alphabetghan complete

It's done! The alphabet afghan is complete so here is the post with all the info in one place. 

Finished afghan measures 37" x 50". 

Firstly, the alphabet letters are my own design but they are just block letters. The X gave me fits. It just refused to look right. Hopefully, the end result is passable.

I worked with DIYarn by Lion Brand in colors Peach, Teal, Sky, Pumpkin, and Aqua. Each little Lion Brand DIYarn skein is 1.05 oz (30g) and 65 yards (60m). It is #4 worsted weight and made in Turkey.

I used an I hook for the body of the squares and an H for a single crochet edging around each square. I also used an H for the edging around the entire afghan.

Each square took a bit more than half a skein. I started a new skein for most of the letters to go easy on the tails left to sew in. I sewed my tails as I went along. The picture on the left shows how much I got out of the leftover from a pumpkin skein. I was able to make another full letter and partway around on the edging. (How much is left would depend on what letter you're making as they don't all use the same amount of yarn. Some have more holes and some less.)

You might remember I left a long tail on each square, which ended up being useless as I put another round in beige. LOL I had to sew all those tails in. Not good planning. Without that extra length, perhaps the leftover would have made it all the way around the edging. I can't be sure.

Each square measure about 6" x 7".


Squares were ordered randomly - well, in no particular pattern. It was a "planned" random. :-)

I considered adding a plain square between each letter but decided against it. I estimated that doing that would make the afghan about 54" x 77". The intended recipient is very young so I thought a smaller one at this juncture would work better.

Each square was edged in Red Heart Super Saver Beige with a straight double crochet stitch, working 3 double crochets in corners. If I did it again, I might try five there.  I left a strand 3x the length of the square for assembly. I used a whipstitch assembly method. 

The border around the entire afghan is single crochet. I did use half double crochet at the joins because it seemed to dip there. I just eyeballed it to see where it needed a bit of extra height. I was thinking if I'd used 5dc at the corners that might have eliminated the dip but of course I can only be sure if I do it again. :-)  

I used one round of peach and one of pumpkin for the border. 

There are 6 squares of pumpkin, 6 of teal, 8 of peach, 6 of sky, and 4 of aqua for a total of 30 squares. (They are actually rectangles.) If you wanted to make an afghan using one color, you wouldn't actually need 30 ounces of color since I could get almost a second square out of each 1.05 ounce. That said, you also need to consider the edging around each square and around the entire afghan if you are going to use the same color for that.

I used an entire skein of the Red Heart Super Saver Beige (7 oz) for the edging around each square. If you want to use that same color around the entire afghan, you'd need two skeins.

I am thinking of making another one in red, white and blue and would get 10 ounces of each color. I'd need to decide on my edging color too.

I think that's all the info on the ghan. If I think of anything else, I'll add it here. 

I've turned back to the purple heart afghan I began some time ago and am now edging that in green which matches the variegated yarn.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

alphabetghan and dresses

My daughter kindly sewed the buttons on the little dresses I made. They will be going out to family who have had little ones. Latest baby wa born a month early and is in NICU so if anyone would like to send up prayers for her I know it would be appreciated. Here are pics, showing front and back of dresses.

The alphabetghan is coming along nicely. I decided after all to edge each square so all those long tails I left for assembly had to be woven in. LOL Such poor planning. That is all done and most of the squares are edged. I think I have four left. Then I will put them together.

I am using Red Heart Super Saver Beige for the edging and assembly. Yes, I'm leaving a long strand of beige. LOL I will need only the one skein for this. However, I don't know if there will be enough left to edge all around. I'll decide that when I get to that point. It's an adventure, right?

I used 30 skeins of the DIYarn but if I'd used the leftovers instead of starting a new skein, I could have used less. I have a bunch of leftovers. Each leftover is almost half a skein. It won't allow for another complete square but it's just that close to enough. So I'm thinking if you were using one color, for example, you might need maybe 20 ounces rather than 30 for the squares. I can't be sure of the exact amount. Each skein is 65 yards and I imagine it took about 35 yards for each square. That's a guess. that includes the square and a single crochet edging around. If you don't do the edging in the same color as the square, then you could probably get two squares out of one skein. Of course if you use larger skeins, you'd get more.

Just to reiterate from last post as a reminder, the colors I used are Lion Brand DIYarn Pumpkin, Sky, Aqua, Teal and Peach. There were a few other colors in the bin at Walmart - a darker blue, a red and a brown come to mind. If you think you want this yarn, try to find a Walmart having a sale as it's half the price as on the Lion Brand web site.

I hope to finish the edging today and start assembly.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

alphabetghan

I have finished making all the alphabet squares for my ghan and I only had to remake two. LOL Both because I used the wrong color - even though I had a chart and had written down all the colors. LOL

Here is a picture of the squares laid out in alphabet order but I didn't fix them all nice and neat. You'll get that in the finished ghan pic. :-)

I hope I randomized them enough. I had more peach so I put in the most squares of that color. Looking at it laid out, I probably could have used more of the aqua but overall I think it is okay.

The squares are 6" wide by 7" long. I left a tail 3x the length of the square for assembly. That is, unless I decide to edge each one in a neutral color. Still thinking on that. 

I am considering making a neutral square to go in between each colored one. That would make it about 54" wide by 77" long plus edging. A full size mattress is 54" x 75". A twin mattress is 39" x 75". If used on a twin bed, it would allow a bit of drape over the sides. That would be my preference as bodies are not flat. :-)

Each little Lion Brand DIYarn skein is 1.05 oz (30g) and 65 yards (60m). It is #4 worsted weight and made in Turkey. The colors I used are Pumpkin, Sky, Aqua, Teal and Peach. I got them for 50 cents a skein at Walmart. I see they are 99 cents at Lion Brand. Hmmm I might have to go get some more! LOL

Each skein made a full letter plus almost another one. Here is how far I got on a second letter using the leftover after making a full square. I made the complete letter plus began the single crochet edging.

I'm using a 3dc mesh filet pattern. I rarely use the 4dc mesh because I don't care for really big holes. I guess that's almost counter productive since the holes show the pattern. heh I'm weird.


I had never used this yarn before but was pleased with how it was to work with. I only had to cut one knot out on one skein. The yarn is medium soft. Not as  rough as Red Heart I think. We'll see how it washes up.

That's the update. More as I have it.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie