Tag Archives: ravelry

Koala Lovey – Free Crochet Pattern

Posted on April 14, 2021 | 4 comments

It’s Pattern Day!

Are you ready, do you have your yarn?

GET THE YARN

Scheepjes Cahlista is an aran weight yarn, made with 100% cotton. I’m using two balls of colour 074 Mercury, and you will also need a single ball of the complementary colour. Have a look at the Scheepjes Website for colour inspiration and stockists, there are more than 100 colours to choose from!

You can order the yarn online from my local yarn store Caro’s Atelier*.

Internationally there’s Wool Warehouse* (global shipping) and if in the US check out Dot’s Yarn Den.

Note: this version of the pattern uses UK terms. If you would like to access US terms or printable PDFs in both UK and US terms, you can purchase the patterns from either Ravelry or Lovecrafts.com for a small fee.

Please share your projects using #KoalaLovey in the socials and tag me everywhere!

Let’s go!

Materials

MC: Scheepjes Cahlista in 074 Mercury – 2 balls (100% cotton, aran weight, 50g, 85m)
CC: Scheepjes Cahlista in your choice – 1 ball (100% cotton, aran weight, 50g, 85m)
Scrap black, preferably Scheepjes Cahlista – about 2 metres
I used 385 Chrystalline and 256 Cornelia Rose in my samples.
4mm hook (amigurumi parts)
6mm hook (mini-blanket)
5mm hook (border of mini-blanket)
Toy filling (or you can stuff the head with scrap yarn or anything you have at home that will be a bit squishy)

Tension

Mini-blanket: 16 rows and 17sts over 10 cm in YUdc

Head: not important, but stitches should be tight, so use at least a hook size down from what the yarn recommends.

Measurements

Mini-blanket – 30 x 30cm blocked

Abbreviations

(UK terms)
Ch chain
MR magic ring
Ss slip stitch
St(s) stitch(es)
Ch chain
Dc double crochet
DcInc double crochet increase (2 sts increased in 1 st)
Dec double crochet decrease (1 st worked decreased over 2 sts)
HtrInc half treble crochet increase (2 sts increased in 1 st)
Tr treble crochet
YUdc yarn under double crochet
MC main colour
CC contrast colour.
Rep repeat
Pm place marker
Rm remove marker
Flo front loop only
Blo back loop only

Pattern Notes

This pattern is worked both amigurumi style in continuous rounds (with no joining) and sewn together to make the koala’s head, and also back and forth in rows using the yarn under colourwork technique to make the mini-blanket.

Work instructions inside parentheses (…) the indicated number of times.

Special Abbreviation

YUdc (yarn under double crochet) is a colourwork technique using two strands of working yarn. To work the stitch insert hook with mc, yoh, pull up a loop, with cc yoh from front to back (keeping cc in front of mc), with mc yoh, pull through 3 loops.

Check out the short instruction vid here.

Instructions

Koala head

Working in rounds, with MC and 4mm hook

Round 1 6dc in MR (mark first st and move marker up each round to keep track of starting point) (6)
Round 2 6dcinc (12)
Round 3 (inc, dc) six times (18)
Round 4 (inc, 2dc) six times (24)
Round 5 (inc, 3dc) six times (30)
Round 6 (inc, 4dc) six times (36)
Round 7-17 36dc (36)
Round 18 dec twice, pm second dec, 14dc, dec twice, pm second dec, 13dc, dec, rm. (32)
Round 19 dec, pm, 12dc, dec twice, rm, pm second dec, 11dc, dec, ss. (28)

Cut yarn, leave tail long enough to sew top shut when assembling.

