DOVE square: Let’s Celebrate Peace

If you know me well, you probably know I love challenges. I take literally every opportunity to learn something new and practice in what I am good already. Several months ago I was approached by lady Talia who asked me to design an afghan crochet square exclusively for a workshop. And now I can share my new design with you!

Dove with an olive branch is known as a symbol for peace. And for me this also means peace of mind and peace of soul. How often we find ourselves in situations when we can’t do much. And then internal peace and hope help us to be strong. To cope… and even survive.

DOVE square pattern is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE and is offered with 20% discount through Monday, April 2nd, 2018. The discount is already applied in the price you see, and no coupon codes needed.

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Far not every crochet task sounds doable from the very beginning, but I truly believe that every creative idea can be finally brought to life. Sooner or later. In this or that way. I can’t really tell you how many hours it took me to figure out the whole concept for a dove square. My brain was working not stop for weeks trying to put the pieces of puzzle together. I was thinking about filet crochet, about colorful and solid squares. I even wanted to “draw” the dove with cables, when suddenly it clicked in my mind that I can actually combine several crochet techniques in one design. And woo-hoo here it is!

From the very beginning I wanted to design an afghan square. I had no idea how large it will be in the end. And I also wanted to present both symbols (dove and olive branch) together. And it became possible by using structured stitches for the square’s center, and then tapestry panel on the outer edge. To make square look balanced I again added a textured “olive branch border” around it. And I’m pretty happy with how all components look together.

As already mentioned, the pattern uses both tapestry and overlay crochet technique. The stitches are not tricky, but if you haven’t tried these techniques before you might need to practice a bit, before you get control over your tension (check step-by-step tutorial on how to do tapestry crochet HERE). But once you feel comfortable, everything will go smooth. And I also think that DOVE square pattern gives a nice opportunity to learn something new.

DOVE square can be made with just 2 colors, or more shades (4 for example). I used Stone Washed yarn by Scheepjes (reviewed HERE) for both versions shown in this blog post, together with 4mm Amour Clover hook*. Stone Washed yarn is available in your local Scheepjes stores as well as via larger online retailers, such as Wool Warehouse* and Black Sheep Wools* (both in UK but with international shipping), Caro’s Atelier* (NL and Europe), Knotty House* (Canada) and Loveknitting* (US).

You can use Dove square as a separate decoration for a pillow, or as an afghan square (you can combine squares with and without dove panel for a balanced look). Also central “olive branch squares" can be used as a separate pattern, too.

I am often asked how it is possible to turn crochet square into a pillow. Well, there are several options and one of them it to crochet another square in the same size and then join both pieces together. But I personally prefer another option: I always sew crocheted decoration onto ready fabric pillowcases by hand. I’ve created a short video HERE for you to see how to do it neatly.

If you have other ideas about how to use larger crochet squares, please leave a comment below this post. I would love to hear your ideas.

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Brief facts about DOVE square:

• Level: Intermediate: tapestry crochet, clusters and front post stitches
• Language: English (US terms)
• Pattern contains complete written instructions and heavy photo-tutorial illustrating every round (except of tapestry panel which should be followed with chart and written text). The resolution of pictures is good enough to be zoomed in.
• DOVE square pattern is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE and is offered with 20% discount through Monday, April 2nd, 2018. The discount is already applied in the price you see, and no coupon codes needed.

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