MICROCKNIT CREATIONS: Enchanted Forest Mandalas

Monday, 1 February 2016

Enchanted Forest Mandalas

crochet patterns, mandalas, doily, coasters, how to crochet,

January Blues

For some people, January is all doom and gloom. All the festivities of Christmas and New Year are now over; there's talk of New Year resolutions and some are actually doing a dry-January. There are those who wish winter was over and wanting it to get warmer, because all those wet, windy, cold, sunless short days are driving them to depression.

crochet patterns, how to crochet, mandalas, doily, coasters,

Whereas, for me, well I just LOVE January, it is a time of peace and quiet, a time to relax and chill out in our little cave, a time to hibernate, I love it!

I love the time to myself, I love the cold, wet weather which forces me to stay indoors, I can rummage to my hearts content, read as much as I like, draw, crochet, knit, nap, try out new recipes, rearrange my drawers and cupboards, discard stuff I no longer need or don't use, and basically declutter.

Best of all, it is a great time to take sunrise photos (when the sun is visible) because sunrise is as late as 8am. This is the perfect time of year for resting and recouping! A time of reflection without distractions! Absolutely perfect!

Crochet Discoveries

I managed to sort out my stash of yarn and stack of unfinished projects, and have decided to complete some crochet items I had worked on and put aside for another day for whatever reason, and now here is the first crochet project I decided to complete.

ENCHANTED FOREST Mandalas

I started this creation about two (2) summers ago. It was a WIP (work-in-progress) for so long only because I would take my time to decide what stitch pattern to do next, so I would only do it when the inspiration took me there! I was also using up my scraps of DMC Petra 5, so it had a totally different look, in the original work I used a total of six (6) colours and even had more rows, but for the NEW look I excluded the last four (4) rows to keep it a reasonable size. Then I chose the colours of peppermint and avocado to complement my sofa cushions, so you are quite welcome to chose any colour you prefer to complement your home decore.

Here are the PATTERN DETAILS:

DIFFICULTY: Easy Intermediate

SIZES: Three (3) sizes - A = small; B = medium; C = large

MEASUREMENTS: approx. A = 13cm (5in); B = 23cm (9in); C = 41cm (16in)

YARN USED: Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton 4ply ● 100% Mercerized Cotton ● 100g/267m/292yds ● Shades: MC Peppermint (1831) CC Avocado (1826) ● 1 ball of each

NOTIONS: 3mm hook, Yarn needle

PATTERN NOTES: You need to know how to colour change and crochet in the round. Instructions in this pattern are for three (3) mandalas, using two (2) colours, colour changes are mentioned in the pattern. This written pattern has accompanying photographs at the end of the written instructions.

Deep in the Enchanted Forest a tiny little spider creates amazingly intricate, delicate and colourful spider webs. Enchanted Forest Mandalas were inspired by these spider webs, and now you too can decorate your home with vibrant coloured spider web designs. Come along and have a play and have some fun!