Category Archives: Crochet Along

Lammas Day CAL: Part 1 – Ploughing and Sprigs

Posted in Crochet, Crochet Along, Free Patterns by

Hooray! It’s here! Week 1 of the Lammas Day Crochet-Along and I’m super excited to start this journey of 4 weeks to create a harvest inspired shawl, and hopefully some wonderful crochet memories too!

If you are brand new to the CAL you can find all the information you need on the CAL landing page, where I’ll link all the CAL posts in one place as I add them here to the blog. If you want to join in the CAL using the same yarn I did I have put together a list of stockists on a previous post.  

During the duration of the CAL this pattern will be released part by part here on the blog, after the full CAL has finished there will be a FREE PDF ebooklet available on the Anchor Crafts website (link to follow).

We are going to make a start on our shawl today with increases to begin the shape of our triangle shawl, then we are going to follow up with ploughing our first field with some striped spike stitches, before planting those first sprig stitches as the crops in our first field begin to grow.

Lammas Day CAL: Part 1 – Ploughing and Sprigs

Yarn: Anchor Organic Cotton (4ply)

The amount listed below is the amount required to make the whole Lammas Day Shawl

  • 5 x 50g / 125 m Organic Cotton: 00105 (Natural) – YARN A
  • 1 x 50g / 125 m Organic Cotton: 00178 (Sunflower) – YARN B
  • 2 x 50g / 125 m Organic Cotton: 00103 (Rocky Orange) – YARN C
  • 2 x 50g / 125 m Organic Cotton: 00338 (Red Dunes) – YARN D
  • 1 x 50g / 125 m Organic Cotton: 00038 (Earthy Brown) – YARN E

Hook: You will need a 3.75mm (US size F/5) for this shawl. I have hooks, and other useful crochet tools, linked in my Amazon Store if this is something you need.

You will also need: Scissors, A yarn needle and stitch markers (mine were from Mrs G Makes).

Gauge: 5htr = 2.5cm (1inch). Gauge is not critical for this design, with each part I will provide the size of my work. If your gauge does not meet mine it will just mean you will end up with a bigger or smaller shawl and will possibly use more or less yarn than quoted as a consequence. If you wish to match my gauge you might try going up a hook size if your tension is quite tight, or going down a hook size if your tension is looser.

Finished Size:  Part 1 – 50cm long, 33cm at widest point

If you need a reminder of the shawl schematic you can find it on the CAL Planning post.

The pattern below is in UK Terms:

ABBREVIATIONS

  • RS                   Right Side
  • cm                   Centimetre
  • ch                    Chain
  • sp                    Space
  • st(s)                 Stitch(es)

STITCH GUIDANCE

  • Magic ring (MR): is also known as a Drawstring Ring or Magic Loop and is often used as a start for working amigurumi. To use a magic ring in crochet, you’ll make the first round of stitches into an adjustable loop. Then, simply pull the yarn tail to close up the loop nice and tight. If you are not familiar with this technique you could substitute with a ch2 and then work in the second ch from the hook.
  • Half Treble (htr): Yarn over, insert hook in indicated st and pull up a loop (three loops on hook), yarn over, pull through all three loops on hook.
  • Treble (tr): Yarn over, insert hook in  indicated st and pull up a loop (three loops on hook), yarn over, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through remaining two loops on hook.
  • Spike Stitch (SPtr): A Spike treble st is a treble in the stitch directly in the row below;  yarn over, insert hook in top of the stitch 1 row below, yarn over, pull to height of working row, (three loops on hook), complete treble stitch as normal (e.g. yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through two loops).
  • Sprig Stitch: (2tr in the first st, ch3, 2tr in the next st, miss 2sts) on first row, (2tr, ch3, 2tr) in the ch3-sp of the previous Sprig Stitch.

