Stylecraft Blog Tour 18 - Summer Pudding Blanket

Hi everyone! I cannot believe it's been twelve months since we did this, it's been a crazy year for me, and I bet it has for you too. Life just keeps happening!

I thought this time that I would talk a little about the yarn that I'm using before we get to the fun stuff like a FREE pattern and a giveaway competition.

So, I bet some of you are asking is it Bambino or Bellissima? Well, the answer is, YES. Giggle. Yes, it's both. Stylecraft have these two gorgeous new ranges and they complement each other so well. They're both 100% premium acrylic with 268m per ball.

Well, that looks good on paper right? But how does it translate as something to work with?

Sheer heaven on your hands.

The yarn has a good tensile strength (which means it doesn't snap easily if you're a tight hooker like me lol), but it is soft and silky. It glides easily along a hook but isn't slippery. The colours are even more magnificent in person, no camera can do them justice. It is loosely spun which gives it a fantastic drape. The only down side of this yarn is that if you are working and frogging (like in the design process lol), the yarn can end up losing it's twist and becoming separated, so the hook can slip between the strands rather than gathering the whole thing as you work. That's easily fixed, don't frog a lot! LOL. I've really enjoyed working with it, the colours are divine and I hope that they bring out more of them.

The packs this year are stunning. I know that Stylecraft have their own names for them, but in my head they are Elsa and Anna from Frozen. If you have children, you'll know what I mean. So, I'm working with Elsa, aka the Summer Pudding Pack. I also have the Autumn Leaves Pack and I have another design coming out on the 24th free here on my blog. It's in conjunction with the release of this month's Crochet Now magazine where I have a little article talking about Tunisian Crochet.

So, what am I doing for you this year as part of the blog tour? Well, I'm starting a mini-cal. I've got parts one and two here for you today, and next week I'll post again and add a wee bit more. In the picture below you can see my concept design and the early stages of working it all out. I've had a lot of fun doing this. I don't normally design on paper like this with the colour. Usually I just have an idea, an image, and I wing it as I go. This time, I'm working to make the shapes that I've drawn, and it's been an interesting challenge. I kept getting ideas to change things, but then I would go back to the original drawing and I would see the entire concept and I would realise that actually, the changes wouldn't go so well. I know that you are keen for it all, so without further ado, here it all is... I hope that you enjoy working it as much as I did designing it. xoxo

Planning out the design

Disclaimer: I have been provided with yarn and asked to write an honest review about it. Although I am affiliated with Stylecraft, I am under no obligation to provide specified content. The above blog is my own view and does not represent Stylecraft, Spectrum Yarns or any of their subsidiaries.

DON'T FORGET TO SCROLL TO THE VERY BOTTOM FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THE YARN TO MAKE THIS!

Summer Pudding Blanket

By Angela Armstrong

Pattern is in US terms

Materials:

Scissors

Darning needle

4mm hook

Stylecraft Summer Pudding Pack = 1 ball each of Heather, Sage, Crushed Plum,

Clotted Cream and Double Denim

This blanket is made up of several stages, so the pattern will be divided into those parts.

The central square will be free on my blog as part of the Stylecraft Yarns #Blogtour18.

The rest of the blanket will be available later on.

Part 1

Central circles - Make 1 to start with, then see joining instructions below. I used Clotted Cream for my first (central) circle and Heather for the other eight. Look at the joining diagram and read through this section, it should all make sense then.

Circle 1:

1. Create a magic circle, ch3 (counts as DC). DC11. [12DC]
2. 2DC in each stitch. [24DC]

Cut and tie off yarn.

Circle 2:

1. Create a magic circle, ch3 (counts as DC). DC11. [12DC]
2. Ch3, 2DC in next, 2DC in next. DC in next, JAYG into the first circle, DC into the same stitch on circle 2. 2DC in each stitch around, DC into first st again. [24DC]

Cut and tie off yarn.

Circles 3-5:

1. Create a magic circle, ch3 (counts as DC). DC11 [12DC]
2. Ch3, 2DC in next, 2 DC in next. DC in next. JAYG into the 6th st in the first circle that is after the last joining circle. DC into the same st of the working circle again. 2DC in each stitch around. DC into the first st again. [24DC]

Cut and tie off yarn.

Circles 6-9:

1. Create a magic circle, ch3 (counts as DC. DC11. [12DC]
2. Ch3, 2DC in next, 2 DC in next. DC in next, JAYG into the 6th st (after a join)  of any circle but the central one. DC into the same st of the working circle again. 2DC in the next, 2DC in next. DC in next, JAYG into the 6th st (before a join) of the closest outer circle. DC into the same st of the working circle again. 2DC into each stitch around. DC into the first st again. [24DC]

Cut and tie off yarn.

Joining Order

These will be joined in a JAYG method. I found doing them in the following order was easier, but you can work on whatever order you wish.

