Sakura Hexagon pattern

This nice hexagon pattern features a centre 6-petals flower that recalls the shape of Japanese cherry tree flowers.

It is super versatile and can be used for bags, blankets, etc.

Gauge is not important as you can adjust the size of the finished hexagon by adding/removing rounds. Due to the use of bobble stitches I advise using a hook that is slightly bigger than what the yarn recommends.

Please note: 

This pattern is available for personal, non-commercial use only. The pattern and photographs contained in this document are property of Sakura Crochet Designs. Rewriting, reselling, distributing, or copying the pattern (or its photos) is prohibited 

Stitches and abbreviations:

St/Sts: Stitch(es) 
Ch: Chain 
Yo: yarn over 
Ss: slip Stitch 
Sc: single crochet 
Hdc: half-double crochet 
Dc: double crochet 
Sc in bl: single crochet in backloop 
Bs: bobble stitch: 1) yo and insert hook into stitch and pull a loop. Yarn over, pull through two loops. 2) Repeat number one in the same stitch until you have a total of 6 loops on your hook. 3) yarn over, pull through all 6 loops at once (keep this part a bit tighter than the rest). 4) Chain 1 to close bobble stitch.

Round 1: start with a magic loop, ch2 (counts as first hdc), make 11 idc so that you have 12 in total, Ss into second chain of the first hdc 
Round 2: ch2, (yo and insert hook in the last stitch from the previous round and pull a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops), repeat () 3 other times until you have 5 loops on your hook, yo and pull through all of them, ch1 (you just made the first bobble); (Ch2, skip one idc from the previous round and work Bs into the next stitch) (repeat 4 times), ss into the ch1 that closes the first bobble stitch – you should now have 6 bobble stitches and 6 ch2 spaces. 
Round 3: (Ss into first ch2 space, 3 dc into the hdc from round 1 that you skipped in round 2, ch 2), repeat 5 other times, you should have 6 3dc groups and 6 2ch spaces. Ss into the first dc you made for this round. 
Round 4: ch 3 (counts as 1dc) in first stitch from round 3, dc in next 2 st, (dc in ch2 space, ch2, dc in same space) – this is the first corner. Dc in first dc from previous round, repeat 5 other times: you should have 6 corner spaces and 5 stitches on each side of the hexagon 
Round 5: ch 3 (counts as 1dc) in next stitch from round 4, (dc in next 2 st, (dc in ch2 space, ch2, dc in same space) – this is the first corner. Dc in first dc from previous round, repeat 5 other times: you should have 6 corner spaces and 7 stitches on each side of the hexagon 
Round 6: ch 3 (counts as 1dc) in next stitch from round 5, (dc in next 3 st, (dc in ch2 space, ch2, dc in same space)* – this is the first corner. Dc in first dc from previous round, repeat 5 other times: you should have 6 corner spaces and 9 stitches on each side of the hexagon 
If you want to make a bigger hexagon you can continue in the same way, each round will have 2 more stitches on each side of the hexagon

Last round: ch 1, sc in bl until you reach the last st before the corner, (sc, ch2, sc) in corner, repeat until the last stitch and join with a ss in beginning ch1

Confetti baby blanket

Hi everyone!
I have lots to write about, but as usual I am super busy with work… I am currently writing a chapter for a book and my brain is just overloaded with information lol
To avoid losing my mind I’ve been crocheting like crazy… crochet is definitely like yoga.
So well, I’ve finally finished my Confetti baby blanket last night! I still have to weave a couple thousands ends in, to wash it an block it, but I am so excited that I wanted to share some photos with you. Better pictures to come soon!
Here it is in all it’s glorious beauty, plus progress shots I took along the way. Enjoy!

Detail

the 100 squares milestone 🙂

Almost there… approaching 130 squares!

Crocheting the edging, my favourite part

 

And yay! All finished… what will I do with myself now? I NEED a new project to work on!!

I always get sad when I finish crocheting a blanket… it’s like reading a good book, you get so much into it that you rush to the end page and just can’t put it down till it’s over, but once you get there you start feeling totally melancholic. Can you relate to that?

Confetti baby blanket

Hi everyone!

Long time no see, eh? I’ve been a bad blog mommy again, but things have gotten hectic and I always have the feeling I get to do half of the things I want.

