Betty wrote:
What I did was serge the edges and then took it to my sewing machine and used a wing needle and a zig-zag stitch with no thread. I had to leave my bobbin inserted but didn't thread the bobbin thread in order to keep my bobbin sensor from going off. I only punched the holes through one layer of flannel and turned the serged area in as I did the crochet, just as you explained on your blog. I lined up the left side of the zig-zag stitch about a quarter of an inch away from the serged area. (The right side of the zig-zag stitch fell just to the edge of the serged area).
The blue one turned out so nice. I only used every other hole and it only took feeling around with the crochet hook to find the holes since these "old" eyes couldn't always see the holes. By doing it this way, your holes are perfectly lined up and the tension was perfect and all the corners lie flat....Hopefully others who don't crochet will try this because it really wasn't that hard to learn. And, of course, YOU and your little blankets were my total inspiration!
Betty, thank you for the kind words, and thank you for sending your pictures. You did a fabulous job, and your blankets came out great!
Since I'm on the subject of these blankets, I'm going to share the stitch pattern I used on another blanket I made this week. This "shell" edging was simple to crochet and was done in only two rounds.
Round 1: Single crochet around. Make sure your single crochets are fairly close together to prevent the fabric from puckering.
Round 2: chain 1, sc in first stitch; *skip next stitch, sc in next stitch, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next stitch, sc in next stitch; repeat from *around.
Since I don't count my foundation single crochets, the amount may not work out exactly for a complete pattern repeat. In this case, I simply adjust my stitches when I get about 8 inches from the end of the blanket. With the rosebud blanket I ignored the "skip next stitch" two times, and my pattern worked out just fine.
Okay, that's enough of these blankets. :-)
happy crocheting!
Ruth
These blankets are all adorable! Thanks for sharing the pattern design too!
ReplyDeleteWonderful blankets, I like the fabrics... they are so cute...
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Andrea
Very nice!! I am going to send you some pictures of a blanket and burp cloth that I made trying to use your pattern. ;o)
ReplyDeleteLove, Heather
Ruth, it's such an honor for me to have you post pics of my blankets. Thank you again for all your inspiration and for providing the tutorials for others to use. I look forward to making many more.
ReplyDeleteBetty
Never enough of those crocheted blankets! I'm going to try one. I'm new to crocheting but have figured it out, I think!
ReplyDeleteI love your tutorial. I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I have a quilt I am trying to finish. I did have a question though. I noticed you used dark blue and red for the edging. Will the edgning bleed when you wash the blanket? Do you pretreat the floss first? Just curious as if I took the time to make some of these I would hate for them to get ruined the first time they were washed by the new mommy.
ReplyDeleteThanks in advance
Thank you all for your kind comments about the blankets. Send me your pictures! :-)
ReplyDeleteCheryl--about the red thread bleeding---
I can't speak for Betty (the lady who made the blanket with red edge), but I have made blankets in the past using red crochet thread with no bleeding in the wash. Most of the crochet thread out there is 100% cotton and is "supposed" to be colorfast. I had several blankets for my sons on which I used dark blue, a red, and a bright green. I never had trouble with them bleeding in the wash. Probably the best thing would be to test a piece of the thread. Perhaps you could hand-wash it with a scrap of white fabric and see if it bleeds.
Ruth,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for replying to my comment. I am so going to give this a try. The ones you and Betty have done are just too adoreable. Thanks so much for taking the time to do the tutorial and sharing with the rest of us. : )
Take care.
Blankets are beautiful. I hope to visit your blog again soon. I am just starting to quilt and am also wanting to learn how to embroidery. I hope I can do it. HAPPY EASTER!
ReplyDeleteRuth,
ReplyDeleteYou commented that my cross stitch inspires you. Well you and Jessica have been a true inspriration to me also. I would really like to get back into my sewing. You girls do beautiful work and I loved your baby blankets with the crocheted edging. I made one myself along with a burp cloth to match. It's much like the rosebud patterned one you have on your blog. Wishing you the desire to begin your cross stitch again....By His grace, Debbie
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ReplyDeleteRuth,
ReplyDeleteI have commented on your blankets before. I just love them. They are a wonderful, useful ..dare I say semi homemade gift to give a new mom.
I wanted to share with you an item I found online that I think may of be some use to you with these crochet stitchted blankets. The nifty gadget is used on fleece, but I don't see why it wouldn't work on flannel as well. Check out this link.
http://skipstitch.com/instructions.htm
The blade is economical too. Well, at least I think so. It's priced at $10.
Have a blessed day!
Cheryl