Have you tried Overlay Mosaic Crochet, but can’t quite get it to come out right? Well, there’s a fascinating crochet technique called Woven Crochet. It can look a lot like Overlay Mosaic Crochet, but it’s worked completely differently (and it’s quite fun)! It’s also reversible!!!
I was first introduced to this technique last year when an acquaintance showed me a hot pad/potholder that she had. I was intrigued by it and asked to borrow it. She said “yes” and I proceeded to analyze the hot pad to see how it was made. I found that the woven chains were continuous, not separate for each row, which made for WAY less ends to weave in, which I like!
On and off for the past year, I’ve been playing around with this technique and coming up with new Woven Crochet patterns for your enjoyment. And I decided to make a YouTube video demonstrating how to do Woven Crochet, to go along with the patterns. I’d like to introduce my new Woven Crochet patterns to you.
Persimmon Flower Woven Hot Pad & Coaster
Bullseye Woven Hot Pad & Coaster
Stairstep Woven Hot Pad & Coaster
Squares Woven Hot Pad & Coaster
Check out these new patterns here. If you purchase all 4 patterns, you can receive a $4.00 discount by entering the code “WovenCrochet” at checkout (code is valid indefinitely).
To learn how to do Woven Crochet, watch my free YouTube video.
I hope you enjoy learning this new (to me) crochet technique.
Introducing my Majestic Butterfly Afghan! This afghan was previously published many years ago by Annie’s, but has since been retired. I recently received the copyright back to this beauty, so I wanted to make the pattern available to other crocheters instead of it never being available again!
This beautiful afghan is made in the Intarsia Crochet technique with sc stitches used throughout. Another term that is used for this crochet technique is “graphghan”. In this afghan, the first and last 2 rows are worked in one color (black), but the rest of the rows are worked with color changes throughout. If you’re a fan of kits, the kit is available through Mary Maxim here.
There are at least 2 ways to work the color changes. All ways involve working the last stitch of one color until you have the last 2 loops on the hook like this: “insert hook in next stitch and draw up a loop, drop old color, yarn over with new color and draw through both loops on hook”. The different ways to work the Intarsia technique involve where to drop the old color. One way has the old color dropped to the front of the work, whether you’re working on a right-side row or a wrong-side row. The other way has the old color dropped to the wrong side of the work. That means you’ll be dropping the old color to the back of the work when working a right-side row and to the front of the work when working a wrong-side row.
The key to working intarsia crochet (or graphghans) is to use bobbins for each of the separate colors used in the rows. This helps keep the yarns from getting tangled across the rows. The bobbins can be nothing more than a simple DIY type made from cardboard. They can also be made from plastic, coming in many different shapes and sizes. You can also use clothespins of various sizes, made from various materials such as plastic or wood. I found a year or two ago at Dollar Tree. They were $1.25 for 6 of them. They can also be round, encasing the wound yarn inside them. Here are some examples of bobbins used for Intarsia Crochet:
Whichever type(s) of bobbins you use, you’ll need to wind them with the yarn colors you’ll be using. You can wind lots of yarn on each bobbin or figure out the amount of yarn needed for a certain section that will be worked with that color and only wind the amount of yarn you’ll need. The way I figure out the amount of yarn to use is by working a gauge swatch to know the number of sc stitches I get with the hook size I’ll be using. Then I count the number of squares of that color in the section I’ll be working on the chart and divide by the number of stitches I got to come up with the number of yards to wind on that bobbin. I ALWAYS add another 18” – 36” of yarn for wiggle room, as well as leaving a tail at the beginning and end of that section of stitches to weave in and/or work over.
Weaving in the ends can be tedious, but well worth it if done securely. When possible, weave the ends in several directions so they don’t worm their way out when the item is used extensively, like an afghan. ALWAYS weave in the ends in a section of the same color, NEVER in a section of another color!
