Jacinta Flower Hot Water Bottle Cover

Our little house in the big woods is sweet as hell and I love her to bits but she is also old, drafty and uninsulated. Also, propane is expensive, so needless to say, we like to find alternative ways of staying warm. Cuddling, layers, and drinking tea only helps so much so we rely heavily on hot water bottles here. 

This year I have decided to make a unique water bottle cover for each member of the family. I'm starting with myself, not because I am selfish or anything but because I need to make a test one.

This isn't really a tutorial, it's more of a brief description of what I did. 

I started with these beautiful brown Jacinta Flowers

Then I made them into squares.

I used Knit Picks palette yarn which is a fingering weight 100% wool with a B hook.

Here is where you will need to test your squares on the hot water bottle you are using. I have many and they are slightly different sizes. 

Once all your squares are made you can start attaching them. I used a classic join, the single crochet in the back loop only. Simple and neat.

I then crocheted a hdc border around each side, making it big enough to cover the entire hot water bottle. 

I ended up having to make an uneven border to get it to fit, but I'm perfecting it. Crafting is a process.

Then you can join each side. Again, I used the back loop only single crochet.

I left a gap on the bottom to accommodate little hang thingie on the bottom of some hot water bottles.

I continued to crochet the top and ended with a scalloped edge.

I finished off by attaching a cord and a couple of pom poms.  

I'm ready for the cold weather.

Jacinta Flower Square Motif

A crochet flower is nice but a crochet flower that you can make into a square motif is even better. 

This is a detailed tutorial. Click here for a PDF of the pattern itself.

First you start with a Jacinta Flower.

Round 1

Insert your needle into the space between two petals.

Attach yarn.

Chain 3,

Skip first ch-3 space, sc in next ch-3 space, (This is the ch-3 space in the center of the petal)

Chain 3,

Skip ch-3 space, sc in space between petals,

Continue to chain 3, sc in center ch-3 space, chain 3, sc in space between petals . . . 

all the way . . .

around.

Round 2

Chain 3,

*3 hdc in ch-3 space,

hdc in next sc,

Work (1hdc and 2dc) in next ch-3 space,

Work (tr, ch 2, tr) in next stitch. This is the corner of your square!

Work (2dc, 1hdc) in next ch-3 space,

hdc in next stitch,

3 hdc in next ch-3 space.

hdc in next stitch.

Continue from * around the entire flower

 End with a slip stitch in the first stitch.

Round 3:

Ch 3,

Dc next 8 stitches,

Work (dc, ch2, dc) into next ch-2 space to make corner,

continue to work a dc into each stitch around and . . .

a (dc, ch 2, dc) into each corner.

All the way around

Ending with a slip stitch in the first st.

Finish off

Then you repeat this process over and over again.

I tried it with various colored borders. The brown and white are my favorites but I like them all. They each have their own personality. 

I also made some monochromic ones. I love these!!!!

Then I used them to make a special little blanket and pillow set for Trixie's babies. 

Day 147: Why is Everyone Making Round Ripple Afghans?

It is not often that I make an afghan, and then turn around and make the same one again, but that is what happened when I came across this beautiful and well written pattern for the Round Ripple Baby Blanket. 

The round ripple afghan has been around for a long time and a google search turns up many patterns and color variations. It remains so popular because it works up quickly and lends itself to customization in terms of color pattern, stripe width and finished size. And it is easy, if you can work in the round and do a double crochet (dc) and a chain (c), you can make this blanket. It’s also unique - a move away from the typical square or rectangle afghan.

One of my favorite round ripple artists (I think you can call her that) is the woman behind the facebook page Spin A Yarn 32 . She gets her inspiration from flowers and landscapes and this translates into some of the most vibrant and compelling color stories I have seen. It is so simple, but so genius.

The first one I made was a traditional rainbow made with DK weight yarn.

I didn’t love this one. I don’t know, she just wasn’t working for me. I need to be in love with a project, so for now she has been abandoned, too small for a blanket and too big and thick to be anything else. Maybe one day I’ll return to her or maybe I’ll use her yarn bomb something, either way, little rainbow ripples use has yet to be determined.

The next round ripple I made was for my niece, Kaya. 

You see, during my bout with swine flu, I spent many hours lamenting the fact that I had not made enough afghans, doilies, and crochet gifts of all sorts for the people I love. I want them to have things to treasure when I am gone.  As soon as I recovered I decided to make afghans for my kids and all my nieces and nephews. I started with my sister's daughter.

For Kaya’s blanket I used some of my favorite sock yarns from project drudgery. I liked the idea that she would be wrapped in the same yarn as her cousins.  It seemed appropriate. Their shared biology made manifest in snuggly, bright yarn.

I love the way it came out and I think Kaya loves it as well. Although, I must admit that the photographs do not do it justice at all. I still need to work on my photography skills, but that is a story for another day.

The next one I made is for my newest niece, who is set to make her arrival this summer. This one makes me happy!  

I can't wait to see pictures of my newest niece wrapped up in it.

Now time to send it off 

I don’t have another one planned right now but I continue to inspired by the beautiful work people are doing with the round ripple - check out this Pintrest board to get your creative juices flowing.