PATTERN NOTES

  • This pattern is for a triangular shawl that starts from one point and grows with each row; increases are made on one side only.
  • Add a stitch marker on the increase side, moving it onto the row as you work to help mark increase side.
  • You may also find it useful to add a stitch marker in the first stitch and the last stitch of each row.
  • Check stitch counts at the end of each row to keep on track
  • Keep any turning chains on the start of each row fairly loose so it doesn’t pull your work too tightly

CHART STITCH LEGEND

PATTERN – PART 1

Note: The ch1 at the start of each row does not count as a st

Row 1: (RS): With YARN A, MR, ch1, 2htr into the ring, turn. 2sts

Row 2: Ch1, 1htr in the first st, 2htr in the next st (first increase, this will form the increase side), turn. 3sts

Row 3: Ch1, 2htr in the first st, 1htr in each st across, turn. 4sts

Row 4: Ch1, 1htr in each st until the last st, 2htr in the last st, turn. 5sts

Rows 5 – 29: Repeat rows 3 – 4 twelve more times, and 3 once more, turn. 30sts

Fasten off YARN A and weave in ends.

Attach YARN B to the top of the last st worked;

Rows 30 – 32: Repeat rows 4 – 3 once and row 4 once more, turn. 33sts

Fasten off YARN B and weave in ends. Attach YARN A to the top of the last st worked;

Row 33: Ch1, 2htr in first st, SPtr in the next st, (1htr in 3sts, SPtr in the next st), repeat six more times, 1htr in the last 3sts, turn. 34sts

Rows 34 – 35: Repeat rows 4 and 3, turn. 36sts

Fasten off YARN A and weave in ends. Attach YARN B to the top of the last st worked;

Row 36: Ch1, 1htr in the first st, SPtr in the next st, (1htr in 3sts, SPtr in the next st), repeat seven more times, 1htr in the next st, 2htr in the last st, turn. 37sts

Rows 37 – 38: Repeat rows 3 and 4, turn. 39sts

Fasten off YARN B and weave in ends. Attach YARN A to the top of the last st worked;

Row 39: Ch1, 2htr in the first st, 1htr in the next 2sts, SPtr in the next st (1htr in 3sts, SPtr in the next st), repeat seven more times, 1htr in the remaining 3sts, turn. 40sts

Rows 40 – 41: Repeat rows 4 and 3, turn. 42sts

Fasten off YARN A and weave in ends. Attach YARN B to the top of the last st worked;

Row 42: Ch1, 1htr in the first st, (SPtr in the next st, 1htr in 3sts), repeat nine more times, 2htr in the last st, turn. 43sts

Rows 43 – 44: Repeat rows 3 and 4, turn. 45sts

Fasten off YARN B and weave in ends. Attach YARN A to the top of the last st worked;

Row 45: Ch1, 2htr in the first st, (SPtr in the next st, 1htr in 3sts), repeat ten more times, turn. 46sts

Rows 46 – 47: Repeat rows 4 and 3, turn. 48sts

Fasten off YARN A and weave in ends.

Attach YARN B to the top of the last st worked;

The next panel of the shawl will be worked in Sprig Stitch; at the start of the rows in this section the ch3 counts as a ‘tr’ st.

Row 48: Ch3, miss 2sts, (Sprig St) repeat ten more times across the row, miss 2sts, (2tr, ch3, 2tr) in the last st, turn.  49sts

Row 49: Ch3, working in the ch-3sp from the previous row (Sprig St) repeat eleven more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn.  50sts

Row 50: Ch3, (Sprig St) repeat eleven more times across the row, 2tr in the last st, turn.  51sts

Row 51: Ch3, 2tr in the next st, (Sprig St) repeat eleven more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn.  52sts

Row 52: Ch3, (Sprig St) repeat eleven more times across the row, [2tr between the 2tr and ch3 of the previous row, ch3, 2tr in the last st] counts as a Sprig St, turn.  53sts

Row 53: Ch3, (Sprig St) repeat twelve more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn. 54sts

Row 54: Ch3, (Sprig St) in the last ch3-sp of row 53, then repeat twelve more times, 2tr in the last st, turn.  55sts

Row 55: Ch3, 2tr in the next st, (Sprig St) repeat twelve more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn.  56sts

Row 56: Ch3, (Sprig St) repeat twelve more times across the row, [2tr between the 2tr and ch3 of the previous row, ch3, 2tr in the last st] counts as a Sprig St, turn.  57sts

Row 57: Ch3, (Sprig St) in the last ch3-sp of row 56; then repeat (Sprig St) thirteen more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn. 58sts

Row 58: Ch3, (Sprig St) repeat thirteen more times across the row, 2tr in the last st, turn.  59sts

Row 59: Ch3, 2tr in the next st, (Sprig St) repeat thirteen more times across the row, 1tr in the top of the beginning ch3 of the previous row, turn.  60sts

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Video Tutorial:

Click on the image below to be taken to a helpful video tutorial for this section …

Or alternatively find on Youtube here.