When working from a chart, each square represents one stitch. If the chart has many rows and many stitches in each row, print out sections of the chart on separate pieces of paper and tape them together. If needed, enlarge the chart to do this. The chart for my Majestic Butterfly Afghan is broken up into 4 “quarter” charts for this purpose (top left, bottom left, top right and bottom right). If the chart was just one chart on the page, the squares would be too small to see accurately. With the chart broken up into 4 charts, the squares are much easier to see, since the squares are larger.
One thing I HIGHLY recommend when following a crochet chart is to use a magnetic board. I’ve used mine for decades now! It’s great to use for all kinds of charted crochet projects and makes it so much easier to keep my place, even on small projects. On large projects like my Majestic Butterfly Afghan, it’s a MUST (in my opinion)! If the chart is too big for the magnetic board, you can mark off the squares/rows that you’ve worked with a sharpie, pen or pencil instead of using the board. I have 2 magnetic boards now and if needed, I could place them side by side to make a larger magnetic board (if working at a table and not in my living room chair, which is where I typically crochet at home). Here are just a few of the styles of magnetic boards available on Amazon:
The Majestic Butterfly Afghan is a large project that can be easier to work at a large table, such as a dining room table or crochet/craft table. It’s easier to work right-side rows while seated at one side of the table and wrong-side rows while seated at the other side of the table, minimizing the need to turn the afghan at the end of each row. Simply move yourself to the other side of the table instead (it’s good to get up and move anyway, so this helps us get some exercise during the project). It also eliminates the need to keep moving the multiple bobbins of yarn and straightening them out across the row! Another option would be to work the afghan at the table on top of a towel. When you finish a row, simply rotate the towel (with the bobbins) so you can work the next row.
Go HERE to purchase the Majestic Butterfly Afghan pattern and get started on your next masterpiece crochet project!
I hope you’ll give Intarsia Crochet a try. Start with a small, easy project and work up to this Majestic Butterfly Afghan or a similar intarsia/graphgan project. You’ll be amazed at what beauty you can create!
If you love Mosaic Crochet as much as me, you’ll really enjoy learning this new technique!
I was introduced to this technique a few years ago by a lady named Stephanie on Ravelry. She had an afghan that was crocheted by her great grandmother in the 1980’s. She couldn’t figure out how it was made and emailed me photos. I looked at them and figured out how the afghan was made. I thought this technique was so unique and fun, so I decided to share it with all of you through some new patterns and a free YouTube video to go along with the patterns.
Do you love the look of reversible mosaic crochet projects? I certainly do! I love having projects with two “pretty” sides! And this technique is so much fun! You get a light side and a dark side with this Alternate Spike SC Mosaic Crochet technique.
To learn this new technique, check out my YouTube video.
And if you love this technique as much as I do, check out the patterns I’ve created for this fabulous technique! The 3 patterns I’ve created are my “Chain Links Scarf”, my “Geometric Mosaic Hot Pads” and my “Heart Mosaic Hot Pads”. Each of the hot pads patterns actually contains 2 designs for one low price.
I hope you enjoy learning this new Mosaic Crochet technique!
Have you seen the new Red Heart All in One Granny Square yarn? It changes colors at set lengths for each round of a 5-round granny square! I LOVE this idea! I had to buy a skein to try it out for myself! And it works great! Now there are only 2 ends to weave in instead of 10 ends on each 5-round granny square!
I’ve watched quite a few videos on YouTube for using this yarn. I think crocheters either love it or hate it! If you’ve experimented with making taller or shorter stitches, you should do just fine with this yarn. One skein makes 14-15 granny squares (6″ square). That’s enough for 1-2 scarves, depending on the length.
I’ve filmed a YouTube videodemonstrating working with this yarn. I’ve also put together a written, as well as charted, pattern to accompany this yarn. I didn’t like the short length left over after crocheting the granny square per the instructions on the yarn label, so I changed the pattern here and there to create a different granny square. Now I have 3-4 feet of leftover yarn at the end of each square, giving me plenty of yarn to join the squares together! I’m planning to make a scarf with some of these granny squares. And I’ll have more granny squares leftover for another project!
