Sweet Fabric [Search results for granny shrug] 

You can do it too!
Today is your day!

How
It seems that the mulberry granny shrug has inspired a few of you to have a crack yourself. That's super exciting & exactly why this patch of web space exists. Over the weekend Lara & I have worked together to present to you the whole box & dice for the granny shrug enthusiast.

There's something for everyone. This is the master class...for lovely folk who like to follow a pattern, or maybe you need the visual (like me) or perhaps you'd like to watch a dinky video.

If you know how to make a granny square then you know how to make this shrug. Just crochet yourself a couple of lovely granny hexagons.

You can just skip over the "instructions" & make the granny exactly as you always do. Maybe you slip across to the next chain space...ripper knock yourself out. There is no "right" way to make it.

You'll just end up with a lovely curly hexagon...good, that's great...exactly what we want. Just keep checking your sizing after each round to decide when you're done.

Mine have been 9 rounds (in the Wilderness) but depending on your tension & hook size yours might be 8 or 10 or more. Keep folding the curly hex in on itself until you're confident that the fit will be right for you.

the pattern
My very favourite crocheter is Lara. She's one of the reasons I picked up the hook in the first place. She likes to be good at stuff & works hard to make sure she gets things right. Well, guess what? She's written a fabulous, fabulous pattern (it might not have posted yet...be patient) for you to print & keep. And spared you all from my effort at a written explanation. Thank you Lara, you're the very best & it was lovely to share the making of the how to with you.

& the video
Just so you know it was really hard to crochet standing up stradling a tripod & keeping (or trying) the crochet in the frame.

Australian/UK terminology

Yarn
You've got a HUGE amount of flexibility here. You want to achieve a good deal of chunkiness & you'll just adjust your number of rounds accordingly so pick something that suits your style. I did make the suggestion the other day to use stash yarns crocheted together to make up the chunky style yourself.

I used Patons "Wilderness" 14ply. I like it...A LOT. It's a blend so purists might like to check out other options but I think it's just the perfect yarn for the job. Here's why... (& where to buy too).

OR you can have a go with 2 balls of 8 ply held together or whatever else takes your fancy. You'll just adjust your number of rounds according to tension & fit. Go nuts. Lara's using two strands of 12ply & is very happy with the result.

Hook
I'd say 15mm. I'm really happy with the result I'm getting with the 15mm hook. You need it to be loose so that you get a nice drape with the finished "fabric". We're not going for sturdy here folks...we want the pretty drape.

Making Up
I switched to a 2.65mm hook & just used double crochet up the centre back seam.

Then I doubled along the top sleeve seams & single crocheted along the back of the neck opening to give extra strength.

Again if you know how to do it your own way...do that. It will be great.

What, haven't had enough? Here's the steak knife! A round by round for the visual learner.
How to make a granny shrugView more presentations from kootoyoo.

Other Stuff
There's a flickr group. If you make a shrug we'd love to have it added to the group.

HAC class? There have been a couple of requests for a HAC class for the shrug. If you still think you need it or would like to make it up with a bunch of other girls over tea & biscuits, I'd be happy to run it over two evenings. If you're keen please email me kootoyooATgmailDOTcom & if we get enough interest we'll go ahead.

I had planned to make myself a grey Granny Shrug but now I've tried the Mulberry on I'm quite taken with it.

This one is NOT for me but I thought you might like to see a version done in 14ply & on a life size person rather than my little twig. I've got another on the hook for my bossy mate. There is actually quite a list ahead of me now. So much so, that by the time I get to make my own I'm sure I won't want one at all.

Thanks for your interest. Please know that there is now a granny shrug how to with pattern available here.

I had promised numerous people a better "how to" for today on the granny shrug but I'm sorry to say it won't be ready until Monday.

I do have a little shopping list for you...

Hook
15mm

Yarn
I used Patons Wilderness for the Mulberry Shrug & I love it. It is a blend though (70% wool, 20% acrylic & 10% viscose) so if you're a purist you might want to look for something else.

Wilderness has a gorgeous colour range & comes in a 100g ball which is around 110 metres long. BRILLIANT!

That means:

- you only need around 4 balls for a 9 -10 round shrug
- you only need to join once (less end weaving)
- cheap & cheerful at around $6.50 AU per ball

I've been buying from Wool Shop Direct because it's around the corner from my house & I get to touch & feel...very important for me. Sadly, the internet hasn't quite caught up on the whole touch, feel, smell bizzo so you'll just have to take my word for it ... Wilderness is a ripper.

If you're super keen you can make a start OR wait 'til Monday for the Masterclass.

