Recently, I visited my Dad in the hospital for several days in a row and needed easy, mindless crochet while keeping him company and this is what resulted.
I’m calling it Improv Crochet because I “improvised” on every color change. I went with whatever looked good or interesting on each row. I didn’t count, I didn’t pay attention, I just crocheted and it was so relaxing and fun!
If you’d like a video tutorial instead of reading for the pattern details I’ll get to in a minute, watch below:
When I posted a picture of my work in progress to my Daisy Farm Instagram account, so many commented that it looked like Camoflauge print to them.
And can you imagine if you did change the colors to green and brown how adorable that would be for a baby boy? Then I started thinking this could be black and white for zebra stripes or, orange and black for tiger stripes.
Or, what about cream and grey and make it more marbled looking? I think the possibilities are endless and I’m excited to make another.
Materials
Bernat Baby Velvet (100% polyester, 300 g/10.5 oz, 450 m/492 yds)
1 skein Misty Gray, 1 skein Ever After Pink
Size H/5.00mm hook (or smaller if you crochet loose, velvet is slippery and crocheting a little tighter helps with keeping the yarn being carried from showing through or looping out.)
Scissors, tapestry needle
Size
Finished size 32 in x 32 in
Stitches
Half Double Crochet (HDC): YO, insert your hook, YO and pull up a loop, YO and pull through three loops on hook.
Wide Half Double Crochet (WHDC): YO, insert your hook between stitch posts, YO and pull up a loop, YO and pull through three loops on hook.
Double Crochet (DC): YO, insert your hook, YO and pull up a loop, YO and pull through two loops, YO and pull through remaining two loops.
Front and Back Post Double Crochet (FPDC & BPDC): A front post DC means you insert your hook from front to back around the post of the next DC and work your DC. A back post DC means you insert your hook around the post from the back to the front and work a DC.
Pattern
Chain 100 with Misty Gray.
Row 1: Starting in the third chain from the hook, work 1 HDC in each chain. Chain 2 and turn.
Rows 2 – 98: Work 1 WHDC in each space across the row, ending your last HDC between the last post and turning chain. Introduce the pink yarn, whenever you’d like by pulling through on the last step of any stitch. Crochet over the yarn not in use, pull it snuggly along and before you change colors give it another tug to make sure it is laying flat against the row.
Work your color changes as you wish. Be sure to keep one color to the front of your work and one to the back to avoid twisting the yarn. (See video if you need a demonstration of this.)
Border
Weave in all ends before beginning. Pull up a loop in the corner of the last stitch you made as if you had turned your work. Chain 2. Work DC into each space to the left of the posts as you have been doing. Work DC in between each post across the row, work 3 DC into each corner space. Work 1 DC per row as you work across the sides.
Do not join the rounds or turn. In the starting corner, finish the round with 3 DC into that corner, then around the next DC (skip the chain 2) work a FPDC (front post double crochet) then a BPDC around the next DC. Continue alternating FP and BP double crochet. When you arrive at the first corner, around the middle post of the 3 DC, work 3 alternating FP or BP, (whichever way you had landed, it could be BP, FP) around the center post.
Then continue on alternating as before. Do not join the round, just continue for 2 more rounds. Join on the final round with a slip stitch to the first DC and weave in the ends.
Finished! No blocking necessary. Velvet is just wonderful like that.
Come and share your project so we all can see! Use #daisyfarmimprovcrochet or #daisyfarmcrafts. I think it will be so fun to see what others are making! And what colors they chose. Thank you all for stopping by and happy crocheting!
xo, Tiffany
p.s. I snuck a heart in there…can you see it?
Click here or on image below for printable pattern
