Charity Crochet - Shell Stitch, Block Stitch, Basket Weave

I crochet squares for Knit-a-square charity between crochet projects. I'm using these squares to try out/ practice new stitches that I haven't used before.

I started a Square using bobble stitch. I used bobble stitch (also called puff and popcorn stitch) to make the Dalek, I struggled with the bobble stitch on the Dalek so thought this would give me some more practice. However I started the square and struggled and struggled with the stitch. One row was taking me a long time and considering 1 row of the square is only 8inches long this wasn't fun. I just can't seem to get my hook through that many loops without a lot of effort. I crochet quite tightly so I tried crocheting the bobbles looser but still no luck. So after a few different ways of trying I gave up as it was making me angry. I will still use bobble stitch in my project it will just take me longer to do. I don't think I will be making a square that is made up of bobble stitch though.

Shell Stitch Square
This stitch I found quite easy to get the hang of. I had to alter the pattern slightly as the pattern is for a 6inch square and I need 8inch squares. I'd make another shell stitch square as the stitch is quite enjoyable, I just need to concentrate a bit on the counting and not get distracted by the TV....

Block Stitch Square
This stitch I found relatively easy to pick up. The only part I struggled with was going from the end of a row turning and starting a new row. Not sure why I struggled with this as now I find it quite obvious. Maybe I was having a thick day.... Block stitch is now another stitch I enjoy.

Basket Weave Square
I really love this stitch. It was interesting for me to see how the basket weave effect was made without actually doing any weaving. Also I may be biased as I love anything that is woven. The stitch itself is quite easy to get the hang of after a few goes, it does take a little concentration however.

The block stitch square and the basket weave square were made with two yarns together as these yarns were quite thin. The squares are now very thick and warm. Hopefully they will help to make a nice warm blanket.

More charity blogs Here

Crochet Draught Excluder

I haven't been blogging much recently due to lack of time. However I have managed to finish my biggest crochet project yet! A draught excluder.

It is not the most exciting thing in the world, I know, and even though it's bigger than my other crochet projects it was definitely not as complicated as others. It did, however, take a long time to complete.

Click Here for the pattern I based this draught excluder on.

For this project I used scrap DK yarn. I chose colours that I thought would look OK when used together. The width of the stripes were chosen as I went along. To stuff the draught excluder instead of spending money on that much stuffing I used old T-shirts. The T-shirts also made the excluder heavy which is very useful.

I didn't crochet the draught excluder closed, instead I crochet a sort of rope; crochet a chain to the wanted length, turn, single crochet in each chain along, finish off. I weaved the rope through the last round of stitched, pulled tight and tied. This means I can 'unstuff' the t-shirts from the excluder and wash the 'stuffing' and excluder more easily. Or simply change the stuffing later if I wish.

I'm not sure how well the draught excluder works yet as the weather has been quite warm but here's to hoping my living room will be less draughty!