Mandala Hoop Love

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time now, and today seemed like it would be a good time to do it. I wanted to document the collection of mandala hoops I've made over the years so that all the blog post links and pattern details would be easy to find in one place.

I've been making mandala hoops for years, ever since I was involved with Yarndale and had the idea to create colourful crochet decorations for the yarny event. 

At first I was just making these gorgeous starflower mandalas for the creative thrill and excellent colour therapy. But after I'd made two in quick succession and realised how large and eye catching they were (45cm across), I thought that if I could work out a way to attach them to hoops then they would make really excellent hanging decorations.

I made the Starflower Mandalas in 2014 -  the blog post and pattern links are below >

♥ Starflower Mandala blog post ♥

♥ Starflower Mandala pattern by Zelna Olivier ♥

Two years later in 2016 and I was at it again, working on more large 45cm mandala hoops to hang in the trees at Yarndale.

The above two hoops were made using the central part of a free doily pattern I found on Ravelry. Doilies are traditionally made with very fine crochet thread, but the patterns work equally well when crocheted with DK cotton, only they are obviously very much larger.

The blog post and free pattern details for the mandalas shown above are linked below >

♥ Mandala Hoops blog post ♥

♥ Autumn Spice Doily pattern by Elizabeth Ann White ♥

A short while later and I was still obsessing over making these mandala hoops, I just couldn't seem to get them out of my system.

The one pictured above was taken from a pattern for a summer shawl which was published in Simply Crochet magazine (issue 47). Similar to the doily patterns, the shawl was made using much finer yarn, and the original design made a substantial circle. Upscaling to DK weight cotton, I simply crocheted the first 19 rounds to make a 45cm mandala which fit the plastic child's hoops I'd bought.

You can find blog and pattern links below >

♥ Mandala Hoop blog (includes photos showing my method of attaching the mandala to a hoop) ♥ 

♥ Mandala Love Shawl by Elisabeth Davis de Herraiz ♥

Another couple of years later in 2018 I began to make a collection of slightly smaller 30cm mandalas designed to fit into metal craft rings. 

These are quick projects to work on and insanely satisfying, I can highly recommend them if you want to have fun with colour and make something pretty to hang on the wall or dangle somewhere eye catching.

The blog post and pattern links are below >

♥ Mandala Hoops blog (including my own design) ♥

♥ Spirit Mandala pattern by Lilla Björn (shown above) ♥

♥ Dream Catcher Mandala by Emily Littlefair ♥

The mandala pictured above is my own design and I named it the Positivity Mandala.

You can find links below >

♥ Blog post showing colours and photos of the Positivity Mandala in progress ♥

♥ Positivity Mandala pattern and photo tutorial ♥

The above photo shows the first six mandala hoops I made to fit 30cm metal hoops - I LOVE them so much!

Another year on and it's the Spring of 2019. The rather grand building in the photo above is a chateau in the French Alps which has been converted into a beautiful hotel, and I had the pleasure of staying here during the Spring of 2019. Lucky, lucky, lucky me!! This was a working holiday for me as I was invited to be a tutor on a week long crochet retreat, how splendid is that? As it happened, the retreat was so popular when it was released on the Arena Travel website that it sold out in less than 24 hours, so I was asked if I would do a second week. Did they really have to ask??! 

Springtime in the French Alps is absolutely delicious and I had a wonderful time teaching two groups of very lovely ladies. I created a workshop which focused on some elements of colour theory, as well as giving lots of help and advice about planning and creating colour palettes for crochet projects. 

I decided to use mandalas as a way of experimenting with colour and putting some colour theory into practice and I designed some new patterns especially for the retreats.

This is a smaller 20cm hoop and I called this the Daydreamer Mandala. The simplicity of the pattern allowed for the focus to be on the colours, and the decorative dangly bits were a fun way to finish it off.

We used a combination of crochet with felt feathers, wooden beads and ribbons.....

....and the ladies really enjoyed this project. The resulting mandala hoops were so lovely!

I also designed a bigger 30cm mandala hoop which I named the Chateau Mandala. In the photo above, my hoop is the one at the top left of the photo. It was fascinating to see how the ladies selected and ordered their own colours, and how unique each mandala looks even though everyone started out with the same yarn palette. 

Another year on and it's 2020, the year of the pandemic. I crocheted the above rainbow mandala for no other reason than I needed some colour and yarn therapy, and mandala hoops are most excellent at delivering in times of need. This is the same pattern I used in France - the Chateau Mandala - made using a rainbow palette of Ricorumi DK. 

I love the way it turned out, and really enjoyed working from my own pattern which added another layer of satisfaction to this sweet project.

