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Lovepod Boa

Would you believe that this design looks better if the Love Knots are irregular? In other words, it’s perfect for a Love Knot beginner!

Even if you’re experienced with Love Knots, it’s likely that these “Lovepods” are new to you. They work up quickly with a range of yarns: one row of big stitches and you’re done creating this magical crochet look.

Pattern includes the option to make a full Boa with one yarn (it is folded in half then twisted lightly), or with multiple yarns (two Boas twisted together lightly). My favorite Boa (the lavender one shown here) is made of two Boas twisted together.

It may look ethereal but thanks to the mohair, this necklace-like accessory will buffer wintry drafts and the cool Spring breezes that follow. Weightless and warm, there are many ways to drape it around the neck and shoulders. Make two different colors in different yarn weights and twist them together (pictured).

Skill Level

Easy. Although the Love Knot stitch has the power to singlehandedly turn an Easy pattern into an Intermediate one, this design is a special case. What traditionally makes the Love Knot stitch intermediate-level is the skill needed to make each Love Knot the same size. In this design, some irregularity in stitch size is a plus.

After using this pattern you will know (if you didn’t already):

How to crochet a Love Knot stitch (a.k.a. Lover’s Knot, Solomons Knot, Knot Stitch)
How to use Love Knots for the foundation row instead of chain stitches
How to turn Love Knots into “Lovepods”
How to choose from a range of mohair yarns for this project

Finished Dimensions

The pictured lavender Lovepods Boa is 64 inches/162 cm, worn doubled up. However, it’s easy to customize the length.

Materials

Crochet Hook: size K/10.5/6.5mm (hook size and gauge are not important for this design. Feel free to use the hook size that gives desired results with the yarn you choose; I’ve included a list of yarns with my own swatching notes in the pattern.)

Yarn: Look for a worsted weight one. Different mohair yarns can look alike until they are crocheted, so experiment with different hook sizes, or with holding more than one strand together, if you don’t see your yarn described in the pattern.

Yarn used for Lavender Boa: Ellen’s ½ Pint Farm’s Brushed Mohair (100% Mohair, 980yds/896m per 16oz/454g skein), color hand painted purple: 1 ball. This pure mohair yarn has a chunky, almost boucle texture in places. S. R. Kertzer’s Ovation (75% Mohair, 25% Silk; 232yds/212m per .88oz/25g ball), Color 2123 lavender. By itself, this laceweight mohair blend is too thin for a K/6.5mm hook size; for a Boa, it’s magical when held together with the metallic Filatura di Crosa Night (66% rayon, 34% polyester; 314yds/287m per .88oz/25g ball), fingering wt., color #201 Silver. I used a G/4mm hook.

Some yarns swatched and compared in the pattern:

Lion Brand’s Moonlight Mohair (35% Mohair, 30% Acrylic, 25% Cotton, 10% Polyester Metallic; 82yds/75m per 1.75oz/50g skein), color #205 Glacier Bay: 1 ball.
Nashua Handknit’s Creative Focus Kid Mohair (75% Kid Mohair, 20% Wool, 5% Nylon; 98yds/90m per 1.75oz/50g ball), color #0001 White, 1 ball.
Louet’s Mohair Worsted Wt. (78% Mohair, 13% Wool, 9% Nylon; 105yds/96m per 1.75oz/50g skein), color #81 Aquamarine: 1 ball.

Slipster Slackscarf

It’s a fabric of 100% slip stitches — an elementary (and often underestimated) crochet stitch. This antique form of crochet is often called “Bosnian Crochet” but is found in many cultures by many names, and created with sometimes unusual crochet hooks. (See my article about this fascinating technique.)

For some reason, the slip stitch in English-language crochet books is very rarely featured as a stitch for making fabric, even as late as 2017. An all-slip stitch fabric is simply wonderful. Stretchy and buttery-soft.

Skill Level

It’s an Advanced Beginner pattern because of the stitch and simple design. (It’s mindless enough that I can make it while talking on the phone.) The looser gauge with a larger-than-normal hook size might be challenging at first.

Pattern is written with metric as well as Imperial measurements, instructions for customizing dimensions, and optional stitch refinement tips. No pattern abbreviations were used. Clickable hyperlinks take you to helpful articles, and to an exclusive set of images for this design.

After using this pattern you will know (if you didn’t already):

How to make the simplest fabric-quality slip stitch
The importance of a hook-led stitch gauge (an intermediate skill)
How to begin with a locking vs. adjustable slip knot
A fun, quick way to use single skeins of silky sock yarns
How to work into the foundation chain so that both long edges of the scarf look identical.

I love what this quick one-skein scarf feels like: drapey, stretchy, and flat–not the crochet some people expect, and not like traditional Slip Stitch/Bosnian Crochet either. My favorite way to wear it is wrapped 2 or 3 times as a headband. It looks casually chic.

Finished Dimensions

54 inches/138cm long and 3 inches/7.5cm wide (measured while hung)

Materials

Crochet Hook: size 8mm/L/US11
Yarn: One skein (at least 200yd/187m) of just about any “sock yarn” (#1 fingering weight) yarn. The best would be those with some drape, such as some bamboo, milk, soy, rayon, or even enough silk or alpaca content. Yarn pictured: Crystal Palace Maizy Print (82% corn, 18% elastic nylon; 204yd/187m per 1.76oz/50g skein): 1 full skein
Stitch Marker, optional

For this simple stitch, a yarn with some color or surface texture variation is ideal. In person, the pictured scarf looks sueded with shades of mossy green and khaki. These qualities add to its funky casual look.

