Her Persian Tiles blanket and Mystical Lanterns Blanket patterns are extremely well known and can be found in many Instagram posts by makers and creators all over the world.
Here you will find a selection of her beautiful Scarf, Shawl and Wrap Patterns. Each pattern comes in a printed booklet form and written in UK crochet terms (there is a UK - US conversion chart in some booklets).
I love looking at how shapes fit together and have wanted to create a tessellating circle design for some time. Circular motifs can be tricky to fit together and it is common to find the circular shape becomes slightly distorted when motifs are pieced together, so rather than create motifs that are square or octagonal, I have designed cross-shaped infill pieces that protect the shape of the large circles.
When making the small infill circles you are asked to make a magic loop to start. You can find a technique download that explains how to do this by following this link. Instructions on how to add surface crochet can be found by following this link.
The pattern includes a clear layout plan and a chart is also included for reference when joining the small circles.
Summer Palace:
This blanket design was initially inspired by an image of a printed cushion cover I found in a magazine, but having visited the Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace near Mysore in India earlier this year I was inspired to look at the design again and link it into my Mysore Collection. I feel that the design reflects the wonderful carved and painted wooden pillars and painted friezes found within the building, but the Original version also retains it's slightly Scandinavian looking, design which I originally felt echoed traditional fairisle design and would be the perfect cosy feeling winter blanket.
Delft:
I have always been a lover of blue and cream pottery. When I was a child we would often visit my elderly Auntie for afternoon tea and so were used to seeing the ‘Willow Pattern’ on sandwich plates and teacups. The Willow Pattern featured an elaborate chinoiserie pattern that was popular towards the end of the 18th Century. Despite having an oriental style of design, pottery featuring the Willow Pattern originally came from Stoke On Trent in the UK, but a lot of pottery featuring the design also came from China via the East India Company.
Delftware from The Netherlands, which also features cream and blue designs, was in existence far earlier than it’s Stoke On Trent counterpart. Delftware often features flowers and birds and is famous for it’s quality and intricate designs. I am so pleased with the outcome of this design and I love the way the octagon motifs create the idea of tessellating decorated plates.
Mexican Diamonds:
I really love traditional Mexican textiles and often look at woven fabrics, embroidery and crewel work for design inspiration.
This design was also inspired by the repeated, jagged edged, diamonds found on woven rugs.
I have created a flower motif to sit at the centre of this design to echo floral embroidery; I think the use of surface crochet slip stitches around the outside of the leaves enhances the idea of hand stitching. I am particularly pleased with the flowers that sit on the edge of the blanket as they create a really unusual border.
Fields of Gold:
I love botanical drawings and recently purchased a fabulous book from Kew Gardens with the most wonderful illustrations. There is a page within the book that features sunflowers, hellebores and opium poppy seed heads and it made me think of the fields of sunflowers we walked through on a lovely French holiday a few years ago.
I have always loved sunflowers with all of their connotations to heat and sunshine and Vincent Van Gogh, whose series of sunflower still life studies are infamous, saw these stunning flowers as a symbol of friendship and gratitude, so using them as the inspiration for a new design was inevitable, and as wild poppies are commonplace in fields of sunflowers, it was logical that this design should feature them too.
The ‘join as you go’ method for joining crochet is a commonly used technique.
Imogen:
Inspired by traditional Victorian Crochet designs, I am proud to announce the addition of the Imogen Crochet Blanket to the collection here on Janie Crow. The project echoes the design theme of my incredibly popular 2012 Crochet Club project and features exclusive motifs.
The completed project measures approximately 1 metre square and is aimed at crocheters with a reasonable knowledge of crochet techniques and the pattern includes lots of images and tips to help you along the way.
Jewelled Star:
I am delighted that Jo Smith from The Spanner Works agreed to design this beautiful blanket for Janie Crow. Jo is a talented and prolific designer with a fantastic eye for colour. Jo's opulent colour choice means that this blanket is something extra special!
Indian Roses:
My Indian Roses Blanket design was inspired by a trip to Mysore, India where I came across some
lovely vintage ceramic tiles that featured pretty roses at the centre. the original design was worked using woollen yarns from the West Yorkshire Spinners range, but you can use any DK weight yarn so long at it crochets to the same tension and is equal in length.
Willow Blossom Cot Blanket:
This pattern was first released a few years ago as a scarf design called Japanese Blossom. The colour palette has since been updated to fit in with the Delft blanket, so it is written for Blue and Cream shades in a DK weight yarn. I think it is a great stash busting project as it is brilliant for using up little bits of left overs!
The Blue House:
The colours for this project were inspired by the décor of Frida & Diego’s fabulous kitchen within their home in Mexico City ‘The Blue House’, which is now a museum. The kitchen surfaces feature bright yellow and blue ceramic tiles and the painted table and chairs that sit at the centre of the room have green and red hand painted details. The large terracotta bowls and cooking pots that are placed around the room are decorated with flashes of orange and pink - all colours that feature in the palette I have chosen for this project.
I adore the fun ‘fiesta’ feeling of this blanket and am really pleased with the outcome of it, but I also love seeing how motifs can be used to make alternative projects, so I asked ace crocheters Marina Kelly, Gemma Biggs and Sue Macdonald if they would like to come up with a couple of ideas for how to use the motifs in another project. Within this pattern we have included some images of the fabulous cushion project made by Marina and the vibrant handy bag project made by Gemma as well as the fun, stash busting mandala that Sue created. I love seeing my designs ‘out in the wild’ and I think the way Marina, Gemma and Sue have interpreted the pattern is fantastic.
Please make your choice by clicking on the name of the product not the picture!
