How To Choose A Colour Palette For Crocheting

Hello! In this blog post I'm going to give tips for choosing a colour palette for crocheting, because I don't know about you, but I am LOVING all the colour combos appearing on social media and in my inbox from indie dyers for the upcoming MKAL from Stephen West! There are so many gorgeous combinations out there for a gradient with 4 skeins of yarn - it's such an inspiration. Whether you're a crocheter and a knitter or you just stick to crochet, these combos are everywhere at the moment, you can't miss them!

But, what if you want to join the MKAL (or follow a pattern using 4 skeins of yarn) and you'd like to put your own combination together? Perhaps you have stashed yarn you'd like to use or maybe you'd like to treat yourself to some new yarn and create your own unique combo?

I'm going to share a technique from my Colour & Crochet Course which will help you choose your next colour palette. It begins with creating a mood board, so go grab a pile of magazines or newspapers, some paint cards or fabric samples, scraps of wool, small items from a nature walk - whatever else you have to hand - and get creative! If you don't feel like getting hands on, you can use Pinterest, or it's new sister app Shuffles, for this exercise - you can search for millions of different images and if you don't want to share your board with the rest of the world you can set it to "secret". I’ve also recently used Canva to create some collages - search in their Elements, select “photo” - there are hundreds to choose from!

For your colour theme, you might like to choose autumn, or sea scapes or perhaps a festival vibe! Don't think too hard about the bits & pieces you're adding, just go for it and see what becomes of the process. Once you have your mood board, you should be able to pick out recurring colours and put them together. Look for two colours you like and pair them together, then make a trio, then add a fourth ... before you know it, you'll have your 4 colours.

Fancy giving it a go? If you do, please share on social media and TAG ME, I'd really love to see!

Want to dive deeper? This is just one of the exercises in my Colour & Crochet Course, there are lots more to help you gain confidence in choosing colours. The course also includes 5 of my crochet patterns which use more than one colour so you can put your new found knowledge to immediate use! 

Here's a testimonial from one of my happy customers:

"Marta's color course is very enjoyable as well as helpful. I'm so glad I purchased it as I feel more confident about choosing my color pairings."

Holly-Marie

 

 

I'll be back soon, until then, happy crocheting,

Marta xx

PS. To receive these blog posts straight to your inbox, please consider subscribing to my mailing list. There's a free pdf waiting for you when you do: 25 Top Crochet Tips Every Crocheter Should Know!

 

3 tips to help you choose colours for your projects

Hello again! Have you ever struggled with choosing colours for a crochet or knitting project? I'm frequently asked how I go about choosing my colour schemes and so in this blog post I am going to share 3 practical tips to help you make the most of colour.

Tip no. 1.  Play with colour! 

Start by keeping things simple with just 3 colours at a time. Choose balls of yarn from your stash to help you with this or perhaps you have yarn wound round pegs or you could even use paint swatch cards from the DIY store. Look at your 3 colours and ask yourself "Do they go together?  Are they working in harmony?" If you like them, take a quick photo, if not substitute just one colour and try again. 

The more you play around with colours and experiment with what works for you, the easier it will become. Back in June 2017 I wrote an extensive blog post about choosing colours with a little bit of colour theory thrown in too. If you'd like to read that blog post, you can find it here.

Tip no. 2.  Create a mood board

Pinterest is an amazing resource to use when planning projects. You can create a board that saves colour schemes you like and can refer back to (f you like, you can make it a secret board). Try not to overthink it, simply save pins with colour schemes that appeal to you. Once you've saved a few pins have a look and see what they have in common. Ask yourself "Which colours work well together? What colours am I drawn to?" If you haven't used Pinterest before it's a wonderful resource - think of it as a big search engine for looking for creative ideas. Warning: pinning can become addictive! 

If Pinterest isn't your thing, you can always create scrap book pages with colour combinations you find pleasing. Rip out colour schemes you like from the interiors section of magazines, add in strands of yarn, buttons, bits of food packaging, ribbons, photos, paint swatch cards, feathers and other found items. Keep adding new pages with new colour combinations to look back on. (These torn pages were taken from Mollie Makes magazine).

