Patterns – Page 3 – Emma Varnam’s blog

Baby Lambs and flocking to farming

During the past year I have become obsessed by farming programmes on the telly and consequently sheep. The lambs, breeds and the wonderful farmers that raise them have become a renewed fascination. My own baby sheep design – Sam the Lamb has become a new favourite.

There are so many programmes that cover farming on British telly – that you could spend many hours, many evenings immersing yourself in the wonderful stories and landscapes. My own family poke fun at me and say that they think if I needed to I could deliver a lamb, solo.

I don’t think that is true… but my evening past time has highlighted a number of issues for me. Farming is such hard work and is not ever just a job, but has to be a passion and vocation. It shocks me how little a farmer gets (if anything) for the shorn fleece. Wool – once a prized commodity has almost no value – yet it is such a wonderful material. It keeps you warm when you are cold and has wonderful wick-away properties when you are hot.

I won’t pretend that I have stayed loyal to wool. I do love to wear it. But I have plenty of fleece in my wardrobe. I have also enjoyed and used lots of synthetic yarns and certainly blends using cotton and bamboo in my yarn work. But watching the programmes has made me think.

What has made me laugh is that for some breeds the farmers seem to do a full wash and blow dry on the wool coats before a show. In other parts of the country the stray fibres will be plucked from the sheep’s face like a full beauty session. They will then have the lovely cream fleece rubbed either with peat or sprayed with a colour to turn a cream down to a slightly darker beige. This means that the colour of their head and legs stand out! My word these woolly divas get the full treatment.

The opening of my eyes to new breeds across the nation has encouraged me to make my little sheep in a new colour. I think my Lamb looks rather fetching in their county-show style fawn wool. Certainly very cosy.

I have put this new colourway in my kit selection which you can find in the shop. You might have noticed that part of the blog has a new shop feature. This will enable me to launch some new patterns and new products straight to you. Tell me what you think.

Watching the farming programmes has made me think of animals that I have yet to try. I haven’t yet made a cow and it might be very wonderful to create a highland cow. So whilst it might seem a very idle past time watching very hard working farmers from the comfort of my sofa, the crochet hook is always in hand and the yarn is ready to celebrate another treasured animal.

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Billy Bear – My first crochet toy

The first toy you ever have – always has a special place and for a maker is a gift of love. I have updated my Billy Bear pattern to create my very best guide of a first crochet toy.

People often ask me what they should make if they are just starting to make crochet toys. If you have begun crochet making a granny square then the jump to working in the round or making ‘amigurumi’ can seem a bit daunting. Perhaps it is just the name. But essentially you are just working the most basic double crochet stitch in a spiral to build up a seamless shape.

Billy Bear with his striped jumper and simple legs and arms is a brilliant introduction to all the techniques I use in my other toys. My preference in all my toy designs is to incorporate the limbs into the fabric of the crochet. This will ensure that no matter how much play a treasured bear might have – their arm will not unravel. I also like joining each leg together before you work the body. Before you have your first go – this technique might seem complicated. But never fear it is actually quite simple.

I have written the pattern for you with helpful photos and honestly I am keen for you to fly with you toy making and to feel confident with all the techniques. If you are are a real crochet starter and not sure that this will be your thing, I have introduced a few simple kits to my shop so that you can buy just a few of the items you need before you start building a huge stash. You can choose from a beautifully classic duck egg colour or the softest powder pink. One of my customers messaged me to ask if I had a bespoke colour that she could use and I was able to help her and pop it in the kit. So if you have different stripe in mind, do message me.

Followers to this blog will notice a little change. I have added my own shop to the blog so that you can buy kits and books directly from me. It’s a new exciting venture and I am so delighted to connect with you and help you develop your crochet.

Pop over to the shop to have a look and tell me about any other items or patterns you would like to see.

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Easter Bunny Egg Cosy

There is something joyful, exciting and creative about anticipating the Easter celebrations. A sunny Easter weekend, full of family fun and old traditions is a thing of joy. Spring is in the air and perhaps the very first of outdoor adventures are planned.

Some years I enjoy setting the table for Easter Sunday and it is fun to make a range of cute Easter Bunny Cosies, hiding scrummy chocolate eggs – I created this little pattern over ten years ago and it was one of my first free crochet patterns available on the blog. You can download the pattern here – I have used natural brown but why not make a few in pastel shades…they make lovely hand puppets for little hands.

If you do make some please do send me some photos.

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Getting festive ready

I feel like I say this every year. If you are a crafter around the time of the new Autumn school term, your mind turns to Christmas. I know it’s way too early. But the benefit of darker nights is more time curled up on the sofa with either your hook or needles. Plus it does take time to make those handcrafted gifts.

