Two Lovely Free Snuggle Blanket Patterns

Make a snuggle/lovey blanket for a very special Christmas present.

You Are My Sunshine Crochet Lovey
by Lorene Haythorn Eppolite - Cre8tion Crochet

This is a pattern which really makes you happy.
A lovely bright yellow sun and a soft snuggle blanket. I think most children (and adults) will like this one 🌞!

My Bright Sunshine Lovey using Cre8tion Crochet's Pattern

The pattern was originally designed for worsted weight (10 ply) yarn, but it's easy to change to the yarn of your choice.
I made mine in double knit (8ply) yarn. I used Stylecraft Special DK in:
Lemon, Cloud Blue, Aster, Lapis, Petrol, Matador, Jaffa, and Citron.

 I added some extra rows to the blanket and the amigurumi sunshine to make up the size difference.
And my Sunshine Lovey/Snuggle measures 16 x 16 inches, which is about right.

What I really like about this pattern is that it's quite easy and quick to make and the Sunshine centre is a good start for someone new to amigurumi crochet.

I've made quite a few of these Sunshine Lovey/Snuggles, all in bright rainbow colours.

This is one of my Bright Sunshine Lovey Snuggles available now on Etsy:
 Bright Colours Sunshine Lovey Snuggle Blanket with Sun in the centre

You can find the Free Crochet Pattern for the Sunshine Lovey here:
You Are My Sunshine Free Crochet Lovey Pattern

 I think you'll enjoy making it! 🌞

...............................................

Amigurumi Elephant Snuggle by Dennis van den Brink

A Free Pattern – Elephant Snuggle

This is a lovely little pattern. 🐘
It uses a basic granny square stitch for the blanket and an amigurumi pattern for the elephant part.

One of the Elephant Snuggles I made from the Elephant Snuggle Free Pattern

 It's an easy pattern which looks great when it's finished, so well worth doing.

And you can always ring the changes with this pattern: either with colour changes, yarn used, or with decorating the elephant.
I added a sweet little bow to my elephant, using a pattern called Scrapbusting Mini Bows by ChiWei Ranck of One Dog Woof
You can find the bow pattern on her site here:
Sweet and Simple Crochet Bows

My Elephant Snuggle with Bow design by One Dog Woof

 I love this pattern and have put one of my Elephant Snuggle Blankets in our Etsy shop.
You can see it here:
Elephant Snuggle Blanket Sweet and Cuddly Gift Lilac Pink & Cream

 You can find the Free pattern to make your own Elephant Snuggle here on the DenDennis site:
A Free pattern – Elephant Snuggle 🐘

 And while you are there, have a look at all the other patterns Dennis has made.
His website is a treasure trove for amigurumi lovers, both beginners and advanced. And you'll find lots of papercraft and woodland crafts items there too.
Some of the patterns are in Dutch, but many are in English, including the Elephant Snuggle pattern (and Google Translate can be your friend for some of the others 🙂 ).
So very well worth a look!
..............................................

Well that was an almost perfect post for Elephant  🐘 Sun 🌞 Dog 🐕
(I'll find a crochet dog to make it perfect soon. I promise! 😀)

Those are two of the best free snuggle blanket patterns I have found.
I think that they are great for all levels of crochet experience and, as you can see, I can prove that they work!

Hope you like them too!

~ Silvi

Quality Yarn at an Amazing Low Price

I use Stylecraft Special DK yarn for many of my craft projects.



Like most people nowadays, I find that money is tight, so at a budget price and in large, 100 gram balls which produce 295 meters of yarn to work with, Stylecraft Special DK works out a very good buy.

And it's a good buy because it's easy work with, soft, machine washable (and can be tumble dried), and you can use it to make a vast range of items, from all sorts of clothing to blankets and bags.

But here's another reason why I use this yarn.
The colours are fantastic!
All the colours of the rainbow and some you hadn't even thought of!

