With Hanukkah in just a week, I have been a bit busy whipping up some quick crocheted mini mandalas with a 6-pointed star center. Using pastel-colored t-shirt yarn, this mini mandalas work up quickly, and in just three rows you have something you could use as a coaster, or possibly as part of a decorative garland, mobile, or wall hanging. The jury is still out regarding how I'll be using these, but hopefully I'll figure something out very soon, and share the results with you. Truthfully just hanging these little crocheted circles from my dining room chandelier would do the trick, or maybe combining them with some pom poms, beads or tassels. Hmmm, all those ideas sound good, now just waiting for the inspiration!
And just by the way, of course this pattern can be used with any yarn, but you'll need quite a few more rounds than three to get something that is the size of a coaster, just sayin'.
With just three colors of t-shirt yarn you can get a nice selection of combinations. Though keep in mind that because t-shirt yarn (at least my local brand) is made from industrial scraps the weight of it is generally not consistent from color to color, meaning that my mandalas could only be the same size if I used the same color for each row, as for example the pink is thicker than the light blue.
Ready to make some of these cuties yourself? Stay tuned, the pattern will be posted right here shortly.
You'll Need:
- 6mm crochet hook (or the hook appropriate for your yarn)
- commercial or homemade t-shirt yarn in 3 colors
How To:
Make a magic ring (or if preferred and crocheting with yarn, not t-shirt yarn, chain 4 and form a ring)
Round 1: Ch3, dc, ch3. *dc 2 together, chain 3, repeat four more times and join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch. Detach yarn.
Round 2: Into any ch3 space, ch3, dc, ch3, dc 2 together, ch3. Into next ch3 space * dc 2 together, ch3, dc 2 together, ch3. Repeat from * in every ch3 space and join to top of ch3 with a slip stitch. Detach yarn.
Round 3: Into any ch3 space, join yarn, ch1 and sc 2 into space, sc 1 into top of dc2 cluster. Continue around with 2sc into each ch3 space and 1sc into top of dc 2 together cluster.
Note: Because t-shirt yarn varies in weight, I found that in Round 3 I needed to crochet either 2sc or 3c into 3chain space, so just crochet as many sc stitches as necessary to make your row lie flat.
Enjoy!