Free 12" Diamond Square Crochet Pattern

Diamond 12" Square Crochet Pattern

Materials: 2 or more colors of 4ww yarn.  I used Red Heart Super Saver.  You can use other yarns as long as you match gauge prior to starting your square.  If gauge is not met, your end result may be a smaller or larger square.

Hook: Size I/9 - 5.50mm (I use Boye hooks)

Gauge: 3 HDC & 2 Rows - 1"

Skill Level: Easy

Stitches: 

     st(s) - stitch(es)

     Ch - Chain

     sk - skip

     sl st - slip stitch

     SC - Single Crochet

     HDC - Half Double Crochet

     DC - Double Crochet

     TR - Treble Crochet

     HDC2TOG - HDC 2 sts together

     HDC3TOG - HDC 3 sts together

     BrSt - Brick Stitch (SC, Ch 2, 3 DC) in same st

 

Fun and Unique Afghan Crochet Patterns you MUST try. Autumn Sale

What was the very first thing you ever crocheted?  Mine was an afghan, but since I was only 10 yrs old when I learned to crochet, it was a small afghan for the Cabbage Patch doll that my mom made me for my birthday.  It was probably 12"-18" square (only it wasn't so square   lol)  and it worked.  

The 2nd one that I made by myself was this Twin size Red and White chevron afghan that I still have in the closet.  It's almost 30 years old and I still remember the feeling I had when I tied that last knot. Ahhh, Accomplished and that was fun!  :)

I've made close to 150 afghans during the past 30 years and most of them have been large in size as they have either been sold or given to my family.  I LOVE afghans!  It could be hot outside in the middle of summer and you could still find me with an afghan because they're comfy and comforting.

Afghan Crochet Pattern Collection by Crafting Friends Designs

  Here are just a handful of the blankets I've designed over the past few years.  To celebrate Autumn and the leaves starting to change where I live, I have all afghan crochet patterns on sale through August 31st in my Ravelry Shop. See below for details

Red Heart Twilight Yarn Review and Free Round Blanket / Rug Crochet Pattern

**This post contains Affiliate Links.  I may be compensated for any clicks or purchases made through these links which will help me continue to offer more free patterns on my blog.**
 

About a month or so ago, I received a fun bag of yarn from Red Heart to try out.  Normally, I stick to 4ww yarns for all the designs I do, so it was fun to work with something different.  Red Heart's Boutique Twilight is quite a bit thicker and comes in a bunch of fun Sparkly colors. My first thought was a cowl but I was sure there would be a bunch of them out before to long, so I played with it for a while and waited for the perfect something to use it for.  Then one day, my 6yr old daughter saw it, loved the "Romantic"  shades of purple, pink, tan and sparkle.

 
She decided it should be turned into an afghan for her, so the start of a new FREE crochet pattern was on the hook!   

It's County Fair Time with my Basket Weave Chevron Afghan Crochet Pattern

Have you ever entered something you've made into the County or State Fair?  When I was little and in 4H, I entered some Lemon Bars that I made and a Cake that I decorated, but that's been my one and only experience.  I don't like being judged!  It makes me really nervous to have someone look over my work really closely and then critique or judge it, so I've never entered any crochet projects let alone my own designs!  


Our County Fair is at the end of this month and I think I've finally found the perfect thing to take and enter.  (Yes, I'm already nervous!) When I first started considering working with the Basket Weave stitch, I wanted something completely unique from what was out there.  It seems like everything is always worked in straight rows and I HAVE to be different!  I've been obsessed with Chevron designs lately and thought "How cool would this combo be?!" When I designed my Basket Weave Chevron Afghan crochet pattern, I was amazed with myself.  I did it!!!  Woo Hoo :)  I originally just made a small prop size blanket because I thought the texture would be amazing for photos.   When that was finished, I knew I HAD to make a throw size blanket for myself and boy am I glad I did...

Serenity Afghan Free Crochet Pattern from the Battle of the Stitches Round 6 Challenge

** This post contains Affiliate Links**
2015 is half over and it's been a busy year.  I have been determined to make this year a success not only by releasing many great new crochet patterns, but also by updating older designs and offering more coordinating designs. The 6 Basic Infant Dress Set Patterns have been updated already and the toddler sizes are underway. 
 
