CROCHET QUILTS – no guilt

I used to be a quilter. Occasionally, I still get the ‘itch’ to pull out my fabric, scissors, and needle and whip one up. Last time I did that, I spent the entire day at it and ended up with a small wall hanging that found a home with a friend. I just went out to my front yard, gathered leaves from several different trees to use as templates for appliques, cut my fabric and hand stitched the whole works together. It was so satisfying.

Now that I’m a dedicated, dyed in the wool crocheter, I have discovered that I can combine my l0ve of quilting with my love of crochet. All it takes is your crochet skills and some knowledge of geometry – or at least the ability to crochet squares, triangles, etc and join them. There are a number of free patterns for this technique, but this is one you can certainly try on your own with no pattern. Great for using up scraps too.

Here are a few ideas.

Nine Patch is one of the most basic and commonly made quilts. Here’s how you can crochet one:

http://happyyellowhouse.com/htm/baby9patch.html

Another ever-popular design, especially this time of year, is the Wedding Ring. Here it is in crochet:

http://www.coatsandclark.com/NR/rdonlyres/A645C5B1-1501-46EE-9B8A-3C65C6650015/71959/WT1648.pdf

And, here’s another classic, especially designed for those among us who actually ENJOY joining motifs!!

http://www.happyyellowhouse.com/htm/swmed.html

These are just some ideas. Of course, there are other resources online and in books and magazines. But, try one on your own. Find a quilt pattern you like, grab your yarn scraps, and make one for yourself or another.

Read These Next

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Read These Next

Have you read?