I've just realised I missed a whole round of the .. in the centre of the double clusters. Blow.

I found one of the hexagon jackets that inspired the granny shrug. I'd completely forgotten where I'd seen it most recently & it was (of course) Sarah London.

I'm really pretty terrible at reading instructions & prefer to "read" the actual piece.

But I've prepared a little "how I" rather than a how to.

Yarn
Caressa Express - it's one of those "super chunky fast knit yarns" which isn't a ply. As the gorgeous grey (& possibly the yarn) is discontinued I did a bit of experimenting yesterday to offer some alternatives.

The top hex is the Caressa Express which actually works out kind of expensive as each ball is only about 50 metres long.

The other grey one is a 14 ply which is about the same price per ball but has around 100 metres per ball.

Finally, the blue is two balls of 8 ply crocheted together. This would probably work out around the same price as the 14 ply but what I like about this option is that your colour choice is massive.

The Hook
I used a 15mm hook. I am super tight though so you might want to try something a little smaller if you're an average or loose crochet queen.

Begin
It's just the same as crocheting a granny square (if you don't know how to to that you can learn from Pip or Sarah) except you're making your double clusters from the six points rather than four corners.

I made my hexagons "reversible" which means that the work is turned after each round. There's no right or wrong side. I like it because it seems to keep my work nice & even. My squares are square when I use this method. When you're not changing colours each round it does seem more prone to wonk uncontrollably (for me anyway).

Just keep adding rounds until it's the right size for you.

Have a go! Pretty small time investment & it does look really cute over a long sleeved top.

I'd seen a couple of baby matinee jackets flying around online & decided to have a go at an "upsized" version for myself.

The Big Girl kept telling me how much she loved it & so I pulled out a couple of rounds & gave it to her. I think it looks gorgeous.

It was very quick to make up as each half is only 5 rounds but I will say the huge hook & yarn were quite hard to manage so it's not as fast as hexing on a 5mm hook with 8ply.

Just a bit of fun really.

I'm just all about the hook at the moment. I'm mucking around with this gorgeous blue trying to get the right hook to yarn ratio. BUT I have been seriously side tracked by some lovely brown Rowan Tapestry which I started a sample square with & it's now grown to almost scarf proportions. I hope they've got some more at Sunspun (if they don't it was always meant to be a scarflet).

For those of you who know about the brown granny disaster of '09 please pick yourselves up off the floor. I'm loving the brown again. x

As for the poor granny shrug that's also on the hook - it's been temporarily sidelined.

Don't forget to pop in and add your link if you're playing along this week.

There's a bit of a back story to this one.

My bossy mate Tracey came home from a client meeting & told me I needed to make her a scarf with sleeve holes cut in it. Then she mentioned she'd seen some fabulous vests in Cactus Jam that she also wanted. Should just mention here that she's the recipient of the grey granny shrug too.

Then I saw this at Leonie's & thought it was the perfect two for one. I decided to trial it with the last piece of blanket from the slippers. This rectangle was it...I didn't cut it at all. I just waved the tape measure around my bust & from my shoulder to my hip ... near enough. Positioned the arm holes by eye (lucky that worked out OK).

The slashed vest was supposed to be a 1 hour gig & truthfully the slashing took fully five minutes but I could hardly put a rectangle of blanket up with a few cuts in it & say I made it. The idea behind the slashing was to give the blanket a bit of fluidity.

I threaded the machine with red & the bobbin with white & just roughly rectangled the slashes. I didn't finish in under an hour ... it was more like two but that did include numerous trips to the bathroom mirror to check & check & check that I hadn't completely lost the plot.

I'm quite chuffed with it, so totally unable to decide if it is in fact fabulous or complete cheater craft. Either way it was fun.

PS: The doily top is merino & was a gift from Icebreaker (?) isn't it gorgeous?

PPS: Feeling a bit weird about loading a post with pics of self. More here if you want to see the red.

I can't help it. The hook is superglued to my hand at the moment. The Date's getting heartily sick of taking pics of me so that'll be it for the grown up sized stuff for a while.

This colour can only be described as Pigeon blue because everytime I see it I think of Christie.

I'm still churning out the granny shrugs (not for me) but this deliciously warm, smokey, sleeves-only number is all mine.

Foundation chain to completion in one day (I was at a gym competition). More realistically it's two nights in front of the teev.

Made up as I went along but based on the circled creation of last week which was based on a knitted Sunspun creation.

If you'd like to hook yourself a speedie little number it's super easy...just a rectangle really. You could just dive in & have a crack but for those who like a "pattern" (& I use the term loosely), I have a pdf here.