Recently, we held another round of the Battle of the Stitches.  Round 6 was based on Serenity as the crochet stitch and theme to focus on.  We wanted you to find your serenity with us and enjoy some crochet time with some amazing designs from wonderful designers. 

Ribbon Candy Flower Free Crochet Pattern

Ribbon Candy Flower

When I designed the Ribbon Candy Infant Dress crochet pattern, I wanted a fun embelishment that would play off the design of the twirling ribbon effect in this stitch.  This was the final result and I think it's pretty fun to work up and it fits!  
It is included in the dress pattern, and now, it will also remain free here on my blog for everyone to enjoy.

Materials: 
Small amount of 4ww yarn (2-3 colors)
**Color A will be the center color, Color B will be the outer color**
Hook size H
Button (size of choice)
Matching thread and needle

Stitches:
Ch - Chain
Sp - Space 
St - Stitch
Sl St - Slip Stitch
SC - Single Crochet
HDC - Half Double Crochet
DC - Double Crochet
TR - Treble Crochet

It's a Celebration Worth Checking out! 8k FaceBook Fans, free Patterns and a $1 pattern sale

I'm so excited to have reached the fun milestone of 8,000 fans on Crafting Friends Designs' FaceBook page.  THANK YOU to everyone who has followed my business and supported me.  I appreciate all of you!  It's been so fun to get to know so many of you and see the projects that you've made using my designs. 

sandy's cape cod originals: 596 Doggie Toy Lovie Blanket Free crochet pattern

sandy's cape cod originals: 596 Doggie Toy Lovie Blanket



How sweet is this!!!?  Sandy's Cape Cod Originals is offering her Doggie Toy Lovie Blanket crochet pattern to all of us for free. 
This is a great way to find new designers and see how you like their writing style.  Grab your copy today, work one up and maybe you'll love it enough that you can make a bunch of them for service projects.  I bet that Homeless Shelters or Women's Shelters could both use some of these to brighten a little child's day.

We Live and we Learn, We Learn and we Grow. Crochet Pattern updates and new additions

Shell Brook Afghan

**This post contains affiliate links**
4 years ago,  I started writing patterns and designing some of my own crochet things.  2 very different things.  I wrote some patterns for afghans using basic crochet stitches such as my Brick Stitch Afghan and my Shell Brook Afghan.  I didn't really "Design" them because they were just the stitches in straight rows and I just figured out the sizing and wrote the directions down.  They are very pretty afghans and I've made MANY of each of them. 

 Then,  I decided that I wanted to actually design my own crochet baby dress patterns.  I'm not fond of the really frilly, old fashioned style dresses that are out there.  I like simple, clean looks and that's the direction I took when designing my first 6 Basic Infant Dresses:
Baby Tay, Shell Brook, Diamond, Ribbon & Lace, Oh Snap and Snap Dragon.  I wanted everyone (even beginners) to feel accomplished by being able to make their own crocheted clothing. 

Basic Infant Dress pkg by Crafting Friends Designs

I posted some photos of just the dresses on FaceBook and the Ribbon & Lace dress (the peach one on the far left) was shared by AllFreeCrochet because they really liked it and I was blown away by how many people were interested in the patterns.  It was a long few months of actually writing up the instructions for others to be able to follow, having around 20 wonderful ladies test 4 different sizes in all 6 designs.  The patterns worked!!!  The dresses others made using my instructions were really pretty and I was so happy to have such a great response!

Fast forward 3 more years and WOW have I learned a LOT!  I've changed my writing style some and have worked with 4 amazing Professional Photographers in order to show my work at it's best. I owe a HUGE thanks to Nicole Nelson Photography, Ash & Co, Violet Lufkin Photography and Two Color Photography for working with me and their beautiful talent.

Ribbon & Lace Infant Dress & Afghan Set Crochet Pattern

Baby Tay Infant Dress & Afghan Set

Ribbon & Lace Infant Dress Set

As I looked back at these 6 original designs, I knew I needed to update them.  I dreaded it for a while because I remembered working up each size dress myself along with the ladies testing.  I had SO many dresses around my house (they are addicting!). However, once I jumped in to start the updates, I found it refreshing and fun and inspiring.  I decided I wanted to do more than just update the dress. I wanted to improve the value of each design so I added new flowers to some and coordinating afghans for each one.
I use Caron Simply Soft yarn for my dresses though you can use other similar yarns such as I Love This Cotton.  I also use Boye crochet hooks, so keep this in mind when working your swatch for the gauge.  Different hook brands can alter your finished size if gauge is not met first.