Anyway, will I manage keeping up with my resolution of posting once a week? WordPress used to send me a reminder, but at some point it must have given up, lol that’s so not encouraging!

I am presenting you my latest crochet effort 🙂 I have decided to call it “Confetti baby blanket” beacause it’s so cheerful and bright! It reminds me of carnival!

It’s a baby blanket, I’ve planned to make 130 squares, so it’s going to be 13 rows per 10 squares. I would also like to add a thick border so it should end up being pretty big!

I’ve crocheted  30 squares this week, it’s growing pretty slowly, but I’m busy with work… hopefully it will be ready by the end of september… will I manage?

BTW yarn is Stylecraft DK… I like the colours, but it’s a bit rough, though it gets better after the first wash. I do miss my Mondial Merinos Extra, but it’s so expensive… sigh

CrochetMoodBlanket2014 – Week 2

Hi everyone and happy sunday!
I’m trying to hold on to my resolution and post at least once a week. Luckily the CrochetMoodBlanket project will help me 🙂

I’ve had a super busy week. I started working again on jan 7th, and it’s been incredibly hectic ever since. The upcoming week will be even worse, so yay! Bless crochet 😀

I finally had the time to go buying yarn on Wednesday though. I really wanted to buy yarn in okra7curry colour, i had seen it earlier in September, but didn’t seem to be a suitable for a baby blanket I had to make, so I thought I’d leave it for something else, BUT! The yarn is apparently sold out! Sigh… i had already figured the blanket in my head, it was a bit hard to change direction.
I’ll show you my yarn colours next time, just to have a bit of suspance… lol

So here is my square for week 2. I have decided to use orange because it is a colour that often makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable. Since it is supposed to be a mood based blanket, I figured i might have felt somewhat like that during the year.

As you can see, I also decided to join squares as I go. I actually think I invented a new joining method. Has anyone seen anything like that and can point me to a tutorial? i can’t really imagine no one thought I doing something similar yet, so before I write down a tutorial I’d like to make sure that it doesn’t exist yet 😉

Well, i guess that’s enough for today 🙂 See you next week with square #3… and maybe a tutorial, lol
I have so many other projects and wip’s to show you, actually!

CrochetMoodBlanket2014

Hi everyone and happy new year!
I know I have been a bad blogger and neglected you all for a long time, but life’s been hectic and complicated lately 🙂 Blogging more often was definitely one of my new year’s resolutions, so here I am!

This year’s first post is dedicated to a crochet-a-long project called CrochetMoodBlanket2014… has anyone heard of it yet? or maybe is any of you participating? I’d love to know!
The rules are pretty simple: you’re supposed to crochet a granny square a day (or hexagon, or whatever shape you like) for a whole year, picking colours/patterns according to your mood that day. As a variation, you can crochet a square a week. At the end of year 2014 you should end up with a blanket that represents your year in a nice and creative way, either made of 365 or 52 squares. How nice is that?
The idea came from mummy_stacey on Instagram (check out her feed for more infos!) and thousands of people from all over the world have joined in less than a week.

Since I am already busy with a 300+ squares project (more details about that in another post), I decided to go for the 52 squares blanket. Actually 54, since 52 is a weird number, so I’ll make a 6×9 lapghan, which always comes in handy 🙂

Picking a pattern, I must admit, was the hardest part! each time I would make my mind up about something, I’d see another pattern that looked more appealing! lol But in the end I have decided to go for something vintage looking, and – surprise – not as colourful as usual.

Retro Circles Blanket

by Three Beans in a Pod Crochet

picture by IfYouSaySo  Flickr

I have been experimenting with colours and hook sizes because I needed to finish with a blanket of a decent size and with only 54 squares it is not to be taken for granted! As for colours… well, I haven’t bought any new yarn yet, but I’m surely going for neutral colours, maybe okra, orange and dark green, with a beige edging.

Here is my square for Week 1. I’m so so happy with it! When my fave yarn store re-opens on jan 7th I’m definitely going to get me all the yarn I need! I can’t wait, I hate being on a yarn diet.

BTW, if someone else is participating and is a member of Instagram, feel free to friend me and I’ll friend you back! I’m sakuraxdreaming.

I’ll do my best to update this blog weekly about this project 😉

Pattern of the week: thinking of… tiles!

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the quite long break… I’ve been as usual very busy with woking and studying, and most of all, I’m extremely tired 😦 but I’m finally going on holidays in 10 days or so… yay! I am most probably going to visit Barcelona, in Spain. It will be fun!