Ear

(make 2)
Working in rounds, with MC and 4mm hook

Round 1 6dc in MR (6)
Round 2 6dcinc (12)
Round 3 (inc, dc) six times (18)
Round 4 inc, pm in second st of inc, 8dc, inc, pm in second st of inc, 9dc (20) (starting point is moved by 1st )
Round 5 20dc
Round 6 inc, pm in second st of inc, 9dc, inc, pm in second st of inc, 10dc (22) (starting point is moved by 1 st)
Round 7-10 22dc. Ss (22)

Cut yarn and leave tail to sew to head when assembling.

close up of koala lovey head ready for assembly

Nose

Working in rounds, with black and 4mm hook

Round 1 6dc in MR (6)
Round 2 6dcinc (12)
Round 3 (3htrinc, 3dc) twice, ss to join (18)

Cut yarn, leave long tail to sew to head and make eyes.

Mini Blanket

Working back and forth in rows using both MC and CC, 6mm hook

See short video tutorial here.

Row 1 MC, ch42
Row 2 YUdc in third loop and each ch across to end (40)
Row 3 ch1 (does not count as a st), YUDC to end (40)
Row 4-42 rep row 3 (40)

Cut MC and continue working the border in CC.

Border

Working in rounds 5 and 6mm hooks

Round 1 turn, with 6mm hook, work 40ss loosely across to corner, ch1, 40ss across the rows (note, there are two more rows than border sts, so you will need to “lose” two sts). Continue around to end and ch1 and ss to 1^st st of the round.
Round 2 change to 5mm hook, ch2, working into the ss, [tr to corner ch (tr, ch1 tr) in flo of corner ch], rep around to end, ss to join. Cut yarn.
Round 3 flip your work so the back is facing you, ss to join at a corner, ch2, tr in the back of the ss from round 1, rep round 2.
Round 4 now we’ll join the two rounds. Ch1, dc in the flo of round 3 sts and the corresponding blo from round 2 sts to join the two rounds together. Rep to corner, 3dc in the corner ch, then rep all the way round to end. Ss to join, cut yarn, weave in ends and block.

Assembly

pieces of koala lovey head to be assembled

Position nose 7 rounds below opening at mid-point between markers, sew to head. Make eyes 1 st to the side of the nose, 3 sts wide and slightly angled (1 round) upwards at the outer side. Fasten the eye loop on row below to fix it in place.

close up of koala lovey nose for assembly

close up of koala lovey eye and nose for assembly

Stuff the head with toy filling and sew shut. Attach ears to side of head on an angle, 3 sts in from the sides of the sewn shut head.

close up of koala lovey eye, ear and nose for assembly

Sew the head to the middle of the blanket, either using the leftover yarn tails, or a new length of yarn, using round 3 of the head as your guide.

*Affiliate link

4 Comments

Posted in amigurumi, blanket, Free, free pattern, Pattern, Patterns, Scheepjes, Tutorials

Tagged free pattern, koala amigurumi, koala crochet, koala lovey, lovecrafts, lovey, ravelry, yarn under crochet, yudc

Crochet Shawl Pattern Launch – Shallow

Posted on July 8, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s been a long time in the making, but here she is!

The pattern is available to download from Ravelry here. Through the end of this weekend (until the 12th of July 2020) you will receive 50% off the pattern, plus an extra surprise at checkout, so don’t wait too long!

If you have issues with Ravelry access, please reach out to me at missnerisscrochet@gmail.com and we will arrange an easy alternative for you.

Why Shallow?

I wanted to create a shawl that had enough wingspan to wrap around my shoulders, cross over my chest and tie in a knot behind my back – Claire Fraser style, but not so big that it would be cumbersome.

So I needed to figure out construction to make a more obtuse angle, and eventually Shallow came to life, named for the more shallow depth.

View of woman wearing shallow shawl from behind

What yarn do you need?

The pattern calls for either three balls of Scheepjes Metropolis (150g fingering weight yarn), or a single Scheepjes Whirl (or Woolly Whirl) cake. There are instructions included for both yarns, so you can choose your favourite.

My Whirl sample is made with shade 560 Jade Jim Jam and the Metropolis version uses 045 Perth. I think the design suits both a solid colour and the long whirl colour changes perfectly.

Get the supplies

Wool Warehouse* ships globally (although check their shipping process due to Covid-19 restrictions if ordering from outside the UK)
Choose your Scheepjes Whirl here*.
Choose your Scheepjes Metropolis here*.

