Crochet World Magazine – June 2018
I have received a sample copy of this magazine from “Annies”. I am not financially compensated for my blog post and am under no obligation to give a favorable review. Any conclusions and statements about the magazine are my own. If you do choose to purchase the magazine, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you), and you are helping support Goddess Crochet, allowing me to create more free patterns for you. It’s a win-win!
The school year just came to a close, so I had been pondering what to make my daughter’s teacher for a gift. Problem was solved when I saw the “Totally Tubular Coasters” in this month’s “Crochet World” magazine. My daughter’s teacher is crazy about flamingoes, so I was super excited to get started right away on this. At first I used the suggested hook size, and after finishing the tube part of the coaster it became very clear to me that this coaster was going to be WAY too small. My gauge was spot on, but there was just no way a regular cup would fit in this coaster. SO, I went up to a size G hook (instead of D), and added 15 rows more than what the pattern called for. For reference, this fit a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee cup perfectly. Then I increased for one more row when doing the bottom piece to compensate. No other alterations were made after that, although I did change the color. The pattern called for Caron Simply Soft in fushia, but that looked more purple than pink, and I’ve never seen a purple flamingo…so I went with the colorway “Watermelon”, in Caron Simply Soft. Starting an amigurumi piece can be tricky, so be patient with yourself, you may have to start over several times to get it right. It’s worth it in the end – isn’t he so adorable!
There’s also an equally cute duck coaster pattern to match. That one I haven’t made yet, but has been requested by my daughter, of course. She’s got quite a list running though, so we’ll see.
Next I went to work on the “Tapestry Baskets”, the featured pattern on the cover of the magazine. I’m happy to crochet anything that will help keep me organized! If you are new to tapestry crochet, this is a great first project. Just remember to lift your project up to let your strands untwist every so often so you don’t end up with a knot of epic proportions! Although I had every intention of doing the exact same colors as called for in the pattern, when I got to the store another color of yarn called to me. The “Fruity Stripe” is just so bright and vibrant, I couldn’t resist! The dark purple yarn is “Dark Orchid” – both colors are Red Heart Super Saver. With one solid and one self striping yarn the color effect is really stunning, and the opportunity for playing with different colors is exciting. I can’t wait to see my fellow crocheters posting thier photos on Ravelry!
The large basket took me (very roughly) 4-5 hours. There’s some time untangling yarn involved, and of course the weaving in of tails. The medium and small baskets took about 4 and 3 hours, respectively. I made a very small change to the pattern and added an extra row of single crochet to the tops.
One word of note if you plan on crocheting these baskets. Pay very close attention to the round to make the handles – it’s a little tricky and it almost got me! Almost.
Now the fun part, figuring out where I’d like to keep the baskets, and what to put in them. Something tells me they’re going to get filled with yarn.
I had a lot of fun making these projects from the June 2018 issue of Crochet World, and there’s a few more patterns I still want to try. You can pick up your copy in print at your local craft store, and it’s also available online as an instant download PDF. That means you could be making any of these projects today! Have fun and happy hooking!