Has anyone of you been there? It’s going to be my first time visiting mainland Spain actually. Do you maybe have any yarn/craft stores in the area to recommend? Tips? things that can’t be missed? If so, please let me know! i’d love to hear about that.

Anyway, the upcoming holiday has finally put me in a crocheting mood again. I have also sold a couple of baby blankets in the past 2 weeks, so i’ll have to make something new for my Etsy store. i have been looking for inspirational patterns and came across this one. I had actually been looking for a *free* pattern for something similar for ages, so yay! I am going to buy some new yarn in the next days, i have already picked some palettes, but not a pattern. i will surprise you with some new pattern 😉

And now, on to this week’s pattern!

Cascade Afghan

by Craft Yarn Council of America

 

A simple pattern that actually creates a textured effect which reminds me of mosaics and coloured tiles! I am definitely loving it and it looks nice just in any colour combination!

here are some more examples taken from Ravelry

 

by ElinElla

 

by dahlofwool

So how do you like it?

Lazy crocheting, mailing list subscription and a discount

Hi everyone!

How are you all doing? I have finally found a job and started working last week. It’s not exactly my dream job, but I only have a 3 months contract, so I’ll have a chance to look for something different in September. The best thing about this job is that I only work mo-fri from 9 to 6, which for most of you probably sounds totally normal, but having always worked in retail it’s a nice change for me 🙂 I’m not used to all that free time! lol

It’s been pretty hot lately, so I have put my crocheting activities by side. I’ve actually done some lazy crocheting when I felt like it. I’ve picked up a blanket which has been a WIP for years now, plus I’ve tested some new granny squares. I have a custom baby blanket due in october, so I still have plenty of time. i have picked the yarn, but I’m not sure about the pattern. You’ll surely get more updates about it in the near future 😉

I have made 16 squares out of the planned 32 so far and it’s going to fit a single bed once it’s finished.
Pattern: “princess white roses knee rug” by Janet Hobbs

Moreover, I got halfway through the “harriett square” by Carolyn Christmas

 

I have also created a new mailing list for my online shop.

Subscribe now to SCD’s mailing list to get updates about new products, discounts, released patterns and custom orders! No spam, I promise: ) To sign up please click on the banner below.

 

And last but not leats, from today till Aug.15th with code “SUMMER2013” you’ll get a 125 discount on all orders above 2€ placed at my ETSY SHOP. Enjoy!

talking of half-finished projects…

If you check my Flickr stream you will notice that one of the first photos of crocheting projects I have ever posted is this

and it was in May 2009…

This morning, while sorting out one of the last boxes, what did I find??

Taaa-daaaa!

this is my progress as of today. I haven’t worked on it for a long time now cause… well, I have noticed that my “hand” has changed in the meantime and I seem to crochet much tighter now, so the squares end up being *way* smaller! sigh sigh

The blanket is already pretty big and it could eventually be left the way it is, but I have enough yarn for just as many squares, so what to do?? Using a bigger hook is out of the question, cause I think that the change would be too visible and crocheting more losely is not quite an option cause it doesn’t feel comfortable and looks wonky… aaaaargh!

Here is a good serie of reasons why you should complete projects instead of having them sitting there forever, I guess!

Pattern of the week: thinking of… Owls” (pt.2)

Hi everyone!
Here I am, finally finished moving and sorting out my stuff 🙂 I must admit that I got pretty overwhelmed by the amout of yarn and half finished projects I have collected over the years! I finally got the chance of doing some sorting though and I made a resolution to finish as many projects as possible till the end of this year, before starting any new ones… we’ll see how it goes! lol

Anyway, here is finally a new POTW, and I’m SURE you’ll love it!
Enjoy!

 

Owl Granny Square

by Sarah Zimmerman

Now… comment to this post if you’re already stash digging!! 🙂

Pattern of the week: thinking of… block stitch afghan!

Hi everyone!

I have another wonderful crocheting pattern for you this week.

It’s a very simple one, but of great effect… I’d love to make a rough out of it, or even some sofa pillows… oh, it’s just lovely! If only I had more time, but I’m currently moving houses and well, no time for hobbies whatsoever 😦

Here it is! I’m sure you’ll love it ❤

Block Stitch Afghan

by Sue Pinner