Tip no. 3.  Look to the natural world

Go for a walk outside and bring your camera with you! Take time to notice colours that sit side by side in nature and look good together. If you spot a pleasing colour combination, take a photo! You can even print it and add it to your mood board, helping to build a bigger picture. 

Think of seasonal colours that work in harmony: oranges, rich browns, burgundays in the autumn; pale blues, lilacs and fresh green in the spring. Or consider the colours of the landscape: blues, sandy oranges and yellow at the seaside; a range of greens and browns in the forest. Nature has an amazing colour range - copy it!

I hope you have found these 3 tips helpful. Leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram if you have any questions or want to share your recent colour combinations, I'd love to see them!

Marta xx

Colour and Colour Patterns in Crocheted Socks

Hello! I am here today as part of the Sock Along 2018 Blog Hop! Have you been following the blog hop? Last week's post by Jo Jo Twinkletoes was all about toe up vs cuff down sock designs and next week you can head to Crafternoon Treats for lots of helpful info on how to customise your own socks. Want to catch up on all the posts? I will put links to all the contributors at the end of this post!

Crocheted socks are an amazing way to be expressive with colour! They are a lovely size and shape for being creative and trying new combinations. What if the colours don't work out the way you imagined? Well, you still have a cosy pair of socks to wear around the house or in your wellies! 

Playing with colour has been a fascination of mine for a long time, probably all my life in fact! Back in June 2017 I wrote a blog post all about choosing colours in response to repeatedly being asked how I come up with my colour combinations. If you are interested in finding out more about colour theory and my personal colour choices head over to that post for an in depth read!

my La Becque Socks by Rohn Strong

The simplest form of colour in socks is a solid colour or almost solid colour like the pair of lilac socks above. The yarn is Sparkle (superwash merino, nylon and stellina blend) by Vicki Brown Designs and it has very subtle variations in hue together with a sparkly strand running through it - very pretty! So, grab your favourite colour (or your recipient's favourite colour!) and you can't go wrong with a single colour!

my Hop Socks by Vicki Brown

The sock yarn above is subtly mottled - it appears solid from a distance but close up has a good deal of variation going on. I liked how this ball worked up in the round, lovely swirls were created. The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply, one of my favourite big brand sock yarns.

WIP - my Magdalen Socks by Vicki Brown 

Another fab way to introduce colour is by using speckled yarns! There's a huge range of indie yarn out there created this way and it works up brilliantly in socks. The yarn above is from Vicki Brown Designs and it creates a wonderful dappled effect once it's crocheted up.

my Sweetheart Socks by Vicki Brown

This of course leads to a fourth way of playing with colour when crocheting socks - contrast details! This is perhaps one of the most fun elements of crocheting socks, choosing different coloured yarns for the toes, heels and cuffs. You could have as many as 4 colours going on or keep it simple with just 2 colours.

my Everyone (Needs) Socks by Kat Goldin

Then, there is a whole world of self striping yarns out there! Sock yarn, like the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply above, comes in a huge range of stripy colours, created with sock knitters and crocheters in mind. No need to change colour, simply stitch away and the stripes appear. WARNING! Working with these yarns can be addictive as the yearn to create "just one more row and see the next colour" is very strong!

my own design, Fabulous Socks, coming soon!

Something I love playing around with when using self striping yarns, such as the Paintbox Yarns Socks above, is the position of the stripes. You can simply start crocheting and leave it to chance or you can be a bit more strategic. One way of doing this is to start with the same point in the stripe sequence for each sock, making them matchy-matchy, which always looks very neat and professional. I often have a little fun and start sock 1 from the inside of the ball and sock 2 from the outside of the ball, creating a pair of socks that are almost the same, but not quite. 

my Fallen Leaves Socks by Vicki Brown

Once or twice I have cut the yarn after the heel turn so that the stripes mirror themselves on the second half of the sock. In the socks above the effect was quite subtle but with a stripy yarn with more pop it could be quite striking. This leads on to the field of colour manipulation, where you carefully calculate the way the colours are positioned, round by round in your socks. I would have to admit that this isn't something I have tried but search "colour pooling" and you should find some excellent examples online. Sometimes this colour pooling happens as a complete fluke, a bit like in my third photo where the pinks swirled together, and these happy accidents put a real smile on your face. Occasionally the colours line up in a way you really dislike and then it's a case of frog them or make them as welly socks!