If you’d like a copy of the pattern, it’s available here.
I’ve enjoyed doing the Thermal Stitch for quite a few years now. Last month, Heather (on my YouTube channel) asked if I could make a video showing how to do a potholder in Thermal Stitch with 2 different colored sides. I thought about it and I’ve been playing around with it for a few weeks now. However, I took it to another level! I’m happy to introduce the marriage of Tapestry Crochet with the Thermal Stitch in my new YouTube video and my new Tapestry Thermal Stitch Potholders and Coasters patterns!
If you’ve ever done the Thermal Stitch, you know that you insert your hook in a completely different place than in regular crochet. And if you’ve ever done Tapestry Crochet, you know that you carry the unused yarn under the stitches you’re working and change colors across the row, as needed. So when I thought about doing color changes in Thermal Stitch, I immediately thought about using the Tapestry Crochet technique! And it works!!!
If you’d like to take your Thermal Stitch projects to the next level with designs on one or both sides, watch my YouTube video.
And if you’d like to give Tapestry Thermal Stitch a try, check out my new Tapestry Thermal Stitch Potholders and Coasters patterns on the crochet patterns page.
Do you enjoy crocheting decorations for holidays? I certainly do! I’ve got a brand new crochet pattern for an Easter Egg Potholder for you. This potholder is worked with 2 pieces: a front and a back for double thickness. Using worsted (#4) weight cotton yarn, it’ll keep your hands and fingers protected when removing a hot dish from the oven.
Easter Egg Potholder
The potholder is worked in rows of single crochet with increases and decreases, as necessary, to form the egg shape. After crocheting 2 egg-shaped pieces, one round of single crochet is added to join the pieces together and to form the hanging loop at the top.
This pattern is easy enough for a beginner crocheter, since basic stitches are used. I’ve done a YouTube video for this pattern, as well, so you can follow along with me in the video and learn to read a crochet pattern while making this cute, useful potholder!
Here’s the pattern page to snag a copy of this pattern at a great price! Then you can crochet some potholders for your Easter celebration (with about 27 days until Easter!) or give one/some to a friend or family member.
I hope you enjoy this pattern and all your crochet projects!
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a blog post, a new pattern or a new YouTube video. I’ve been quite busy with everyday life, including my oldest son’s wedding in August, my mother-in-law’s funeral, also in August (she was 93, so she lived a long, full life) and the birth of 2 grandsons in November. We were there for both births, in Indiana and California, from our middle and youngest sons (and their wonderful wives, of course!). Whew! I feel like I’m finally getting caught up from lots of travel and lots of fun with the grandkids (we now have 4 of them)!!!
My husband and I have been working on a new YouTube video to teach the Spike SC Mosaic Crochet technique. We’ve had all kinds of hiccups with the camera and microphones! It’s been quite “challenging” to say the least! But we persevered and have a video that demonstrates how to work this Mosaic Crochet technique, using “less yarn” than the Overlay Mosaic Crochet technique and making your project “reversible” (because the Spike SC is worked “around” the stitches, not “in front” of them).
To learn the Spike SC Mosaic Crochet technique, watch the YouTube video here.
Hearts in Love Mosaic Scarf
To help you practice the Spike SC Mosaic Crochet technique, you can download the free swatch chart here and follow along with me in the video, practicing this Mosaic Crochet technique. Once you’ve mastered this fabulous technique, check out my new “Hearts in Love Mosaic Scarf” pattern, which uses the Spike SC Mosaic Crochet technique. This scarf is completely reversible, using 2 contrasting colors of DK or worsted weight yarn. This scarf is nice and dense, making it great for keeping your neck warm outside in the wintertime! And with all the hearts in the scarf, it’s a great project to make for Valentine’s Day for yourself or anyone you love!
