I have ever attempted due to the thin cotton and small hook.

 

I saw that Lucy from Attic24 had a pattern for snowflakes and since I generally get on alright with her instructions I decided to give it a bash, she uses much thicker yarn though on a bigger hook.  My hook is a 2mm one which is by far the thinnest I have ever crocheted with so far.

 

Despite that I think my first attempt went quite well...

 

The only issue is that making it with such thin cotton and a small hook the snowflakes ended up being rather smaller than I had hoped...

 

I'm going to need A LOT of these to actually create anything worthy of using it to decorate with!