Hi! and welcome to week one of our very first FREE crochet pattern, "The Midnight Garden" from fiddlesticks..
For some time now I keep being asked about my makes and if they have patterns. So, I decided to make this colourway our first pattern. You can purchase this from our shop, and there is checklist of items you will need to use, in the previous post.
a perfect pattern to challenge you as a beginner, and encourage you to progress in creating more challenging makes.
You don't have to be a expert.. you just need to know the basic stitches.. but don't worry we will walk you through each part each week. There are 5 weeks, each divided into parts by how complex they are.
stitches for week one
The stitches that will be used are..
A magic ring (MG) - alternatively you can use a chain of 4- 6 chains to start your circle. Ideally a magic ring so you can pull it in. But if your struggling, don't let it stop you. C
Granny Square cluster - ( 3TR, CH1 worked into one stitch space) these are worked on what I call the flat edges. 1 cluster per chain space, the a chain 1
Corner Granny Cluster - (3TR, CH2, 3TR, CH1) worked into the corners only.
Chain 3 - up (CH3 - UP) acts as a faux stitch, just so we can achieve the height of the stitches that we will work in this row.
Next chain space - (NX-SP) The space created by the chain, and working into the spaces made by them.
Half Trebles (HTR)
Treble Stitches (TR)
TIPS:- When cutting the tails of your wool, leave at least 4-5 inches of tail so that you can weave them in easily. They will be much easier to anchor into to your wool, create a much more solid make.
tip:- make sure you read through this weeks rows before you start. Some bits are quite repetitive as we're building the granny square. If you get stuck, comment below and we will work on helping and explaining where we need to.
week one - rows 1 - 13
ROW 1 - FOUNDATION ROW working in sapphire
Start your blanket with a MG -
CH3 - UP, 2TR, *[CH2, 3TR] *Repeat this 3 times.
CH2, slip stitch into the 3rd chain of the chain 3 up you created in the beginning of this row. This completes row 1.
ROW 2 - cont'd foundation
Continuing in the same colour (Sapphire)
CH3 - UP, CH1,
work into the next chain (NX-SP) space. Work *[3TR, CH1] = this is your flat edge
in the nx-sp work [3TR, CH2, 3TR, CH1] = this is your corner cluster
*repeat - working one cluster on a edge, and two clusters in a corner. following the pattern from above where you see *.
ROW 3 - 4 - change colour to pistachio
Start in the corner, using a slip stitch to attach your wool.
Slip stitch into the corner. CH3- UP, 2TR, CH2, 3TR.
Work the remaining clusters per chain space on the edges, work corner clusters into your corners. Your edges / flats will grow with each row, and you should always have 4 corners if your making a square.
ROW 5 - change colour to Fucshia
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 6 - change colour to pink
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 7 - change colour to white
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 8 - change colour to sapphire
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 9 - change colour to pistachio
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 10 - change colour to Fucshia
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
ROW 11 - change colour to pink
repeat the rows above, growing your square in size.
*At the end of your granny squares you should have a total of 11 clusters on each side.
We've completed the granny square section.. so we can now start building towards the more challenging parts.
ROW 12 - change colour to sapphire
We are now going to be changing our stitches to create a closed row using HTR, half trebles.
start in the corner, it makes for a much neater start and finish. Easy to hide joins in the corner too..
CH2, 1HTR,CH2, 2HTR (first corner started)
Work a HTR into every stitch & chain space till your meet the corner.
*[2HTR, CH2, 2HTR, work HTR into every stitch till next corner] * repeat 3 times till all sides and corners are completed.
Finish your row with a slip stitch into the last stitch head.
row 13
Using the same colour, Sapphire. Work up from where you have finished.
CH3, Work TR stitch into the next stitches till you arrive at the corner space.
*[2TR, CH2, 2TR, work all stitches with a TR into them, until you get to the next corner] *repeat on every side till all rows are completed.
Finish with a slip stitch into the stitch head of your last stitch.
make sure your finish your rows and they are fully secure. Make sure you leave long enough tails so they can be sewn in with ease and can be weaved in securely.
Next week you will be working rows 14 - 19
You will be learning the following stitches and stitch placement will be more challenging this week.
v stitch
puff stitches
front post stitches
I’m quite new to crochet and have only done 1 blanket so far, which had a stitch count for each row. I‘m now concerned that don’t have enough stitches on rows 12 and 13. Does anyone know how many I should have?