Stella Mandala: new overlay crochet pattern

Are you looking for a new gem to your mandala collection? Here it is! Let me introduce a Stella Mandala. It uses overlay crochet which might look intricate at the first glance, but instructions are easy to follow thanks to lots of progress pictures in the pattern. But I am happy to say that all testers successfully finished their mandalas even without the pictures. 

 

I will never be tired of repeating that overlay mandala brought me to the world of crochet design 8 years ago. I first learned overlay crochet with the patterns from other designers, and then dared to design the first mandala myself. 

 

Quite a few mandalas have been created since then, and I still come back to this shape again and again. As I find something very relaxing and satisfying about crocheting a mandala. 

Stella Mandala came to life unplanned. The other evening, I felt like playing with new Terrazzo yarn from Scheepjes. I received several colorful balls as a gift and had nothing special in mind. I am often asked about my creative process, so this was just one of the typical evenings. I picked up the hook, the yarn and simply started adding round after round. 

 

The pattern for Stella Mandala is available on Ravelry HERE and Etsy HERE and is offered with 20% discount through Monday, August 1st, 2022. There is no code needed, as the discount has already been applied to the price. After this date, the pattern will be listed at a regular price. 

 

Overlay crochet is like painting with yarn. Even though the colors are changed on every round, it looks like the change happens after every few stitches. That because the long, complex stitches are added on top of the background, usually worked with single crochet stitches in back loops only. 

So basically, the base and the textured stitching are growing at the same time. And I cannot find a better word than “magic” to describe this process. 

 

I am very happy with how the Stella Mandala turned out. And it’s probably one of my favourite mandala designs up to date. It was a pure joy to make, and not only for me, but also for my lovely testers team. Some even made several mandalas in a row. Addictive! 

 

I have created two mandala samples, one with Scheepjes Terrazzo* yarn and one with Scheepjes Metropolis*. Terrazzo version ended up being a bit bigger, as the yarn itself is slightly thicker than Metropolis (40cm/15¾in against 48cm/18¾in). But both mandalas are in generous size, and can be used as wall hangings, chair pads, place mats or pillows (if you join two mandalas together). 

 

You can check the colors and yarn amounts on Ravelry and Etsy. 

As already mentioned, testers have enjoyed this project and here is the proof – a wonderful gallery of the colorful masterpieces created by Elizabeth Kalka, Loele van den Bergh, Macarena Marskell, Esther Schippers, Sarah Fabbri, Laura Jackson and Ruth Bracey. It's amazing what a different color combination can do to an entire look of the mandala. They are all different, and all equally beautiful, aren't they?

And here is a little feedback from the testers they left on their Ravelry project pages (I'm blown away, thank you!).

Macarena Marskell:

The intricate designs are so easy to follow, giving you a fantastic sense of achievement. Love the colour possibilities with this mandala and how you can make it totally yours.  

Sarah Fabbri: 

This pattern was a BLAST! . . no complicated stitches, just grows row by row into an incredible kaleidoscopic wonder. Very fun.

I think I will make one more mandala in either Metropolis or Terrazzo yarn and turn them into a pillow throw. If you wonder where to find the round pillow foam in a custom size, this post might be helpful (spoiler – you can create a pillow foam yourself). 

 

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