And that’s it! Part 1 completed! I hope you’ve enjoyed the start and I can’t wait to see your shawls grow!

The Schedule, Updates & Support:

As always if you need a reminder of the schedule then you can find the details on the CAL landing page (here) and you can keep up to date with the CAL details and get support if needed via the following links:

The hashtags for this CAL are #LammasDayCAL #proud2craft #anchorcrafting and #kcacouk for Twitter and Instagram. We would also love it if you can tag KCACO.UK and AnchorCrafting on Instagram so we don’t miss your posts!

You can also join in with any progress photos by linking your projects on your favourite social media sites: Ravelry, Facebook page or Facebook group and Pinterest; re-pin from this board here.

 Save the project to your favourites on Ravelry 

Thank you for crocheting along with me – the next three weeks are going to be so much fun!

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected. You can read more about my affiliate links here.


Lammas Day CAL Planning

Posted in Crochet, Crochet Along, Free Patterns by

Happy Lammas Day to you! The wheel of the year is turning once more with the beginning of, hopefully, sunny days of August. Farmers, thoughts will be turning to gathering up the first harvests of grain, wheat, oats and more – and so ours thoughts are turning to our mini-crochet-along where, over the course of 4 weeks, we will crochet a seasonal shawl together that celebrates this time of year.

As promised I’m going to share with you some more information so you can get planning your Lammas Day Shawl including yarn amounts, hook size, the colours I used on the wrap – and even a little sneaky peep of the finished shawl for anyone that wanted to know what it looked like!

I did mention some of the details in my first announcement about the CAL (here) but this post will have all the information you need to get ready to start on 13 August 2021.

Yarn Colours and Amounts:

I’ve crocheted the wrap using five earthy, harvest themed shades of Anchor Organic Cotton; Natural, Sunflower, Rocky Orange, Earthy Brown and Red Dunes – such a lovely autumnal pallet!

Anchor Organic Cotton is an un-mercerised 100% cotton 4-ply yarn resulting in a natural soft touch and matt finish.

The amounts I used for my shawl are below;

Anchor Organic CottonBallsGramsMetres
Natural (00105)5250g623m
Sunflower 150g125m
Rocky Orange 270g150m
Red Dunes260g137.5m
Earthy Brown150g125m

Yarn Stockists:

The following stockists in the U.K have the yarn available to buy;

These next retailers also stock the yarn in UK, but it does not appear on their websites, so would need to be a phone call or in store visit for those who live nearby:

For overseas there are the following companies – though they do also ship to the UK;

Hook:

You will need a 3.75mm (US size F/5) for this shawl. I have hooks, and other useful crochet tools, linked in my Amazon Store if this is something you need.

Finished Shawl Size:

The finished shawl finishes up at roughly 165cm / 65″ long by 54cm / 21″ wide (at the widest point) using the yarn specified and at my gauge. Obtaining the correct gauge is not critical to this project but if your gauge does not match the gauge stated then your finished item may be a different size and potentially use more yarn than stated.

The schematic for the shawl can be seen below.

Pattern:

The pattern will be available for free here on the blog and, after the CAL has finished, as a free PDF, sponsored by Anchor Crafts, on their website. As well as the written pattern and charts of each section there will also be helpful video tutorials. Links to each part will be given on the relevant section of the shawl as per the schedule.

The Schedule, Updates and Support:

If you need a reminder of the schedule then you can find all the details on the CAL landing page (here) and you can keep up to date with the details via the following links:

The Facebook group is a lovely place of support, there are crocheters there of all experiences and it’s likely that someone will be able to help you with any questions you might have. You can of course always contact me too here on the blog.

And finally the moment many of you have been waiting for – a photo of what we will be making!

Links:

The hashtag for this CAL is are #LammasDayCAL #proud2craft #anchorcrafting and #kcacouk for Twitter and Instagram. Though you you can join in with any progress photos by linking your projects on your favourite social media sites: Ravelry, Facebook page or Facebook group and Pinterest.

Part 1 will be released on 13 August – I can’t wait to start working on a beautiful wrap together.

