Illusion Mandala: new overlay crochet pattern

Overlay crochet is a great passion of my creative life. Thanks to this technique I came to designing world almost 4 years ago. And since then I have been using it almost in every crochet design. Mandala art has become my favourite crochet form, several mandala patterns were created. And all of them became very popular. Recently I have been doing something else (investigating into cables and mosaic crochet). And suddenly I felt that I miss mandala’s so much! And I felt the time to create something new has come again.

Let me introduce my newest overlay crochet design which I called Illusion Mandala. It’s overlay crochet “classics” if I can say like this: thick multi-layered fabric, solid background, lots of texture and structure thanks to front post stitches.

 Add this pattern to your Ravelry Queue

Illusion Mandala overlay crochet pattern is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE and is offered with 30% discount through Monday, February 26th, 2018. The discount is already applied in the price you see, and no coupon codes needed. After January 26th the pattern will be listed at a regular price.

You often ask what inspires me to create mandalas. I try not to look too much at existing crochet pieces as there is always high possibility of “unconscious copying” when designer’s brain thinks it came with idea itself. I am looking at graphics, drawings, architecture pieces and fabric instead. Illusion Mandala was born as a respond to a monochrome vector illustration which I spotted on Pinterest. I have completely rethought the lines and shapes. And in the end came up with a unique design.

My stash is constantly growing, I’ve almost run out of space in my bedroom (everything is covered with closets full of yarn and boxes), so this time I decided to use up leftovers of wool blend yarns by different brands. I mostly used Superlana Klasik by Alize – a DK yarn. But it was also combined with other yarns, and I have no idea about there names. They have been stored in my stash for ages and labels were lost long ago.

I’ve tried to look for similar colors in Superlana Klasik range, so that you have a clear idea of used colors. Alize yarn is Turkish and it’s not available via large international retailers. But you can absolutely use any yarn for you mandala. It can be Sport or Fingering. Or you can even make one with threads.

• Purple Mandala: exact shades are given in the pattern
• Green Mandala: Yarn A (213), Yarn B (161), Yarn C (100), Yarn D (214)
• Blue Mandala: Yarn A (62), Yarn B (514), Yarn C (652), Yarn D (58)

“What can I use a crocheted mandala for?” – this is another very common question I hear. Well, there are many (!) ways of using mandalas. They can be wall hangings, trivets, round pillows or square pillow decorations, stool covers – you name it. A while ago I wrote a blog post about how to use a mandala (check it HERE).

Now let’s talk about Illusion Mandala pattern a bit. It looks very tricky, yes, I know that. But!! As other overlay mandala designs Illusion Mandala is not so tricky or difficult to make. Yes, it’s not a lazy project you would make while watching TV series. You will need to concentrate, be attentive and count. But other than that the pattern doesn’t require anything extraordinary. Lots of front post stitches are used in this pattern. And if you feel comfortable making them, then you can absolutely give this pattern a try.

 
Loads of progress pictures are provided in the pattern. So no room for you to be lost :) And I’ve also created a print friendly file (with no pictures) for those who don’t like to print long pages with photo-tutorials. Actually, you can print out just written instructions and verify with pictures on your tablet or phone.

I am really happy with Illusion Mandala design and I hope you will like it, too. Please, share your pictures with me in my brand new Facebook group HERE or on Ravelry HERE. And you can use a hashtag #illusionmandala to share them on social media.

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Brief Facts about Illusion Mandala

• Level: Intermediate. Loads of front post stitches
• Language: English (US terms)
• Pattern contains complete written instructions and heavy photo-tutorial illustrating every round. A print-friendly copy (with no pictures) is also included.
• Illusion Mandala overlay crochet pattern is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE and is offered with 30% discount through Monday, February 26th, 2018. The discount is already applied in the price you see, and no coupon code needed.

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