Stylecraft Special DK Colours

One of my crochet makes using Stylecraft Special DK was the Jacaranda Cal.
I wanted to use pretty colours which enhanced the intricate pattern design, and I think I chose well 😀

I used Cream, Cloud Blue, Violet, Clematis, and Parma Violet.
They are colours I would have found difficult to find in many budget yarns, but I knew I could rely on Stylecraft to produce them and for Deramores to stock them.

So why am I writing this post about Stylecraft Special DK right now?
Because I've just discovered that Deramores has special savings on their yarn with lots of savings.

Stylecraft Special DK is part of their Everyday Low Price Collection, plus,if you are looking for particular colours, buying in value packs will save you 10% more, plus for members, you will get rewards for your next purchase.

Now, like many crafters, I may be a yarnaholic, but I'm also very aware of the need to budget on my yarn purchases.
And this looks like a great deal to me.

And when I, an intermediate crocheter, can produce projects like the Jacaranda which look even more intricate because of the colours, then I'm happy! :)

You can find All Stylecraft Special DK colours on the link at Deramores here:
Stylecraft Special DK colours and info

Go on have a look.
I bet you love looking at yarn colours as much as I do! 😀

6 Free Crochet Patterns Which Make Beautiful Baby Blankets

Here are 6 Free Crochet Patterns which have been tried and tested to ensure that they will make beautiful baby blankets.
Where possible, there are also links to the Ravelry project pages for the patterns, so that you can see what other crocheters have achieved with them.

1: Granny Stripe Pattern by Lucy of Attic 24
 Lucy's Attic24 blog is a great go-to place for blankets and the Granny Stripe Pattern is a nice, basic pattern which is ideal for a first baby blanket.
On Lucy's site, you can also find ideas for blanket borders. And you'll enjoy looking at all the lovely ideas she has there.
I'm making my Granny stripe Blanket in different shades of red as it should feel nice and warm for the winter months.

My 'shades of red' Granny stripes blanket in progress

But if you look at the Ravelry page for the pattern here:
Granny Stripes by Lucy of Attic24 - Ravelry Page
You can click the project link on the right of the page and scroll through over 7,000 projects ( 😵!) to find colours that you would prefer.
Or just go for it with colours you have from stash. This pattern is very adaptable.

-----------------------------------------------

In fact, most of the Attic24 patterns would work great as a baby blanket.
And as Lucy makes such fabulous blanket patterns, I must include another of her designs....

-----------------------------------------------

2: This one in particular is a huge success with baby blanket lovers:
Neat Ripple Pattern by Lucy of Attic 24
 In fact, when you go to the Ravelry page for this pattern:
Neat Ripple by Lucy of Attic24 - Ravelry Page
 and click on the projects link on the right hand side, you will see that there are over 9.5k projects made using this pattern! That's quite amazing!
 So do have a scroll through the projects if you want ideas on yarn types and colours to use (and tips about the pattern from other crocheters).
With that many crocheters making this pattern, there must be loads of help within those project pages!
Here is my Neat Ripple Baby Blanket:

My neat ripple baby blanket in progress

As you can see, it's still a 'work in progress', but I love the colours so had to include a picture here 😉.
I think those colours with this pattern will make a beautiful baby blanket!

-----------------------------------

3: The next pattern is on my 'to-do list, but will definitely be made soon:
Four Color Baby Blanket  by Crochet n Create
 (When you click the above link, scroll down the page for both US and UK pattern versions).
This is "A Candy stripe baby afghan blanket free crochet pattern, made in worsted weight yarn using soft pastel colours." As described on the Ravelry pattern page.
(although you can of course use dk yarn if you prefer - but perhaps in this case add a number of chains to get the size required - just ensure that you increase in multiples of 6).
This is a very pretty blanket with a puff stitch design.
You can see some projects done using this lovely pattern if you follow the projects link from the Ravelry page for the pattern linked below:
PFC72 Baby Afghan Blanket - Ravelry pattern page
(but a word of advice: don't bother following the link on the Ravelry pattern page - it will just redirect you to the new page at Crochet n Create which I've linked to already above 😉)

