table runner – Bead Yarn & Spatula

I normally don’t decorate for Valentine’s Day. The most I do is hang a tinsel heart wreath on my front door. This year though, possibly from spending so much time at home I decided to do a little more than just hang a wreath.

Initially I was just planning on making a crocheted heart garland. I started crocheting hearts in different colors reminiscent of the Conversation Hearts candy using Lily Sugar ‘n Cream yarn. Then I had the hearts I had completed on my coffee table in my living room and the idea came to me to make a table runner.

So, after measuring out another table runner I used on the table over the holidays I determined that I would need 60 crocheted hearts, 4 rows of 15 hearts (or 15 columns of 4 hearts.) Once I had them all crocheted it was time to settle on a pattern.

I ended up crocheting more of the lighter and darker pink hearts since I knew those colors were going to be the ones that would tie the table runner together. I went back and forth about what to do with the other colors but decided on placing them haphazardly. Doing my best to spread them out evenly. This is the pattern that I ultimately settled on.

And then the not-so-fun part… stitching the hearts together. I began by stitching the rows of 4 hearts together. Once I had finished stitching them, I laid the 15 4-heart columns out on my table and it became apparent immediately that I was going to need another row.

I crocheted 15 more hearts, thankfully they work up quickly, and placed them so I could stitch them onto the hearts I had previously stitched together. And instantly I could see that that additional row made my table runner the perfect width.

Next, I needed to stitch together all of the columns.

And finally, it was done. The finished size with the 75 hearts is 12.5” x 47”. This is the type of project though that you can completely customize to make it the size you need.

Also, this project is a great stash buster. While I used 7 different shades of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream yarn you could easily use any leftover yarn in your stash that has a similar weight (Medium/4) and use less or more colors depending on what you have on hand.

And I didn’t forget about that garland I wanted to make. To make the garland I crocheted 9 large hearts in Pretty in Pink and 8 smaller hearts in Rose Pink. Then using a long piece of yarn, I strung the hearts together. It ended up being just shy of 4 feet long. Just like the table runner though, you can adjust the length to fit your needs.

And there was one other thing I did to get my house into the Valentine’s Day spirit… I really didn’t feel like taking down my Christmas Tree, not because I was being lazy or anything, I just like how my tree looks, but, I didn’t want to leave the Christmas ornaments on it so I decided to make it into a Valentine’s Day Tree.

Crocheted Heart Table Runner & Garland

Lily Sugar ‘n Cream yarn in the following colors:

Sage Green – 2.5 oz ball

Tangerine – 2.5 oz. ball

Hot Purple – 2.5 oz. ball

Black Currant – 2.5 oz. ball

Teal – 2.5 oz. ball

Rose Pink – 4oz. ball (Super-Size Ball)

Pretty in Pink – 4oz. ball (Super-Size Ball)

Crochet Hook Size H-8 / 5mm

For the Table Runner I made 75 Larger sized hearts in the following breakdown:

24 Rose Pink, 14 Pretty in Pink, 8 Teal, 8 Tangerine, 7 Sage Green, 7 Hot Purple, 7 Black Currant

For the Garland I made 9 Larger hearts and 8 smaller hearts in the following breakdown:

9 Pretty in Pink, 8 Rose Pink

To make the smaller heart (1.5 inches long) only crochet Round 1, for the larger heart (2.5 inches long) crochet Round 1 & 2.

Magic Ring, Ch2

Round 1: Into the Magic Ring, 3 Treble Crochets, 4 Double Crochets, Treble Crochet, 4 Double Crochets, 3 Treble Crochet. Pull String, Ch2 and Slip Stitch into center. Pull string tight to close hole.

Round 2: Single Crochet in the side of starting Ch2. 2 half-double crochets in next stitch, 3 double crochets in next stitch, 2 double crochets in next stitch, Double Crochet in the next 4 stitches, 3 double crochets in next stitch, double crochets in next 4 stitches, 2 double crochets in next stitch, 3 double crochets in next stitch, 2 half-double crochets in next stitch. Single crochet and slip stitch in the side of last ch2 space.

To assemble the Table Runner:

Lay the hearts out in the pattern you wish and then stitch the hearts in the columns together first and then stitch all of the columns together

To assemble the Garland:

String the hearts, using a long piece of yarn, alternating between a large heart and a smaller heart, starting and ending with a larger heart. Tie a knot, or loop, on both ends of the yarn so the hearts will stay in place.

I recently completed a few crocheting/knitting projects – one was sitting on my needles a little longer than I had hoped, one came together rather quickly and another was semi-done but just waiting to be sewn together.

Up first a baby blanket that was a cinch to make. This is actually the third baby blanket I’ve completed this year – I previously made a Violet V-Stitch Baby Blanket and a Baby Blue Basketweave Blanket. Every time I make one I try to find a completely different pattern to follow and for this one I opted to use the Spring Ripple Baby Throw pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. At first I wasn’t seeing the ripple pattern come through but midway through it became clearer. I’m really happy with how this blanket came out and I loved the yarn I used – Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly in Doodle Dots. It wasn’t too heavy or too light which is perfect since the baby it’s meant for is due in late spring.

And next a crochet project that I actually started late last year… the Crochet Shapes Table Runner, once again a pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. I liked this pattern even before I knew how to crochet because of the different motifs it consisted of. I had crocheted all the motifs but needed to stitch them together, unfortunately I got sidetracked with other projects before doing so. I ended up putting the motifs away but it was always in the back of my mind that I needed to finish it and I recently found the time to do so.

The table runner consists of six motifs: Octagon Star, Granny Stitch Hexagon, Circle in the Square, Octagon, Six Petal Flower & Flower Center Circular.

And when all of these pieces are stitched together you have a unique and customized table runner.

Finally, a scarf that I began when a fellow blogger, For The Knit Of It, ran a knit-a-long back in March. The pattern chosen was the Bosc Pattern from Robin Ulrich. And yes, Bosc as in pears. If you look closely at the scarf you can actually see the curves of pears in the pattern. I loved the pattern and was excited to work on it, but, getting it started was such a task. Just getting to this point – the first 10 rows of the pattern – took me about 10 tries.

The reason… the pattern consisted of numerous yarn overs and I kept missing them and would ultimately have to start over. (Knitting is not as forgiving as crocheting.) To combat that I actually typed of the pattern and then marked where the yarn overs would be so I wouldn’t keep missing them. Once I did that working on the pattern was a piece of cake. Unfortunately for myself it wasn’t the type of pattern that I could mindlessly work on while watching television so it took me a lot longer to complete it than I had hoped. I am happy though that I didn’t give up on it and am looking forward to wearing it next winter.