crochetInspiration

Hooked on Snowflakes

I have been getting in the Christmas spirit, spending any free time I can find to unwind by making some crochet snowflakes.  They really are quite addictive!  I was chatting with some of the ladies at our Knitting and Crochet group about what a difference blocking can make,  some of the ladies confessed that they had never blocked!  Blocking the snowflakes turned them from crumpled masses of cotton to beautiful snowflakes.

Here are some waiting to be blocked, they are relatively flat, but as soon as I lift them they fall into a clump.

snowflake crochet pre blocking

These snowflakes were taken from 150 Blocks to Knit & Crochet by Heather Lodinsky and 100 Snowflakes to crochet by Caitlin Sainio.  They were worked in Rico Design Essentials Cotton Lurex, the lurex sparkle in it is just perfect for these festive pretties.

To block the snowflakes I pinned them out on my blocking board , pulling them into shape.  If I had the time and patience, I would have liked to have picked out all of the finer details and pulled the points out as well.

snowflakes crochet pinned

snowflake crochet pre blocking

Once you have pinned out the snowflakes you have options,  you could spray them with water and leave them to dry.  This will show the stitches nicely but will not add any stability to the structure.

I prefer to spray my snowflakes with spray starch.  I simply spray liberally with the starch and allow to dry, repeating the process with the starch if desired.  I use Dr Beckmann Spray Starch.

Alternatively you could coat your snowflake in diluted PVA glue (50/50 glue and water mix), allow to dry.  Feel like really glamming them up?  Add some glitter to the glue mix.

Caution!  I would recommend testing the starch or glue method on some waste yarn before you work on your snowflake.  Starch can sometimes leave the yarn looking a little ‘dull’,  (you could always spray the snowflake face down and starch only the back).  Glue can sometimes discolour light coloured yarns..

These snowflakes were all taken from 100 Crochet Snowflakes to crochet,  it is the most engaging book.  It draws you in and gets you hooking.  Each time you finish one snowflake you are looking to make the next as they are incredibly fast to work and look so lovely.  The instructions are well written and there is a chart for each snowflake.  The snowflakes are sorted by difficulty level, you soon find yourself working the advanced flakes once you have a few of the simpler ones under your belt!

I used Patons 100% Cotton 4ply yarn in shade 1472 (Fuschia), the yarn has a lovely sheen to it that is perfect for these snowflakes.

snowflake 35 crochet

snowflake32crochet

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snowflake33crochet

This last one shows it pays to take a little more time to pin them out.

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