Now that they are all complete, I couldn't be more happy and in love with how simple yet beautiful each one is.  I hope that you will enjoy them even more than before!  They are fantastic gifts for Baby Showers and each afghan (except the Flower afghan) has instructions to make in your desired size and is not set specifically for infants.  I'm sure that there are brothers and sisters to those cute little newborn babies who would love to have a matching blanket.  

Diamond Infant Dress & Afghan Set

Oh Snap Infant Dress & Afghan Set

Snap Dragon Infant Dress & Afghan Set

Shell Brook Infant Dress & Afghan Set

What do you think?  Aren't they fun!!?  This collection is great to have on hand to whip up some amazing handmade Baby Shower Gifts or to make as service projects.  

New Crochet Pattern: Spring Garden Photo Prop Sensory Mat

Spring Garden Prop/Sensory Blanket

For Round 5 of the Battle of the Stitches Crochet challenge, I asked Lisa Jell of Kaleidoscope Art & Gifts to choose the theme and stitch.  She chose to use the Moorish Motif with "On the Wings of Spring" as the theme.  This was a beautiful choice, but not an easy task.  Each challenger needed to use the Moorish Motif as the focus of their design.  I knew I wanted to do another photography prop but I really struggled with how to use the motif at first.  I knew I wanted to get a great texture in the mat and wanted to pull in the spring theme.  Then I had an idea - a Themed mat!  I didn't know if it would work or not.  I thought it was a cute idea, but would photographers really use it? 

Monday Madness Diamond Infant Dress Crochet Pattern Update and Sale

In the Beginning

Diamond Infant Dress

A little over 3 years ago, I designed my 6 Basic Infant Dress crochet patterns.  The Diamond, Ribbon & Lace, Baby Tay, Shell Brook, Oh Snap and Snap Dragon dress collection was a huge hit as soon as I showed photos on Facebook.  I had only made them in a newborn baby size and had only written the pattern down for myself.  So many people asked for the patterns that I couldn't ignore it.  I quickly gathered a group of about 20 ladies to test for me and we worked hours and hours making 4 different sizes in 6 different styles.  I wanted to make sure that each size worked up and looked the way that I wanted it, so I actually made each dress in each size.  Holy Moly that was a LOT of work! But it was an awesome feeling when we were through testing and I was able to release each dress pattern. 

Pattern Update

After 3 years of crochet designing, I look back at this infant collection and while I'm proud if it, I have learned a lot and these patterns are not written to how I prefer to have my patterns now.  I have started updating each design and retesting them to hopefully make them better and easier to understand.  So, Are you ready for a pattern  Re-Release and Sale?

Monday Madness! Princess Britt Infant Dress Crochet Pattern Sale

**This post contains affiliate links**

This is one of my girls' favorite dresses!  They love the ruffle and get compliments EVERY time they wear them.  The Princess Britt dress crochet pattern has a wonderful texture to it along with the beautiful ruffles on the skirt.  It is Great for Photo props! 

I admit, I was worried at first when I found the Red Heart Sashay yarn thinking it would be hard to work with other than making scarves.  It's so pretty, and VERY simple to use!  No need to stress.

  
Monday's can be so gloomy because everyone heads back to work.  I thought it would be fun to have a Monday Madness event and offer a variety of patterns at a HUGE discount 1 day a week.  What do you think?

New Textured Basket Weave Chevron Afghan Crochet Pattern

Basket Weave Chevron Afghan Crochet Pattern

New Crochet Pattern

Woo Hoo!!!  We have a new pattern release for you this week and I'm so excited about it.  I love the look of the Basket Weave crochet stitch, but it is usually used in just straight rows or rounds.  I wanted something fun and unique and was determined to design with it.  Chevrons have been my "thing" lately and when that "Ah Ha" moment came, I was jumping for joy!

Choosing Color

As I've mentioned before, color is not my strength right now when releasing patterns.  I have my favorite color schemes and they work well for my home and I often create new designs for friends and family using their home interior design as the inspiration for their item.  While I think they always turn out beautifully, they are not always colors that speak to others from a website saying "BUY ME NOW"   lol.

I've been nominated for The Crochet Awards

Nomination:
Woo Hoo!  Thank you to the fan(s) who nominated my Stars & Stripes Sundress for The Crochet Awards.  There are so many talented designers who have been nominated for this quarter and I'm thrilled to have been included.

