Free Seahorse Pattern

I have been trying to make the pattern for this little Seahorse easier to understand. This little chap has led me a merry dance! Here goes.

There is a printable pattern – with just one photo of the finished seahorse, for sale in my Etsy and Ravelry shops.

The pattern is written in US terms. I am left-handed, if you are right-handed the seahorse will face the other way.

Use a 3mm up to a 4.5mm hook and any double knitting yarn.

I have used Stylecraft Special DK

or the pattern can be made in cotton with the appropriate sized hook.

(Use the bigger hook if you like the motif a little bigger and looser)

Abbreviations

ch      chain               sc      single crochet                dc     double crochet

hd     half double     sl      slip stitch                        tog     together

BODY

Ch 35

Dc into 4th ch from the hook, 1dc, 3 dc2tog

2 dc, 2 tr, work 2 tr into each of the next 3 chs.

1tr, 2dc, 2 dc into each of the next 2sts, 2 hd, 3sc2tog,

2 sl (leaving the remaining chs unworked)

1ch

TURN

Miss one st, sl 8, 2sc, 1hd, 2hd in next st, 1dc, 2dc in next st,

2dc, 2dc into next st, 1dc, 2hd,

3sc, 2sl, miss 1st, 2sl, (to the neck)

Ch1

TURN

Miss 1, 6sl, 4sc, 2hd in next st 4 times, 2hd, 2sc, 3sl

Ch1

TURN

Miss 1, 3sl, 16sc, sc2tog, 3sl (you are now at the lower point of the neck)

HEAD

ch 8, sl into 5th ch from the hook to form a loop, (the loop will form the eye)3 sl into the chains (working back towards the neck).

TURN

6dc into loop,

TURN

miss 1^st, 2 sl,

SNOUT

ch5, sl into 2nd ch from hook (forming a picot that will be the top tip at the end of the snout), dc, sc, dc.

Flip the snout over, so that the picot is facing upwards.

Sl into the top of the last of the dcs into the loop to attach the snout to the head.

2dc into loop, 2hd into loop, ch3, sl into the top of the hd

1hd and 2dc into loop

sl into the first ch of the HEAD (at the neck).

2sl to the top of the neck,

TURN

1dc into each of 3 sts, on the top of the head

ch2,

TURN

sl into the top of dc directly below the chs

sl, ch3, sl into 3rd st from the hook, sl into dc directly below the picot just made,

(sc,* ch4, sl into 4th ch from hook, sl) twice, sl

The picture below is at this first sc*, which is made into the loop at the base of the foundation chain.

ch3, sl into 3rd ch from hook, 2sl

(ch4 miss a st, sl) 3 times, sl

FIN

ch4, 2 tr into next st. twice, ch1,

TURN

(sl, ch3) 5 times.

Fasten off.

Sew in the end.

When sewing in the end of the tail pull slightly to get the tail to curl.

This new improved pattern comes with many more photos. If you have a go, I would love to know how you get on.

It would also be fun to see how you use the motifs.

I put them on a Hoodie.

Rainbow Junkie made a wonderful wall hanging for her bathroom.

Happy Hooking!

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Nothing between me and the Sea #2

Joining in with Scrap Happy June, hosted by Kate at Tall Tales From Chiconia

Still a work in progress: more beads have been added and some shells were first glued with PVA and then sewn on.

I’ve placed the seahorse there for the photo – I think that is where it will go, but it is not sewn on yet. I am so enjoying having the time to immerse myself in stitching. I drift off into another dimension and an hour or more goes by without me noticing – bliss.

This will be my second “Nothing between me and the Sea” piece.

You can read about the first one here.

The pattern for the crocheted seahorse can be found here.

Happy Scrapping!

Seahorse Giveaway: The Results

I’m sure you have all been on tenterhooks! Ha!

The winners for the Seahorse Giveaway were drawn on 11:11, sorry to have taken this long to let you know.

I wrote a list of the entrants and gave each one a number

Master R wrote out the numbers

and put them in a little pottery cupcake

painted by Little Miss M

Then Miss E, Master R and Little Miss M each picked a number.

They immediately wanted to know who had won, but I had left the list at home.

😦

Miss E thought there ought to be a prize for the best idea too. They are away at the moment, when they return I’ll ask them to choose what they think are the best ideas and let you know.

So

Drum Roll please!

and a swim past by the shoal (herd?) of Seahorses …………….

Number 3: 10000hoursleft

Number 8: JPeters from Onto My Next 40 years

Number 13: Judy of Edwina’s Episodes

And for the new Followers, only one entry

The Peelings

CONGRATULATIONS!

~

And Cathy of Nanacathy, had a cunning plan – she suggested we swap a Tinsel Owl for a Seahorse

Ollie arrived! And immediately made friends

then this happened!

Hmmm! I’ll have to watch that owl!

I decided 2 seahorses should swim their way ‘up North’ as a swap, and so after a final farewell hug they are now on their way

thank you Cathy for suggesting such a lovely way to exchange handmade gifts.

A huge Thank You to everyone who took part in the Giveaway and contributed so many creative ideas – I love co-creating things so much and hope to put the ideas to good use over the coming months.

It has been fun!

If you are one of the winners please go the the ‘Contact Me’ Page at the top and let me know colour and yarn preference and your postal address and I will be delighted to send the 4 seahorses on their merry way.

For anyone wanting to make a seahorse, the pattern is now available on Ravelry and Etsy.

Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along.

 

Beach Clean Hoodie

The Beach Clean Hoodie is a great success!

Why Beach Clean? Miss E and I are working towards an art exhibition based on all the things we find on our Dorset beaches – the weather is getting colder – the hoodie is cosy and warm, just right for winter beach cleans.

Miss E chose these 3 seahorses and she wanted them on the hand-warming pouch – I just love co-creating designs. You can find the The Seahorse Pattern here.

Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along.

Ginny asks us to share books we are reading. I don’t read much nowadays but I was watching the film ‘Big Eyes’ whilst finishing off the hoodie. A true story.

Arranging things

I could happily spend days arranging things.

All collected on Sunday on the Thames foreshore. We were told that the green glazed pottery was likely to be Medieval.

Rust, teeth, pottery, bones

Zig-Zag

sweet-hearted seahorses

scatter like petals in the wind

stingray approaching

~

Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge: HEART and PETALS

Our Photo Challenge: ZIG-ZAG

💜 The two combined: THE PHAIKU CHALLENGE – any takers!?! 💜

~

I am giving away 6 crocheted seahorses: just go to this post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway. I will announce the 6 winners on my birthday, 11th November.

There have already been some fabulous suggestions of what I can do with the multitude/shoal of seahorses I have crocheted. Ali at Thimberlina suggested zig-zagging them onto a peg bag – PING! That gave me the idea for the Photo Challenge Photo this week. She is an amazing seamstress, I am in awe of her wonderful creations.

Can you see the zig-zag in the top photo – perhaps a little clearer on the back. I would never have thought to do this without Ali’s suggestion, thank you Ali. 

Judy (funny, wry, heartfelt poetry) suggested making them part of a beach art project with each of the grandchildren and this gave me the idea of creating a little picture to go in the textile books I’m making. I was eager to see if the zig-zagging would work – it does – HURRAY!

Mrs Snail  (crochet, gardening, Permaculture and all things eco), BeckyB (the joys of Portugal), Deborah (crafty delights) all suggested bunting, so I have given both suggestions a go. I can’t believe that in my huge stash of fabric remnants I could not find a print to suit, so I have repurposed an old sheet .

I plan to blanket stitch round the edge in white crochet cotton and add a crochet edging, but that is for another day!

Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along .

Next Week’s Photo Prompt

MONSTER

😈 👹 👻 well it is Halloween 💀 👺 🙀

~

If you want to find more Photo Challenges Marsha at Just Write has compiled a brilliant list

To join in this week just leave a link to your Zig-Zag photo post in the comments, I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. 😉

and as Nanacathy (crafty crochet and sew much more) says,

“happy snapping!”

Seahorses to Give Away!

I’m in the grip of another mini craze – it is such a great feeling when the tide of creativity sweeps me off on a wave of delicious delight – it’s a teeny bit like falling in love – do you know what I mean?

So this is how it happened – I created a crochet pattern, the Woodland Hoodie,  for Master R, then aged 4. He loves the hoodie and wears it all the time, still! He’s 7 now. Master R has grown and the neck, which has always been a bit tight became impossible to get over his head, I cut it and bound the edges with bias binding, which works but I need to adapt the pattern to make a larger opening for the head.

To work out and improve the pattern with a neck opening, I made the larger size for Miss E, now aged 9. Her favourite colour is blue. We are in the middle of a Beach Clean Art project, so I call this new pattern the Beach Clean Hoodie.

I ask Miss E if she would like me to crochet a fish or something to go on the hoodie and she requests a seahorse.

I look up Seahorse and lots of wonderful images appear.

I find a link to the Seahorse Trust and become a member. Miss E and I ‘adopt’ a seahorse called Usti, found on the Dorset Coast. We get a whole pack of goodies.

I have created my own pattern.

In order to work out a pattern I need to have several trial runs. I make lots of seahorses in different colours so that Miss E can choose which she likes the best. Then I just keep making them, each one slightly different with its own little personality.

The creative mind wakes up and wonders about putting them into the Beach Clean paintings – hmmm – they look better in cotton – more trial runs – now the tail needs to be longer, now the snout thinner. Now I need to buy more colours in cotton!

Result lots of seahorses. What am I going to do with them?

I will give each of my Grandchildren (age range 5 – 9) a seahorse for Xmas – but how should they be presented? – appliquéd onto something, mounted on canvas, as a single hanging decoration?

This is where you, my lovely readers can help, with all your wonderfully creative ideas.

What can I do to make them Special? Unique? Individual?

Your reward is a chance to win a Seahorse in a GIVEAWAY!

Leave me a comment with a suggestion of what I could do with the seahorses –  go wild, go whacky, go sophisticated, go classic, go where your imagination takes you, have fun!

Let me know which colour you would like and why.

Would you prefer cotton, wool or acrylic yarn?

And if you were to have one of these little cuties what would you do with it.

I will give away 3 seahorses on my birthday, the 11th November.

Please feel free to reblog or share this post and 3 new followers between now and 11th November will also get a seahorse.

Joining in with Ginny’s Yarn Along, where you can find all sorts of wonderful yarnsters and  the books they recommend.

Now I MUST go and crochet a few more seahorses, because I love them!

UPDATE: The pattern for this seahorse is now available in my Etsy and Ravelry shops.