Welcome to the next clue of the Gift Mystery make-a-long. If this is the first time you hear about the MAL, please read all the information in the previous blog post (and yes, it is still possible to join). In the past two weeks we were making the Gift Coaster and Gift Bauble, and I hope you had fun with these small, cute patterns. And today I am excited about the next mystery pattern – a Gift Mandala.
If you joined our MALs in the past years, you probably recognize the style, as we are always making round motifs in the overlay crochet technique.
This year, I could not help myself and designed another mandala, and you can use it either as a coaster (to make a company to a Gift Coaster) or make more motifs and assembly them into a garland. And I really hope you will take the challenge and will make a full garland!
Overlay crochet technique is amazing in so many ways. It literally allows you to draw with the yarn. And what is the most fascinating about this way of crochet is that the mandala changes with every new round added.
And whatever round you stop with, the motif will look beautiful!
I’ve made a bunch of the Gift Mandalas in three sizes (with 8, 11 and 13 rounds). I plan to use the biggest as a set of coasters for the holiday table setting, and the rest of the motifs were joined in one long and festive garland.
It may take a little time to get a full dive into the technique, as some methods might be new to you (for example, an invisible needle join or beginning the round with a chain instead of a stitch). But once you master it and feel confident, you will open the door to a whole new world of the overlay crochet mandalas.
And who knows, maybe you will dare to design one yourself in the future. And if not, there are still lots of beautiful patterns to try our hand on.
For one mandala, you will need tiny amounts of yarn in three colors, and you can also mix the brands and yarn composition. For example, for my mandalas I used Scheepjes Catona, Bamboo Soft and Organicon yarns.
Some of them are finer, some are thicker. The mandalas turned out to be in slightly different sizes. But anyway, the garland worked just beautifully in the end. So… You can either dive into your stash and use up all the loose yarn tails you have there. Or you can purchase yarn in three colors and change the order of the colors for every new mandala.
And here is the magic! Even if you use the same colors with the same pattern, with a different color placement the mandalas will not look the same!
I hope you got as excited about the Gift Mandala pattern as I am! So please, go to your Ravelry library and refresh it to get instructions (you will receive two pdf files).
And if you do not own the Gift mystery make-a-long ebook yet, you can grab it HERE.
See you next week for the last clue.
Can’t wait!
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