Caro’s Atelier will also ship pretty much everywhere, and they’re my local yarn shop (and great people!)
Choose your Scheepjes Whirl here*.
Choose your Scheepjes Metropolis here*.

(If you own a yarn store and stock either or both of the listed yarns, please feel free to add direct links to your product page in the comments of this post.)

Tips from me

One thing you’ll see quickly is that the stitch placement is a bit tricky while you’re getting the hang of the pattern. I recommend you use stitch markers to keep track of your counts to prevent one side suddenly becoming longer than the other.

Another tip: if you match gauge, you’ll be able to follow the instructions without much issue, but if you find using Whirl that your tension is looser than mine, you can follow the Metropolis instructions instead. It will just mean fewer rows to work.

The pattern includes two charts which will help you progress, and there’s a handy puff stitch video that I’ve linked in the pattern as well.

Finally, as with all patterns, the more languages the better! If you would like to volunteer to translate this pattern into your local language, please do reach out to me via email (missnerisscrochet.com) and we can go through it together.

Enjoy, I can’t wait to see your ravelry projects and instagram posts. Use #shallowshawl so I can find it, and tag me @miss__neriss.

*Affiliate link

Fade out Shawl – Pattern Launch

Posted on February 23, 2018 | 4 comments

Remember six months or so ago I had a shawl design in Simply Crochet? Well, after a few months, and loads of requests to be able to get hold of the shawl independently, now you can!

Just this week I’ve uploaded the updated pattern to Ravelry, and this time it has a very helpful chart! I know there were quite a few of you who were asking for a chart, so I put one together.

It was such an honour to be able to have a shawl design in a massively popular magazine, it was like the biggest confidence boost in the world. There’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement of seeing something that you’ve been able to bring to life out there in the wide wide world.

Fade Out shawl by Nerissa Muijs in issue 60 of Simply Crochet

Image courtesy of Simply Crochet on Ravelry

The pattern is available for sale on Ravelry for €4.95 so go and grab your copy here.

BUT, if you’re feeling patient and love a bargain, sign up to receive my fortnightly love letter which will go out on Monday, and there will be a 20% discount code which is exclusive to subscribers. Plus there’s always all sorts of fun stuff in those love letters, first looks at new designs, and regular giveaways. Click the image below to sign up:

The shawl is made with a single skein of Scheepjes Whirl, and I’m sure you already have one of those lying around that is dying to be turned into a new shawl, right?

If not, you need to pop to one of these retailers to grab one:

Wool Warehouse* ships all over the world,
Knotty House* has the North Americans covered,
Black Sheep Wools* is the UK’s largest LYS (local yarn store)
Caro’s Atelier* is my LYS here in Almere

And of course, don’t forget the many many Scheepjes retailers all over the place!

I do hope you love making my Fade out shawl, and do share your projects on Ravelry and Instagram (using tag #obsessedwithcrochet).

Stay tuned, next week is the launch of my free Braided Cowl pattern!

4 Comments

Posted in Pattern

Tagged fade out, new pattern, ravelry, simply crochet, whirl

And We’re Off! The Noor Shawl

Posted on March 17, 2017 | 4 comments

Remember the other day I told you about Berniolie and her Noor shawl? Well, look!

My Scheepjes Sunkissed arrived yesterday and I’m very excited to crack on! So much so that my 3500 other projects are all being shoved to the side while I work on this one!

You can get the pattern on Ravelry here, or Etsy here and you can get the gorgeous yarn from either Wool Warehouse or any Scheepjes retailer.

4 Comments

Posted in Projects

Tagged berniolie, crochet, etsy, noor shawl, ravelry

Noor Shawl – by Bernadette Ambergen

Posted on March 14, 2017 | 7 comments

It’s time to go back to basics and crochet a gorgeous project that I haven’t designed myself. I’ve found myself working on a lot of secret projects that I can’t share with you and I miss that!

Bernadette Ambergen is a designer I wish I had discovered when I first started crocheting. I think if I had, it would have made me a much better crocheter faster by stretching my boundaries and improving my internal stitch library.

