Hurrah, Hurrah! At last the Hawaiian flower blanket is done - finished, complete! Woohoo!!! And all that time I put it aside thinking it would take ages to complete, it only took a week to finish. Nothing like a Christmas deadline to move into ultra fast crochet mode, lol! I decided to stop at 150 flowers and make this a small bed/lap sized blanket. I arranged them 10x15 for a balanced rectangle and each flower is about 10cm wide so overall measurements approx 1metre x 1.5 metres. The pattern is Hawaiian flowers by Sarah London and is so simple to do.
Although I chose a bright and colourful palette for my niece, a lovely subtle colour combination would work well too. Mmm, imagine charcoals, powder blues, or a subtle warm ochre palette - yum! I found the higher the contrast in colours for the last two rows the better the flowers popped. And the more I did the better I got at choosing the right colour to finish each flower off. I did lay out the flowers first before that last row so I could get a good balance in the blanket overall. Then I piled them up in order, in rows of 10 and linked them together as I went.
The linking is really clever too. You make a little picot loop at the top of each flower petal and use that to link the flowers in place as you go. So no ends to sew in, and it looks great. There is an issue with only linking the tips of the flowers - it doesn't give the blanket much strength as a whole - as in a bit floppy ;) But if you accept that this is just meant to be a decorative overblanket and not a sturdy throw, then it's all good. I have seen a version where they stitched the petals more firmly together but the flowers lost their curve and become more angular points which I didn't like much. As a blanket, the bigger it gets the more solidity it gains so.... something to consider. The edges seem the most vulnerable but you could consider a solid border. Personally I like the floaty fragility of the fairy petals:) and a good press on the wrong side once finished and the flowers lie flat nicely while retaining the final chained ridge for definition.
Although I chose a bright and colourful palette for my niece, a lovely subtle colour combination would work well too. Mmm, imagine charcoals, powder blues, or a subtle warm ochre palette - yum! I found the higher the contrast in colours for the last two rows the better the flowers popped. And the more I did the better I got at choosing the right colour to finish each flower off. I did lay out the flowers first before that last row so I could get a good balance in the blanket overall. Then I piled them up in order, in rows of 10 and linked them together as I went.
The linking is really clever too. You make a little picot loop at the top of each flower petal and use that to link the flowers in place as you go. So no ends to sew in, and it looks great. There is an issue with only linking the tips of the flowers - it doesn't give the blanket much strength as a whole - as in a bit floppy ;) But if you accept that this is just meant to be a decorative overblanket and not a sturdy throw, then it's all good. I have seen a version where they stitched the petals more firmly together but the flowers lost their curve and become more angular points which I didn't like much. As a blanket, the bigger it gets the more solidity it gains so.... something to consider. The edges seem the most vulnerable but you could consider a solid border. Personally I like the floaty fragility of the fairy petals:) and a good press on the wrong side once finished and the flowers lie flat nicely while retaining the final chained ridge for definition.
So 150 hawaiian flowers done at last. I put this on my king sized bed and it only covered about a third of the length but all of the width. So if anyone has the staying power to want a full sized bed throw, then it would have to be about 15 x 30 flowers....... 450 flowers??? Ummm, maybe not, lol! I'd get too bored. Look how long it took me to do just this size;))) But if you were wanting a tv project for the new year then this one would be a good contender. Easy and fun to do, simple pattern and very visually effective. The instructions are very simple to follow so you know exactly where you are at every stage - which is good if you put it down for a while and then have to refresh your head to remember exactly what you were doing:)
Right, now I think it's time to relax a bit and enjoy the build up to Christmas with a wee drink and some nibbles - and maybe just another Christmas movie or two..... have to watch White Christmas and the Muppet Christmas Carol to feel that Christmas is truly here!
elaine x
Right, now I think it's time to relax a bit and enjoy the build up to Christmas with a wee drink and some nibbles - and maybe just another Christmas movie or two..... have to watch White Christmas and the Muppet Christmas Carol to feel that Christmas is truly here!
elaine x