The rainbow Chateau Mandala is here in the Attic right now, but not for too much longer. You see, I've offered to donate it to a charity raffle which is happening this coming Sunday 17th. The raffle has been organised by my lovely blogging friend Helen to raise money for a charity which is very close to her heart. There are prizes to be won every week, and they are all of a yarny nature - my mandala is only a small part of a larger prize this week and it's absolutely fabulous - you can see more on Helen's blog .

The raffle is run via Just Giving, so the idea is that you donate to buy raffle tickets. So £2 will buy you two tickets, £5 five tickets etc. You can donate right up to the end of Sunday, and the winner will be announced on Monday, does that makes sense? It's open worldwide too. Here is the direct link to the raffle page >>>

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/helen-kurtz

Helen has raised more than £21,000 in the past two years which is a remarkable achievement, please support if you can.

Well, I think that's all my mandala madness for now, I hope you've enjoyed seeing my projects from the past seven years all in one place, and who knows, perhaps you might feel inspired to make some for yourself?

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ps I forgot to add links in for hoops, so here they are for reference >>

♥ 30cm white metal craft hoop

♥ 30cm wooden craft hoop

♥ 45cm child's hula hoop

 

 

 

Comments

[essalt]

That was an excellent post! I had no clue Mandalas and meditations were so popular. I've been researching and reading a lot about mandalas lately. I'm interested if any of you have any other resources to provide. It appears that finding the most up-to-date information on the website is challenging. I stumbled noticed a handful of relevant websites.https://www.pranalink.com/blog/post/meditation-and-mandala/?utm source=referrer&utm medium=organic is one of the websites. The majority of the website does not update regularly enough to assist me in learning more quickly. Is there anyone willing to assist?

[Jeannie]

Your mandalas are great! I’ve crocheted your Boho Chic Mandala, but I didn’t see it mentioned in this post. Also, is the Chateau Mandala pattern available?

[Karen]

Oh my goodness, I won the raffle! Feeling so blessed to have your mandala in pride of place on my craft studio wall very soon . I’m such a lucky lucky lady! 💖

[Kerridwen Niner]

These are all lovely and when i don't have several wip's waiting for completion i shall start another one, or maybe i won't wait lol

[Marylin Ollivier]

Hi Lucy Mandala Madness indeed! I suffer from that chronically. LOL I paint and draw and design mandala for my own pleasure and mandalas for 'inner' work. I've crocheted a few, but not on a hoop. So you just triggered my obsession and I will be searching out hoops now for sure. Mandalas are my therapy and very revealing. I have years of DK leftovers from your blanket patterns and what better way than some serious mandala making. I get happy just thinking about it. Anyone interested in some mandala magic study check out https://www.juliegibbons.com/ She has been a fav of mine for many years.
Hugs, MO

[Charlotte Pountney]

Really love you mandalas with the six pointed snowflake or flower motif in the centre...if you made them hexagonal rather than round, they would make a gorgeous blanket...

[Barbara]

I have lost count of how many mandalas I have made.They are very addictive!

[Jeanette]

I've enjoyed it very much, THANK YOU!!!!

[Rachel]

Ah I like seeing the designs all in one place, good idea Lucy!
I must make one sometime. I think I prefer the hoops to the mat kind.

[Ellie Williams]

Lucy, your mandalas are so lovely,
You mentioned doilies, I have some that my mum made years ago (she died in the 1990’s) they are made with very fine crochet cotton and she used small steel crochet hooks, they hold lots of memories of my mum especially as she taught me to crochet.
Ellie.

[Kathleen]

Thank you Lucy for all your colour sharing - all the way from Australia 🇦🇺 I’m so excited that you are blogging everyday in October - it’s the most exciting part of my day during lockdown 😍

[Abby]

Such pretty colours and designs. I will try one when the baby blanket is complete.

[Jane McLellan]

Wow!

[Louise]

I am a big mandala fan (or mandoilies as I like to sometimes call them!). I only have a couple of small ones attached to hoops at the moment but have some more big hoops waiting to be mandala'd up in my craft cupboard! I really love your colour brain. You have an awesome knack for putting colours together in a way that sings. Very inspiring!

[Tineke]

I remember your enthusiasm over the workshops and the magnificent place you gave them. And, of course, the mandala trees. Lovely to hear it will be part of Helen's raffle, may it raise loads of money for her charity.

[CJ]

So pretty, I particularly love the dream catcher mandalas. The chateau looks like it's in amazing spot, I'd love to go to the Alps one day. CJ xxCJ

[Gill Compigne-Leaney]

Absolutely beautiful, what glorious colour, it really does shout of happiness. I will be trying one of these soon. Thank you for sharing and I am so envious of your trip to the Alps.