Yuletide Mandala :: Ta-dah!

I expect most of you will be familiar with the Yuletide blanket by now because I have been going on and on about it rather a lot. I'm kind of not-sorry about it, I do tend to get pretty obsessed by colours and patterns when they are really floating my boat and it takes a while for me to work them out of my system. And lucky you, you get to hear alllllllll about it because I am prone to oversharing when my boat is floating. If by any slim chance you haven't heard about the Yuletide blanket, then you can find all the deets in a blog post ((here)).

I'm not sure what made me think about making the square stitch pattern into a circular one, it was one of those ideas that just pinged into my Creative Mind mind and once it was lodged there I just could not let it go. I had a chat about the design process in Blogtober day 4,  and despite it being a little harder than I'd anticipated, I did eventually manage to nail down the numbers and make the whole thing work. I'm really happy with the Yuletide Mandala and intend for it to be used as a table mat on my festive table, to sit under a jug of seasonal blooms.

Mandalas are brilliant things to make if you have a creative itch to scratch, because they are absolutely perfect vehicles for colour play. They don't take long to whizz off your hook so there is always an imminent ta-dah moment and that makes for an exciting type of project. I've designed and made quite a few mandalas over the years, some small and some large. You can find my first ever design (pictured above, bottom right) as a tutorial here on my blog (it's called "Attic24 Mandala Wheel" in my pattern list), and it's a really good pattern for beginners to try.

The mandala in the photo above with the pink scallop edge is always on my table, so you've probably seen the edge of it in many of my flower photos. It's called the Mollie Mandala because the original version of it was designed for Mollie Makes magazine some years ago. I've also used it to teach a crochet workshop for Stylecraft Yarns, so I decided to keep the pattern unpublished and reserved as a teaching pattern for my own use. I've had loads of requests for it though, so it's been on my mind to create another similar mandala with a scallop edge to share here on my blog. The Yuletide Mandala seemed like it would work well with a scallop, so I'm really happy to give you this new mandala so that you can make something pretty for your own table. It's a great project to use up any odds and ends of yarn left over from making blankets, and I hope you have fun trying out your own colour combinations.

One more thing about the above photo - you can see that the Yuletide mandala is a bit bigger than the ones I usually make, measuring 23cm across....

....but I had a go at making a smaller version (18cm across) to see if the numbers worked out. I'm happy to report that they did - the final round before the scallops has to be a multiple of 4.

After the success of the Yuletide mandala, I wanted to try making another one in a completely different colour palette. I had in mind something autumnal, and inspired by the pages of the latest Country Living magazine (you can see them in this post) I picked out a selection of dusky pinks, golds and soft greens. I don't think it screams autumn, but it does have a link to those very photogenic images of pumpkins that are all over the internet (I shared some inspiration photos in this post).

I used Stylecraft Special DK from my stash and chose ten colours in total :

Vintage Peach : Pale Rose : Mushroom : Mocha : Buttermilk : Camel : Gold : Meadow : Lincoln : Sage

I absolutely love love love it, and kept feeling that it was somehow familiar.....

.....then finally realised that it shares many of the same colours as my Dune Blanket.

The smaller mandala I made yesterday is perhaps more autumnal - I picked out eight colours for this one : 

Claret : Tomato : Spice : Gold : Lime : Meadow : Sage : Teal

I don't like this one quite as much - I chose to blend the colours, but I think the Yuletide spike stitch pattern works best when there are strong contrasts instead of subtle blends, to make those little hearts pop out. 

If you're making the Yuletide blanket, then this pattern will already be very familiar to you. Please note that there are some small changes which make a big difference and ensure the mandala ends up as a flat circle and not a bowl shape (ie there are extra spikes, chains and treble increases worked into the rounds). That's a subtle hint to say please read the pattern carefully!

I made a PDF pattern for you, well it was a joint effort because J does all the layout stuff for me and turns my written blurb into something that looks like an actual pattern. I also spent the majority of today creating a tutorial to go with the pattern - I know many of you said you didn't need one but I hated the thought that anyone might struggle without additional photos to help.

❂ DOWNLOAD YULETIDE MANDALA PDF PATTERN ❂

❂ YULETIDE MANDALA TUTORIAL ❂

At the start of the tutorial I added in some additional photos to chat about crocheting a circle, mainly focusing on how to create a neat join and how to "read" the stitches so that you avoid adding in any extra stitches which is a common mistake. I hope it's useful, especially to those of you who are new to working circular patterns.

Well I think that's about all for now, I hope you've enjoyed seeing the results of my creativity this week. I've been on such a happy high working on these lovely circles of colour, they really have delivered a lot of joy.

