Crochet spiral bunny rug in leaf, stone and lavender

Well this year is almost over and I haven't written here since January! Where has the year gone?? I just finished this spiral bunny rug that I have been working on for years. It doesn't lay flat because I think I may have changed size hook midway. I was sure I used a 3.5mm hook, but maybe the beginning was done with a 3mm hook? The yarn I used was 4 ply luxury wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. Its just a pattern I made up and I can't remember where I found the edge pattern. I don't know what I will do with this bunny rug, its imperfections make it unsuitable to sell. I guess I will just hang on to it in case I ever meet a baby that needs a woollen bunny rug!

Crochet spiral bunny rug in leaf, stone and lavender.

A close up of the crochet spiral.

A closeup of the crochet edge.

Working out Toddler Spirals

I got a surprise note from a potential customer who is after a toddler sized spiral hat for her 19 month old daughter. I've only made a newborn sized one before so I set about working out the pattern for the toddler size.

the start of a spiral in luxury BWM wool in leaf, lavender and lotus

It wasn't too hard, mainly because I've been spending a lot of time working through writing the patterns for the set of Princess hats. I've learnt so much from doing that, I can tell you! AND they're still not finished. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get them done. I do have to work hard at convincing myself its within my capabilities to write down my designs so they can be shared. It certainly hasn't turned out to be as easy as I imagined.

the start of a spiral made from Woolganics, Australian organic wool

The toddler sized hat in the Princess set has 5 increasing rounds that measure 5 inches across, so I began 3 different spirals in various colours working flat for the equivalent of 5 rounds. When the 5 rounds measure 5 inches across and the crown sits flat, then the increasing stops and I can make the sides of the hat.

the start of a natural coloured spiral

The spiral hat in my shop is made from Australian organic wool, which turns out to be very hard to find. The business that sold it to me last year has finished up and the new owner won't have more until next year. So I was in a bit a quandary as to which yarn I should use. Hence why I started with 3 different spirals to show the customer what I had on hand, otherwise I would have to buy some more wool, from Bendigo Woollen Mill would have been my preference.

a quick mock up of a spiral hat in naturally coloured alpaca and wool blend from Cleckheaton

The natural tones of the Cleckheaton Perfect Day is gorgeous, but that stuff is expensive and not as soft as the other wool. I finished that hat first and started deciding how I would have the brim, settling on a turned up brim. The woolganic yarn is really soft, but I only have a little bit left so started a hat with what I have left in plum and green.

The customer liked the colours I chose from my luxury wool stash, I chose leaf, lavender and lotus. Now the next problem will be how to finish the spiral. Because its a spiral and not straight like a normal striped hat, the brim finishes unevenly. I'm thinking a round of scallops might be possible, seeing as this hat turns out to be for a girl. I think it will turn out quite nicely!

Hynotising Eye Mask

I made this up quickly one afternoon while my 21 month old son slept, as I was going to see if I could have a Nanna nap myself! I would need these to be put to the test right away!

first draft of my hypnotising eye mask

I'm sorry I can't share the pattern for this as this is my rough draft, and as you can probably see, it is very rough! I kinda of just 'winged it' and it looks it, too. If I have reason to make this again I will think more about how to write the pattern down.

Organic Spiral Baby Beanie

I used organic wool from Nimbin for this spiral beanie, this is the first thing I've made with it. I basically wanted to see if I could do it! It was simple enough, except the final rounds were tricky to decide how to finish it evenly.

spiral baby beanie made with organic wool from Nimbin

In the end I allowed an uneven finish, and embellished it with a vintage button from my old collection. I used 8 ply organic Australian wool and a 4mm hook. I made this up in a morning, while David watched Thomas so I could get some much needed time out! As much as I love being with my son, he had to stay home all day every day this week because he had a bad cold, and I think he missed his friends at day-care. Staying home with mum every day can be a very boring for an energetic toddler a few months away from his second birthday!

organic newborn beanie in green with blue, embellished with a vintage button

Starting a Granny Cluster Spiral

One night last week, Thomas woke me up, and I couldn't get back to sleep, although he could! So I sat up and gave a granny cluster spiral a go, to see if I could do it.

the start of my first granny cluster spiral in purple, blue, green and bright pink

I just used the principals from my other spirals, but with granny clusters instead. A granny cluster is 3 dc put into the same space, or 3 tr if you speak UK crochet. I think this was slightly less complicated than the other spirals. I'm now making plans to work on a cushion cover which will have this bright purple, green, pink and blue spiral on one side. I can't wait to see it finished!