Parakeet Perch Swing

This project is an easy design for a beginner crocheter. I hope you find crocheting with the unique Jelly Yarn® as enjoyable as I do, once you get the hang of it.

I hope this project brings as much joy to your young parakeets as it did with Chuck & Cookie. Pet birds need mental and physical exercise, and a variety of toys for their well-being, as long as they are not left unsupervised. Until my birds grew too old for it, this Perch Swing was their favorite. It also helped them settle in with us as their new family.

Pattern includes instructions to crochet a convenient tether for hanging the Perch Swing in different types of locations.

Finished Dimensions

Diameter is 7.5 inches/19cm. Hanging tether, worked separately and then clipped on, can be made in any length. The project pictured hangs 30 inches /76cm. from ceiling.

Materials

Crochet Hook: Size K/11/6.5mm, aluminum is best for this yarn; I find that a Boye-type hook grabs the Jelly Yarn better. I blogged more Jelly Yarn crochet tips here.
Yarn: 1 ball Bulky wt. Jelly Yarn® (65yds/60m, 240g).
Hand cream, Vinylex, or other silicone-based material for helping hook to glide (see blog post.)
Metal Craft Ring: 7”/18cm diameter ring such as by the Tandy Corp.
Yarn needle
Metal fastening clips with split rings (or other large rings), two of any type, optional
Metal bells: 4 large (.75”/2cm or larger), optional;
Super glue, optional

Cat’s-Eye Pendant Cord

Here’s a necklace cord that’s quick and easy, even for newer crocheters who know how to crochet the taller stitches. Use for multiple pendants, wear it lariat-style with the bead clasp in the front, or hang your eyeglasses in one of the links to quickly “grab and read”.

This is one of my speediest and most versatile pendant cord designs. Use large-holed and lightweight pendants, such as the abalone ring (pictured), other kinds of shell, wood, Lucite, and amber pieces so that you can change them at will. Can also be used as an eyeglass holder. This flexible pattern is written with three options to accommodate the widest range of materials:

Unstrung Pendant
Pre-Strung Pendant
Pre-Strung Barrel Beads

Use option #2 for smaller-holed pendants (permanently strung, such as the yellow necklace pictured). Use option #3 for decorating each “cats-eye” link with large-holed spacers or barrel beads.

Skill Level

Advanced Beginner. The pattern is written without pesky stitch abbreviations.

Finished Dimensions

You choose the length. Pictured necklaces are approx. 32”/81cm long.

Materials

Yarn advice: pictured are: DMC Senso (rose), Berroco Latitude (grey), DMC cotton embroidery floss (just 1 hank of yellow). The stiffer the yarn used, the better; for example, hemp, cotton, linen. The yellow has gone limp with wear so it’s not my first choice for this project. Perhaps if crocheted together with fine crochet thread or wire.

Yarn: Less than one skein of a stiff #1 Super Fine weight yarn (aka fingering, sock, baby weight).
Crochet Hook: Size 3.25mm/D/3.
Optional: One large bead for clasp, preferably a striking accent bead so that necklace may also be worn lariat-style without a pendant (A crochet button alternative is provided in pattern)
A pendant, ideally of lightweight material with a large hole
Approx. 18 large-holed beads for beaded version. Holes of beads shown are 5mm across.

Weightless Tunisian Wrap

Vashti models the Weightless Wrap, a winner of the 2010 CGOA Design Contest

This award-winning wrap is warm enough to be used during the warmer months, and lacy enough for the rest of the year. It’s an easy-intermediate level Tunisian crochet pattern requiring approximately 700 yards of laceweight kid mohair yarn and a large Tunisian crochet hook.

Weightless is one large easy rectangle, so there is no increasing or decreasing. You begin at one short front edge, so you won’t need a long Tunisian crochet hook. A 9-inch (23cm) long hook is all I needed to hold all loops on the hook. The pattern is written for the crocheter who knows how to do the basic Tunisian stitches and is ready to learn new ones.

I developed this lacy combination of stitches myself, which I call “Tunisian Wicker Stitch,” and have not found it used anywhere else. It uses Tunisian stitches that are familiar to those who have already ventured beyond the Tunisian Simple Stitch, such as the yarn-over, slip stitch, and twisted stitches, and puts them together in a new way.

Skill Level

Pattern is rated Easy Intermediate because the crochet hook is unusually large for the fine yarn used, and some crocheters may be unfamiliar with this combination. You should be familiar with the Tunisian Simple Stitch (Tss), which is a beginner stitch.

After using this pattern you will know (if you didn’t already):

How to do less common twisted, slip, and eyelet Tunisian stitches
The power of simple blocking to transform a lacy design
How to “crochet with air”—that’s how it might feel to use a very big crochet hook with a fine, weightless yarn!
The special merits of fine mohair yarn for crochet accessories.

Finished Dimensions

Measured flat after blocking: 19.5 x 70 inches/50 x 178 cm.

Supplies needed

Yarn used: S.R. Kertzer’s Ovation (75% Kid Mohair, 25% Silk, 233yds/212m per .88oz/25g ball), color #2140 White: 3 balls.
Yarn substitution advice: A light weight, gossamer-like mohair-blend yarn listing a size F/5/3.75mm crochet hook or needle on the label should look lovely. This yarn weight is called “#3 Light” or “DK/Light Worsted Weight”. To be safe, have 700 yards of it (you may need only 600yds).
9-inch (23cm) Tunisian crochet hook size M/13/9mm or size needed to obtain gauge.
Regular crochet hook: size J/10/6mm