Category Archives: Patterns

Four Months, a Tangle of Yarn and a Crochet City: My Downtown Blanket

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If you read my last post, you’ll know that although Manjri’s Place went rather quiet for a while, I certainly didn’t stop making things.

So, if I’m going to start catching you up on what I’ve been doing while I’ve been away, I thought I might as well start with one of the biggest. Quite literally! May I introduce you to my Downtown Blanket. And yes, this really is crochet.

The pattern is Astrid’s Downtown Blanket by Astrid Schandy, and this colourful city took me around four months to make.

It was also my very first attempt at interlocking crochet! Because apparently starting with something small and sensible would have been far too easy. 😄

Astrid’s design uses interlocking crochet – two filet-style crochet meshes worked together to create the wonderfully graphic design of buildings, windows, trees and architectural details.

And when I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it. Here is how my Downtown Blanket grew, one row at a time.

From one very long row…

Every city has to start somewhere…

There’s hardly anything there! Just this long strip of crochet, the beginnings of a few buildings and an increasingly suspicious number of strands of yarn hanging off it. I had absolutely no idea how many more of those strands there would be before I was finished….but I can say that there were A LOT!

Learning interlocking crochet as I went

The first buildings and trees start to appear.

Before this, I’d never tried interlocking crochet, so I wasn’t just following a large and complicated pattern – I was learning the technique while making it…..perhaps not the most sensible introduction to interlocking crochet, but I definitely don’t regret it – it was an incredibly satisfying experience!

While working and concentrating on individual stitches, spaces and colour changes, and following the pattern diligently, every so often I’d spread it across the sofa, stand back and realise there was a building! Then another, and another – with windows and doors appearing. And even trees were growing. Yep – a city was emerging.

One of the things I particularly love about my finished blanket is that the colours are mine. I didn’t use the recommended yarn or follow the original colourway. Instead, I went shopping to a rather wonderful place…My own yarn stash. (And, I can assure you there was plenty to choose from.) Despite this using quite a lot of yarn, I’m not entirely sure it made a noticeable dent in my stash.😄

There is one exception – even my enormous stash didn’t have enough grey – I needed plenty of it for the edging and back, so that was the only yarn I actually had to go out and buy.

I used a mixture of acrylic yarns I already had, choosing colours from what was available and allowing my own version of Downtown to develop as I went. Some of the yarns even have metallic threads running through them, so little parts of the blanket catch the light and sparkle.

And then there was THIS.🫣

Behind every beautiful crochet blanket… apparently there is a yarn monster.

I feel this photograph deserves a moment of its own. Because this is what the beautiful finished blanket doesn’t show you….every colour change meant another working strand to manage, and another, and another…to be honest, sometimes it was less like crochet and more like trying to negotiate with a yarn octopus 🤪! Keeping all those strands organised was almost as important as making the stitches themselves….and I can assure you it was very challenging!

I very often multitask while crocheting – I’d be watching a video, reading something, or having a conversation while I crochet – this was most definitely not a project that allowed that! It was multitasking in its own right! I’d be counting, checking, following the chart, rechecking, finding the correct strand, untangling that strand from three other strands, checking again, and then crocheting a few more stitches – not recommended for the faint-hearted 😂!

And getting up off the sofa was also a circus act – it was almost like the scene from the movie Entrapment, where Catherine Zeta-Jones is navigating through the laser beams. Okay, I exaggerate – I wasn’t blindfolded… but you get the gist. In case you haven’t seen the clip, here’s a link to it on Youtube.

Watching Downtown grow

Before I set up my dedicated space for crochet, I’d be sitting on the sofa in the living room when I crocheted. With this project, after a while, I couldn’t call it “a little work-in-progress” – it was taking over the sofa, and half the living room ! However, I persevered, and tried to contain this as much as possible (my dear family have been incredibly supportive and patient while I took over this space!)…It paid off – the project was coming together beautifully, and the whole cityscape was emerging.

Nearly there…

Whenever I am working on a big project, there comes a point when I desperately want to finish it…so I often end up burning the candle at both ends (and even the middle – ha ha) to get it done. But it’s a double-edged sword as, having spent so long working on it, I’d grown very attached to my blanket and I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d do once I finished it. But, finished it had to be as it was going to a very special home.

And finally…

N.B. In this photo, I’m actually holding the blanket up over my head. I’m around 5 ft 8 in tall and had to stand on tiptoes so that it wouldn’t touch the ground – that gives you an idea of the size!

