Tuesday 1 November 2016

Granny Wrap : The Stylecraft blog tour

We're nearly at the end of the Stylecraft Blog tour 2016 and I am thrilled to be marking the 1st of the month with today's post.

   

A little while back, myself and my fellow Blogstars were set a challenge from the Stylecraft team - to do something fabulously creative in knit or crochet with their flagship yarn, using Special Aran or Chunky (including new shades as chosen by their Facebook followers).

How super! I agreed, of course and chose the Special Chunky Parchment pack - aren't these colours lush?! And it really is very, very soft and squidgy*.  

 *technical yarn term

Colours from top, L to R: Pomegranate, Gold, Parchment, Spice, Saffron, Empire, Storm Blue, Sage, Pistachio, Pale Rose

But what to make....? I toyed with a few ideas, but decided on a mega-wrap. (As someone who feels the cold and has children who insist on leaving doors and windows open, I'm all about big shawls and blanket-y things at this time of year).

I wanted to make something incredibly simple that would show off the gorgeous colours and be quick and easy to make (my favourite sort of project) And so a half-Granny design seemed perfect.


It took a bit of jiggling with the colours and a fair amount of frogging to get the right combination, but I'm really pleased with the result. I decided to leave out the Pistachio and Saffron in the end, too- but I shall certainly use them for something else (hat or mittens, methinks).






And if you want to make a lovely, big, cosy wrappy-shawl to keep away those winter chills, then hooray!  

You'll need 8 balls of Stylecraft Special Chunky and an 8mm hook.     

Pattern (UK terms)
Ch4, join with a sl st to make a ring.
Row 1: ch3 (counts as tr here and throughout), 3tr, ch2, 4tr. Turn.

Row 2: ch3, 3tr between the first 2 stitches of previous row, (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in ch2-sp, 3tr between last 2 stitches of previous row, 1tr in top of ch3. Turn.

Row 3: ch3, 3tr between the first 2 stitches of previous row, 3tr between each 3tr cluster to ch2-sp, (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in ch2-sp, 3tr between each 3tr cluster along other side, 3tr between last 2 stitches of previous row, 1tr in top of ch3. Turn.

Rows 4-  46: repeat row 3 Fasten off, weave in ends.

Colours: Rows 1-4: Sage 5-6: Empire 7-9: Gold 10: Pale Rose 11-12: Storm Blue 13: Empire 14: Pomegranate 15: Spice 16-17: Sage 18: Parchment 19: Storm Blue 20-22: Pomegranate 23-24: Gold 25-26: Pale Rose 27: Sage 28: Empire 29: Spice 30: Pomegranate  31-32: Storm Blue 33: Sage 34: Parchment 35: Pale Rose 36: Pomegranate 37-38: Empire 39: Gold 40-41: Spice 42: Sage 43: Parchment 44: Storm Blue 45-46: Empire


Now, I like my shawls plain, but you could certainly add pom-poms or tassels with the leftovers to bling things up a bit, if you like.

I hope you enjoy making your mega-wrap. Don't forget to share your pictures - you can find me at all my favourite social media accounts.

And why not check out the other Blogstars to see what they've been making, too - Yesterday's blogger was the fabulous Phil at The Twisted Yarn and tomorrow you can see what Katherine at Crafternoon Treats has been up to.

Enjoy your week and keep warm.

Sarah xxx

28 comments:

  1. I tried to enter the giveaway but it's not open yet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apologies, Wendy.
      Do try again, it's open right now!
      Kind regards,
      Sarah x

      Delete
  2. Beautiful wrap and stunning colourway. I'm loving that particular colourpack but there is a message coming up on the giveaway link to say the giveaway hasn't started yet??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apologies, it's up and running now!
      Good luck with your entry.

      Best wishes,
      Sarah x

      Delete
  3. I LOVE this!! So snuggly and cosy... on to my 'must-make' list it goes :)

    M x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Miki!!
      I'm so pleased with how it turned out!
      Have a great week,
      Sarah xx

      Delete
  4. This looks fabulous! I've entered the giveaway - fingers crossed! I love how you've combined these colours - they look gorgeous together in this shawl! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Maria!
      Good luck in the giveaway.
      Sarah xx

      Delete
  5. Thanks Sarah, I've just entered after seeing on Instagram. I love this - warm and chunky with modern vibrants colours!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Natalie,
      Glad you like the wrap! It was such fun to make. Good luck with the competition.
      Sarah xx

      Delete
  6. This is lovely. I'm sure it grew really fast with the chunky yarn!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sandra!
      Yes, it was a lovely, speedy project (my favourite kind).
      Have a super week,
      Sarah

      Delete
  7. I love this! It's so beautiful. Definitely need to give it a go soon ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Amy!
      It's a great project to make.
      Enjoy your week,
      Sarah x

      Delete
  8. Beautiful color scheme, my dear!! Really lovely. Regads xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I, glad you like the colours.
      Enjoy he rest of your week,
      Sarah x

      Delete
  9. Hi Sarah I adore this mega wrap - I have a lot of chunky in my stash and this is definitely going on the to do list xxx Kathryn

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful shawl
    How do you enter the giveaway?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Julie!
      I'm afraid that my giveaway is closed (they each only last for one day) but if you hop over to Catherine's blog, you will be able to enter hers.
      http://crafternoontreats.com/

      Have a great week,
      Sarah x

      Delete
  11. Great wrap and love the colours. How do we hear who wins the yarn pack please

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks very much!
      The winner is Emma Foster- Stylecraft released it on their Facebook page. - I'm just about to update my blog.

      Thanks so much,
      Sarah

      Delete
  12. HAS ANYONE EVER MADE THE "GRANNY WRAP",USING VERIGATED THREAD?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure- it would look great, I reckon.
      Sarah x

      Delete
  13. I am gonna make this for a 4 yr old. How many rows do you think I should do? I'm only gonna use two colors if Caron Simply Soft.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmmm, good question. The Caron yarn is a thinner weight than the yarn I used - you might want around 30 rows? To be honest, it’s such an easy pattern - just keep going until it’s the right size for your little one.
      Sarah x

      Delete
  14. As a beginner, I don't know how to start this. A ring of 4 stitches with 7 trebles in it doesn't make sense to me. Do you have to make the trebles into the same stitch? How does the ring become a row? Please help

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      What you need to do is make a ring of 4 chains and then make the stitches into the ring. Once made, you turn and continue working in rows.
      Hope that helps,
      Sarah

      Delete

I'd love to hear from you, so leave a comment or ask a question and l'll reply to you right here.
Have a fab day.
Sarah Xx