It is a strange thing, I often do my most festive work around July. A totally topsy-turvy time. In the last few years I have designed a make-a-long for Knitting and Crochet Magazine: A stocking advent calendar one year and then last year I designed some Christmas Tree decorations along the theme of the 12 days of Christmas. They were a lot of fun.

This year I have set my own little challenge. I wanted to create a collection of my own toy patterns that I would style and sell independently. It seems like a crazy idea for a time-poor creative…but then if not, now when?

I have really enjoyed sending off my kits to new customers and it has been fun to connect to people from across the world. I started off with the downloadbale patterns for my baby animals. Then I began adding signed copies of my books. Last week I added a range of 5 watercolour postcards of my Cute Crocheted Animals. I love these images and I hope you will too.

Finally, in time for your festive making I have added a pattern and kit of a stripy Christmas stocking. I have very good memories of peeking at my Christmas stocking in the early hours of the morning. The best times were when you could see a new cuddly toy peeking out the top. It got me thinking…why not design a bespoke stocking that fits my new designs.

So there you are. Who wouldn’t want one of these cute friends greeting you on Christmas morning? If you pop over to the Etsy shop you can see, that you can download all the patterns, or order them as a kit. If you buy the two together it does make sense as there is a bit of discount on the combined price. Tell me what you think about the kits and the designs.

If you order this weekend I am adding a special gift for blog readers. If you enter EVBlog in the message whey you order I will send you a free set of the Cute Crocheted Animals Postcards as a ‘thank you’ pressie.

I am so glad that we can share this little adventure together – if you do make any of the patterns please do share your images. It delights your heart to see your makes.

Happy weekend!

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A new thing – Baby Animals

I have a small thing to share with you. It has been a very long time in the development. I have created a series of 5 patterns which I am selling as single patterns.

Over the years I have designed toys for my books, for pattern houses, and magazines. But I haven’t really designed a collection which I can sell as a designer. This is something I really want to do – take the project though from the little spark of an idea and then birth it as a pattern in my style and finally as a limited range of kits. Its so exciting. I have been thinking, chatting and dreaming about this project for about a year.

I have two very lovely and very experienced yarny friends who have helped me think about the concept. When we meet up we chat through our ideas and dreams and their advice is invaluable.

If you follow me on instagram you might remember that in February I was sharing pictures of these little animals out and about in the snowy hills of the Lake District. Designing and making time during any holiday is so important. The stillness of holiday give me time to tweak and to play.

I have no idea of how many yarns I trialed….so many. There are also some animals that I wasn’t really happy with – who didn’t make the cut…

Finally I settled on 5 little characters – Bobby Bunny, Gertie Goose, Pat Puppy, Sam Lamb and Poppy Piglet.

Then the hard work begins… the pattern writing. I worked with my good friend and pattern editor Lynne Rowe. Lynne and I have worked on many publishing projects together and she knows what makes sense to crocheters. She spots the things which I leave out.

I then approached some regular makers of patterns and some expert crocheters – thanks to Linda, Sioux – super stalker and Babs for trialing the patterns. You are awesome.

The yarn I have finally chosen comes from the UK yarn house – Sirdar. You know I work with and love lots of yarn houses. They are all great. I chose Sirdar because I wanted to use their Snuggly Yarn ‘Bunny’ for the tummies of each animal. It made sense for the other yarn in the design to come from the same yarn company. I also wanted the yarn to have a good price point for you and be widely accessible across the UK.

Sirdar Snuggly Bunny is a fancy yarn and when you are crocheting with it you will need to pay attention – feel and look where you are putting your hook. The final feel of your toy is totally worth the concentration.

If you are interested in these designs they are available for digital download from my Etsy Shop.

Tell me what you think – I would love to know – which one is your favourite? If you end up making them will you post your baby toys and I would love to see images #crochetbabyanimals.

Finally you might notice a bit of change in my logo and brand. The launch of my pattern range seemed a good time to make the change. Plus my good friend Gemma said, ‘Emma is it time for a rebrand…..?’ in that way that isn’t really a question. She was right.

So there you go – exciting/scary times. All in a period of lockdown. I hope you like this new step and thank you to so many of you for supporting me.

Happy Weekend.

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Crazy Daisy Cushion

How are you at the moment? Are you finding that your crafty life is actually more of a life-line than it has ever been? Me too… After a long day sat at the screen in Skype/zoom/team world I crave the time spent with my yarn. Every stitch seems to smooth out the crinkles in my brain.