See you tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Comments

[Kate Buckley]

Lucy, I was thinking about you today and wondering how your big boy is getting on? I can't even remember what you call him, you haven't mentioned him for so long.
Belated happy birthday wishes, enjoy your 50s and 60s!

[PatriciaA]

Thank you Lucy & J for the pattern and the tutorial.
So much fun designing with a bit of hard work thrown in to keep you on your toes. :-)
Keep up the good work.

[Brenda Sizer]

Thanks Lucy for sharing the pattern. I really appreciate you t you taking the time to create this gorgeous pattern. I've now made 2 with plans for more..thankyou

[Wendy]

Hi Lucy,
thank you for the pattern. I've just started to make one in autumn colours. I have noticed a slight mistake in round 1 and I'm just letting you know as to help others who may want to try your pattern.
Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr): 11 tr into ring: sl st into 3rd ch of beg ch-3 to close round. (12 sts).
Hope I'm right in thinking this and you don't mind me saying.
Thanks again for all that you do and I'm loving your October blog x

[Loralee Clark]

You are so generous! Thank you for helping me to continue in my crochet adventures and to play with color in fun ways. Happy Fall, my dear, Loralee

[Helen Mathey-Horn]

Lucy, you soon will have a mandala for the table to match each blanket, so no matter the season, you can co-ordinate with your blankets! :) As always lovely work and enjoyable reading. Thank you

[Line]

Thanks a lot! It's so kind of you.

[Deb]

I love mandalas.

[Geraldine Davies]

Thanks so much for sharing, I will be making these for Christmas presents for my friends and family. ☺️💕

[Gill Compigne-Leaney]

Thank you so much for sharing your pattern I love it. I am going to make a few for my Christmas table this year, that is after I have finished my Christams cards, made a mini dinosaur and caught uo on my TAST stitches from Sharon Boggon. Soon then!!!

[Sian Collins]

Lucy, thank you so much for your generosity. I have nearly finished the Yuletide blanket and will love making a mandala or two or three for presents - who knows? I am very grateful.

[Laura H]

What an absolutely beautiful pattern. And like other posters have said, you’re so generous to have shared it for free. I learned to crochet here, I’ve made blankets as gifts from your patterns, and had so much inspiration from you. It must make you feel so good to inspire so many people to craft. I’ll send a photo of my first mandala! Thank you xx

[Anita J Tinlin]

Thank you very much for sharing this pattern.

[Gillian Greenshields]

I love the small autumnal mandala! I'll have to zoom in and try and figure out the colour order. On my must do list today!

[Rachel]

Very pretty collection and satisfying to make xx

[Marianne]

Thank you, thank you, so much!

[Lauren]

Thank you, thank you ,thank you 🤗😍 I can’t wait to try it with my stash of colours- absolute joy!

[Brenda Lee Carrier]

Hello, well I'm a bit late getting on the bus! I have been reading your blog long before Little B was born and now I'm finally leaving a comment, shame on me. Why am I writing now? Well I just received my yarn pack for the Yuletide blaket and I LOVE it! I had to wait a bit because it was sold out but the wait was so worth it. The quality and instructions are superb. Im going to order the Hydrangia once next. Thank you Lucy for your lovely blog and your wonderful artistic mind....oxoxox
Cheers from Canada, Brenda

[Carol Jean]

I live in the USA

Is it possible for me to order your yarn packs?

I really love your work - ALL of it!

[Louise]

Wow! This is just gorgeous. How amazing that you are blogging every day for Blogtober (a huge undertaking) AND you write up a tutorial as well! Thank you for your time and whizz-popping creativeness :)
It's Spring here so maybe I should try one in Spring colours? xox

[Corinna Mazzotta]

Ah Lucy - thank you so much for doing a tutorial. Even just that 1 photo you have included in today's blog is so helpful as I think that's where I've always gone wrong when attempting circles.
Knowing there's a tutorial, I will definitely have a go at this Mandala - in fact I love the Autumn coloured one so much I might do that first - it will go so well with my Woodland blanket!
Thank you so much for your hard work & your generosity in sharing all these patterns with us for free. 😘

[Winwick Mum]

That's a lot of work there with the photos - and thank you for the tips on where to start too. I'm pretty sure I always try to make a stitch where there shouldn't be one! xx

[Ruth]

You are lucky to possess a creative side! Mine is quilting and counted cross stitch. Crochet has been a hobby in the past...your lovely Mandela's are tempting me to dust off the crochet hooks!

[Christine Whiting]

Thank next project for me for two small round tables. Lots of hard work to keep us happy.😊

[Debbie Tristram]

So lovely of you to print your patterns for free. Thank you Lucy. Really enjoying your daily October blogs.