Crochet Pattern Sale:
To celebrate, I'm offering 50% off the Stars & Stripes Sundress patterns on my website.  You just need to use code SEEINGSTARS at checkout to receive the discount on this dress pattern. Coupon will be good through Feb 28, 2015. 

Voting:
Many other designers are also offering discounts on their nominated designs.  This is NOT to bribe anyone for votes.  It is simply to say thank you let you know that we appreciate you.  If you haven't voted yet, Please head over to TheCrochetAwards.com and vote for your favorite design in a variety of categories. 

Stars & Stripes Infant Sundress
Stars & Stripes Toddler Sundress
Stars & Stripes Child Sundress
Stars & Stripes Sundress Package

Stars & Stripes Sundress by Crafting Friends Designs

New Diamond Burst Chevron Afghan Crochet Pattern and CAL

Welcome the Diamond Burst Chevron Afghan Crochet Pattern to our Chevron Collection!

 I'm sure you could tell by now that I really love afghans.  Chevron afghans are all over the place and I know there are TONS of chevron patterns, but most of them are pretty basic patterns.  I have pushed my creativity and was determined to be unique in my chevron designs and I think I've done a pretty good job (If I do say so myself).  My latest design is no different.  It started out as an afghan with arrows working up the peaks of the chevron and then I had an Ah-Ha moment and the Diamond Burst Chevron Afghan was born.
10 days from the beginning foundation to the final 4'x5.5' afghan ready for promotional photos was a fast turn on an afghan for me.  I really enjoyed working this design and didn't want to set it down!

CAL Time

I'm so excited that I decided to do a CAL (crochet - a - long) using this pattern.  Because it's one of my Chevron Collection patterns, it will be listed for $5.49 at the end of February.  To enjoy some time crocheting this with you prior to it's release, Those who become members of my site have access to this pattern for only $3.00 in order to join the CAL.  Beginning 2/18, I will start posting 1 row of instructions each day (probably taking Sunday off).    I've already posted about how I choose my colors and a tip to figuring out how to stripe patterns easily.  I appreciate everyone who has joined already and look forward to seeing your projects as we work this together.  

How you can join

A few of you have mentioned that you would like to join but would not be able to until Friday.  No worries!  You can still join and are welcome to jump in when you can.  I will be working on my 2nd one for another week so I can work it the same time as everyone else and I also have other projects that I need to push myself to do. 

To join, just visit http://www.craftingfriendsdesigns.com and register or log in.  Once you're logged in, you can visit the Members Only page which will give you a few details of the CAL and the listing to purchase.  Once this listing is purchased, I will add you to the Blog section where we are holding the CAL.  Please feel free to post comments and ask questions where needed.  I'm there and happy to help. 
This pattern will not be released to the public until after the CAL is complete and will be the regular listing price then.  This will run for at least 1 week.  Obviously because we will all be making a variety of sizes, we won't all finish at the same time, but I think a week will get us through the majority of what in needed and then you can finish in your own time (no pressure) since it will be a matter of repeats and not new instructions. 

If you are unable to join this Crochet a Long, stick around because we will be holding more throughout the year.  I offered one last year for my Camo afghan and one a few weeks ago for a new free dress pattern.  Some will be free and some will be paid.  I like to mix things up a bit :).  I will also be offering special discounts to members only (on my site) throughout the year too, so come join the fun!

Thanks again for all your positive comments, support in sharing, liking and commenting on Crafting Friends Designs Facebook posts, Pinning and tweeting.  All of this helps so that others who share our same passion for crochet can see what we're up to. 
Enjoy your day and I hope to see you on the CAL blog!
Kate

I'm Embracing my Ugly!

Shell Brook Afghan

Give me a hook and some yarn and let the designing begin!  Well, sort of.  See,  I have issues with color.  I'm admitting here and now that color is not my strong point when it comes to designing crochet patterns and then needing to sell them using the actual item I've made.  My favorite colors are Deep, Deep shades of Purple, Green, Blue and Red/Burgandy.  All beautiful to me and all colors that I have throughout my home.  They are warm and comforting and I just want to snuggle up in an afghan with those colors (Like the photo on the right which is actually one of my Faves!) and read a good book or watch a great movie or even crochet another afghan! 