Cabled Spiral Bunny Rug in lavender, leaf and stone

It might not be the largest of projects, but if anything takes me weeks to make it really drags on and seems to take forever! This swirling cables spiral bunny rug was made for the friend of an in-law who is expecting a baby, they even paid in advance! Thankyous!


swirling spiral bunny rug in 4 ply baby wool

I started this on Tuesday 17th July, and finally finished sewing in the ends on 5th August. Because I used a 3mm hook and 4 ply baby yarn from Bendigo this took a lot longer than a bunny rug in thicker yarn using a larger hook. But the spirals look so effective I had to do it, and I'm a real glutton for punishment! The spiral is not easy to do, the yarns can get tangled if I don't carefully swap them over every time I change colours. One thing I improved this time is, to change colours less often and therefore create less opportunity for them to tangle, I now go with one colour all the way around instead of a quarter. The three colours meet up at the same place, and I don't even them out again until the end.

lavender, leaf and stone are colours suitable for a boy or girl

So I am able to pick up the project where I left off (I always have to take an extra moment to find my place and untangle the yarns), I have to leave an extra large loop. I even started securing the two unused colours with a safety pin to stop my work unravelling.


starting the spiral in leaf, lavender and stone 4 ply baby wool

Its a tricky pattern, but here is a rough idea of how it starts.
1. main colour, 2 ch, 6 sc into 1st ch, sl st
2. 1 ch 2 sc into same, 2 sc into next, start new colour on next sc, 2 sc in same, 2 sc into next, start 3rd colour on next sc, 2 sc in same, 2 sc into next
3. change hook to 1st colour, 2 dc in next, 2 dc in next, 2 dc in next, 2 dc in next (8 dc), repeat for each colour
4. continue with 3rd colour of previous round, (2 dc into next, fptrb around next) repeat for a total of 4 times, change to next colour and repeat for each colour
5. cont. with last colour, (1 dc in ext, 2 dc in next, fptrb in next) repeat for a total of 4 times, repeat for each colour
From then on, do the increase (2 dc) just before the cable (fptrb), otherwise put 1 dc into every dc, change colours as you come to them. To change colours less often and save time, catch up the colours to each other, then go all the way around, with each colour.

the beginning looks like a shell when all three colours catch up to each other

In a round, cables marking the increases from the centre out can be straight or swirled. I discovered this when making my latest spiral rug when I decided to mark the increases with cables instead of chain spaces. To make the cable straight, a stitch goes into every stitch, the increase occurs in the stitch before the cable. The treble is around the front post of that stitch, the next stitch is in the next stitch. Alternatively, to make the cables swirl, the increase occurs right after the stitch around which the cable will go. If no stitch is skipped then there are no gaps, and the swirl is slight. For a more prominent swirl, the stitch after the cable could be skipped and the increase can go into the stitch the cable goes around, then the cable goes around that same stitch as well. Some small gaps might appear in your work, but the swirl is more pronounced.

blanket edge pattern free from Lion Brand

Finally, after what seemed more like months than mere weeks, I came to the end and decided on an edge I found on pinterest. It turned out to be a free pattern from Lion Brand, just the trick! Although I changed it slightly by doing a dc instead of tr and 2 ch instead of 3 ch.

overview of the special bunny rug

The last thing to do was carefully sew in the ends, I did so that the ends can not be seen by either front or backside. Then I washed the bunny rug flat on my kitchen table, easing it into a 12 sided star shape. Gorgeous!

Delicate Spiral Bunny Rug in Blue with White

I really like the look of spiral crochet, its a far cry from your simple granny square! In fact I've now decided I don't like the look of granny squares!

detail of spiral centre after blocking

I've been trying spirals since April, and I've learned a few things. Firstly, the multiple balls of yarn can easily get tangled, so you need some system to keep them in order. Also, its not a quick project like other rugs, where you can just pick it up and quickly continue from where you left off. Its takes a few moments to find your place and the yarn you are up to.

