Friday, January 13, 2012

Keys to My Heart Flake

Keys to My Heart Flake
I have a passion for all things hearts, and another love for snowflakes. It was only a matter of time before I would think to combine two of my favorite things.This one has two different variations, depending on how you pin it when you starch the snowflake. So, here it is, as promised. The first of Three valentine themed free snowflake patterns. My crochet patterns are free to do with as you please with one exception: you may not sell my pattern.

Pattern Stitch Guide:

Long Treble (ltr): yo 6 times, draw up a loop in indicated st. (yo and draw through 2 loops on hook) 7   times.

4 double crochet together (4 dc tog): *yo, draw up a loop in bottom 2 loops of hdc, yo, draw through 2 loops on hook* (yo,draw up a loop in bottom of next dc, yo draw through 2 loops on hook) twice. repeat from * to * yo draw through all 5 loops on hook.

3 double crochet together (3 dc tog):  yo. draw up a loop in last 4dctog, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook, yo over and draw up a loop in next dc, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook. yo and draw up a loop in next 4dctog, yo and draw through all 4 loops on hook.

red flake                                                                                            purple flake
Size 20 DMC cebelia                                                          size 10 crochet thread
# 14 steel hook                                                                               #11 steel hook
use whatever you want.                                                                                        

  1. Make a magic ring. Ch 9 (counts as ltr and ch 3), (ltr in magic ring, ch 3) 10 more times. Join with sl st in 6th ch of beginning ch 9. Pull magic ring closed.
  2. * sl st into ch 3 sp, on wrong side of ch 3 sp hdc,dc,dc,hdc,sl st. (You may have to slide stitches around ch 3 sp w/ your fingers). Sl st in ltr (helps tack stiches to wrong side).* Repeat from * to * 5 times. Join w/ sl st in ltr.
  3. Ch 7 (counts as dc and chain 4), *4dctog (see pattern guide), dc in ltr (not in sl st on top), 4 dctog, ch 4, dc in next ltr, ch 4* repeat fm * to * 5 more times. Join w/ sl st to 3rd ch of beginning ch 7.
  4. Ch 14 (counts as dc and ch 10), * 3dctog (see pattern guide), ch 7, dc in dc, ch 7, * repeat from *to* 5 times. Join w/ sl st in 3rd ch of beginning ch 10.
  5. Ch 14 (counts as tr and ch 10), ltr ( yo 5 times, not 6 throughout round) in next 3dctog, *[ ch 7, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch. Ch 3, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch. Ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 2 sc in next ch of ch 5, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch. Ch 2, sl st in top of dc, sl st down back side of key (I did 7 sl st, but you should do whatever looks even to keep it from bunching). sl st in 2 remaining chs from ch 7, sl st in top of ltr]. Ch 10, tr in next dc, ch 10, ltr (yo 5 times) in next 3dctog.* Repeat from * to * 5 times. repeat from [ to ] once. Ch 10, sl st in 4th ch of beginning ch 14. End off and weave in ends.

When pinning out your snowflake to stiffen it, you may pin it a little different, if you prefer. Like Thus:


I couldn't decide which I liked more, so I'll let you decide. See the difference below:
It's not much, but it's there. Pin out your snowflake,as desired, to dense cork board or a cardboard box wrapped in tinfoil or plastic. After you have pinned out your flake, apply your stiffener with a paint brush or sponge. I prefer bottled starch over glue. It allows you to see the fine stitches and the beautiful luster of the pearl cotton threads that I love so much to use. Just add a little at a time and allow the thread to soak it up. You only need enough to wet the thread. This particular snowflake has a tendency for excess starch to sit on top (which dries crusty, icky!). If your snowflake turns out ugly, because of excessive starch, Just rinse out with warm water and repin. Restarch if necessary. Two light coats are far superior than one heavy starching. I often add another coat after the first dries.
I hope you enjoyed this free crochet snowflake pattern. Remember, I have 2 more heart flakes on the way, so if you liked this one, check back soon.

4 comments:

  1. I like the way the purple one was blocked - very heart-y. Have you seen Snowcatcher's blog? She posts snowflake patterns too.

    http://www.snowcatcher.net

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  2. Thanks, I was going for heart-y. I have seen her blog. I had several of her snowflakes hanging on my tree. I do plan on posting more than just snowflakes, however, even though they are my favorite.

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  3. What a beautiful snowflake! I especially love the one in purple. Great idea!

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  4. oh look how cute that is :)

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