In January 2021 I published Evelyn’s Bundle on Ravelry and Etsy. This eBook included an oversized afghan square, Evelyn’s Motif 40, and two blankets: Evelyn’s Favorite Guitar, and Evelyn’s Expression. The blankets are both on the smaller side: 44″ x 52″ (chart size 177 x 207) and the square is the same size as all my 40-window squares (chart size 81 x 81). The three patterns are available individually or discounted together in an eBook.
So, why am I posting about this today? It’s old news!
Well, here’s the thing: Evelyn’s Expression looks like a repeating pattern – only I didn’t section out the repeats when I published it. I’ve had a request asking about the repeated section so that it can be made larger and I said, “sure, it will be easy to grab the repeat from there for you!”
This simple task of pulling the repeatable section from the blanket turned out to be more complicated than I anticipated.
If you look very, very closely at the original blanket you will see that there are actually a few details that make it NOT a repeatable design.
I pulled a section from the middle of Evelyn’s Expression that you can repeat as many times as you need to get get whatever size you want. I am calling it Evelyn’s Repeat. This image below is a few repeats wide and tall, to give you an idea of what it will look like.
First, I didn’t remember that when I drew the original blanket pattern it is actually mirrored left-to-right and not just a repeat of dark diamonds and light diamonds. The lighter motifs in the corners are slightly different than the other light motifs. And the light motifs on the sides are again different compared to the one in the middle. If you expanded this design you would see that the spacing between the motifs starts to crowd in on itself. It’s fine for the blanket as written, but to pull out the repeat is actually impossible.
So, I made some small changes. This new pattern, Evelyn’s Repeat, definitely belongs in the eBook Evelyn’s Bundle but I also considered not creating a new listing for it and just adding it to the current listing for Evelyn’s Expression. Ultimately, I decided that since the size of this chart is different and that means the yardage required is different and the layout is actually different as well then it really deserves its own listing.
The mosaic pattern was easier to create than the interlocking. This is because when you use the interlocking method you turn your work and that means you can’t just start back the the beginning of the written instructions because now you’re looking at the other side and each line is not only being read from right-to-left but each stitch is also the opposite direction (front instead of back, etc.). Plus, the border lines that lock the layers together are a little harder to find in the written instructions.
Therefore, the charts for the interlocking version and the mosaic version are almost identical but the written instructions for the interlocking method are double the length of the mosaic instructions. Your finished pieces will look the same though – so either pick your favorite technique or learn a new one!
If you already purchased the eBook, Evelyn’s Bundle, on Ravelry then you now have the new repeatable pattern as well. If you purchased the eBook on Etsy you can email me and let me know if you want the new file emailed to you or I can gift it to you on Ravelry.
To celebrate this new addition I have setup a sale! All patterns in the Evelyn series are 25% off until 11:59 pm, CST October 11, 2021. Valid on Ravelry and Etsy. No code needed.
I hope you will find my effort worth it! I think this will make some beautiful crocheted artwork (whether that be a blanket or a wall hanging or a pillow or something else!). Thanks for all the love and support!
