Sunburst Mandala Cushion CAL

The pattern is now available from Ravelry

Download it from here ://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-mandala-cushion for the small cost of AUS$4

You will receive part 1 of the pattern

Every week after, for 5 weeks, it will be updated to add the next part. By the end of the CAL you will have all 5 parts



Feel free to ask me any questions here, or on the Facebook group where it is hosted:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrochetALongwithUs/



Have fun

Unique Christmas gift

Want to make a unique Christmas gift for a loved one?



What about this cushion?

Join the crochet-along and find out how to make it

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-mandala-cushion?fbclid=IwAR0Wld58tz4bhcibIcymlSb-NnYRDH0d3vFafNc4bXn3byHaXlTKrrXvOLo

Sunburst Mandala Cushion CAL intro

The CAL will start on the 10th of November

There will be 5 parts to the pattern, a new part released each week. You can crochet along with others, or at your own pace


On the 9th of November you will be able to buy the pattern from Ravelry. There will be another part added each week, and you can also download that. You will get a message that an update has been added

The first part will be released on the 10th of November (Australian time), this may still be 9th November for some of you

Part 2 will be released on the 17th of November (Australian time)

Part 3 will be released on the 24th of November (Australian time)

Part 4 will be released on the 1st of December (Australian time)

Part 5 will be released on the 8th of December (Australian time)

The CAL will be hosted by https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrochetALongwithUs/


The pattern will be available from Ravelry from the 9th November https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-mandala-cushion

The pattern will be discounted to AUS$4 during the CAL (that's even less in American dollars).


Or make a donation of your choice
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2015/04/donations.html

Things you'll need

You'll need to buy the pattern from Ravelry, or make a donation, and message me


You will need some stitch markers (this type is my favourite type)

  

You will need a 3 mm hook,or the size hook needed for a gauge of 5 rounds of pattern = 1.6 inches (4 cm).   You will also need a 3.5 mm hook

You will need 150 - 200 grams of each colour of 8 ply yarn (DK)

You will need 4 colours. eg, white, pale yellow, medium yellow, and dark yellow

You can use any colours you like, though.  Here's some colour inspiration

If you want to do it in yellow, like my original, some good yarn choices are:

Yatsal Knitting Yarn 8 ply 100g
Golden yellow W048
Yellow W110
Lemon W109
White W039

Paintbox yarns  DK/8 ply
Buttercup yellow 222
Mustard yellow  223
Neon yellow   258

Scheepjes catona  DK/8 ply
100 Lemon Chiffon
280 Lemon
208 Yellow Gold

I've also begun making it in blues

Sunburst Mandala Cushion colour play

I originally designed the Sunburst Mandala Cushion to be yellow. Like a burst of sunlight. 

But you can make it any colour you like

I've played with an editing program to give you some ideas of colours you could use

Want to make this?
https://www.facebook.com/events/517057379036679/

Sunburst Mandala Cushion

I wanted to create a burst of sunlight

Then I found this image

I played with crochet stitches and designs, over and over again


Eventually, I came up with this design

But I prefer something useful. So I decided to make it into a cushion

I could have made it into a round cushion like this. But I decided to play some more. I'll turn it into a square

I wanted to try something different to square it off. And I wanted to incorporate the border again, I really liked the way that turned out


So eventually I came up with this cushion 

And now for the back. Do I just do a fabric back?  No. I wanted more crochet. But I also want to do something that will match..... But not the same ..... 

Finally I came up with this

Worked as a square, but still using some overlay stitches

And still the suggestion of rays of the sun

Want to make this?

https://www.facebook.com/events/517057379036679/

Pdf's now available

I've decided to make my free patterns also available as printable pdfs

They are still available for free here, but if you want a nice easy way to print it, you will be able to download it for a small fee

Patterns take a very long time, and a lot of effort to create

It is a huge process, that includes many steps

Thinking of the design

Occasionally this step can be easy.

But most often it takes a lot of thought and ideas, and looking at a lot of inspiration


Creating the design

This is probably the hardest part.

What yarn, or thread would work best for this?

What stitch, or combination of stitches would work best for this?

How many stitches will I need?

Then it needs to be made, and undone, and made, and undone, many times, usually, until it's right, and it works the way I want it


Writing it up

This is another challenging part. I usually write notes as I go. But it's a completely different thing to have the pattern written with all the proper terms and wording in it.

It takes a lot of work going through the whole pattern to add all the words, terms and phrases in the proper crochet terms so that everyone can understand it


Testing

This is where other people come into it

I need a range of people who can read crochet patterns to look through the pattern, and crochet the item

They will see it through new eyes, being unfamiliar with the design, they will often see errors, or better ways with wording than I can

I'm often amazed at what I can miss. And how different testers can see different things


Final pattern

And finally we have the final pattern

All my patterns are pretty cheap, especially when you consider my most expensive pattern might only just buy me a coffee in Australia.

The pdf's are $2 Australian, which is half a coffee

Want to learn how to make this?

I have decided to have a crochet-along (CAL) for this pattern, Sunburst Mandala Cushion

What is a crochet-along?  It is a group of people who work on crochet a pattern at the same time.

You work at your own pace, and if you fall behind, it doesn't matter. But there will be support from many others along the way



In this case, there will be 5 parts to the pattern, with a new part posted each week

This will start on the 10th of November, and will be hosted by this Crochet along group


It's all online. So no need to turn up anywhere, you can do it no matter where you live in the world. You can also create your own get together to have a fun and a coffee while crocheting

Find out more, and keep updated here

This pattern is now available to buy. It will automatically come up as half price.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-mandala-cushion

Join the group for the CAL here: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/craft-cove-crochet

One Week to go

Sunburst Mandala Cushion CAL

 one week to go

With just one week to go, you might want to make sure you have got all the items you need. But if you're ordering it, and it hasn't come in yet, don't worry, the first part is easy and quick. You'll catch up in no time.