-------------------------------------

4: Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket by Megan Meyer
Megan has designed a beautiful but relatively easy to make baby blanket.
She designed her pattern for colour changing yarn and it works a treat as you will see in her pictures on the pattern's Ravelry page here:
Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket by Megan Meyer
This lovely baby blanket pattern is a paid pattern on the Ravelry link - and it's worth it because the pdf download contains lots of help and advice (and all the work put in by Megan to get the pattern right) and no adverts.
However, I have listed this as a free pattern, because, at time of typing this post, there is a free version of the pattern here:
Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket at Left In Knots
 My version of the Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket is a 'Bright Rainbow' version, in the picture below. I also used different skeins of yarn for each colour (but that wasn't a huge problem).
I also added a few rows to the end of the pattern, to make a cot blanket.

My Bright Rainbow Version of the Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket

 This is a lovely pattern - an easy stitch sequence, but decorative enough to make a pretty design.
And the border is lovely too.

Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket Border

 This pattern is definitely a keeper!

-------------------------------

5:  Another free baby blanket pattern on my to-do list and it looks very pretty:
One Skein Baby Blanket by Marilyn Losee
 (although the above website page has a checkout, you can download the pdf pattern for free)
This is a fairly easy and quick-to-work pattern which looks beautiful when completed.
And seems to have a lot of fans who have made several of these baby blankets.
You can see hundreds of projects made using this pattern by looking at the Ravelry page for the pattern here:
One Skein Baby Blanket on Ravelry

-----------------------------------

6:  You Are My Sunshine Baby Blanket by Christine Bumgarner

My You Are My Sunshine Baby Blanket

I've shown you this one before, but it's an ideal addition to a free baby blanket pattern post.
The pattern is made up from posts from the You are my Sunshine Afghan CAL by Christine Bumgarner
And you can find all 6 parts of the Cal from the links on this page:
You Are My Sunshine, my only Sunshine!

 Or you can click the project page link on the RH side of the Ravelry page for the pattern here:
You are my Sunshine Afghan CAL by Christine Bumgarner

and see the different colours and yarns which others have used to make their baby blanket.

This is mine completed and I love it!

You are my Sunshine Baby blanket

I love the central Sun design and the different stitches throughout.
I would say that this pattern is for an adventurous beginner or intermediate crocheter, but the instructions are very helpful, so you should manage fine with the more decorative stitch patterns.
And the bonus is that this pattern is available in English (US), Hebrew, Swedish and Dutch!
And it makes such a pretty blanket!

---------------------------------------

And that's the last of the 6 Free Crochet Patterns Which Make Beautiful Baby Blankets.

But I'm sure there will be more soon.

In the meanitme, I hope you enjoyed this post and have found a good pattern to use to make your next baby blanket.

~ Silvi

New Pattern - Small Moses Basket and Swaddling Blanket

I'm always looking for new crochet patterns for moses baskets, because they make lovely holders for teddy bears :)

But I'm also always aware that a Moses Basket with a teddy inside should be safe for a child and easy to carry about.

I have already designed a Moses Basket For A Toddler pattern which holds an 8 to 10 inch soft toy - ideal for a small child.
But many children aged 3 to 12 have taken a liking to these too, while others want something just a little smaller.

So I have designed a new Small Moses Basket and Swaddling Blanket crochet pattern. The Moses Basket is ideal to fit a soft toy or doll measuring between 5 inches and 7 inches.

And to add some comfort and warmth for the toy (😀), I have added to this pattern a design for a swaddling blanket too. The swaddling blanket is wide and roomy and wraps around a dolly or teddy bear with lots of room to spare.

There are two versions of the pattern and you will be able to download them both as required:

• A full written pattern with explanatory pictures and diagrams alongside the pattern.
• A full written text only pattern which is print friendly.

This is a paid pattern (£2 plus VAT - if applicable - on Ravelry), but that is because it really is a full pattern, with making instructions, together diagrams and pictures to explain particular stitches and how to get a good finish to your work.
So you will not be disappointed.

You can find the pattern in my Ravelry Store where you can read more about the pattern and see more pictures:
Small Moses Basket and Swaddling Blanket

Or, if you prefer, you can go straight to the pattern to buy now 😃

It really is a nice easy make - especially with the helpful instructions.

