New Life for a Mandala with Flower pattern – overlay crochet

Overlay crochet is something that brought me to the world of crochet design 6 years ago. I clearly remember how it started. Despite being crocheting and knitting for as long as I remember myself, writing down the patterns was never either my plan or goal. But life had its own plan for me.

Back in 2014 I first came to Etsy and started browsing crochet projects for an inspiration. And one of them was overlay mandala designed by Carola Herbst of CAROcreated. It was love from the first glance. I had to zoom in the picture to see how the stitches were placed. And could not understand anything.

Later I bought several overlay crochet patterns to learn the technique. I found out that this technique was first introduced by Melody McDuffee back in 2003. I bet textured crochet like this existed before, but Melody was the first crafter who put everything together in a complete concept.

I studied different patterns and played with yarn. And I even managed to sell several mandalas via my newly created shop on Etsy. After a few months of training I felt confident myself to try and design something on my own. And who knows – maybe even to write the pattern down. My first overlay mandalas looked very similar to already existing samples, and I never wrote patterns for them. And then Mandala with Flower was created. My first “adult”, if I can say like this, crochet pattern.

If you would like to learn more about overlay crochet, please, check my blog HERE. I have collected technique basics and tips and tricks which will help you to understand the concept of overlay crochet.

Mandala with Flower was released as a stand-alone pattern a few years ago. The central flower has a very simple shape with eight petals, and can be used either as a wall hanging, or table decoration, or as an appliqué for your old pillow case for example.

Later I experimented with the border and designed an extension which was never released. Adding instructions for the border was on my to-do list for all last 6 years, and finally I made space in-between new releases to come back to it.

And… It’s here! The entire pattern was rewritten, and a new photo-tutorial was added. Now Mandala with Flower pattern is available together with extension instructions in my Etsy HERE and Ravelry HERE shops. If you bought the pattern previously, please come back to your downloads and get a new copy. Or you can newly buy the pattern with 20% discount through this weekend (through Monday, July 13th, 2020).

Like for any other overlay mandala, you can use any yarn from your stash. My Mandala with Flower was recreated with DK yarn in original colors (luckily I still had them in my stash). It’s a mix of different brands, and because no labels were saved, I cannot tell you exact names and numbers of colors. I can only say I used beige, orange, dark chocolate, light teal and blue.

With DK yarn and 3.5 mm hook my mandala measures approx. 70 cm/27.5” across. With larger yarn and hook (worsted or even Aran) it will be bigger obviously and will make a nicely sized rug.

Have a look at mandalas finished by our wonderful testers team. Aren’t they inspiring?

Laura Jackson (@taemombo) and Sandra Veneman (@happybee) decided to square up their Mandalas with Flower using corners from Sunny Border pattern. Am I the only one or do you also see the beginning of beautiful blankets here?

Photo credit: Laura Jackson

Photo credit: Sandra Veneman

Just to remind, Mandala with Flower overlay crochet pattern is available on Etsy HERE and Ravelry HERE with 20% discount though Monday, July 13th, 2020. The price was already discounted and you don’t need to apply any codes. Hope you enjoy!

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