She’s also probably the most prolific designer I know of. My friend Tammy and I always joke that she must have an army of minions making everything for her, such is the rate of pattern releases!

I also just love how the construction of her shawls is so varied and different to any other designer out there. Not only that, it’s the mixture of both knitting and crochet in a single design that is so inspiring.

After trawling Ravelry for the perfect project I settled on Noor. It’s a design that is constructed in a way I have never tried before (from the centre outwards) and well, look for yourself. It’s beautiful.

I’m going to use a yarn that I love, Scheepjes Sunkissed in Pistachio Ice:

I have a gorgeous shawl for summer in mind. I was tossing up between this and Beach Hut Orange, but in the end I thought I’d get more wear out of this one. I know I should gift it, but I can’t help it. I want it for myself!

So when the yarn arrives I’ll share some more photos, and be sure to keep up on Instagram where I’ll be sharing all the time.

You can get the Sunkissed yarn for the Noor shawl on Wool Warehouse* who ship globally, or from your favourite benelux retailer. You’ll need 7 balls for this design and it’s under 3 euros a ball, so great value!

I’d love you to join me in making this one, please let me know in the comments.

7 Comments

Posted in Pattern

Tagged bernadette ambergen, berniolie, crochet, ravelry, scheepjes, sunkissed

The Satisfaction of Kid’s Knits

Posted on March 3, 2017 | 2 comments

You know that I’ve only just started thinking of myself as a knitter. I learned to knit so long ago that I don’t even remember when that was. It’s just something that I could always do, although not very well, and nor could I cast on or off. But thanks to YouTube channels like Very Pink and Purl Soho, and not to mention my friends Tammy and Sarah, I’ve gone over to the dark side!

About a year ago Vanessa Kind shared some We Love Knitting yarn on Instagram (or maybe her podcast) and it was love at first sight. Then came the challenge: how to get my hands on some! It became a matter of stalking the Instagram page, enabling notifications and setting alarms for shop updates. And I’m not the only one who does this – it’s a real game of Fastest Finger First to checkout. More than once I was quick enough to get some in my basket only to find that it was sold out by the time I tried to pay.

Eventually I scored a few skeins of peaches and cream and sea glass, just in time for my gran and aunt to come visit, saving a fortune on shipping. Oh Australia why do you have to be so far away?

View this post on Instagram

Aren't these colours amazing! More @weloveknitting yarn, and the loveliest tote to match! #crochet #knitting #merino

A post shared by Nerissa | Crochet | Haken 🇦🇺🇳🇱 (@miss__neriss) on May 17, 2016 at 12:22pm PDT

Fast forward six months, I had to get more. I bought two skeins of mintfetti DK and after trying to crochet a shawl design, I realised that this yarn needs to be knit and – honestly – is wasted on crochet.

So then became the hunt for the perfect project that wasn’t a shawl and could be knit using only two skeins. Enter Ravelry and Jane by Georgie Nicholson. The combination of the mintfetti and this design is amazing. The yarn loves the stockingette stitch and it’ll make the perfect kids cardi.

I honestly can’t believe that I never paid attention when everybody told me that knitting for kids is so satisfying. That it goes quickly and I would be so encouraged by the progress. Especially in a 8ply DK yarn. If been using 4ply fingering for so long that I had forgotten how fun a chunkier project is!

Now this is my first garment knit. I’m keeping it simple while I grow my confidence. I’d LOVE to hear your tips for simple and beautiful knitted garments. Let me know in the comments or on Facebook. I’m just enjoying this so much!

2 Comments

Posted in knit, Life

Tagged cardigan knits, knit, ravelry, weloveknitting

Miriem Shawl Pattern is LIVE!

Posted on October 18, 2016 | 1 comment

And it’s 20% off!

To celebrate the launch of this design, I’ve created a coupon for you to use at the checkout on Ravelry until this Friday the 22nd of October. Enter code miriem and check out. It’s that simple.

