Mandala Madness Part 1

♥ Welcome, to what is going to be an awesome journey together. ♥

I would like to thank Kimberley Slifer and all the admin team from the OFFICIAL CCC SOCIAL GROUP on Facebook, for hosting this CAL.

♥ There are two very special ladies I would like to say thank you to…. but thank you is not really enough. Without these two amazing, super stars, this project would never have happened. Terena Todd and Kay Crone are simply the most wonderful ladies, they shared my awe and my frustration, and they are still my friends after all the madness that was involved in testing this pattern…even if they wanted to strangle me on occasion!! ♥

I will be adding all sorts of links to help you with special stitches, tips and tricks.
Some will be from my tutorials and some will be from other designers and bloggers.
Many pdf readers do not recognise links, so if you have problems, please come back to this post and you will find all the links to take you exactly where you need to go.

The first link I would like to share is to my Youtube channel and an informative video tutorial all about treble crochet stitches! This will help you to keep your taller stitches even and avoid those baggy top loops. So off you go and check it out, if you haven’t already, because there are a few trebles in this first part, and we want to start as we mean to go on….all neat and tidy.

And for the second link, back loop stitches, love them or hate them, working into the back loop adds definition to your work. If you are unsure, or have problems with over stretched loops, then check out this post by Tatsiana of lillabjorncrochet back loops with no holes

And there is a little trick I use, which you can find about half way down the page here.

We will also be making picots, some of which will be worked into in a later round. I have done a tutorial, Perfect Picots, which I hope you find helpful.

Just another quick hint before we start…
I always start a new round with a standing stitch, here is my way.

♥ If you haven’t read the introduction post, then please find it here. You will find all the information on Yarn Packs, how much yarn you will need, hook sizes, the finished size of your blanket and all the resources available.

Mandala Madness part 1 is available as

♥ US terms Photo Tutorial -US terms written pattern – Video tutorial US terms.
♥ UK terms Photo Tutorial 

And also in the following languages
♥ Afrikaans ♥ Danish – Dansk ♥ Dutch – Nederlands ♥ Finnish – Suomi ♥ French – Francais 
♥ German – Deutsche ♥ Greek – Ελληνικα ♥ Hebrew – עברית ♥ Korean – 한국어.
♥ Persian – فارسی ♥ Polish – Polski ♥ Russian – русский ♥ Spanish – Español ♥ Swedish -Svenska

Please select your option, add to your basket and you will receive your download Free.

And another HUGE thank you to the awesome team of translators, from the CAL – Crochet A Long Facebook group, for the fantastic job they have done with all the translations. ♥

And many thanks to Natalie for her Russian video tutorial, just click the link.
With thanks to Carmen  for the Spanish Video Tutorial

♥ US terms Video Tutorial by Esther Dijkstra from itsallinanutshell.com
Again my love and thanks to Esther for the amazing job she has done with these videos. ♥

The beginning of our journey together starts with a flower that gently unfolds like the petals of a lotus bloom.
In Ancient Egypt the lotus flower symbolised the sun and creation.

And so let us start to create together ♥

The colours used in each round are listed in all of the pdf files.
Just as a reminder, the hook sizes I used are:
Merino soft 4mm – Colour Crafter 4.5mm – Stonewashed XL 5.5mm

Size and gauge guide
Merino Soft Dk with 4mm hook = 8 inches, 20.5cm approx
Colour Crafter with 4.5mm hook = 9 inches, 23 cm approx
Stonewashed XL with 5.5mm hook = 11 ½ inches, 29cm approx

♥ Please remember all of my patterns are covered by copyright law and may not be copied or shared in any way. You may share a link to my website or Ravelry store with anyone, you may print the PDF for your own use, but please do not alter, change or share in any way.

♥ Please love and respect me, as I love and respect you. ♥

♥ The best way to be in the know with all I am up to, is to follow crystalsandcrochet on Facebook.

♥ If you need help and advice, the quickest way to find support is to join Helen’s Hookaholics Facebook group. There you will find a very supportive group of likeminded people. It’s also a great place to share your crystalsandcrochet makes, and see what others are making, and see what I am up to.

♥ If you are not a fan of Facebook you can always email me with any questions you may have by using the contact form here.

♥ Please feel free to sign up to my YouTube channel for lots of helpful video tutorials.