ongbird by Fiona Kelly
15cm Crocheted & Embroidered Blanket Square
Materials
1 x 4mm $(\mathsf{U S A}\,\mathsf{^q})$ crochet hook & 1 x embroidery needle $1\times509$ Debbie Bliss cotton DK in shades Ecru / Cream shade 02 (or similar) A small amount of soft brown cotton DK for the bird itself An oddment of orange cotton DK for the beak A small amount of green cotton DK for the musical notes Size 15cms square
Tension
15.33 stitches and 17.33 rows to 10cms/4 inches over double crochet fabric (uk dc)
Abbreviations
This pattern is written using British crochet abbreviations. ${1\;\mathsf{D C}}{=}\;{1\times1}$ JK double crochet/USA Single crochet (SC) $1\mathsf{H T R}=1\,\mathsf{x}$ UK Half treble/USA half double crochet (HDC) $1\,{\mathsf{T R}}=1\,\mathsf{x}$ UK Treble/USA double crochet (DC) $1\;{\mathsf{D T R}}{=}\;1\;\mathsf{x}$ UK double treble/USA triple crochet (TRC) Have fun & if you have any queries just let me know :)
The cream base square
Foundation row 24ch, 1dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc to end, turn. (23sts) Rows 1 - 24 1ch, dc to end, turn. (23 sts) Row 25 1ch, dc to end, fasten off (23sts) ROUND 5 1dc, (3dc, 2dc in next st) x 5, 2dc, msm, 28sts. ROUND 6 1dc, (4dc, 2dc in next st) x 5, 3dc, msm, 33sts. ROUND 7 1dc, (2dc in next st, 5dc)×2, 2dc in next st, 4dc, 2dc in next st, (5dc,2dc in next st)×2, 2dc, msm, 39sts. NB.If your finished square is not 15cm square you can adjust the size by using either a hook size up or down depending on whether your square is too small or large.
The songbird (make 1)
worked in rounds & then embroidered
Foundation ring Using your soft brown cotton DK make a magic adjustable ring, 6dc into ring, pull tail of ring tight, do not turn, place stitch marker if wanted. (6sts) 1st round 2dc in each of the 6 dc's of previous round, move stitch marker, do not turn. (12sts) Final round [1dc,3tr,1dc] into 1st stitch of this round, 4dc, [1dc,4ch,5dtr,4ch,1dc] into next stitch, 9dc, [1dc,3htr,1dc] into next stitch, 1dc, slip stitch across next 4dc's, then to form a wing shape. slipstitch into the previous rounds dc's with another 7 or so slip stitches curving firstly downwards and then back across to the right, finishing just below and to the right of your magic adjustable ring, pull last loop through to back of work, fasten off. Use a single strand of your brown DK & small stitches to stitch the lower/outer loops of your completed bird shape to the bottom left hand corner of the cream square. Then using a single strand of the brown DK embroider 2 birds legs in back stitch, start at the birds body... work few stitches downwards and then work the last stitch across horizontally to form a foot at the end of each leg. Using a single strand of cream work a french knot for the birds eye. Lastly using a single strand of bright orange DK work a tiny triangular shaped satin stitch area for the birds beak.
The musical notes (do as many as you like)
Using a single strand of green DK work each musical note one at a time. Start each musical note with a bullion stitch circle wrapping the yarn around the needle 12 times before pulling the needle through and pulling it tight. Finally work the vertical stem of each note with $_{2\times}$ chain stitches. Do as many musical notes around the square as you like!
Helpful video clips
You may find the following video clips that I found on youtube and wonderhowto.com useful in the making of my songbird square.. just copy and paste these addresses into your browser. Magic adjustable ring Embroidering back stitch Embroidering french knots Embroidering satin stitch Embroidering bullion stitches bud-out-of-bullion-knots-191588/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v $=$ WLuSVyKvoUg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v $:=$ bgX7HBOafsM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v $:=$ yti15nhV2HM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v $=$ IYyqsJh37Dg http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-embroider-a-rose I hope you enjoy making this square & feel free to visit my blog for sneak previews of my latest patterns. http://fionakelly.wordpress.com/ If you have any further queries don't hesitiate to email me &ill be delighted to hel.. creative.textiles@btinternet.com