Four months, countless colour changes, an alarming amount of time spent untangling and managing dangling strands, and one very occupied sofa and living room later… I made it.

And yes, I’m rather proud of this one. ❤️

So, my words of wisdom would be that if you’ve ever fallen in love with a crochet pattern and immediately thought I could never make that, don’t dismiss it quite so quickly. You don’t necessarily need to know how to make the whole thing when you start. Sometimes you just need to work out the next stitch. Then the next one. And sometimes, four months later…you have a city.

I hope I’ve inspired you to have a go at something you love, even if you’re just a little afraid of trying it.

You can also see this featured on the Studio Manjri website.

Pattern details

Pattern: Astrid’s Downtown Blanket
Designer: Astrid Schandy
Technique: Interlocking crochet
Time taken: Approximately four months
My yarn: A mixture of acrylic yarns from my stash, including some with metallic thread
Colourway: My own

Astrid’s Downtown Blanket pattern on Ravelry

Beach / Sun Hat Crochet Pattern

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With summer now in full swing, I decided to design my own sun/beach hat. It’s made using cotton yarn, and the pattern incorporates holes to keep it light and allow for good air circulation.

I originally made this in one colour, and the pattern has been written accordingly – however, you can choose to use more than one colour. Yarn used is sport weight cotton yarn – I once again used Katia Menfis . You will need just a bit over one 100g ball, so I recommend you get two.

The pattern is available in my Ravelry store →

The hat will fit an adult. It is made in one piece, but has three distinct sections:

  • the top part, measuring approximately 6.5 inches,
  • a middle section measuring 3 inches in height and
  • the rim, which is 2.75 inches.

Plain Bucket Hat with Flowers Pattern

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Here is another pattern I’ve designed — this one is a plain bucket hat embellished with large flowers.

This beautiful bucket hat is made using one main colour in sport weight cotton yarn, and then embellished with flowers in three colours . The yarn I used is Katia Menfis cotton yarn. You will need just a bit over one 100g ball, so I recommend you get two. In addition, you will need four more colours for the flowers – one colour for the centre of each flower and three colours for the flowers.  I used three round mirror tiles in the centre of the flowers to give it a bit of sparkle.

The pattern is available in my Ravelry store.

The hat will fit an adult. It is made in one piece, but has three distinct sections:

  • the top part, measuring approximately 6.5 inches,
  • a middle section measuring 3.5 inches in height and
  • the rim, which is 1.5 inches.

Crochet Striped Bucket Hat

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been working on my own pattern for a bucket hat. This is my striped bucket hat, embellished with flowers.

The pattern is available in my Ravelry store.

This beautiful bucket hat is made using 2 colours in sport weight cotton yarn. The yarn I used is Katia Menfis cotton yarn. This comes in 100 g balls, and you will need 1 ball in each colour.

The hat will fit an adult. It is made in one piece, but has stylistically three distinct sections:

  • the top part, measuring approximately 6.5 inches
  • a middle section measuring 3.5 inches in height and
  • the rim, which is 1.5 inches.

For the flowers, you can choose to make these in any other complementary colours, or stick with the two main colours of the hat.

Here are a couple of colour variations which I have made. Also, as the flowers are crocheted separately, you can decide to leave them out.

Crochet Flower Sun Hat – Free Pattern

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Hey all!

Finally it seems like summer has made her appearance! The temperature here in Malta is in the high 20s (Celsius), there is a nice cool breeze, skies are blue and days are getting longer. No more COVID restrictions – life is good and it’s definitely the best time of the year!

In warmer weather, I normally switch to using cotton yarns for my projects – that way, I can continue crocheting all year round 🙂

I have long wanted to make a granny square sun hat – and finally, I got round to it and have made a few. I used the Flower Sun Hat pattern by Natalie Beard for Hobbycraft, which is available free online:
Flower Sun Hat – Free Pattern →

For my hats, I used Katia Menfis yarn and a 3 mm hook.

So, without further ado, here are the hats I have made so far. A great big thanks goes out to Ylenia and Alex for being such good sports and modelling them along with me!

This is just the beginning – I’ve got lots more bucket hats which I have been working on – so keep an eye out for more posts in the coming days.

And, don’t forget to use sunscreen and stay hydrated!

Ylenia
Alex
Moi 🙂
Moi 🙂

Froggie Bonnet – a slightly different version

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It’s been a while since I’ve published a post, but rest assured, I haven’t been crochet idle (ha ha – is that even a term?) – while I haven’t spent as much time as I would have liked on projects, here is a commission I recently completed.