If you have any questions about this Spike SC Mosaic Crochet video or this Spike SC Mosaic Crochet pattern, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if you have any comments about this crochet technique, I’d love to hear them.
I’ve been wanting to film a video to teach the Thermal Stitch for quite a while and I finally have one for you. But first, a little background on how/where I learned this fabulous stitch.
I first learned the Thermal Stitch from Darla Fanton at the 2008 CGOA Conference in Manchester, NH. Darla is a great teacher and I learned a lot in that class. However, life got in the way and I never pursued doing anything with the Thermal Stitch.
Fast forward to around 2015 when a good crochet friend named Jackie showed me the thick potholder she had made from a free pattern on the internet. She shared the link to the free pattern (by Heather Tucker of Stitchery Project) and taught me the stitch (which I had somehow forgotten from Darla’s class). I was immediately hooked! I’ve been making Thermal Stitch Potholders ever since! They’re so easy to make once you learn where to insert your hook! It’s just simple rows of single crochet, which is pretty mindless (sometimes I need a mindless project!).
Thermal Stitch Potholder
One thing I changed in Heather’s pattern was the placement of the hanging loop. Heather makes her hanging loop at the bottom of the potholder. I decided I wanted to make my hanging loop at the top of the potholder. The reason for this is sometimes I want to make a hot pad without a hanging loop instead of a potholder. So I just don’t work the hanging loop at all. Since I changed Heather’s free pattern, I decided to type up my version of this potholder as a free pattern. You can download my free pattern here.
You can find Heather’s free potholder pattern (named “The Best Crocheted Potholder”) here.
The potholders are economical to make. When I see a sale on worsted weight cotton yarn, I stock up on it. This makes the potholders about $1 each, which I love!
These potholders make great gifts! I’ve given them to friends and family for Christmas and/or birthdays, as “thank you” gifts, and as wedding (or bridal shower) gifts, as well.
To learn the Thermal Stitch, watch my new YouTube video here.
I hope you enjoy crocheting these potholders as much as I do!
Do you ever burn your fingers when you remove a hot bowl from your microwave? I often struggle with this! But I’ll struggle with it NO LONGER, thanks to the crocheted Microwave Bowl Cozy that I designed and made last month. Now you can keep your fingers from getting burnt, too, with my new Microwave Bowl Cozy pattern!
Last year on a trip to visit family and friends, I saw my husband’s best friend’s (Dan) fabric microwave bowl cozy and thought it was a fabulous invention! I was intrigued with it, but thought it might be more than I wanted to undertake on my sewing machine. So I decided to design a crocheted version of this bowl cozy and last month, on another trip to visit family and friends, I took the plunge and designed it while visiting that same friend (and his wife, Janine). I worked and reworked the cozy, getting it to fit a Corelle soup bowl perfectly! And I tried the cozy on several other bowl sizes that Janine had there to make sure it would fit other bowl sizes, as well.
Announcing my crocheted Microwave Bowl Cozy pattern!
Microwave Bowl Cozy
As you can see, the cozy conforms to the shape of the bowl really well. It’s a reversible project, so you can use either side facing in/out. It works great, using 2 of the 4 corners to grab your hot bowl out of the microwave. I use my bowl cozy in the microwave with my bowl of food/soup that I warm up and it works just fine. The bowl cozy gets a little warm in the microwave, but nowhere near as hot as the heat of the bowl!!! Some people don’t use their bowl cozy directly in the microwave. They simply transfer the hot bowl into the cozy while taking it out. You can use your bowl cozy either way. And it folds flat for storage, too.
Oh, and it works great to keep your fingers from getting too cold if you’re holding a bowl of ice cream!
This is a great pattern for any level of crocheters, from beginners to advanced. The entire cozy is made with single crochet stitches (except for the center), with increases strategically places to form the shape. There are 2 options for the top edging: reverse single crochet stitches or slip stitches.