I’m so happy with the results of this design. Ever since I took part in the Winterlight KAL a few months ago, I’ve been wanting to create a similarly shaped shawl in crochet, showing off the amazing yarn that I picked up from Circus Tonic Hand Dyed Yarns. I still have four skeins of this glorious yarn that is waiting patiently to become something special, but that’s a story for another day…

I’ve named the shawl after my dear friend Miriem, who has been in The Top Five for almost 20 years now! This is a girl who has routinely gone above and beyond what you could possibly expect any friend to do. Let’s just say, if there are bodies to be buried, it’s Miriem that I’m calling.

About the pattern:

It is worked in rows, on the bias. The base stitch is a half double crochet (HDC). However, it is a deep HDC. Meaning, each HDC stitch goes around the regular top two loops, and also around the 3rd loop at the front of the stitch. This removes the line that rows of HDC stitches tend to create, making the design truly reversible.

What you’ll need:

Almost 800 metres of 4ply (sock) weight yarn. I used yarn from Circus Tonic Handmade; to catch shop updates, I highly recommend following Hannah on Instagram as yarn sells out in a heartbeat. I also recommend checking the sock yarns on both LoveCrochet.com* and Wool Warehouse* as their selections are fantastic.

what are you still doing here? Get over to Ravelry!

*Affiliate link

1 Comment

Posted in Pattern

Tagged bias crochet shawl, circus tonic handmade, hand dyed yarn, MissNeriss, pattern, ravelry

Emma Shawl – Pattern Launch and Special Offer

Posted on April 27, 2016 | Leave a comment

I’m so in love with this shawl. It makes me happy to wear it; the colour is gorgeous, the merino blend is soft, warm and snuggly.

It’s elegant and light, and adds a splash of glamour to my outfit. But it’s also perfect to just wrap around my neck on a chilly day when I’m cycling to the shops.

I’ve added the design to Ravelry, for sale at 5.45EUR. If you head to Instagram and follow me, you can grab yourself a 50% discount until May 1st. Just check the details in the Emma Shawl photos I post there. You can also click the Instagram links on the sidebar to the right.

For the design I used a gorgeous hand dyed fingering/4ply (sock) yarn from Craftfulness, but you can use any fingering weight yarn, as long as there is about 420 metres on the skein. I also used a hand dyed yarn I bought from Textiel Werk Wol en Zo (in Dutch, but they speak English fabulously) a long time ago.

It’s also a lovely quick design – you can easily whip it out in a couple of evenings in front of Game of Thrones. Once you get going, the design all but crochets itself.

And don’t you just love the beautiful crystal shawl clip? It’s about a hundred years old, and belonged to my Aunt Hilda. I’ve loved the clips (and matching earrings) as long as I can remember, so it makes me incredibly happy to have and be able to use them.

Enjoy, I hope you love it. I do, I’ve made lots already!

Miniman’s Nursing Necklace – The Tutorial

Posted on October 14, 2014 | 14 comments

As promised, I’ve put together a tutorial on how to make your very own nursing necklace, which is designed to keep small ones occupied while nursing, saving mama’s sensitive skin from sharp fingernails, hair from being yanked, and general mischief making while baby is nursing. Of course this is not only for nursing mamas; it’s such a lovely necklace that it looks stylish on everybody!

What you’ll need

Scheepjeswol Cotton 8* in four shades. I used 527, 711, 652 and 700. In the Netherlands you can pick Cotton 8 up at just about any great yarn seller, and internationally you can buy via deramores.com*.

A 3mm crochet hook, scissors, and you’ll also need wooden beads in varying sizes. I used five 35mm balls and two 25mm balls. For added interest, you can also add a wooden ring or two – babies love the different elements and textures.

Abbreviations

(American terms)

CH – chain stitch
SC – single crochet (UK double crochet)
INC – increase; two single crochet stitches into the same stitch
DEC – decrease; two single crochet stitches together
STS – stitch count

Notes

This project is worked in the round. You will also need to crochet your stitches very tightly to ensure that they keep the form of the beads. If you crochet loosely, use a smaller hook.

