Crochet Stars!

Seeing (Crocheted) Stars!

You are a star! And now your projects can light up like them too, with these quick, fun and beautiful crocheted stars. They are so fun to make, you will want to put them everywhere! They are great for greeting cards, wall hangings, pallet art, and so much more! Add sparkle to your stars by using glittery or sequined yarn.

I’ve written the instructions for multiple sizes, so you can add stars to any project. No yarn size or hook size is listed as you should use the yarn and hook size that most fits the size project you are making. For the smallest stars, I recommend using crochet thread and size 2 hooks. Otherwise, I use size 3 or 4 yarn with a C-E hook. Medium stars are great for size 4 yarn with size F-J hooks. The large star looks great in size 4-6 yarn using hooks sized G and up. The size of yarn and hook really will depend on the project you are making.

These are 5 pointed stars, though you can make more points if desired. Because the stars are individual points, (as opposed to connected points), the points tend to curl. Pin and spray starch them to lay flat, unless you are sewing, gluing or stapling them to a project!

The large star uses a special linked stitch so there is not a big gap between the center circle and the bottom of the point. Linking the point is not necessary. I only linked it on projects where I didn’t want what appeared to be a hole.

Special Abbreviation

Linked double treble crochet (Ldtrc): YO 3 times, insert hook in stitch indicated, YO and pull through, YO and pull through 2 loops on hook, skip a stitch on Rnd 2, insert hook in next st of Rnd 2, YO and pull through and pull through 2 loops on hook, YO and pull through 2 loops on hook, YO and pull through 2 loops on hook.

SMALL STAR

Ch 2 or use magic circle/magic ring
Rnd 1: Work 10 sc in second ch from hook or in magic ring. Join with a sl st. (10)
Rnd 2: Make 5 points as follows: *Ch 4, work in back bump of ch sts, sc in second ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, skip a st on Rnd 1, sl st in next st* (on point made), repeat 4 more times. Fasten off. Cut yarn leaving a tail if sewing on a project.

 

MEDIUM STAR

Ch 2 or use magic circle/magic ring
Rnd 1: Work 7 sc in second ch from hook or in magic ring. Join with a sl st. (7)
Rnd 2: Work 3 sc in first st, work 2 sc in each st around. (15)
Rnd 3: Make 5 points as follows: *Ch 5, work in the back bump of the ch sts, sc in second ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, trc in next ch, skip two sts on Rnd 2, sl st in next st* (one point made), repeat four more times. Fasten off. Cut yarn leaving a tail if sewing on a project.

 

LARGE STAR

Ch 4, join with a sl st.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, 10 dc in ring. Join with a sl st. (10)
Rnd 2: Ch 1, 2 dc in each st around. Join with a sl st. (20)
Rnd 3: Make 5 points as follows: *Ch 7, work in the back bump of the ch sts, sl st in second ch from hook, sc in next, hdc in next, dc in next, trc in next, ldtrc in last st, skip a st on Rnd 2, sl st* (one point made), repeat four more times. Fasten off. Cut yarn leaving a tail if sewing it on a project.

2016 Crochetville Blog Tour Coming Soon

The 2016 Crochetville Blog Tour is Coming Soon

Crochet_Express_General_Ticket_2a_FB

Hey, crocheters! Did you hear? Yarnovations is part of this year’s #natcromo Crochet Express blog tour at Crochetville. The blog tour coincides with National Crochet Month…and runs the entire month of March.

Yarnovations sneak peekWe will continue our Dishie+ Series with a free pattern for dishcloth and placemat which will premier during the #natcromo CrochetExpress blog tour.  A special thanks to Universal Yarn for sponsoring the Dishie+ series.

93 designers to be featured in @Crochetville’s #natcromo Crochet Express blog tour. And there will be daily giveaways!

Follow @Crochetville’s #natcromo Crochet Express blog tour to learn more about 1) Crochet Designers 2) LYS 3) Yarn companies

All aboard: http://crochetville.com/all-aboard-the-crochet-express-blog-tour/

Top 6 Favorite Things about the CGOA Knit and Crochet Show 2013

My sister and I attended the Knit and Crochet Show in Charlotte, NC last week which is sponsored and/or organized by the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA). Wow, what an experience. This was our first time attending such an event. Here were 6 of our favorite things about the show:

1: Design Competition

The CGOA has an annual design competition that is open to all of its members. And since friendly competition inspires us, we couldn’t resist entering 4 crocheted items.

deborah's entries

Congrats to Deborah for taking 3rd place in the Artistic Expressions category with her owl bean bag chair. And for receiving honorable mention in both the afghans category (granny square blanket) and artistic expressions category (lamp and faun outfit).

twins-with-doris-chan

The photo’s not great, but Doris is!

