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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Free Crochet Pattern: Vine Garland Accessory

This one's for Miki of Funhouse Fibers, who wants to know how to crochet a vine. ;)


Materials Needed:
- Yarn (I used worsted weight)
- Crochet hook (I used size US J)
- Scissors
- Embroidery needle for weaving in ends.

A note about yarn and hook choices:
I used worsted weight yarn (specifically some leftover "I Love This Cotton" from Hobby Lobby that I had in my stash) and a size US J crochet hook. As a result, my vine is kind of loosey/goosey/drapey. This works for me because I'm planning to use it as the foundation for my pumpkin and leaf garland. If you want your vine to stand on its own a little more, use a hook that gives you a good, tight gauge. If it curls up on itself while you work you can always block it later, depending on the yarn you use.

Abbreviations used:
- CH = chain
- SC = single crochet
- SL ST = slip stitch

Note for Spinners: When I made this, my starting chain weighed 4g and my finished vine weighed about 38g. So basically, if you have art yarn or handspun and you want to use it for this project, keep chaining until you have used up about 1/10th of the yarn you have, then get going on the rest of the instructions. That way you won't run out of yarn that you can't replicate or pick up at your local craft store. :)

Let's get started, shall we?

1. Begin with a starting chain that is a multiple of 7 stitches plus 12. (Note: I have NO idea what my starting chain is - let's go with "longish." I wanted this to be long enough to go over the doorway where my garland currently hangs on a boring old strand of yarn, so I kept on chaining until it looked long enough. That's how I roll. I don't count the multiple of 7, I just count to 7 over and over again until it looks good, then I add 12 more.)
2. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 4 ch stitches.
3. Ch 12 (this is the start of a branch).
4. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 4 ch stitches (branch fork side one).
5. Ch 4. SC in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 2 stitches (branch fork side two).
6. Sl St in the same ch stitch where you started this fork. SC in the next ch and in each ch back down the branch.
7. Sl St in the same ch stitch from the foundation ch where you started this branch.
8. SC in each of the next 14 ch stitches.
9. Repeat steps 3 through 8 all down the length of the starting chain. When you have fewer than 14 stitches left in the chain, just single crochet in each of them.
10. In the last Ch stitch, make a total of 3 SC stitches to turn your work around. You will now be working back up the starting chain on the opposite side.
11. SC in every stitch until you reach the Ch where you started a branch on the opposite side. Keep making SC for 7 more CH stitches.
12. Repeat steps 3 through 8. Keep on repeating steps 3 through 8 until you hit the end of this chain, again finishing with single crochet stitches at the end of the row.
13. Make two extra single crochets in the last chain on this side, then Sl St in the first SC you made. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Uses for this project:
- Use it as garland by itself. Hang it on your wall or wrap it around a wreath or a holiday tree.
- Use it as garland in combination with other things. I'm going to hang pumpkins and leaves (knitted and crocheted out of handspun) from mine. I'm probably going to make another one in gothy colors with bats and witches for Halloween and then maybe make a holiday looking one as well. It'd be fun to crochet it in green and add little red balls for holly berries, wouldn't it?
- Wear it as a scarf, as seen here:


- Dress as Medusa for Halloween and wrap it around your head like a wig.

I hope you enjoy the pattern! Feel free to use it as you like and make or sell as many vines as you want. Please just don't re-publish the pattern anywhere or sell it to other people. Thank you!

5 comments:

  1. i have an idea to make a knitted version of this to hang in kae's new Tinkerbell themed room. hmmmmmm shall i post the pattern in my blog when i finish it?

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  2. I thought it was a Christmas garland. Reindeer antlers. LOL

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  3. I thought it was a Christmas garland. Reindeer antlers. LOL

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  4. So many uses...so little time. Who woulda thought? A vine....
    Thanks for intriguing me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So many uses...so little time. Who woulda thought? A vine....
    Thanks for intriguing me!

    ReplyDelete