A while back, I published a post with a free pattern for a froggie bonnet. I was asked if I could make a slight variation of that with the main differences being the straps are ribbed and are an extension of the rib border. I also thought that the eyes would look awesome with a bit of a sparkle, so decided to use a yarn with a gold strand through it.

The biggest challenge, believe it or not, was actually positioning the eyes. Once that was sorted, the bonnet finally made its way to its new owner, Amelie – and here she is!

Easy Knitted scarf

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It’s been quite a few years since I last knitted anything, as normally I prefer crochet. But, I came across this lovely yarn, and needed a project to use it for (I know – that’s the wrong order of doing things – i.e. you should have a project in mind, and then you find the material – but I’m sure crafters know exactly what I mean and are likely guilty of the same!)

The yarn I used is Katia Easy Jacquard, which came with a free hat and scarf pattern:

Katia Easy Jacquard Hat & Scarf – Free Pattern →

My version is somewhat different, as I wanted a thicker scarf. To achieve that, I worked the whole scarf in rib stitch. My instructions are below.

Instructions:

Using 4.5 mm needles, cast on 46 stitches.
Row1: Repeat (K2, P2) to the end of the row.
Make as many rows as you like util the scarf is the desired length. (I used the entire ball, and my scarf is pretty long).

This is an ideal pattern to follow while watching your favourite shows – if you are like me, I can’t just sit and watch a show, I have to be doing something as well.

Hope this inspires you to pick up your hooks or needles and get crafting!

Pot holders – Farmyard Collection

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I came across a wonderful set of farmyard-inspired tapestry crochet potholders and have been busy as a bee crocheting away a whole range of them – they are simple but really cute.

Here are some of the ones which I have made – they make really cute sets! I always use mercerized cotton for these as it is heat resistant. These are made using either DK or 4-ply cotton and a 4 mm or 3.5 mm crochet hook – of course the 4-ply using the 3.5 mm hook results in a smaller pot holder, but it’s still a pretty decent size.

I have made some others (which are not a set – and you can see them below). I’m not very fond of the goose with the purple background – it does not seem to look as neat as the ones where the background is light.

My next post will also be more potholders – but this time, it’s my own design and they are Grand Prix-inspired 🙂

So stay tuned — and in the meantime, why not try making some of these yourself?

The original Farmhouse Potholders are designed by Raffaella of Raffamusa Designs, and the individual patterns are available free on her website:

Farmhouse Potholders – Free Patterns →

Crochet Granny square handbag – getting ready for spring!!

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Hey fellow crafters!  With the weather getting a little warmer, I thought that a nice spring handbag would be a great project – so here is one I made up.  I used mercerised cotton DK in 3 colours and a 3.5 mm crochet hook.

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Each side of the bag is made by joining 9 granny squares, and then joined by crocheting single crochet through adjacent aligned squares. Below is the pattern of the granny square seen in this bag.

Original bag design and granny square pattern by Manjri’s Place

The granny square pattern

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Abbreviations (US terms):
CH – chain
SC – Single Crochet
HDC – Half double crochet
DC – Double Crochet
TC – Triple Crochet
DC2TOG – 2 DC together (for instructions of how to do this please refer to external link)
DC3TOG – 3 DC together also known as cluster stitch (for instructions on how to do this, please refer to this external link)

Round 1 : Using grey yarn, in a magic ring, CH, 8SC, join with slip stitch into the 1st SC to complete the ring. (8 stitches)
Round 2 : CH, 2SC in  each SC from Round 1, all the way round. Join with slip stitch into the 1st SC to complete the ring (16 stitches). Cast off.
Round 3 : Using the lilac coloured yarn, join in any SC from Round 2, and CH 2. In the same SC, DC. CH, Repeat (DC2tog in next SC, CH) all the way round. Join with a slip stitch into 2nd chain of the first 2 chains which you started the round with.  Cast off. (16 Stitches, 16 spaces)
Round 4 : Using the grey yarn, join in any chain space made in Round 3 and CH 2. In the same chain space, DC2tog, and CH 2. Repeat (DC3tog, CH 2) all the way round in each chain space from round 3. Join with a slip stitch into the 2nd chain of the first 2 chains which you started the round with. Cast off. (16 stitches, 16 spaces)
Round 5 : Using the white yarn, join in any chain space made in Round 4 and CH 3. In the same chain space, 2 DC. 3 HDC in next chain space. 3 DC in next chain space. (3 TC, CH2, 3TC) in next chain space – this forms the first corner of the granny square. Repeat {3DC in next Chain space, 3HDC in next chain space, 3DC in next chain space, (3TC, CH2, 3TC) in next chain space } 3 times. Join with a slip stitch into 2nd chain of the first 3 chains which you started the round with.  Cast off.