However, if you would rather buy one of these Small Moses Baskets with a Teddy already inside and wrapped in a blanket, you can find one here in our Etsy Shop:
Teddy Bear In A Crochet Moses Basket in Soft Swaddle Blanket

Either way, I'm sure you know a little one who would love one of these! :)

Cot Blankets and Mandalas in Our Etsy Shop and More Free Patterns!

Here at Elephant Sun Dog, we craft handmade items of all sizes, from small to fairly large 😀
And I've just added three more handmade items to the Elephant Sun Dog Etsy Shop and these are all ready for the colder months to come.

There are two Baby Blankets:

A pretty 'sunshine' blanket for a cot or pram cover.

Sunshine Cot Blanket for sale on Etsy

This is a unique design using a pattern designed by talented Christine Bumgarner, called You Are My Sunshine.
I think I've done the pattern justice. It certainly was enjoyable.
If you would like to have a go at making this lovely pattern, you can find it here:
CAL Crochet Along You Are My Sunshine

And I would love it if you also went and had a look at more pictures and read about my version of this sweet cot blanket here:
Cot Blanket, Baby Blanket, Sunshine and Pale Turquoise Pretty Design for cot or pram, Baby gift

Then there is a lovely bright rainbow strips cot blanket.

Bright Rainbow Colours Cot Blanket for sale on Etsy

This is a nice, sizeable cot blanket which is large enough for a chid's bed as well as a cot.
I love working in bright rainbow colours, so this one was a real treat to make.
I used a pattern called Unicorn Stripes Baby Blanket designed by talented Megan Meyer.
You can find the pattern here on Ravelry:
Unicorn Strips Baby Blanket Pattern

And to see more of my Bright Rainbow version of this pattern, and read more about it, you can see it here:
Cot Blanket Bright Rainbow Stripes Soft Colourful Crochet Toddler or Baby Blanket Good Size

I have also added a large Mandala Table Cover to the Etsy shop.
This one is in multi colours and will definitely brighten up your living room!

Handmade Crochet Mandala Table Cover for sale on Etsy

Again, I used a pattern, this time designed by the very gifted Anna Nilson.
If you want to have a go yourself at making this lovely Mandala, do go and have a look at Anna's website where she hosted the CAL for this lovely pattern.
You can find all the links to various parts of the pattern here:
Unicorn Mandala CAL

And of course, I mustn't forget to add a link to the Mandala table cloth I made from this pattern (as shown in the picture above).
You can find it here:
Handmade Crochet Mandala Table Cover, Home Decoration, multicoloured circular tablecloth

So there you go.
Three more items added to our Etsy shop and links to some lovely crochet patterns (two of which are free, and the other has a free and paid version).

I hope you enjoy them.
And if not, I'm sure you know someone who would like to see the handmade items I have made from the patterns :)

~ Silvi

The Sweet Pea CAL at Attic 24

This is the first CAL (crochet along) that I am taking part in for 2019. It is the Sweet Pea Blanket CAL published each week at Attic 24.

The pattern is free and Lucy of Attic 24 will be posting parts weekly.

Week 1 began on 4th January and it's certainly not too late to join in. The posts will be staying on Lucy's blog, so no excuses 😄

Here is my Sweet Pea Blanket part 1:

I chose to do the 'posy' version of the pattern because it will go very well with other items, but was very tempted to do the 'colourwash' version or the 'repeat' version (which repeats the colour pattern shown in the original test sample for the pattern - see picture below:).

Lucy is a fabulous designer. Her CALS are always excellent and she goes the extra mile with pictures and instructions to ensure that her patterns are easy to understand by beginners and advanced crocheters alike.

I highly recommend this CAL (in fact, I might do it twice 😀 ).

You can find all the details about the Sweet Pea Blanket CAL here. That post also contains links to the Trellis Stripe Pattern used in the CAL and details of everything you need to know.

Or just go over to Attic 24 and see all of Lucy's lovely patterns.

I guarantee you will spend ages there 😃

~ Silvi