One final point to consider - if your pattern is plain then stripes work really well, but if your pattern is more of a lacy design it generally looks best in a solid/ semi solid or lightly speckled yarn.

me, proudly wearing my crocheted socks!

I hope this insight has been inspiring for you! Why not leave me a comment on your experience of colour and colour patterns in crocheted socks?

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

#1 Sat 15th Sep - Sock Making Tips - Tamara (http://www.craftyescapism.com/)

#2 Sat 22nd Sep - Yarn Choice - Fay (https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/)

#3 Sat 29th Sep - Knit vs Crochet Socks - Caroline (https://www.mindandmusecrafts.com/)

#4 Sat 29th Sep - Topic to be decided - Deanne (http://www.addydae.com/)

#5 Sat 6 Oct - Toe up vs Cuff down Socks - Jo (http://jojotwinkletoes.blogspot.com/)

#6 Sat 13th Oct - Topic to be decided - Marta (http://mrsdaftspaniel.blogspot.com/)

#7 Sat 20th Oct - Customising socks - Kathryn (http://crafternoontreats.com/)

#8 Sat 27th Oct - Crochet Sock Heels are not Scary - Karen (https://www.karenwhooley.com/)

Pattern Release: Lark's Knot Scarf

Hello! I have released another crocheted scarf pattern - my Lark's Knot Scarf! I designed this scarf using Queen of Purls Citadel DK which is a beautifully hand dyed, Blue Faced Leicester yarn. I fell in love with the colours when I visited the  Queen of Purls shop in Glasgow, which you can read all about in one of my july blog posts here.

detail of the tassles on the Lark's Knot Scarf

The name of my latest design is inspired by the lark’s head knot which I used in the tassels for the ends. I was a Girl Guide when I was younger and my dad was in the Royal Naval reserves, so I have always taken great pride in learning and knowing my knots!

the scarf together with its inspiration

This is an easy crochet pattern to follow, requiring only a few stitches and it works up quickly - an achievable project for the weekend! I have included an easy-to-follow chart too, which will really help anyone who prefers visual instructions. The pattern is available in US and UK terms, simply select the correct version for you at the time of purchase.

I chose 2 striking colours to show off the simplicity of the stitch pattern

So, this pattern is now available alongside my other patterns, in my Ravelry store - and hurry! - because it's on special offer at half price for 1 week only!!

I have one more pattern to release before the year is out and I have lots of ideas chugging away for the New Year which I can't wait to share with you!

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

Back to School Sweater CAL - my cardigan

Hello! Following on from last week's Back to School Sweater CAL blog hop post by Fay (www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com) it's time for me to share my own cardigan journey. Like most of the CAL participants, I had carefully chosen my yarn, swatched to check tension and was eager to start on the morning of Saturday 16th of September - I crocheted at full speed for a big chunk of the day, everything was going well!

my swatch and colour choices

progress at the end of day 1

I had chosen to follow one of my own patterns - Summer Yoke Cardigan - and give it a winter twist. The first big change was to substitute the summery cotton for cosy alpaca yarn. I chose Eden Cottage Yarns in Whitfell DK - a 100% baby alpaca yarn - and I ordered it directly online (NB. this yarn is currently in the sale as it is going to be discontinued, go grab a bargain while you can!).

this photo © Inside Crochet Magazine
my original Summer Yoke Cardigan design

The pattern begins with a plain yoke and then the pop of colour begins! I deliberately chose a muted, neutral shade for the main colour to really give the other colours a chance to dance and shine!

I love this stage of the making process, when the yoke looks like a rainbow!

Everything was straight forward and went as I expected at this stage. Apart from the yarn, the only other real change I had made was to follow the instructions for small instead of medium because I wanted a much tighter fitting cardigan for the winter. I used a 3.25mm Knit Pro crochet hook to keep the stitches small and neat too.

progress photo

I added 3 more rows of yoke pattern to this version, simply because I felt like it! The next section, from the end of the patterned yoke to the sleeve split was tricky! I spent about a week crocheting, frogging*, crocheting, frogging! The brilliant thing about being part of a CAL was that I wasn't alone; lots of people were unravelling at this stage! 

