Crochet Hexagon Tutorial ...Part 2

Hello Lovelies,
Here we go with part two of my crochet hexagon tutorial. This part follows directly on from part one HERE


Once again it is written in U.S. terms

So , to frame the cute hexagon you made in part one I designed this pattern......

It starts with a chain round as this helps maintain the shape of the, oh so pretty,  interior hexagon .

Round 5(chain round)

Attach a new colour with a slip stitch in any 2 chain space.Chain 3 .......

Slip stitch into space between 3rd D.C. and S.C............

Chain 2 and slip stitch into space after S.C...........

Continue around in same pattern ( 3 chains over 3D.C. and 2 chains over 1S.C. )

Once you get all the way around slip stitch through first chain 3

It should look like this............

Round 6
Chain 3 and make 3 D.C. all into first 3 chain loop of round 5 (counts as 4 D.C. )........

Make 3 D.C. into 2 chain loop of round 5......

Make 4 D.C. into next 3 chain loop and CHAIN 1 ( makes point of hexagon ).......

Continue around. Each of the six sides is made up of 11 D.C. ( 4/3/4 ) with 1 chain at the corner....

Once you have gone all the way around slip stitch into first D.C. and finish off..........

Hurray ! you have completed a Hexagon motif :0)......these may be sewn together when you have enough for your chosen project ....

However ..... I'm a big fan of the join as you go method . So I've taken some pictures of this method to help you give it a try . Lucy has described this beautifully HERE  but I'll try and show you on this hexagon.

So...after you have completed your first motif as described above , subsequent motifs are  joined at round 6.
In the example below I was joining to 2 hexagons so I made 4 sides as I explained then I started the 5th side like this .....

Insert hook through corner of motif you wish to join to as shown...........

Yarn over hook and pull loop to front of work.....

Slip stitch .......

Make 4 D.C. and slip stitch through joining motif in the same way . 3 D.C.. .Slip stitch through motif . 4 D.C.

At the corner slip stitch through first motif then slip stitch through second (I'm about to joint  to the  red hexagon  in this image )

Make final side in same way as 5th. and slip stitch into first D.C. to finish off....

I did find this technique rather tricky the first time I tried it but with a little patience it does get easier . The finished join should look like this .......

Here's what my blanket looks like today..........

Not a deal of progress ,I've been too busy playing with other projects :0)  You can see I have made some more hexagons ready to join and I've been very good and sewn all their ends in securely already !

Do please let me know if any of this is unclear or I have made any mistakes .

ENJOY :0)

Jacquie x

Today I'm Loving.....

 :: Finishing work at five thirty and walking out into the warm, sunny evening air knowing I've got a week off to enjoy with the boys :0) 

:: Stopping the car at the side of the road on the way home to capture the yellow fields...

So much Rape seed here these days . I think it looks stunning ......

:: Getting home a seeing my yellow and red tulips, purchased quite closed up yesterday, looking gorgeous in my blue and white crochet "Cornish wear" vase.....

:: Finding that after making the evening meal ( simple pasta and garlic bread ) it was still warm enough to take my crochet in to the garden......

It was lovely to escape the action movie the males were enjoying indoors ...and just listen to the birdsong whilst I did a little crochet . I even managed to take the pictures for the first four rounds of the hexagon tutorial......

So lovelies ,the tutorial will be coming sometime . I'm now thinking it will probably be after school returns ( the first week in May ) as all five of us are at home next week and there will  too much fun / chaos happening :0)
I'm sure you lovelies will understand ...tutorials seem to take me ages to get right.
Hope your holidays are going well ..... if you are lucky enough to have any .
 I'm bushed now ,  think an early night sounds mighty fine .
Jacquie x

Hexagon Love.... Plan B

Hello Lovelies,
Hope you are enjoying the fab spring weather we are having if you are in the U.K.
Today I'm so excited to have some more colourful crochet , photographed in the spring sunshine , to share with you ...happy day !!
Do you remember this post ...when I found a hexagon pattern that I loved ???
The pattern was so pretty , but sadly my colour choices were not so great. Many of you said kind things about that project and I may still have a go at turning it into something. But you know how it is ...I just wasn't feeling the love :0)
Soooooo , I tried again with the colours I'm using for my granny square blanket. Want to see how it's looking so far?
Oh

go

on

then !!.......

Oohh....I'm so much happier with this version, can you tell :0)

I know it's a total colourfest , a bit colour crazy , but it makes me hap,hap, happy !!

I just love working with all these cheerful  colours ...

You know what it reminds me of ?

Can you guess?


A Kaleidoscope .
 
Did you have one of those when you were young ?Here's a flickr image , and another here, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about . But in my mind eye the one I had was MUCH prettier. I loved it, turning the end and making pretty  patterns .Listening to the rattle of the little bits of colourful plastic as they fell into another design.

The shape of these hexagons and the diamond shapes within them just say Kaleidoscope to me ...

Here's a link to the original free Coats and Clark pattern. I've changed the final round and I'm using the wonderful join as you go method.
I'm planning on making a tutorial for my version of  that round , I'd love to do one for the whole pattern but I don't think that's allowed .

So lovelies , do you like the begining of my Kaleidoscope blanket ? It's super colourful, even for a gal who loves her colour.I do love the restrained colour schemes too but this is making me SMILE So I'm going with that and it feels good :0)

Right , where's my hook ?
Jacquie x