This week I am thrilled that the new issue of Inside Crochet Magazine will start to appear on the doormat or the shop shelves. I’ve had a look at the patterns and the colourful and zesty colours are brilliant for the summer season.

It seems an age ago that I designed the Crazy Daisy Cushion for this issue. If you follow this blog you will know how much I love using crochet in the garden. There is nothing more luxurious than piling swathes of cushions and blankets on to the grass.

The great thing about outdoor soft furnishing is that your colour scheme can be a bit more adventurous. This design is very quick to make as it uses Stylecraft Special Aran and 5mm. Drag out your stash to aran and let your imagination go wild.

emma-varnam-inside-crochet-daisy-cushion

I have got to admit that I adore designing for Inside Crochet Magazine. The images they take are glorious and I get so excited to see how they have styled my work. I made two versions of the same pattern, using up as much of the yarn as I could. Do tell me what your think and it always lovely to hear how you are getting on with your lock-down craft projects. For now have a happy weekend and let those needles or hooks fly with creativity.

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Bumble Bee Mask Mate

Living the great northern city of Manchester we have in the last few years really owned the worker bee symbol. It is nearly 3 years since the tragic MEN arena bombing. A terrible time which birthed a renewed sense of community unity. A few of my key-worker friends asked me to make them a mask mate which was in the shape of the Bee. I’ve done something very very simple and I share it here for you just in case it is helpful. Stay safe and ‘Thank you’ to all those who are working hard to look after our community.

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Mask Mates – Crochet to the rescue

Lovely blog readers, I am just putting these images here for you. I have lots of friends and colleagues who are key workers. They all have to wear masks as part of their everyday job. I had the most hilarious conversation with a friend who came to drop off a little treat at my door,’Why have all my friends got crochet mask adjusters and you are a Queen of Crochet and you haven’t made me one?’ she was joking…but she was right….

So when she left…slightly ashamed I rushed to my stash and started making. I made a plain – professional one. A joyful flowery version and a cheeky froggy pattern. I have another which is brewing in my head and soon I shall share a pattern with you. These are so easy to do. My advice is to make them if you have willing recipients. There is nothing worse than passionately creating woolly gifts only to discover they are swamped under a tsunami of crafty kindness. But it is nice to think that the hooky people among us can provide a little comfort in these difficult times.

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The Vintage ‘V’ Blanket

Currently I don’t have much thinking space or time to be working on complex crochet patterns. My mind wandered last week, remembering the crafters and makers in the Second World War. They used whatever they could find, whatever could be re-purposed to make their creation. Then I remembered that we have a wonderful scrappy blanket in our cupboard, inherited form my husband’s grandma.

It is a simple pattern and each row is a riot of clashing colours. A perfect project for difficult times. It seem to me that would be a lovely idea to try and crochet a row each evening as we remain in lock-down. All being well, at the end we will have a new crazy coloured celebration blanket.

So I am sharing the pattern with you. If you are a beginner this is a good place to start. Find as much yarn as you can and don’t think too hard about the colour combinations.

You will need:

Lots of yarn of the same thickness (weight). I have used Double Knit yarn.

4mm crochet hook for the main pattern.

(If you have it, a 5mm crochet hook for the foundation chain)

Some small sharp scissors.

A tapestry need with large enough hole (eye) to thread yarn through.

Pattern

Using A and 5mm hook, chain 187

Row 1: 1dc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in each ch to end, turn. 186 sts.

Row 2: Using 4mm hook, 3ch, miss dc at base of ch, miss 1dc, (2tr, 1ch, 2tr) in next st, *miss 2dc, (2tr, 1ch, 2tr) rep from * to last 3sts, miss 2dc, 1tr in last st, turn. (63 V clusters).

Change to yarn B.

Row 3: 3ch, *(2tr, 1ch, 2tr) in next ch sp, rep from * to end, 1tr in top of 3rd ch, turn. (63 V clusters).

Row 3 forms the pattern. Change the yarn colour every row. Weave in the ends as you go with your tapestry needle. Work until your blanket measures 180cm. The width will be approximately 160cm dependent on your tension.

Here are some video tutorials to help you get started:

If you start making a Vintage ‘V’ Blanket please do share your images over on the Facebook page or tag me in via Instagram. I would love to see them. Remember to really get the Vintage look the more colour clashes the better. In my blanket I have made every 8th row a cream row. But you could substitute this with a muted grey or even black which brings a little bit of neutral colour order to the overall look. Happy Making!

Abbreviations: st=stitch, sts – stitches, ch- chain, dc = double crochet (UK)/single crochet (US),
tr = treble crochet (UK)/double crochet (US), sp – space.

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