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Lammas Day Mini Crochet Along Announcement

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I’m delighted to announce a free mini summer crochet along, sponsored by the lovely people from Anchor Crafts, for a brand new design called the ‘Lammas Day Shawl’ 

Lammas is a festival, which falls on August 1, that traditionally celebrates the start of the harvest. Inspired by this festival, and to celebrate the launch of Anchor Crafts newest yarn; Anchor Organic Cotton, I’ve worked on a design with a head full of the images of ploughed fields, ripened grain, growth and the coming together to harvest the crops.

Over the space of a four week period we will crochet a triangular shawl which will be a perfect wrap for autumn evenings – I’m hoping you’ll picture warm late-summer sunsets over wheat fields every time you see it!

I’ve crocheted the wrap using five earthy, harvest themed shades of Anchor Organic Cotton; Natural, Sunflower, Rocky Orange, Earthy Brown and Red Dunes – aren’t they lovely! Yellow shades of the sun and harvest; orange and reds as things ripen, and a rich brown for for prosperity and gathering.

Anchor Organic Cotton is spun into an un-mercerised 4-ply yarn resulting a natural soft touch and matt finish. The colours are inspired by nature and created with vegetable bases dyes from 100% cotton GOTS certified fibres, created for conscious crafters who care for the environment. I’ve loved having the opportunity to create something special for you with this yarn.

CAL Details:

  1. There is no charge to join the CAL; anyone can join in as long as they have some yarn and a hook. 
  2. You can favourite / add this project to your Ravelry library here.
  3. All featured pattern elements in the CAL will be FREE of charge pattern on this blog and a FREE PDF sponsored by Anchor Yarns will be available on their website.
  4. As I release a new part of the pattern each week I will show you exactly how to tackle every stage of the design. The crochet along is supported by video tutorials, as well as step by step written instructions and charts.
  5. There are four parts in total to this wrap; one section will be released each week. For those that like a deadline I will be adding new details every week on a Friday – see below for the dates of the schedule. For those that want to hook when they have the time then that’s fine too; there’s no pressure to this CAL it’s all about having fun!
  6. The pattern will be available in UK Crochet terminology (a handy conversion chart is available here). I will also always include any helpful information about each element including links about special stitches with the release of each new section.

The Schedule:

The landing page for the CAL is available from the CALS AND MALS drop down at the top of the page (here), where I will link all the details in one place but you can also see the dates for the CAL below;

Lammas Day
1 August 2021		CAL Planning – Yarn amounts and hook size and details on support for the CAL
13 August 2021Part 1 – Ploughing and Sprigs
20 August 2021Part 2 – Shoots and Growth
27 August 2021Part 3 – Bringing in the Wheat
3 September 2021Part 4 – Abundance and Heritage

If you’ve never joined a CAL, but fancied giving it a go, this four part pattern might be the perfect time to try. CALs are a great way to learn new skills and techniques as well as enjoying creating a beautiful finished piece alongside other crafters.

Updates and Support:

Keep up to date with the details via the following links:

The hashtag for this CAL is are #LammasDayCAL #proud2craft #anchorcrafting and #kcacouk for Twitter and Instagram. Though you you can join in with any progress photos by linking your projects on your favourite social media sites: Ravelry, Facebook page or Facebook group and Pinterest.

Lammas is a great time of year to work on honing your own talents, to learn a new craft, or get better at an old one! So set August 1 as the day we’ll start working on a beautiful wrap together.

I can’t wait to share this new crochet along with you!

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Filet Fantastic Crochet Along Planning

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There’s just a week left now until Filet Fantastic begins! In today’s post I’m going to share with you some more information so you can get planning including yarn amounts and the colours that were used on both of the blankets.

I did mention some of the details in my first announcement post about the CAL (here) but I’ve got some more of the information I know you’ve been waiting for in this post. So let’s talk yarn!

Yarn Colours and Amounts

You will need at least 1800g  (36 x 50g balls / 4,680m) of yarn for this CAL and I would suggest it works best in at least 12 different colours.

