Verb: pootle
poo-t(u)l To move in a leisurely unhurried way,
with no real purpose


Monday 6 October 2014

Autumn Garland ...


 
To start this post I would just like to say a really big thank you to everyone who left such
 lovely comments on my last post that showed my Autumn Garland.
I truly love getting all your comments. You are all so encouraging and kind and I love being a 
part of this big old bloggy share-a thon. 
 I do always try and leave a reply but I don't think it can be said too much, so ..
   Thank you  

Aaaannnyyyway ..
there were quite a few requests for patterns and the like so here goes.

 

The wool I chose was a combination of  Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo
and Sublime Egyptian Cotton.
Both yarns have a very slight sheen to them that I think works really well on smaller three dimensional items. I had used them in the Daisy Garland I made earlier this year 
and had been really pleased with the results.
After a lot of umming and ahhing I decided on using just 4 colours.


 To say I was a bit indecisive about my choice of colours would really be quite 
something of an understatement.
I had such good intentions of using up lots of my odds and ends and I got out
 all my Autumny colours and tried so many different colour combinations.
But, the long and the short of it was that it just wasn't matching the image in my head.


So these ones all had a nice little day out of their drawer but
 sadly ended up back where they started !

 I used a 3 mm hook for the leaves and acorns as the solid tension it gives really helps to 
give a bit of rigidity to the finished garland.

I spent quite a bit of time looking through Ravelry and my crochet books for various leaf
 patterns and it has to be said there are certainly loads to choose from, however because 
 I wanted to include lots of acorns on my garland the oak leaves worked best.

 The oak leaf pattern I went for was one from Ravelry by GoldenLucyCrafts.
I found it was clearly written and very easy to follow.
Once I had got the hang of the pattern I found I was able to alter the sizes of the leaves
 and add extra curvy bits just for a bit of randomness !


The acorn pattern was from Squirrelpicnic.com
These are so much fun to make - 
they work up so quickly and before you know it you have a proper 
little squirrels treasure chest.


I worked a little tiny loop into the bottom of mine so they could
 be hung on to the garland.


As I was working I tried to picture how I wanted the finished garland to look so I could work
 out how many leaves I wanted in each of the colours.


Once I had enough leaves and acorns I worked a branch by making a chain out of 3 strands
 of brown DK wool on a size 6 hook.
I worked out the length of the chain by measuring it up against the fireplace
 where I wanted to hang it.


I then spent a bit of time putting together little clusters of leaves and acorns,


 and once I was happy with them I laid out the branch as it would be when hanging and used 
safety pins to pin the clusters in the right place.


Then it was just a matter of stitching everything in place. 


I found quite solid stitching was needed to stop the leaves from swinging about once
 the garland was finished, and I did find that on first hanging it I needed to go back and put a few more reinforcing stitches in.



The final thing needed to strengthen the garland is a piece of thin wire threaded all 
the way along the back of the branch. 
This was something that I found was needed after making my Daisy garland. I was so excited to have it finished, rushed to hang it up and it just sort of went flop - most disappointing !



The wire doesn't show if you keep it to the back and it allows the garland to still have the appearance of hanging freely whist being beautifully held in place.

 

 Once the garland is hung in place you can carefully bend the wire
 to the position you want.


 


 



 And there you have it ...
one Autumny Garland.
 


Happy crocheting !
 

33 comments:

  1. Awww! Thank you! Its just gorgeous and looks so elegant! X

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  2. Aha you used thin wire ! I already wondered how your pretty garland could "hang" so perfectly ! Thanks for that idea !!

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    1. The secrets out Ingrid - What would a girl do without wire and sellotape ! K x

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  3. Gorgeous Kate!!! ������

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  4. Your garland is so beautiful Kate! I really do love it. I must remember your wire trick as that would have helped me with my garland! The colours you chose are so perfect and I love the sheen of the yarn too! xx

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    1. Thank you Amy, the wire really does work a treat, K xx

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  5. Thank you for sharing your pattern links and the wire tip for hanging it! Your autumn garland is delightful. I have been following your blog for a few months now and really enjoy seeing your creations!

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    1. Thanks for dropping by Joey, and I'm glad you've enjoyed pootling through my blog, K x

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  6. I love the colors that you chose ::: just autumn! Thank you for sharing your pattern links!

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    1. You're welcome, hope you get to try them out, K x

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  7. It's really beautiful, Kate. I love the addition of the shiny yarns.

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    1. Thank you Jennifer, its such a lovely yarn to work with. K x

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  8. Thanks for the great tip to put wire through the back, lovely garland, looks really nice. :)

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    1. Thank you Gail, glad the wire tip was of use ! K x

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  9. Lovely garland Kate, it looks fab against your white stone fireplace. Thank you for sharing the process and the links. Have a great week.
    Jane xx

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  10. It's stunning Kate and thank you for sharing the patterns and how you made it! xo

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  11. It is gorgeous, Kate! I love your photos and how you have displayed it with the pretty lights and clock :) Using wire to help support the garland nicely is a great idea!
    Happy weekend.
    Helen xox

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    1. Thank you Helen, I hope you've had a good weekend too, K x

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  12. Your autumn garland is beautiful Kate and threading the wire through the back is a great idea...I think you chose the perfect colour combination and the yarns are some of my favourites too x
    Hope you have a lovely Sunday,
    Susan x

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    1. Thank you Susan, we do love our Sublime don't we ! k x

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  13. Thank you for taking the time to write this post, I can imagined our feeling of disappoint net when you first hung it and it flopped but the secret wire is a great idea. The garland really is beautiful, love the colours-I never seem to have the colours in my stash that I need for that next project!
    Caz xx

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    Replies
    1. It's always a good excuse to get more though isn't it ! Have a great week Caz, K x

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  14. Hello Kate! I found you through Jill at Emerald Cottage and what a treasure your blog is. I am so glad to have stumbled upon it. The fall garland is so beautiful and I love the soft colour combo you chose. Thank you for sharing this fun project.

    Now off to scope out the rest of your blog :)

    Birgitta xx

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    1. Hello Birgitta, and welcome to Just Pootling ! I'm very glad you found me too ! I'm glad you liked the Autumn Garland , it was a lot of fun to make. I'm off to have a quick Pootle round your Blog now.
      K x

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  15. This is stunning - would love to make one for next Autumn!

    Helenxx

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  16. I featured your pattern in my blogpost this week! :)
    http://www.ingeniousbyme.com/en/ingenious-inspiration/ingenious-inspiration-free-autumn-crochet/

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  17. Hi please can i join your web page for news letters

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