So it’s been a while since I updated this blog and I felt it was about time to start sharing the things I have been working on. I’ve been busy working on various crochet commissions and on my sunshine and showers and vintage sweethearts crochet-a-longs. One thing I am starting to work on now is creating my own patterns.
It is a big leap to move from following patterns to creating your own so I thought I would start with something fairly straight forward and decided to create a cover for my kindle. I wanted to use fresh colours and cotton yarn but needed some inspiration for the stitch to use. I had a look though this great book called Crochetopedia by Julie Oparka which has lots of patterns in it but also a fairly extensive stitch directory. I fancied something that created a cable like effect and was really drawn to a stitch I had not seen before called a woven chain loop stitch. It had a look that I really liked so I decided that I was going to use this stitch for the kindle cover.
Next I needed to decide on the yarn I wanted to use and the colours. I immediately went for my old favourite Rico essentials cotton dk as I love the stitch definition and professional finish that cotton yarn gives. It is also durable and machine washable, both of which are good qualities for a kindle cover.
In my head I had imagined that a stripe would look modern so decided to use 3 colours in alternating stripes. I have seen a lot of colour schemes recently using grey and yellow which look stylish and fresh so I decided to use those colours alongside some white to give a crisp and contemporary feel to the cover. I went with silver (03), saffron (60) and white (80) and then it was time to start designing the cover.
The creation of the cover was fairly straightforward as it is essentially straight lines and a repeating pattern.
So here is the pattern, I hope it makes sense, if you have a go please let me know and share the results. If anything on the pattern is unclear feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help. Please note this pattern can be easily adapted to fit any tablet or phone. I have explained how to do this at the bottom of the pattern.
Happy hooking!
Crochet Cable Kindle Cover
Materials needed
Rico essentials cotton in silver (03), saffron (60) and white (80)
3.5mm crochet hook
Tapestry needle
Button
Pattern is written in UK terms.
This pattern is to fit a standard size kindle 13cm x 17cm. This pattern can be adapted to fit any tablet or phone. I will explain how to do this at the end of the pattern.
Gauge – after completing the first row check it fits the width of the kindle. You will need to stretch it slightly to get it to fit, this ensures a snug fit. Adjust your hook size up or down if it is too loose or too tight.
Abbreviations
Ch – chain
Dc – UK double crochet (American single crochet)
FRONT OF COVER
Row 1 – Using silver yarn, ch 25
Row 2 – For this row work into the top loop of the foundation chain only, we will be coming back and working into the bottom of the foundation chain later. Dc in second chain from hook, dc in the next 3 chains. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Row 3 – ch 1, dc in each stitch across pushing the loops to the back side of the work. Change to saffron yarn on the last stage of the final dc (do not tie off the silver yarn as we will be carrying this up the work). (24 stitches)
Row 4 – Using the saffron yarn ch1 then dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Row 5 – ch1, dc in each stitch across pushing the loops to the back side of the work. Change to White yarn on the last stage of the final dc (do not tie off the saffron yarn as we will be carrying this up the work). (24 stitches)
Row 6 – Using the white yarn ch1 then dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Row 7 – ch1, dc in each stitch across pushing the loops to the back side of the work. Change to Silver yarn on the last stage of the final dc by picking up the yarn from where you last used it in row 3. This will leave a line of yarn up the side of the work but don’t worry this will not be obvious once the finished piece is stitched together (do not tie off the white yarn as we will be carrying this up the work). (24 stitches)
Row 8 – Using the Silver yarn ch1 then dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Row 9 – ch1, dc in each stitch across pushing the loops to the back side of the work. Pick up the saffron yarn from lower down your work and change to saffron yarn on the last stage of the final dc (do not tie off the silver yarn as we will be carrying this up the work). (24 stitches)
Row 10 – Using the saffron yarn ch1 then dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Row 11 – ch1, dc in each stitch across pushing the loops to the back side of the work. Change to White yarn on the last stage of the final dc by picking up the yarn from lower down the yarn (do not tie off the saffron yarn as we will be carrying this up the work). (24 stitches)
Row 12 – Using the white yarn ch1 then dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch 8 then dc into the next 4 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops.
Rows 13 – 42 Rep rows 7 – 12, 5 times
Row 43-45 – Rep rows 7 – 9
You should now have a rectangle of rows of double crochet with 5 vertical lines of loops running down the work. We now need to braid the loops ready to secure in place with the next row of dc.
Start with the silver lops that you made in row 2. Pick up the first loop and then pick up the saffron loop directly above it and push the saffron loop through the silver loop from back to front essentially securing the silver loop behind the lemon loop. Next pick up the white loop directly above the saffron loop and push the white loop through the saffron loop from back to front essentially securing the saffron loop behind the white loop. Continue to do this right the way up to the top. The last unsecured loop will be the silver loop you created on row 44. Repeat this whole process with the remaining 4 lines of vertical loops until you have 5 vertical lines of braid and the 5 unsecured silver loops will be almost level with the last row ready to be secured with the next row of dc.
Row 46 – Using the saffron yarn ch 1 then *dc into the next 3 stitches. Next insert your hook through the silver loop from front to back and then insert your hook through the next stitch, pull the yarn through and then yarn over and pull through*. This essentially creates a dc that is holding the silver loop in place. Repeat from * 4 times then dc in the last 4 stitches.
Row 47 – ch 1 then dc across. Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing together later. Fasten off the silver and white yarn.
This completes the first side of the case. Now turn the case upside down and attach the silver yarn to the unworked side of the foundation chain.
BACK OF COVER
Row 2 – (row 1 is the foundation chain which we have already done when making the front) for this row work into the bottom loop of the foundation chain only. Ch 1, dc in the next 4 stitches. *Ch8 then dc into the next stitch creating a loop. Dc in the next 3 stitches* rep from * 4 more times. You should have 24 stitches and 5 x 8ch loops. Make sure that your loops are in line with the loops created when working on the front side.
Rows 3 – 46 – Work as per the front side
Row 47 – ch 1 then dc in the next 12 stitches. Ch 15 then dc into the last 12 stitches. Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing together later. Fasten off the silver and white yarn.
MAKING UP
Weave in the yarn ends using a tapestry needle apart from the long saffron ends from row 47. Fold the work in half horizontally so that the right sides are together. Take one of the long ends and stitch together one side of the case using whip stitch. Take care to ensure the stripes from the front and back line up as you stitch it up. Fasten off and weave in the end. Repeat this on the other side of the case using the other yarn end. Turn the case the right way out and sew a button to the front of the case in the centre about 4 rows down from the top. This completes your case!!
Adapting the size for other tablets
The pattern works in multiple of 4’s so if you are looking to adapt your pattern just do your foundation chain to a length so that a slight stretch covers the tablets width. Make sure your number of chains is a multiple of 4 (e.g. 32 or 36) then add on 1 extra chain as the turning chain (so the total chains would be 33 or 37 for example). Then just follow the pattern as above being aware you may have fewer or more repeats on each row depending on how you have altered the starting chain.
Lucy loves loops 