Of course the main thing you'll need is the yarn (or wool, as we call all fibers in Australia).

The original pattern was designed with 8 ply yarn, which is DK in US.  I realize it's not easy to get this weight in America, so if you don't want to bother ordering it, you can just use Aran weight, worsted weight (10 ply), you'll have a larger cushion, but it will be lovely. You could also use a finer yarn, or even thread. I'd love to see them done this way.

I chose acrylic, because it's nice and cheap, easy to get in Australia, and it's so easy to wash and dry. It also blocks beautifully with steam. 

But if you prefer, you can use wool or cotton, or whatever your favorite fiber is.

There are 4 colors in this pattern. I originally designed it with yellows eg. white, pale yellow, medium yellow, and a deep yellow. I have also made it with white, pale grey, darker grey, and black. You can use four shades of a color, or choose any four colors you prefer.

If you're using 8 ply acrylic, you will need approximately 120 grams of the palest color, and 100 grams of each of the other colors.

You will also need a 3.25 mm crochet hook, and a 3.50 mm crochet hook.  Or larger, or smaller, depending on your yarn

You might also want to familiarize yourself with these special stitches. (But they really aren't difficult)

Special stitches used:

• Front Loop Only (FLO). Work this stitch in the front loop only, leaving back loop free.
• Back Loop only (BLO). Work this stitch in the back loop only, leaving front loop free.
• Front loop double crochet (fldc). Front loop double crochet is a dc worked in the front loop only.
• Back loop double crochet (bldc). Back loop double crochet is a dc worked in the back loop only.
• Front loop treble (fltr). Front loop treble is a tr worked in the front loop only.
• Back loop treble (bltr). Back loop treble is a tr worked in the back loop only.
• Front post double crochet (fpdc). Front Post Double Crochet is worked around the front of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Insert hook through the right front and back out the left front, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops.
• Front post treble (fptr). Front Post Treble is worked around the front of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Yarn around hook, insert hook through the right front and back out the left front, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through last 2 loops.
• Front post double treble (fpdtr). Front Post Double Treble is worked around the front of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Yarn around hook, twice, insert hook through the right front and back out the left front, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through another 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through last 2 loops.
• Back post double crochet (bpdc). Back Post Double Crochet is worked around the back of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Insert hook through the right back and back out the left back, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops.
• Back post treble (bptr). Back Post Treble is worked around back of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Yarn around hook, insert hook through the right back and back out the left back, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through last 2 loops.
• Back post double treble (bpdtr). Back Post Double Treble is worked around the back of the post of the stitch on the previous round. Yarn around hook, twice, insert hook through the right back and back out the left back, yarn around hook, pull through 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through another 2 loops, yarn around hook, pull through last 2 loops.

Don't be intimidated by these stitches, they're just basic stitches worked into different places.

And now you should be ready to start.



Get the pattern here:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-mandala-cushion  (available 13th February)

Join in the discussion here:  http://www.ravelry.com/groups/craft-cove-crochet

Sunburst Mandala Cushion CAL (Crochet-a-long)

Sunburst Mandala Cushion CAL

I will be hosting a CAL (crochet-a-long) for this lovely cushion I have created

The pattern utilizes a lot of back and front post stitches, as well as some front and back loop work. Knowledge of overlay crochet will be helpful

What is Overlay Crochet?

From http://www.lillabjorncrochet.com/p/overlay-crochet.html

"Overlay crochet is a relatively new technique. It was developed by an artist and fantastic jewelry maker Melody MacDuffee in the United States and first introduced in 2003. Melody MacDuffee started to spread her inventions and conducted lots of workshops for hundreds of crochet lovers.

Overlay crochet has its roots in Aran crochet. Though it may look a bit complicated and quite often is offered to advanced crocheters, in fact it uses ordinary crochet stitches, and only few special ones. To master this technique it is necessary to already know how to make a slip stitch, a chain, single, double and treble crochet stitches, how to increase the number of stitches, how to make a long stitch.

What is interesting about this technique is that with changing colors on every round it is possible to achieve an effect as if the colors are actually changed after every few stitches."

This cushion starts with a mandala created to look like a sunburst.

It is then encircled with a border, then changed into a square with a similar border

The back is made as a square with very simplified rays made with overlay crochet

The pattern will be available in sections. There will be 11 sections, a new one available each week, starting on February 13^th. A new file will be added to the original file each week (Ravelry will send you a notification), at the end of the CAL, the whole CAL can be downloaded as one file

Clue 1: Monday, February 13th
Clue 2: Monday, February 20th
Clue 3: Monday, February 27th
Clue 4: Monday, March 6th
Clue 5: Monday, March 13th
Clue 6: Monday, March 20th
Clue 7: Monday, March 27th
Clue 8: Monday, April 3rd
Clue 9: Monday, April 10th
Clue 10: Monday, April 17th
Clue 11: Monday, April 24th

The pattern will be half price while the CAL is going. After the CAL is finished, the pattern will be available at full cost

Buy it here:
Sunburst Mandala Cushion Pattern   This pattern will be active on 13th February, 2017

Please join my Ravelry group http://www.ravelry.com/groups/craft-cove-crochet for help and conversations

Created by Jenny Lawson

http://craftcove.weebly.com/

http://flowercove.weebly.com/

For any questions, email me at: craftcove@gmail.com

More tutorials can be found at: Jewellery from Craft Cove http://craftcove.blogspot.com/

and Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/user/50761 and

Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/stores/craft-cove-designs

Please do not distribute, lend or copy this pattern.

Do not mass produce articles made with this pattern.