*frogging: term used in knitting and crochet to describe rows of stitches being ripped out - rip it, rip it - like a frog!

starting the sleeves

The best thing about top-down crochet designs is the fact that you can try them on as you work. In this way I was able to get the fit exactly as I wanted it. Once I positioned the sleeve split exactly in the right place, I began to work 1 ball at a time on a rotation basis; sleeve, body, body, sleeve, body, body etc. In this way I could work evenly across the sections and the garment grew in a harmonious way.

finished sleeves and cuffs

Before I knew it I had reached my desired sleeve length and it was time to think about how to finish at the cuff (my original pattern had 3/4 length sleeves and simply a band of contrast colour to finish). This cardigan was for me and I like snug, draught excluding cuffs on a cosy cardigan so I began with a round of contrast stitches, then a round of half trebles before adding 4 rounds of ribbed crochet cables. 

choosing the perfect button!

Shortly after I finished the sleeves, the main body section was finished too (hoorah! no more plain stitches!). I wanted to make the most of the pretty yarn so I added 4 rows of pattern to the hem before commencing the button band. The button band - the home stretch! Almost finished! Or so I thought ...

... actually the button band itself was ok, it was when I made the decision to add a colar to finish the neckline that it all went a bit pear shaped!

1st collar attempt

The trouble was that the extra height from the button band with a collar worked into it sat too high around my neck and dragged the whole cardigan out of shape. It was not how I had pictured it in my ahead at all. It was at this point that I threw the cardigan on the naughty step and didn't even look at it for a few weeks! During this time I did think about how to solve the problem - often at unexpected moments new ideas would come and go until suddenly it all became clear, I had a new plan! Sadly, this plan involved more frogging, lots of frogging! The entire button band needed to come out, 75g worth of wool in tiny little seed stitch ...

final colar design

The new button band stopped at the neckline, allowing me to work directly into the original chain of stitches at the very beginning of the cardigan. I followed the same increase pattern as the yoke whilst decreasing at either end to create a softer, rounder effect. To finish off I used a row crab stitches (my current fave stitch!). I like the new colar design in the main colour of the cardigan because it focuses all the attention on the pretty yoke.

first photo shoot

my finished Back to School Sweater!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen (makingatnumber14.blogspot.co.uk) and Tamara (www.craftyescapism.com) for hosting this CAL - it's been such fun to take part in and to watch other people's sweaters grow and take shape online! Next week Helen and Tamara are going to be sharing a celebration of everyone's making - I can't wait to find out more about it!

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

The 100 Day Project: 100 granny squares in 100 days

Back in July I felt the urge to begin a new granny square blanket but at the same time I didn't feel like starting a new one that would end up laying around in the corner of the room for the next 6 months (or longer!) while I occassionally added the odd square to the pile. I remebered seeing the hashtag #the100dayproject on Instagram and decided to challenge myself to make 100 granny squares in 100 days!

The main inspiration for this blanket came from @jen_olivarez who challenged herself to create an embroidered self portrait in 100 days. The stitches in her finished portrait are so tiny and intricate - I absolutely loved watching it grow! If you scroll down her Instagram gallery you will find the images - they are definitely worth a look!

All my squares are following the same pattern: Jan Eaton's Edwardian Fancy from her book 200 Crochet Blocks. This book is an amazing source of granny square inspiration for me, I would recommend it to anyone that wants to move on from basic granny squares. The yarn is odds and ends from my leftover balls of DK wool. There's a mix of alpaca, merino, BFL and vintage wool - as long as it is pure wool, it's in! 

Today is Day 24 and I have 24 squares! Hooray! Every day I am posting the finished square to my Instagram account and I love how the squares are looking dotted around my other pictures. Last week was a very hectic week for me and although I managed to crochet all the squares I was too busy to stop and take photos so I ended up a few days off, but I am all caught up now and back on track.

Yesterday I made a start on some joining and I am really happy with how the squares are sitting together. I am using a double crochet join on the reverse side, working through the back loops only. Over the years I have settled on this as my preferred joining method because it is easy to do and doesn't cut off as much of the final round from the squares as some other methods.