The event was organized/directed by Doris Chan. We tip our hats to her for making it a seamless and enjoyable event to participate in. Organizing 100 entries is a big task. And we are beyond thankful for her efforts.

Photos of all the entries and the winners can be seen at dorischancrochet.com.

2. The CGOA Dinner & Fashion Show

We were particularly moved by Rita Weiss’s acceptance speech as the newest inductee into the Jean Leinhauser Crochet Hall of Fame. She is truly a gifted writer and hearing about her advocacy of crochet was inspiring.

Margaret and Rita

Rita Weiss (right) with Margaret Hubert

One humorous highlight in Rita’s speech was hearing her describe the different between crochet and knitting to a former boss as being a matter of working with one pencil vs. two. I’ve never heard it described quite like that. Her speech inspired us to want to pick up a pencil and crochet (or at least, write down a pattern or two).

The Dinner ended with a beautiful fashion show of crocheted (and knitted) pieces created by CGOA members. The diversity was splendid and included elegant wraps, intimate apparel and cozy afghans.

A special thank you to Marcy Smith for MCing the event and making us chuckle a time or two with her creative interpretation of the hand written descriptions of the fashions.

3. The Friendships and Comradery

Being a shy pair, the friendliness and encouragement everyone showed toward each other came as a bit of a surprise. And a pleasant one! It’s exactly what we’ve been needing and longing for…to be among people who understand and love being crochet designers.

The support and encouragement that CGOA members share with each other is, in a word, heartwarming. I arrived underestimating its value, but left understanding how priceless it is.

We met several well known designers and lots of lesser known ones.

Lilly Chin called us out in one meeting for not wearing a crocheted items at the event…but she was mistaken because we sported our “Twin 1” and “Twin 2” bags (inspired by The Cat in the Hat) with us everywhere we went. We love the spunk that this Queen of self promotion has.

twiins-with-mickey

Love that hat, Mikey!

Mikey from The Crochet Crowd was a lot of fun to chat with. The King of video impressed us with his business savvy. If he’s ever speaking at a crochet show…I definitely want to attend!

Twins-with-Margaret-Hubert

Forgive the crazy eyes! Dana apparently needs more sleep!

We stopped Margaret Hubert in the hall to rave about her sweaters…not realizing that we were talking to the Goddesss of free form. Her work is breathtaking and she is super sweet.

4. A Buddy for Newbies

Being newbies, we requested to have a buddy at the show, someone who could answer questions and show us the ropes. We thoroughly enjoyed our buddy group. We enjoyed lots of laughs and many pleasant conversations about crochet. We love these ladies and look forward to meeting up with them at future shows! Thanks, Nirmal, for taking care of us. It was great hanging out with you Barabara.

show-buddies

Awesome buddy group: Barabara, Nirmal and us.

A big hug goes to Kate Steinke for coordinating the buddy groups. She is a ball of energy full of laughs and encouragement. Such a doll.

5. Knowledgable Instructors

We took a few classes while at the event. The instructors blew us away with their knowledge of their craft. The samples they brought that showcased the techniques we learned was impressive.

dana-with-jennifer-hansen

Jennifer’s designs are definitely beyond the basics!

A big thank you to Jennifer Hansen (Craftsy Instructor I’ve blogged about in the past), Vashti Braha, Karen Klemp and Dora Ohrenstein for sharing your passion with us!

6. Editor Meet and Greet

It was a treat to meet and chat with several magazine and book editors. We shared some of designs and learned a bit more about their submission process. We so appreciated that they took the time to attend the show to meet us newbies! Thank you Leisure Arts, Red Heart, Crochet! and Interweave Crochet!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

A special thank you to all the sponsors of the show. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting several people from Lion Brand, Red Heart, Annie’s and Crochetville, as well as the goodies we got from several other companies.

I’m not quite sure who to thank for all the behind the scenes work. There were a myriad of volunteers who helped create a smooth and delightful experience. Thank you all for everything you did.