I mentioned before that I used Scheepjes Riverwashed for my blanket which is some of my favourite yarn, I used the following colours in the following amounts (though in some colours you may have little bits left over):

Scheepjes River Washed ShadesBallsGramsMetres
Avon (956)150130
Mississippi (946)2100260
Nile (944)2100260
Mersey (961)2100260
Murray (960)2100260
Ural (959)3150390
Narmada (962)3150390
Amazon (951)3150390
Tiber (958)3150390
Wheaton (950)4200520
Colorado (941)7350910
Steenbras (942)4200520
TOTALS3618004680

Then my lovely mum created her version of the blanket in Scheepjes Colour Crafter, she used the following colours in the following amounts (though again in some colours you may have little bits left over):

Scheepjes Colour Crafter ShadesBallsGramsMetres
Maastricht (1246)1100300
Vlissingen (1723)1100300
Gent (2002)1100300
Eindhoven (1114) 1100300
Brussel (2004)1100300
Charleroi (2016)2200600
Ameland (1725)2200600
Middleburg (1003)2200600
Brugge (2003)2200600
Hengelo (1084)2200600
Drachten (1827)44001200
Meppel (1061)2200600
TOTALS2121006300

❤️🧡💛 Kits for the CAL are available from Black Sheep Wools 💚💙💜

Prices are £105 for Riverwashed packs (36 x 50g balls) and £42 for Colour Crafter packs (21 x 100g balls) all with a Black Sheep Wools project bag to help keep you organised.

Currently the Colour Crafter packs are showing as sold out (eek!) BUT I’ve just actually had an update from Black Sheep Wools that they are coming back into stock really soon! You can sign up to be notified when it comes back into stock on the website’s Colour Crafter page. The really great news is that Black Sheep have now also confirmed that they are back to shipping from the UK to Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and USA again as of this week. They’ve also started a click and collect for those who are very local (WA3). 

Hook Size:

Just so you have all the info together this is just a reminder of the hook size; you will need a 3.5mm (US size E/4) for either version of the blanket. If you were on the look out for a simple aluminium crochet hook (the kind I learnt to crochet with) then I have some in my Yarnybobs store or I also have other hooks and useful crochet tools linked in my Amazon Store.

Finished Blanket Size:

Both blankets finished up at roughly the same size when finished and measure 175cm / 1.75m (699 inches / 5ft 7 inches) squared. The schematic for the blanket can be seen below:

CAL Accessories:

And don’t forget those all important CAL accessories and tools for making your blanket making:

  • Exclusive Filet Fantastic blanket ‘progress keepers’ have been designed for the CAL by the wonderful MrsGMakes. The gorgeous stitch markers are available in two colourways (pink or purple) and are adorned with a beautiful Austrian Crystal and Tibetan silver star charms!
  • You can get 25% discount off Dear Ewe stationery (WIP project cards and CAL yarn sample cards) and Dear Ewe project bags on the website with coupon code: FILET to assist with all your CAL endeavours!
  • Beautiful bespoke CAL cards have also been created by Simply Shade Cards with the list of the all the yarns used, for Riverwashed and Colour Crafter, as a perfect way to keep track of colours for the project.

Digital Pattern:

As before I am also offering a downloadable PDF e-book of the crochet along, I will be collating the pattern, of 28 pages, into a single printable file.  During the duration of the CAL this pattern will be released part by part, via Ravelry updates, so as not to spoilt anyone’s fun. Please note you will only have to purchase the pattern once, updates will be automatically added so your pattern is updated each week.

Due to technical difficulties on Ravelry I have had to create a brand new link for the ebooklet listing, sorry for everyone else who favourited the other link, hopefully when Ravelry get in touch I’ll get them merged together.

❤️🧡💛 Purchase the CAL e-book on Ravelry 💚💙💜

Shortly after the CAL has finished the PDF will also be added to my Etsy and LoveCrafts stores also.

The Schedule, Updates & Support:

If you need a reminder of the schedule then you can find the details on the CAL landing page (here) and you can keep up to date with the CAL details and get support if needed via the following links:

The Facebook group is a lovely place of support, there are crocheters there of all experiences and it’s likely that someone will be able to help you with any questions you might have. You can of course always contact me too here on the blog.

The hashtag for this years CAL is #KCACOUKCAL21 for Twitter and Instagram. Though you you can join in with any progress photos by linking your projects on your favourite social media sites: Ravelry, Facebook page or Facebook group and Pinterest.

Ooo I’m excited! Only a week left to go and we can get our hooks stuck into part 1!!

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected. You can read more about my affiliate links here.