spiral bunny rug in progress

Another important lesson I learnt from my earliest attempt at a spiral is that the larger the spiral becomes, the more and more tedious the counting of increases become. So from then on I've decided all my spirals will have a chain space or a cable to indicate the increase. This way you don't have to count stitches. One other thing of course is that this is a project impossible to do while Thomas is around, I have to wait until he is asleep. 

delicate spiral bunny rug in blue with white

For this blue with white spiral bunny rug I've made for a friend, I used a 3.5mm hook and Australian made 4 ply acrylic yarn from Patons in blue, white and a variegated white with flecks of blue in it. Because I used the smaller hook and yarn, it took many hours to complete this almost 80cm diameter rug which weighs about 160 grams.

centre of acrylic spiral before steam blocking

Before blocking, this bunny rug had a buckle in the centre where it didn't sit flat. It might have been because of that first round of 6 sc, because to be flat it should start with 12 dc or 6 sc then a 2nd round of 12 sc. I was nervous about steam blocking it, I was worried I would melt the acrylic yarn. But I put my iron on low synthetic heat and ironed it on the back side. It blocked quite nicely, even after a cool wash it held its new shape.

This is one of the few things I've made for a custom order, its very exciting for me. I'm happy with how it turned out. I want to make more of these in different colours, I'm thinking merino wool will be nicer!

Beginning to Spiral

I've wondered for what seems ages if you could spiral crochet, then months and months ago I saw a spiral on crochet spot. I recently started a spiral bunny rug and am in the process of finalising my own pattern.

my first crochet spiral incomplete

Last week when I was ready to start a spiral I looked on pinterest for some saved images of spirals.  The most useful one I found was at sew ritzy titzy. Pictures of crochet spirals at another site were also helpful, but it was in another language, which is ok for me as I usually just look at the pictures! Still another useful one I found was also in another language.

closeup of crochet spiral

I started one and got quite a way into it when I decided that I should leave a marker in my work at every increase, like a ch 1 sp. This way I wouldn't have to count every stitch, and as the rug gets bigger this becomes more and more tedious.

I have started a 2nd spiral, this time with the ch 1 sp, but I'm not quite happy with it. Yet another W.I.P. to keep practising on!

Round Blue Baby Rug

This round blue baby rug seemed to take ages! I'm so happy I've finally finished it, although it's ended up a bit smaller than I thought it would be at 56cm across.

I got the idea for this one from crochetspot, they were saying round is a good shape for baby rugs. I didn't follow a pattern, I just looked at the photo for inspiration. I had already gotten a fair way into it when I realised I had 13 segements instead of 12. I couldn't believe it (wait a minute - I know how to count)! I figured it would be ok and just kept going. Maybe 13 is a lucky number in this case, well that's what I've decided anyway. This is the same pattern I used for the simple spiral white doily I finished last week, except for this rug I edged it with 5 trbl scallops. The reason it took so long is because, yet again, I used a 3mm hook and fine baby wool. Really, when I make a rug I should use a big hook and thick wool, then it won't take so very long. I must have been working on this for a month or two, using nearly 3 x 50g balls of the blue 100% Australian merino wool I got on special from Lincraft.

This year I've really gotten 'hooked' on completing projects. I don't like how I start something and have incomplete projects around, although of course I do have some of those! I just felt a need to finish this one so I can get some Chrissie presents done - now I just have to figure what I could make as gifts that will be practical and nice, that they might like and not hate!

Simple Spiral White Doily

I really like this simple swirling doily design, it's very easy to memorise so I can dot it front of the tv.

a simple white swirling doily after blocking

I've been working on this doily for quite a while, and simply stopped when I got to the end of the roll of fine cotton. I think this was one of the many rolls of fine cotton my mum has given me. I used my 1.75mm steel hook which was nice to work with and not too small for my eyes when I wear my glasses. I didn't follow a pattern, it's just the same as my blue baby rug, which I'm still working on. I guessed what that pattern was by looking at a picture on crochetspot, although mine is a bit different. It really isn't hard, you just increase a stitch once every gap of which there is about a dozen per round.

this doily used one ball of crochet cotton

When I finished this it was round and the edges were curled up, so it needed blocking. I simply wet it under warm running water and pat dry with a towel. Then I lay it on my piece of white cardboard that I use for blocking and pinned it out, stretching it into a star shape.

blocking a crochet doily

I think I'll just use this as a doily somewhere? Or maybe I'll add some beads to the edge and use it as a jug cover - I'm not sure yet!