Today is Granny Square Day - an annual event to celebrate the iconic granny square! The idea is for everyone to post a close up image of a granny square and add the hashtag #grannysqaureday2017. When viewed all together the hashtag gallery should look like one big virtual crocheted blanket!

Happy Granny Square Day!

Marta xx

A visit to Queen of Purls wool shop, Glasgow

Last week I took a mini break to Glasgow with my husband. Our three boys were on holiday in Gibraltar with their local Scout Group so we took ourselves off to Scotland's largest city to explore for a few days! I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have been to Glasgow (I was born in Edinburgh hence it's the city I tend to gravitate towards if I am in need of a city trip) so we decided to stay right in the centre and use it as a base for delving into our surroundings.

Day 1, top of my list, was a visit to The Queen of Purls wool shop! Trying not to look too much like tourists, we walked along using Google maps on our phone to navigate our way to the shop. We found it easily enough, recognising the minty colour of the exterior paint straight away!

This impressive piece of artwork was the first thing I saw as we came through the door! Since posting the photo on Instagram, I have found out it's called a God's Eye - this is a very complex version of the ones I remember making with lolly sticks at school.

Moving round, I found one side of the shop was devoted to wool in all the colours of the rainbow! There was a large selection of Jamieson's of Shetland wool, which I have used for many projects including a Croft Hoose Hat I made (pattern by Ella Gordon) and a Paul the Toadstool (pattern by Lalylala). I really like this wool because I find that as I work each stitch I feel like I am engaging with the traditional heritage of wool in Scotland. Not sure if that strikes a chord with anyone else - maybe just me? Let me know in the comments.

Moving on a little I was blown a away by the gorgeous, rich colours of The Queen of Purls hand dyed wool! The colours were bold but in tune with nature - think of all the vibrant autumnal colours you can see in the park. The yarns are available in skeins and have either a Merino or Blue Faced Leicester base. The colours are not all over solid but have just the right amount of subtle variation to keep them exciting and alive.

As well as the pure wools there was a small selection of yarn by well known brands such as Wendy, Opal and West Yorkshire Spinners - plenty for sock knitters in particular to choose from!

There was also a wall featuring many different colours and varieties of wool tops for spinning and felting. My phone battery was almost dead, so I didn't get a photo of this wall, sorry! I did take a snap of my hubby, loom knitting a hat while he waited for me to look around ...

So, what did I buy? I chose 2 of my favourite Queen of Purls Citadel DK colours - Flowers of Sulphur and Space Junk (wonderful names too!). I have already begun a crochet scarf design based on this pair of colours, a fabulous "grellow" combination. The photo below shows my work in progress swirled into a snail shape to keep it slightly mysterious for now.

Until next time, 

Marta xx

Pattern Release ... in Inside Crochet magazine!

Hello! I am super duper excited about this crochet pattern release because it's in the latest issue of Inside Crochet magazine - my first ever magazine release!

I was hopping around with delight when my copy of the magazine landed on my doorstep! I ripped open the plastic cover and frantically flicked through to find my pattern! I was so happy with the photo shoot images and layout - they really show off the laid back, summery feel my cardigan encapsulates. The magazine is available now in the shops and online here.

The pattern is called Summer Cardigan and it's designed to be crocheted in DK thickness, cotton yarn. I actually designed and made it last summer using Three Bears Yarn affection DK, 100% cotton - but sadly this yarn is discontinued. According to yarnsub.com, Stylecraft Classique cotton DK is a good match - the gauge and fibre content match exactly but the yarn structure is slightly different. The pattern has been written for adult sizes small through to extra large and if you are a more advanced crocheter it will be easy to make changes to the size here and there, to suit for example a fuller bust (just be aware that this may change your yarn quantities!).

I would like to share with you a series of photos which show my design evolving because although I had a rough sketch of how I wanted it to look I made a lot of decisions along the way! These photos will also be helpful if you are following the pattern yourself because you can see how the individual stages look ...

As you know, my favourite social media hangout is instagram, so if you are on instagram too and decide to follow my pattern, please tag your photos with #mrsdaftspaniel for the chance to be featured! The pattern link has also been added to the Ravelry database, so you can link your projects in on there too and I will be able to see them! 

Happy hooking,

Marta xx