Part 2

1. Working into circle 2: Standing Sc into the 6th st after the join to circle 6. SC into the next st. Ch6, SC into the 5th, 6th and 7th sts of circle 9 after where it joins to circle 2. (From now on, the 5th, 6th and 7th stitches will be referred to as the top 3 stitches). Ch6, turn work 90o. Sk3, SC into the next 3. Ch6, SC into the top 3 stitches of circle 5. Ch 6, SC into the top 3 sts of circle 8. Turn work 90o. Ch6, sk3, SC into the next 3 sts. Ch6, SC into the top three st of circle 4. Ch6, SC into the top 3 sts of circle 7. Turn work 90o. Ch6 sk 3, SC into the next 3 sts of circle 7. Ch6, SC into the top 3 sts of circle 3, ch 6, SC into the top 3 sts of circle 6. Turn work 90o. Ch6, sk3, SC into the next 3 sts of circle 6, ch 6, SC into the st before the st at the start of the row. Sl st into first st. DO NOT CUT YARN.

2. This row is started with a decrease stitch. Ch2 (counts as the first part of a DC), work the first part of a DC in the next st. YO, pull through 2 loops (that whole thing counts as a 2DC together). Into the next ch sp, work 6DC, DC in each SC. *Into the corner space work [4DC, ch2, 4DC]. DC in the next 3 st. Into the ch sp work 6DC. DC in the next, 2DC together in the next. 6DC into the next ch sp. DC into the next 3 sts.** Work from * to ** twice more. Into the corner space work [4DC, ch2, 4DC]. DC in the next 3 st. Into the ch sp work 6DC. DC in the next. Cut and tie the yarn. [27DC and 1 x 2DC tog] per side

FLIP YOUR WORK OVER SO THAT THE WRONG SIDE IS FACING YOU

3. Starting in any stitch, work a DC in each stitch across. Into the corner spaces work [2DC, ch2, 2DC]. [32DC] per side

FLIP YOUR WORK OVER SO THAT THE RIGHT SIDE IS FACING YOU

4. Starting in the 9th st on any side, work a standing SC. Over the next 7 sts, work the following [HDC, DC, TR, DTR, TR, DC, HDC]. Over the next 8sts, work the following [SC, HDC, DC, TR, DTR, TR, DC, HDC] - twice. *Into the corner, work [SC, ch2, SC]. [SC, HDC, DC, TR, DTR, TR, DC, HDC] x 4 **. Work from * to ** twice more. [SC, HDC, DC, TR, DTR, TR, DC, HDC], join with sl st. DO NOT CUT YARN.

[34sts per side]

5. Sl st across one st. Ch1. HDC into the next st across (DC from round 4), HDC into the next st. In the next work [DC, ch1, DC]. HDC into the next 2. SC 3tog (small cluster) over the next 3 sts. *{HDC in next 2 sts, [DC, ch1, DC] in next. HDC in the next 2, SC3tog over the next 3} twice until you get to the last cluster, SC2tog instead of the usual 3. Ch2, into the corner work [2TR, ch2, 2TR], ch2. SKIP 1. SC2 tog over the next 2 sts. {HDC in next 2 sts, [DC, ch1, DC] in next. HDC in the next 2, SC3tog over the next 3.} twice. ** Repeat from * to ** twice more.  {HDC in next 2 sts, [DC, ch1, DC] in next. HDC in the next 2, SC3tog over the next 3} twice until you get to the last cluster, SC2tog instead of the usual 3. Ch2, into the corner work [2TR, ch2, 2TR], ch2. SKIP 1. SC2 tog over the next 2 sts. HDC in next 2 sts, [DC, ch1, DC] in next. HDC in the next 2, SC3tog over the next 3. Join with sl st. Cut and tie yarn.

[33 sts per side]

6. Standing *SC into the first ch sp (peak) of any side. [Ch8, sc into the next peak]. Three times. Ch5, SC into the next 2tr. Into the corner work [2sc, ch2, 2sc]. SC into the next 2 tr. Ch5**. Repeat from * three times. Sl st into the first st. DO NOT CUT AND TIE YARN. [12SC, 3x ch8, 2x ch5]

7. Ch3, (counts as a DC). *[Into the next ch sp work 8DC. DC into the sc] x 3. 5DC into the next ch sp. DC into next 4sts. Into the corner work [2DC, ch2, 2DC]. DC into the next 4 sts. 5DC into the next ch sp, DC into the next st.** Work from * to ** three more times, leaving off the final DC. Cut and tie yarn. [50DC per side]

FLIP YOUR WORK OVER SO THAT THE WRONG SIDE IS FACING YOU

8. Starting in any stitch with a standing DC, DC in each stitch across. Into the corner space, work [2DC, ch2, 2DC]. Repeat this process for the other three sides.

[54DC per side]

Stay tuned next week for the next part, and don't forget to scroll to the bottom to enter the giveaway for the pack to make this!

a Rafflecopter giveaway