Don’t forget, I’m a leftie so you might have to flip the images in your mind. I like to keep the images for us lefties because there just aren’t that many left handed tutorials out there. If you need help, ping me using the contact page or on Facebook.

Make one ball in the darkest colour, two in the second darkest, two in the third darkest, and two in the lightest (the 25mm balls).

35mm Bead

Round 1

CH 5, close with a slip stitch, CH 1.

Round 2

SC x 6 into the ring (6 STS)

Round 3

INC in each stitch around (12 STS)

Round 4

(INC, 1 SC) x 6 (18 STS)

Round 5

(INC, 2 SC) x 6 (24 STS)

Round 6-10

SC x 24 (24 STS). Insert the bead to measure how progress is going at each round.

Round 11

(DEC, 2 SC) x 6 (18 STS). Make sure the bead is inserted here and continue working around it.

Round 12

(DEC, 1 SC) x 6 (12 STS).

Round 13

DEC in each stitch around (6 STS)

Finish off and hide the tail.

For the 25mm bead, follow the same instructions, skipping round 5 (and round 11 as a consequence).

Once you’ve finished all five balls in the colour combination of your choice, it’s time to thread them onto a chain. First you need to make yourself one. I used the lightest shade and chained stitched until I had about 90 cm. This way the necklace would have plenty of room to become longer or shorter as necessary.

Thread the beads and tie the ends into a little knot and then together using a slip stitch so that one end can slip easily (but not too easily) to adjust the length of the necklace.

And you’re all done! Looks beautiful, doesn’t it? I love seeing projects by others, so don’t forget to brag about what you’ve made on my Facebook page or upload to Pinterest, tagging me @missneriss. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram while you’re at it!

*Affiliate link

14 Comments

Posted in Pattern, Patterns, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Tutorials

Tagged amigurumi, baby, baby necklace, cotton 8, craft, crochet, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, hand crafted, hand made, handcrafted, handmade, jewellery, MissNeriss, nursing beads, nursing necklace, Obsessed with Crochet, pattern, projects, ravelry, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, teething, teething necklace

Jasper V Pattern – All the Sizes!! (S, M, L, XL)

Posted on August 19, 2014 | 6 comments

Here it is! The biggest and most daunting crochet project I have ever undertaken, completely finished!

I have to say, I’m a bit sad that it’s all over and I can move on to focus on the next big project, but I’m so relieved to have all the sizes worked out and ready to go.

What I have done for the smaller sizes is to update the diagram only. I’m not re-writing the entire pattern; instead that can be used as a guide to get started, and the diagram has all the stitch and row counts, which is the clearest description. The edging is so straight forward that I feel what is written in the original pattern will get you through.

Remember though, if you need any help at all, please just contact me. I’ve added a contact form below so you can do it painlessly.

Here we go!

The original pattern post with all the written instructions is found at this link.

The attachments with the different sizes are all attached to this post as pdf files. You will need a program such as Adobe Reader (or similar) to be able to read this file.

Jasper V Size Small

Jasper V Size Medium

Jasper V Size Large

Jasper V Size XL

Please, please do note: the only size that has been tested by me is the XL – the smaller sizes have been created using mathematical magic and are not tested. I’m relying on your help for that! If you’re making the top and it feels like it will be a little tight, please don’t panic – the stitch has a lot of give; a good 5-10 cm! Think about the yardage of the smaller sizes, you won’t need as much as I did making the XL size (about 1100 metres).

I do value any and all feedback, but please don’t be mean. And remember above all that this is a free pattern – together we can improve it.

This is an original design by Nerissa Muijs. Please do not reproduce this pattern or sell this pattern as your own work. Please share it on your social networks, linking it back to the original source. Please also feel free to sell items made from this pattern and please credit me by linking my website: missneriss.com. All images are the property of Nerissa Muijs, and if you would like to repost the originals, please send me a message to ask my permission before the fact.

Most importantly though, please share pictures of your work with me, by adding them to Ravelry or to my Facebook page, or even via an email.

Enjoy!

Need help, or want to ask a question, go for it here: