Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial: Solomon’s Knots

May 5, 2017 · 4 Comments

Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial: Solomon’s Knots

A couple of months ago I was sent some beautiful chunky yarn from Wool and the Gang.

I had three balls of Heal the Wool, but I had no idea how much of something it would make up!

So I decided to pick a stitch and start crocheting. If I had enough I would make a cardigan. If not, I would make a scarf instead.

I started off crocheting shell stitch because it’s one of my favourites. I had in mind something lacy, but because the yarn was so chunky, the shells were very dense. So I abandoned the shells and gave Solomon’s a knots go instead.

The results were much better! Solomon’s knots gave it the lacy effect I was looking for. If you’d like to take a look at the tutorial for Solomon’s knots, you can find it here. The post also has a review of the yarn I used.

Because I wanted to make something simple that would be easy to undo if necessary, I decided to make a cardigan along the lines of this one from One Dog Woof.

As I hardly ever just copy things (I have issues with being told what to do 😉 ), I took Chiwei’s advice in making the crocheted rectangle, making the sleeves and the idea of adding an edging. I made it my own by using a different stitch, and as her measurements were all in inches and I didn’t feel like converting them to cm, I’ve no idea whether my rectangle ended up the same size!

If you want to make one yourself, here’s my version of this easy cardigan tutorial!

Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial

For this easy crocheted cardigan tutorial, I used 2 balls of Heal the Wool in dusky blue and a 12 mm crochet hook.

1. Make the first row of Solomon’s knots (the tutorial for Solomon’s knots is here). This will determine how long the cardigan is, so before crocheting, you will need to measure across yourself from neck to hips. Bear in mind that the sleeves will cause it to be shorter at the front so you’ll need it to be sure that it’s gong to be long enough.

You will also need to measure across yourself with arms outstretched. I measured from elbow to elbow.

It’s difficult to measure yourself like this, so you’ll probably need somebody to help you!

2. Work second and subsequent rows until your rectangle is the right width. Remember that this measurement will need to include sleeves.

My rectangle was 16 stitches wide and 18 stitches high, roughly 80 cm x 65 cm.

3. When your rectangle is the correct size, tie off the yarn and lay it out. Fold the corners inwards and pin them together, leaving a gap for your arms. I left a gap of 4 stitches. Slip stitch the sleeves.

4. Starting at the bottom edge, work 2 more rows of Solomon’s knots all the way round.

You could use this easy crocheted cardigan tutorial to experiment with cardigans of different sizes. This one actually turned out to be a little bit smaller than I was expecting (I was worried it was going to be huge!). A smaller one might be nice to wear with an evening dress.

Linking up here.

How To Crochet Solomon’s Knots

April 17, 2017 · 10 Comments

How To Crochet Solomon’s Knots

Solomon’s knots are the perfect stitch if you want to crochet something lacy. It’s a good stitch to use if you’re using a chunky yarn but you don’t want the thing you’re making to look too heavy.

Recently I was sent some yarn to review by Wool and the Gang.

The wool I’ve used in the tutorial is Heal the Wool in dusty blue.

The yarn is called Heal the Wool because It’s made entirely from waste wool from the yarn making process.

As well as being a pretty colour, it’s also incredibly soft! It’s perfect for making anything snuggly, from cosy cardigans to pretty blankets.

Being chunky it makes up nice and quickly. I was surprised at just how chunky it was! In fact i had to buy a 12 mm crochet hook because I didn’t have a hook big enough!

In keeping with its environmental credentials, the packaging it came in was all recyclable with lovely smart labels and a heavy duty paper bag you could use to store your project in if you wanted to,without worrying about the knitting needles poking through.

I’m hoping to make it into a cardigan, but I’m not sure at the moment how much it’s going to make up. So it might be a cardigan, but it might be a scarf if there’s not enough.

Once I’d decided what to make, I wanted to choose a stitch that would do justice to my pretty wool and look good as a cardigan. I initially decided on shell stitch as that’s one of my favourites. Once I’d crocheted a few rows though, I found that it was very dense.

I wanted something lacier, so I undid the shells and tried again with Solomon’s knots.

I was much happier with the results! Once I’ve finished the cardigan, I’ll post the tutorial. In the meantime, here’s a tutorial showing how to crochet Solomon’s knots.

Crocheting Solomon’s Knots Step By Step

Before You Start

You’ll need to make an even number of stitches. At the end of the first row you’ll make 2 stitches for turning, then 3 stitches for turning at the end of each row after that.

The stitches are grouped in 4s to make a diamond, with a half diamond at the end of each row. Each diamond is made up of 2 stitches from the current row and 2 from the previous row. The exception to this is at then start of each row, where the diamond is made up of 1 stitch from the previous row and 3 turning stitches.

Please note that being British, I have used British crocheting terms!

1st Row

1. Make 1 ch

2. Make a 2nd ch, but don’t pull it taut. Leave it as a loop about 4 cm long. If you’re using yarn that is lighter, you’ll need to make your loops smaller.

3. Yrh. Don’t pull this taut either! It needs to be about the same length as the loop.

4. Pull it through.

5. Now insert the hook between the loop and the yarn you put round the hook.

Put the yarn round the hook and pull it through. You’ll have 2 loops on the hook.

6. Yrh again, then pull it through the first 2 stitches on the hook.

This makes one stitch. Make the next stitch in the same way, starting with the current loop on your chain. Loosen it so that it is about 4 cm in length. Repeat again from Step 3.

Keep going like this until you have enough. If you’re going by length rather than by number of stitches, bear in mind that they will stretch!

2nd Row

Make 2 stitches for turning your work. When you’ve made the second stitch, double crochet into the 4th knot from the hook.

Make 2 more stitches. Skip one knot, then DC into the next. Make another 2, skip a knot then DC into the next knot. Keep going like this to the end of the row.

3rd Row

Crochet 3 turning stitches. DC into the last but 1 knot of the previous row. Make 2 more stitches. Skip 1 knot, then double crochet into the next, like you did in the previous row.

Keep doing this until you reach the end of the row.

4th and Subsequent Rows

Repeat row 3 until your piece of crochet is the right size!

If you like this post, you might like to take a look at these:

How to Crochet Bobble Edging

Crocheted Bowl Tutorial

Mug Cosy Tutorial

Klein Bottle Hat Tutorial

Linking up here.

Klein Bottle Hat Crochet Pattern

February 16, 2017 · 10 Comments

Klein Bottle Hat Crochet Pattern

My second boy Aidan, who’s 9, loves maths.

He’s not just good at it, he actually loves it like a mathematician.

A couple of months ago on television he saw Matt Parker giving a talk at the Royal Institution about things in the fourth dimension.

One of the things that caught Aidan’s imagination was the Mobius loop. Mathematicians love the Mobius loop. It’s when you take a strip of paper, twist it, then stick the ends together. You might have seen Mobius loop scarves on Pinterest (they’re also known as infinity scarves).

A Klein bottle is the 3d version. According to Aidan, it’s actually a 3D shadow of a 4D shape (a bit like trying to draw a 3D shape so that it looks 3D but it’s flat because it’s a drawing). In 3 dimensions the Klein bottle has to intersect itself, but in 4 dimensions it doesn’t, because the extra dimension means that it can wrap around itself without intersecting.

During the talk, Matt Parker mentioned a Klein bottle hat he has that his mum knitted him. The pattern is on Ravelry. Aidan wanted me to make him one. This before I had discovered Norwegian knitting and I still thought I wasn’t a knitter. So a knitting pattern was no good to me. I needed a crochet pattern.Further investigation on Google and Pinterest led me to believe that there wasn’t one, so I made one myself!

You can find the crochet pattern for Aidan’s Klein bottle hat here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network. I used this gorgeous King Cole Riot chunky yarn (affiliate link) in Cosmic and a 6 mm crochet hook. The hat is worked in trebles (double crochet in the US), so it grows nice and quickly!

Aidan is quite shy and doesn’t like having his photo taken. But he was so happy with his hat he actually let take me take some pictures of it on his head!

Linking up here.

Crocheted Slippers Tutorial

July 19, 2016 · 4 Comments

A Crocheted Slippers Tutorial

A couple of weeks ago Cosmo asked me to make him some crocheted slippers. I’d made some a year or so ago for the older boys and Cosmo had found some of the ones that I’d made previously and insisted that I made him a pair.

I took him over the road to the hardware store that sells everything (they sell yarn and habby has well as toys, baking stuff, bits of chain, rat poison, plumbing bits and birthday cards) I let Cosmo choose the yarn himself and he chose the pinkest yarn in the shop.

The slippers are very easy and quick to make. I was able to snatch a few minutes in the mornings before taking the boys into school, and the odd few minutes while waiting at the bus stop. If you are a quick crocheter, they shouldn’t take more than a couple of evenings.

They are very simple and worked in trebles (double crochet if you are American). The first 5 rows are a circle, then the rest of the slipper is just worked 1 treble into the stitch above. I joined the circles to begin with, then once I had made the toe section, I turned round at the end of each row. Once they were long enough, I folded it in half and crocheted the halves together to make the back of the slipper.

Cosmo takes a size 11 in shoes. He’s only 3 but he has huge feet! To make them bigger or smaller, just make a smaller or larger circle, then as many rows as is needed.

If you misjudge the number of rows you need and the crocheted slippers end up being a bit big, you can make them fit better by sewing some elastic inside the back of the slipper.

How to Make Crocheted Slippers

I used double knit and a size 4 hook.

1. 4 ch, ss into 1st ch to make a ring.

2. 2 ch, then 6 tr into centre of the ring.

3. 2 ch, then 1 tr into 1st tr. *2 tr into next tr* 5 times. Join with a ss.

4. 2 ch, then *1 tr into next st, then 2 tr into next st* 6 times. Join with a ss.

5. 2 ch, then *1 tr into next st, then 1 tr into next st, then 2 tr into next st* 6 times. Join with a ss.

6. 2 ch, then *1 tr into next st, then 1 tr into next st, 1 tr into next st, then 2 tr into the next st* 6 times. Join with a ss.

7. 2 ch, then 1 tr into each st to the end of the row. Join with a ss.

8. Repeat Row 7.

Row 9 – 20. 2 ch, then 1 tr into each st, then DON’T join with a ss! Turn round and repeat.

Finishing Up

Fold the slipper in half so that the edges are together. Crochet the back seam together.

As you can see, Cosmo is very happy with his pink crocheted slippers! I might even make a pair for myself!As you don’t need a lot of yarn to make them, why not treat yourself to something lovely? (These are affiliate links)

Sirdar Nevis Crofter

Conway and Bliss Apple Lolli

Sirdar Shelley Harrap Tweed

Sirdar Happy Hippo Snuggly

Linking up here.

How to Crochet Fringed Edging

March 4, 2016 · 17 Comments

How to Crochet Fringed Edging

How to Crochet Fringed Edging is the last in a little series of posts I’ve been writing about pretty edgings you can crochet.

Most of them are very easy. They can be used to give a pretty detail to bags, purses, hair bands, blankets, throws and shawls. The can be also added to non crocheted things like towels and napkins.

If you missed the previous tutorials, then can be found here:

Shell Edging

Picot Edging

Bobble Edging

If you would like a free printable of instructions for crocheting all 4 of these edgings, plus 2 extra ones, the link is at the bottom of the post!

Fringed edging is also very easy. Of course, you could make a fringe in the usual way, but it’s nice to have a choice and to be able to do things differently sometimes.

Please be warned that I am using British crocheting terms!

Instructions for Crocheting Fringed Edging

This is very easy to do. All you have to do is make lots of chains joined to the edge you are working on with double crochet.

It will turn out a little bit neater if you start with an odd number of sttiches. It doesn’t make that much of a difference though, so don’t worry if you don’t.

1. 1 ch, miss one stitch, double crochet into the next stitch.

2. Make 25 ch.

3. Dc into the next stitch.

4. 25 ch again.

5. Dc into the next stitch.

Keep going until you reach the end of the row. That really is all there is to it!

It’s also possible to crochet a fringed edging using 2 colours.

1. In the original colour, 1 ch, miss one stitch, dc into next stitch.

2. 25 ch

3. Miss 1 stitch, dc into next stitch

4. 25 ch

5. Miss 1 stitch, dc into next stitch.

Keep going like this until you reach the end of the row.

Then with your 2nd colour:

6. Join yarn at the first free dc. It will be between the 2 ends of the first fringe loop you made.

7. 25 ch

8. dc into next free stitch. So you will miss out 1 stitch (it will already have been worked!).

Keep going to the end of the row.

To get your free printable of this and 5 other crocheted edgings, the link is here.

Happy Crocheting! xx

Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial: Solomon’s Knots

Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial: Solomon’s Knots

Easy Crocheted Cardigan Tutorial

How To Crochet Solomon’s Knots

How To Crochet Solomon’s Knots