Dino Along! Revealed.

Recently I posted this teaser:

Today I announce what it is and how you can be involved.

The Dino a long will be both a crochet a long and a knit a long; and so it will be officially a MAL - make a long!

As promised in the teaser, it will be for younger children. I'm making mine for my 3 year old son. It will be a cloth book of dinosaur pictures!

The make a long will go for 6 weeks, and the first part will go live on the 30th of April, at midday Australian Eastern Standard Time. The pattern will work from a graph, but also include written instructions.

The pattern will be available on Ravelry as a paid pattern for the course of the Dino MAL - and released onto other selling platforms after. During the MAL the pattern will be set up as the reduced price of $3 (AU) and on the 11th June (1 week after the last section released) it will go up to the usual price of $8 (AU) - However if you pre order from now until the 30th of April it will only cost $1.50 (AU) Which is an absolute bargain - and my way of thanking you for trusting me that this pattern will be awesome! (it will :) )


PRE ORDER LINKS - read to the bottom of the page before clicking!

• KNIT PATTERN    

• CROCHET PATTERN

Materials Required I will be using Scheepjes Colour Crafter (100% acrylic 100 g/300 m per ball.)
I will be using 6 colours, which will be announced by the 18th of April.

You are free to colour match in another brand - or go rouge with whatever colours and fibres you wish!

I am also using a 4 mm hook.

And what about knitters? 4 mm needles are required.

Will you also need darning/wool needle, scissors and a love of dinosaurs!


I hope that you choose to dino a long with me!

Celestial Square - Free Pattern.

A long, long time ago.....
*music starts*

A long time ago, I started a blanket, and even began joining it! Then I decided I wanted it to be just a big bigger, so the joins were undone and the squares packed into a box.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emma Wilkinson Designs (@emma_crochets) on Jan 22, 2019 at 5:43pm PST

Eventually I got some more yarn, and decided to introduce a new subtle element to the blanket, and the Celestial square was born!

The original square was the Nebula square, and the Celestial square is her companion. I have almost 100 nebula squares, and will be making approximately 30 celestial squares to join into a blanket (it will be a square number!)

The yarn I am using plays a fairly integral part of the design- Papatya Batik #31. Which can be purchased in Australia at Yarnish.

I am not joining as I go (which is why I had to unpick) as they overall layout is colour based. I will have a complete post on the blanket once it is finished, an I have a deadline, so it won't be long!

This pattern is just for the new square, but I will write out a separate post explaining all the steps to make the blanket. The front post stitches create a 'dip' in the sides of the squares, but they flatten out once joined.

This pattern uses US terms and contains fpdc - front post double crochet, an explanation is given at the end.

Celestial Square - the pattern:

Yarn: Paptya Batik #31. 100% acrylic, 8 ply/dk, 360 m
Hook: 5 mm

Make a magic ring - or chain 5 and sl st join.

Round 1: Chain 3 (counts as dc) 2 dc, *3 ch, 3 dc, repeat from *twice more, sl st  into the top of the first dc. (12 dc, 12 ch)

Round 2: Chain 3 (does not count as a stitch) dc into same st (centre dc from round 1) fpdc around next dc; *(2 dc, 3 ch, 2 dc) in corner sp, fpdc into next dc, dc in next st, fpdc in next st, rep from * twice, (2 dc, 3 ch, 2 dc) in corner sp, fpdc around ch 3 from round 1, sl st into top of first dc. (20 dc, 8 fpdc, 12 ch)

Round 3:  Chain 3 (does not count as a stitch) dc into same st (centre dc from round 2) fpdc around next fpdc, 2 dc, *(2 dc, 3 ch, 2 dc) in corner sp, 2 dc, fpdc into next fpdc,  dc in next st, fpdc in next fpdc, 2 dc; rep from * twice, (2 dc, 3 ch, 2 dc) in corner sp, 2 dc, fpdc in next fpdc, sl st into top of first dc. (36 dc, 8 fpdc, 12 ch)

ch - chain
dc - double crochet
fpdc - front post double crochet:
st/s - stich/es
sp- space
yo - yarn over

front post double crochet: yo, insert hook front to back around crochet stitch post, yo and pull through, yo, pull through 2 sts, twice.

