Summer wreath : Lesson 3

This time is last part for making the summer wreath. I'm going to decorate the base in this lesson with some crocheted items that I made.
First, I'm going to show you my decoration items.

I prepared two kinds of crochet trim ribbons, two different size of doilies, a button, a couple of crocheted birds and two thin dried branches. If you would like to make these birds, you can get the pattern here. You may use anything you want as a decoration.
I forget to tell you how to attach the sunflowers on the base in the lesson 2. I used glue for that, because it's easy, and I'm not going to sell the wreath. If I make the wreath for selling in my shop, I will sew all decorations onto the base. Sewing is sturdier than gluing.

First, I'm going to attach a larger doily to the base like this.

Next, I'm going to attach a smaller doily with the button.

Next, I'm going to attach two kinds of trim ribbons.

 

Next, I'm going to attach two dried branches as a perch for the two birds. By the way, these branches are of Japanese basil that I grew last summer.  The plant completely dried up last fall, so I cut it into lengths about 10 inches long, and saved them as craft material. I love to use materials from the nature.

At the end, place two birds on the branches, then hang the wreath from the front door!!
Here is my summer wreath. ❤

Thank you for joining my lessons until the end. If you make your wreath, please let me know. I'd like to introduce your wreath on my online shop's Facebook page!
I'm already thinking of next lesson. I will make a bolero. I know that a lot of Etsy sellers are selling their wonderful boleros. Those boleros look difficult to make, but I guess the pattern is easier than people think. After I create my original pattern, I'll start my "how to make a bolero" lesson. :)

Summer wreath : Lesson 2

Hi everyone! I'm going to teach you how to make sunflower for the wreath in today's lesson.
Here is the sunflower. ↓↓↓

I'll attach two sunflowers to the wreath.
First, let's learn crochet abbreviations! It's important to read directions. 

• ch ---------- chain
• st/sts ------- stitch/stiches
• sl st -------- slip stitch
• sk ---------- skip
• sp ---------- space
• rep --------- repeat
• beg -------- beginning
• blp -------- back loop
• flp --------- front loop
• sc --------- single crochet
• dc -------- double crochet

 
I started learning crochet since I moved to the U.S from Japan, so I learned crochet with American directions. Learning abbreviations was not hard, but I still have a hard time to understand directions exactly. By the way, I'm not confident to teach crochet in Japanese, because I don't know Japanese names of each stitches.
Most directions use common abbreviations, but describing hook movements is a little different in each book. I'd like to talk about such descriptions in this blog sometime.

All right, I'll write a direction for the sunflower from here with pictures. 

[How to make sunflower]

Use brown colored yarn.
Rnd 1: Ch 3 (count as 1 dc), 1dc 11 times in the third ch from the hook, join with a sl st in top of beg-ch-3, turn. 12 dc made

Rnd 2: Ch 3 (count as 1 dc), 1dc in first dc (which is ch 3 is standing in), 2dc in each dc around, join with a sl st in top of beg-ch-3, fasten off. 24 dc made

Petals
Attach yellow colored yarn with sl st at any 1 dc of rnd 2.

Rnd 1: *Ch 10, sk 3 ch sts, sl st in next 7ch sts on reverse of the ch, sl st in next dc of rnd 2, rep from *around, join with a sl st in first ch.

Rnd 2: *sc in next 7 sts (blp only), [sc, ch 3] in the corner sp, sc in next 7 sts (blp only), rep from * around, join with sl st in first sc.

1 petal is made.

Now, I've made two sunflowers! I'm going to use the flowers like this.

Next lesson will be last lesson for the wreath. I'll complete the wreath decorations, and you'll see my completed summer wreath!
See you next time.♪

If you have any questions for this lesson, please feel free to leave comment. I'm happy to answer you. :)

Summer wreath : Lesson 1

Hi there, I start posting how to make my summer wreath. First, let me introduce an Etsy shop. She is selling beautiful wreaths using yarn!
knock.knocking

It's a pretty wreath, isn't it? I'm going to make my summer wreath like hers.

[PREPARATION]

I used these yarn, fleece and a 12" round Styrofoam shape. These yarn are mostly left over from my other projects. :)
I used the fleece to make the Styrofoam shape thicker
Green, white and cream colored yarn are used for the wreath's base color. (Cotton yarn)
Yellow and brown colored yarn is for a sunflower as decoration.
＊I'll add other items to decorate the wreath later.

[HOW TO MAKE] 

★Cut enough fleece to make five yards about 2" wide.

 ★Surround the Styrofoam with fleece to make the shape thicker.
 

   

   

 ★Coil yarn around the wreath.
     Work on one side to make sure the yarn is wound close together so the fleece doesn't show through.
    

★Use glue to fasten the yarn on the back of the wreath.

 

★Add white and cream colored yarn. Fasten to the back with glue.

 

Now the base of the wreath is completed! In the next lesson, I'll post how to make a sunflower. In the last lesson, I'll decorate the base with the sunflower and other items that I'll make!

See you next time. :)

Renewal & How to make summer wreath

Hello everyone!

I've renewed my Etsy shop. My items are mostly made with mercerized cotton crochet thread. You will see my new crochet world! 

I have been thinking what projects should I post in my blog since I changed items in my shop. I still like to crochet with yarn like I used to post in the blog. I guess that my followers would like to know new designs and how to make them. I also guess that you all love to create something original,  so I want to post more detailed articles. If you have any requests that you want me to make, just let me know! Working together with you would be educational. 

Basically, I don't talk about my shop items in the blog.

I found a wonderful shop on Etsy recently. She is selling beautiful crochet wreaths.  I found a free pattern that resembles her wreaths at a local hobby shop recently, but I have not tried it yet. I've posted my three crochet wreathes in the blog, but I don't have summer wreath yet.

In my next few articles, I'm going to post how to make summer wreath. Let's make our something original together!