Joining

Once you have completed all 18 squares, join them by aligning 2 squares next to each other and using SC to join the corresponding stitches. I used the lilac yarn to do this, but you can choose the colour of your choice. Do this to create 2 panels of 9 squares joined together (one for the back and the other for the front of the bag).

To create some depth in the bag, with the external side facing you, join lilac yarn in any corner or panel and DC in each stitch all the way around 3 of the sides of  the panel and cast off – do this for both front and back panels of the bag. Then, place the front and back panels on top of each other, so that the side where there is no DC rows aligned and with the inside of the panels facing you – i.e. this is inside out. Using lilac yarn, join the panels on the 3 sides which you did a row of DC by doing SC through DCs on both panels – i.e.  the SC would go through the DC on front and back panel. This way, the join which is created will be on the inside of the bag. Do this all the way round the 3 sides.  Do not cast off yet! Turn the bag the right way round. Do SC in each stitch on the edge which is the opening of the bag – this will define the opening of the bag nicely. 

Handles

This is always somewhat of a challenge – what handles to make? I decided to try something different and came across a lace-like design – while the pattern is for a much finer yarn, it has worked very well with DK too and I think they make ideal fancy handles! Here is the tutorial of how to make them – though the video is not in English, it is very easy to follow. 

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  I am now off to make some more in other colours! Hope this has inspired you to make your own. Please share and Happy crocheting!

Froggie Bonnet Bonanza – Free Pattern!!

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Hey all!

This hat is such a hit that I’ve made a whole bunch more in different colours! What colour will you wear ? I call dibs on the red one – ha ha ha!

I would like to give a shout-out to my model, Ms Halle “Bearry” – she has been most cooperative and professional! Don’t you think she rocks these bonnets?

Here is the pattern if you want to make your own!

I used the Horatio Cool Bonnet pattern from Lovely Loops as the base for the bonnet:

Horatio Cool Bonnet – Free Pattern →

The frog eyes and straps are my own additions, and I’ve included my patterns for them below. The instructions use US crochet terms. I used DK yarn and a 4 mm hook.

The eyes & straps patterns are my own and here they are (using US Terms). I used DK yarn and a size 4mm hook.

Terms:

CH – Chain

SC – Single Crochet

DC – Double Crochet

HDC – Half Double Crochet

SC2TOG – Single Crochet 2 together

DC2TOG – Double Crochet 2 Together

SS – Slip Stitch

THE EYES

Round 1: Using black yarn, in a magic loop, and make 8 HDC. Join with SS. and cast off. (8 HDC)

Round 2: Join white yarn into any HDC made in Round 1 and make 2 DC into each HDC from the previous round all the way around. Join to the first DC with SS. (16 DC). Fasten off. (16 DC). Cast off.

Round 3: Using yarn in the colour you made your bonnet, join yarn into any DC with CH. 2SC into same stitch, SC into next stitch. *2SC into next DC, SC into next DC* all the way round and join with SS. (24 SC)

Rounds 4-5 : CH 2, DC in each SC from last round, join with SS.

Round 6: CH 1, * SC2TOG, SC * all the way round and join with SS (16 stitches)

At this point, stuff the eye with stuffing (it could be fiberfill, cotton or yarn bits). I don’t like to firmly pack mine as I like the eyes to be a bit squidgy – but it’s entirely up to you how you decide to do yours.

Round 7: CH 1, DC2TOG all the way round and join with SS (8 stitches)

Round 8: CH 1, DC2TOG all the way round and join with SS (4 stitches)

At this point, if you see that there is still a bit of a gap that needs closing, just thread the tail into a needle and sew the hole closed.

You will need to make 2 of these and then stitch them onto the bonnet.

THE STRAPS

For the straps, I simply made 101 CH, and then from 2nd CH stitch from the hook, made HDC in each CH to the end. Cast off and sew in the ends. I made 2 of these and simply threaded them into each corner of the border of the bonnet and tied a simple knot 🙂 You could, of course, use a different method.

Have a great time making these hats – and why not share a selfie modelling your creation!