If you are in a position to donate - please consider buying me a coffee. Your support allows me to produce free patterns.

Fairy Bread Day - And pattern!

It's Fairy Bread Day! (almost- I'm posting a little early!) November the 24th. Fairy Bread has been a childhood favourite of Australians since the 1920s. It has had a recent surge in interest, due to other countries discovering this fun, yet simple delicacy!

To celebrate, I've written a pattern to make a playtime version, and it's available in both US and UK terms. The pattern is available to purchase on Etsy, >>CLICK HERE<< and will be available on Ravelry asap. . It's also the first pattern of my 'Australiana Series' Which will be popping up in 2017

Interested in making your own edible Fairy Bread? You will need:

White Bread
Butter or Margerine
Sprinkles or 100s and 1000s

Spread butter on bread and top with sprinkles! Fairy Bread is usually cut and served in triangles. However for my 7th birthday, my creative mother spelt out 'Happy Birthday Emma' in Fairy Bread.

Enjoy!

Christmas Wreath Base

Last year I made a crochet Christmas wreath for my front door. This year I want to add to it, but before that,  I thought I would repost the original tutorial, for a base to work from.

Now that November is here, it might seem a bit early, but I think it's necessary to plan ahead, especially if you are planning on making some of your own decorations!

I've started with a wreath for my front door. I also recently moved house, so it will be the first time decorating this place. I naturally decided to make a crochet wreath! This pattern is a beginner level.

I picked up a Decofoam Wreath and some 8ply  acrylic yarn - the Kringle value ball.

pictures from spotlight.com

Using a 3.5mm hook I made a chain of 40, and then (in US terms)
Row 1 : skip the first three chains, 37 dc chain three and turn.
Row 2 - 100 : 37 dc across (chain three and turn, except last row)

Check your size against the decofoam wreath and bind off.

 It should fit very snug.

Using a whip stitch, or whatever you find easiest, sew the long ends together around the wreath.

Now you have a lovely base to add decorations to!

Don't forget, I will be adding more decorations!

Make your Own Tshirt yarn

This tutorial first appeared first appeared on my old blog, and has been edited in this post. I am reposting as it shows how to make your own t-shirt yarn, which you can use to make my Crochet Club bag. If you ever played the 'Mintie Wrapper' game as a child (I think it might be an Australian thing!) you will have an idea of how to do it! 

Cut strips of jersey cotton (stretchy tshirt material)  but leave about an inch at the end, then cut back in the opposite direction. These were some baby blankets I loved, but didn't think I would use again! 

Cutting like this creates a continuous thread. You don't need to just use stretchy material, but it does make it a bit easier to use. 

If you are in a position to donate - please consider buying me a coffee. Your support allows me to produce free patterns.

Crochet Club Bag

The pattern is now available on Ravelry, (<<click here) and will soon be on Etsy too. It uses 800 g / approx 400 yards of t shirt yarn, and a 20mm hook. The handle fits comfortably over your shoulder, and is great for carrying all your yarn around! I made it to take my projects to my crochet club (which is as good as it sounds!) 

Welcome

Hello and Welcome to my new blog!

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My name is Emma and I have been blogging on and off since 2009. I opened an Etsy shop in 2011, and started publishing my own crochet patterns in 2015. In 2016 I decided to streamline all my online personas into a single brand - Emma Wilkinson Designs. except on Instagram, you can find me as emma_crochets over there!

I live in the North Western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, with my family of six. You can also find me teaching crochet classes in the area.

My old blog was How to Crochet a Heart ( howtocrochetaheart.blogspot.com) Which began in 2012. You can find most of my old posts over there, although I will be transporting a few of my favourite posts over here.

I've been out of the blogging world for a while, so it might take a while for it all to come back to me!

Here, I'll be sharing designs and patterns (crochet) and hopefully more!

Thanks for stopping by.