Double Crochet Foundation Chain Photo Tutorial

 Since learning how to work the Foundation Chain,  I've used it in all my designs that required a chain to start.  I LOVE this way of beginning projects and the stretch that it gives.  I also love that you don't have to worry about some chain spaces being to loose or to tight and it's all around just better! 

With All My Heart Service Project Continued

With All My Heart Dress

How is everyone doing? As I mentioned in a few weeks ago, I will continue to add some free crochet patterns to my blog to help with an Angel Baby service project I challenged everyone to try.  You can read all about that challenge HERE on my blog.  

With All My Heart Sm Photo Prop

During the Super Bowl, I decided to host a CAL on my Facebook page.  This is a completely new pattern and only available in the preemie size.  It was a lot of fun to work up a dress at the same time as many of you!  I will be hosting more CAL's through out this year, so be sure to follow me either here on the blog, or on Facebook.

Every Girl is a Princess! And now it's easy to dress her up.

My little girls are into princesses!  They love dressing up themselves and they love dressing up their dolls.  I'm so excited to share this new tutorial with you from Little Luvies Shop!  Now available on her blog is a free tutorial for princess sleeves and you can add them to any dress or top pattern you already have.  Woo Hoo!!!
Now, because the princess costumes are Trademarked, you will NOT want to make these to sell.  They should only be used for personal use. Here is the deal for you!

With All My Heart Photo Prop Service Project Free Crochet Pattern Offer

As many of you know, I was a challenger in The Battle of the Stitches crochet competition.  The theme was "Love is in the Air" and as soon as I heard that, I knew I wanted to do a heart shaped prop to focus on the love of a baby.  One of the restrictions for this challenge is that you can only have 4 testers who know what you're designing and then obviously a photographer.  That's it - no one else can know what you're working on (not colors, not brand of yarn, not - well, you get the picture)  This keeps the competition fair and based completely on the design and talent itself and not the popularity of the individual designer.

Classic Cable Chevron Afghan

I've been working with Ashlee from Ash & Co for quite a while now and love her work.  She has captured some beautiful photos of my designs such as this one of my Classic Cable Chevron Afghan.  Without being able to tell anyone what I had designed, it was slightly difficult to find a way to get my competition design photographed the way I was hoping, so she introduced me to another local Photographer who is well known for her newborn photos.  I don't believe this was just a coincidence.  I know that we were supposed to meet for a reason and now I know why....

2015 - A Year of Awesomeness Blog Hop!!!

The past few years have been a wonderful journey for me in life and in business.  I have learned a lot when it comes to Crochet Designing and made many, many friends along the way.  In the past, I had just gone with the flow of things and while it was good for my creative and laid back personality, it wasn't a strong business plan. 

This year has already started out on a different and fantastic track!  I will be working harder on various aspects of my designing and building stronger business relationships with other designers.
We're kicking off the year with a bit of fun for you!  We know that Facebook has slowly been making it harder for you, our fans, to see our sales, new pattern releases and fun posts to interact with us.  We don't want to be just a "business"  We don't want you to view us as just a logo.  We want you to know who we are, get to know us better and be more of a Real Person you can come to and ask questions and chat with and share your love of crochet with us.

I will be doing some Blog hops, Twitter hops, Google + hops and maybe even Pinterest hops throughout this year so you can follow your favorite Designers on the various social sites that you use.  
This is the 1st of many fun events coming your way.
Below, you can enter to win a handful of prizes from me and then make sure you visit the other blogs listed if you haven't already so that you can follow their journey and enter to win prizes from each of them!

Valentine Projects for 2015

With Valentine's Day not to far away,  I decided that I'd better start working on some projects for my girls to give their friends.  I'm finding a lot of fun and cute crochet patterns to choose from. Other than a cowl and matching boot cuffs that my daughter has asked me to make for her teacher, I'm not sure what to do for the rest.  It will have to be quick projects as I have a lot going on right now.  Here's a fun crochet pattern roundup just for Valentine projects so we can all brainstorm and share fun ideas with each other.

Happily Hooked Friday Face Off with my Butterfly Garden Afghan

Mountain Lace Infinity Scarf

Happy weekend everyone!  Hopefully you are able to squeeze a bunch of crocheting in over the next few days.  I will be hard at work on creating cowls to go with all my Boot Cuff patterns, so keep your eyes out for the updates on those.