Hello! In keeping with the creative challenge I’ve set for myself for 2023 (as introduced in this post), here is what I completed this past week. It might look like a lot, and granted, I usually do end up making quite a few things for Valentine’s Day because I love the colours red and pink and the shape of hearts, but these things were made over a few weeks and finished last week. In fact, many got the final touches last night because weaving in the ends of crocheted pieces is always my least favourite part, so I sat down and did them all at once while watching Netflix (I watched “Your Place or Mine”, the new movie with Reece Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. It was fun and, although romantic comedies are not usually what I choose, I quite liked it.)
Even though I’ve been crocheting since I was 7, I only made my first “real” doily last year (the one in this post about St. Patrick’s Day decorating). But, now I’ve tried quite a few different patterns and I’m hooked (haha) on making doilies. What makes them fun is that every row of them is different and you don’t really know what is coming up next, so it’s kind of like a treasure hunt in crochet form.
↑ One of the “Hearts Desire Motif” Doilies ↑
There are 5 newly made doilies :
- 2 are the same pattern – The large pink one and the white and red one were both made following this free pattern from the “Yarn and Hooks” site. The pink one was made with thick cotton yarn and the other one was made with much thinner yarn, so you get a feel for the size variance that different thicknesses yield. For the white and red one, I just did the final row with red yarn.
- 2 others are also the same from a different pattern – The small red one and the small white one, with the heart pattern crocheted right in, were made following this free pattern, called “Hearts Desire Motif” from the “Yarnspirations” site. Note, that if you try this one, the doilies it makes end up being fairly small.
- The fifth, the larger of the red ones, was the most challenging one to make but it was not too difficult and was enjoyable to do. It was made following this free pattern called “Dreaming of Spring” from the beautiful blog “Lacycrochet”. There are also more patterns there, for lovely looking doilies, that I plan to try, as well.
These two little heart ornaments were made using the wire frame from some rattan covered hearts I found in the regular crafting section of Dollarama. If you’d like to see what I mean, they are like the larger one seen in this post, used to make a larger heart-shaped wreath. These small ones came in a package of 4, so I have 2 more to make.
Here are some rough instructions. (If you try this and it is confusing, please feel free to send me an email to the address in the footer and I’ll try to explain better) To make them, begin the same way as described in this post , which demonstrates how to crochet a round wreath on a wire frame. To make the first row around the wire, begin at the top of the heart right next to the ring. Make 2 single crochet stitches onto the wire, then how ever many it takes to cover one side of the heart in a multiple of 5 (the amount will vary depending on the size of yarn you use). You need a multiple of 5 because it takes 5 of the beginning stitches to make each scallop in the second row around. At the bottom point make 2 more single crochet stitches. Then repeat up the other side of the heart. Cover the bottom of the ring with single crochet stitches, bringing you to the beginning of the round. Then, on the second row, you make the scallops by anchoring with a slip stitch into the 3rd single crochet, skip 1 single crochet, make 5 half-double crochet stitches into the next, skip 1 single crochet, anchor with a slip stitch into the next. At the bottom point, make as many half-doubles as needed to hide the wire. Repeat with the scallops up the other side. Finish with single crochets along the top of the ring.
The pink wreath below was made in a similar way way, around a metal ring I found at Michaels that was in the macrame section. There’s an extra row in this one, through which the ribbon is woven. I’d be happy to put a tutorial up for this if you’re interested. Again, please let me know via the email address in the footer.
I think this next little heart is my favourite. I made it using this pattern for a heart shaped sachet, except I made two pieces like the front piece of the sachet, and connected them together over a heart I cut out of some red cardstock paper. The bow was something I winged for the first time. If you’d like a tutorial on that let me know at the email address in the footer and I’ll put one up on these pages.
↑ This is 3 pieces layered together, in case it was confusing! ↑
Finally, the embroidered felt hearts. These were made from a kit I got at Christmas. The kit made 4 different shapes of ornaments, including a tree, a bauble and a star, but I picked out the heart shaped ones for Valentine’s. I’ll finish the rest for next Christmas.
I used the large pink doily under a vignette I put together in our living room, that suited a theme on Instagram. The subject was “Vintage Valentine Candy”. If you’d like to see the Instagram post for it, which includes some additional detail shots, it is here.
Thank you very much for checking out what I’ve been creating lately! If you enjoy making things, too, I wish you happiness while crafting. Also, Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate it.
xo loulou