These cozies make great gifts for birthdays, Christmas or any occasion! And they’re great items to sell at craft fairs, too!
This bowl cozy is made with 100% cotton worsted weight yarn. I cannot stress enough the importance of using 100% cotton yarn for this bowl cozy. Cotton yarn doesn’t melt, like acrylic yarn, when it comes in contact with heat, so it’s perfect for this project. I used a size I/9 5.5 mm crochet hook for my first bowl cozy and it came out great! However, I used a size H/8 5.0 mm crochet hook for the other 2 cozies and I think it works a little better for a more dense cozy with less stretch to it.
I also decided to film a YouTube video demonstrating each round of this cozy pattern for those of you who are visual learners, like me.
I’m very excited to reveal a new, revolutionary crochet technique that I developed several years ago. I call this technique “Continuous Overlay Mosaic Crochet”, or “COM”, for short! If you love the look of Overlay Mosaic Crochet, which has a gazillion ends to weave in, make into fringe or cover with a double border, you’re going to go crazy for this new technique! There are virtually “NO ENDS” to deal with in my COM technique!
I have a new YouTube video where I’ll teach you all you need to know to successfully crochet your Overlay Mosaic Crochet projects with my COM technique to eliminate all those pesky ends!
I also have 2 new Overlay Mosaic Crochet blanket patterns using my new, revolutionary COM technique: my Wedding Ring Blanket (below left) and my Dueling Diamonds Blanket (below right)! These comprehensive patterns include full written instructions for each row of the blanket, a mosaic chart (if you prefer to use charts), instructions and step-by-step photos for my Anchored dc stitch (Adc) stitch and for using the COM technique, a check list to keep track of which row you’re working in the pattern, as well as the full yardage needed to crochet these blankets (including the little bit of extra yardage needed for making the blankets in my COM technique, WITHOUT ALL THOSE ENDS!).
Mosaic Crochet Blanket patterns using my Continuous Overlay Mosaic Crochet technique
In my opinion, the extra yardage that this technique uses FAR outweighs the fact that you eliminate virtually all of the ends in your project! In fact, I only had 30 ends total to weave in on my Dueling Diamonds Blanket instead of over 250 ends! That’s a huge difference!
If you’d like to use this technique in an Overlay Mosaic Crochet pattern that you’ve already purchased somewhere else, check out my Continuous Overlay Mosaic Crochet video to find out how to calculate the extra yardage to use the COM technique in that pattern.
The inspiration for my Wedding Ring Blanket came from the lampshades in my master bedroom. I’ve admired this geometric pattern for years and now I have a crochet blanket pattern with this lovely design in it! Here’s a photo of one of those lampshades:
My revolutionary COM technique for having virtually NO ENDS only works with my Anchored dc stitch and “Overlay” Mosaic Crochet, which is worked with all right-side rows, alternating color every row. This gives you 2 yarn ends for every row you crochet (one at the beginning of the row and one at the end of the row). That’s a lot of ends to deal with in the regular method of Overlay Mosaic! Who wants all those ends? Certainly NOT me!
“Inset” Mosaic Crochet doesn’t have all those ends to deal with because it’s worked with 2 rows of each color and the yarn is carried up one side of the project to be used again. Inset Mosaic Crochet doesn’t have as crisp of a design as Overlay Mosaic Crochet, so it’s not quite as popular as Overlay Mosaic.
If you’ve never worked either method of Mosaic Crochet, check out my Overlay Mosaic Crochet video and/or my Inset Mosaic Crochet video on my YouTube channel to learn how to do these 2 fabulous crochet techniques! There’s no changing colors across the rows of either Mosaic Crochet technique, which makes them much easier to do!
I hope you enjoy my new Continuous Overlay Mosaic Crochet technique. I also hope it saves you lots of frustration and time in your Overlay Mosaic Crochet projects by eliminating all those pesky ends!
I’d love to hear your comments about this new crochet technique. Is it helpful for you?
