Simplicity Itself
Oh so long ago a friend asked me to make her a wrap. It was to be big and grey. Big as in 'that photo we have all seen of Lenny Kravitz walking around with a blanket around his neck' big. So I googled and googled and found something that looked kinda of what she wanted. I asked someone advice about what sort of 'wool' I should use. (I called it all wool then. I now correctly say Yarn, even if I do think it sounds very American, not that there is anything wrong with that, but I'm just not American) I thought I was being very clever asking someone advice, as still to this day I am clueless about most types of yarn. The yarn, well actually the wool, as just this once it was actual wool, well a blend anyway ;), anyway the stuff arrived and I got stuck in, but it was awful. The wool was far to heavy for the pattern I was trying. It was all back and front post stitches and it was coming out far too dense even with a hook as big as elephants trunk. So it got 'frogged', ripped right back to its foundation row and I needed to re-think. I had recently made the Love Blanket by Faerysteps, you can read all about it in my last post. Without even thinking about it I started incorporating the same spacing that she had used in her blanket in my stitches and it worked so well that before I knew it I was attaching my next ball. My Friend is tall, so I made it nice and long. The thing really did turn out quite massive. But it is also quite squishable and flexible with a lovely drape, and she quite often wears it as a scarf flying around Amsterdam in the winter on her scooter.
I didn't think much more of it, until people started commenting about how nice it was and how did I make it, so being the nice, kind and helpful person that I am I started to write it down. (after I had worked out what size of hook I had used. All I had was this black & white photo. I mean what sort of idiot doesn't keep their original photos.) Before I new it I had my very own pattern. Some really nice people tested it. (Thank you soooo much girlies xxx I will show off all your lovely wraps in my next post.) There were mistakes. They got fixed. I set about making the prettiest PDF possible, and then banged my head on the table several times as I couldn't think of a name. The only one I wanted was taken :( After tears of woe I eventually settled on a name only to proceed to pull my hair out and threaten the computer with the bin as I attempted to open a Ravelry store. I still don't thinks it's right, but it worked and I got it uploaded and then my world went a wee bit mad and I'm still doing a happy dance. All you lovely people really liked my pattern. I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I woke up this morning to being No.1 on the crochet Hot right now on Ravelry. Shocked was an understatement. I'm obviously ecstatic too. I'm so glad you all loved my pattern. And I hope you can all see how easy it is to adapt. Whether you want a massive Lenny Kravitz wearable blanket or a fancy light summer wrap, it is so doable, and I have explained how in the pattern. It is suitable for every yarn. My testers all used something different. I'll get some of their photos together so you can see. I'm making another one as we speak in very light mohair and alpaca. I can't wait to see how it finishes up. It may take me into the next century to get it done but still. I've started so I will finish. If you are making it I would love you to tag me in your photos, add #simplicitywrap or share it on my Facebook page. I can't wait to see what you all do with it. Above all enjoy making it :) *If you don't have the pattern yet, you can download it here. It is available in English and Dutch and has recently been updated to include 3 different versions. Download it, make it, tag me. #simplicitywrap It is a crochet and Netflix sort of pattern too. Bonus haha.
*post was updated (11th May 2019) as the pattern is no longer available for free as was originally stated.
