Fancy getting this crochet macaron pattern for FREE…here’s how! Sign up to my email list ready for June’s newsletter and get this perfect macaron pattern for FREE!! I’m thinking Teddy bears picnics and tea parties by the paddling pool
Macarons and cupcakes
Pattern is a written pattern and suitable for beginners with some knowledge of basic stitches. The pattern includes 20 step by step pictures to assist you.
Stitches used are UK – double crochet and slip st (US – Single crochet and slip stitch)
Materials you will need: 4 ply cotton yarn (the pattern recommends Drops Safran but this can be substituted)(3.0mm) crochet hook or other size to obtain gauge although gauge is not imperative. Tapestry needle scissors and small amount of polyester toy filling (fire safety standard / EN71) stitch marker (optional)
Join my monthly email list and get this macaron pattern FREE aswell as 30% off this crochet cupcake pattern- offer valid up to the end of June 2023
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Spring is upon us, although I’m bracing for the April showers, which seem to have started early here! Whether you’re looking for a quick Easter make, for that last minute gift or Easter basket filler, I’ve got some patterns to tempt you…and most of them are FREE… Hurrah!
How about this as a sweet Easter basket filler for baby. Using Oeko Tex standard 100 approved 100% cotton in a 4ply; these lovey’s are soft to snuggle and safe to chew on…and are sure to become baby’s best friend.
This luxurious set of reusable soft textured facecloths and squishy scrubbies would make the perfect Easter gift for baby, Mom’s-to-be, or just that special girl in your life. They are quick and easy to make, so are perfect to add that handmade touch to gift baskets.
FREE crochet Spring Printable PDF
For the month of April 2023 only, if you sign up to my email list, you will receive a pdf for these beautiful spring printable mini tags and postcards, perfect for printing on your choice of card stock (I recommend business card stock) and attaching to your hand-made gifts this Spring / Easter. Please allow 24 hours for your email to update.
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Why not hook this beautiful baby blanket, ideal for the spring / summer. A beginner’s introduction to filet crochet, the pattern is free and gives instructions on how to size up for a bigger blanket too!
The simplicity and sweetness of this beautiful Spring tea cosy, makes it quick to make. Suitable for a beginner with a little experience of working in the round, this tea cosy is sure to keep your Easter cup of tea as warm as your freshly toasted hot cross bun!
Don’t forget to pop over to my socials to say hi…I would love to see what’s on your hook. @yarnyrobin
This is what I have been working on, a brand new beanie design using beautiful squishy alpine stitches. These beautiful front post stitches make this beanie textured and perfect for an ombre colour fade design. However I have also made this beanie in a solid colour block as well as a self striping yarn…and they look great.
I have written the pattern for sizes, 0 – 3 months through to adult, so this beanie can become a real family favourite! I have also written this pattern in both UK and US crochet terminology, so no more pesky converting during making.
I am hoping to slowly work through my portfolio of patterns and get a US version of them written, so watch this space. The pattern is currently with my testers, so I’m on tenterhooks waiting to see how they get on. I have a couple of spots still available if you fancy testing this pattern. You will receive a fully edited version once complete and another of my patterns that you can choose. Let me know in the comments if you do…I would love to have you on board.
Why not subscribe to my brand new email list…where you will receive occasional emails with crochet inspiration, free crochet patterns and exclusive discount codes.
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Don’t judge me…but I went as far as the living room. We watched TV, I crocheted of course, drank a few glasses of bubbles, ate good food and fell asleep…only to be woken 5 minutes before midnight to watch the fireworks on the TV from London. Not so exciting, but Mr R had the lurgy, so it suited us this year, especially as the grown up Robins were out celebrating with their tribes.
Have you set your plans? Your resolutions? Let me know what they are if you are happy to share…you may inspire me! I have set some plans here at the Nest, you may be pleased to know. I have lots of pattern ideas as well as lots of plans to share free patterns and tutorials with you.
I am also starting an email list and will periodically send exclusive coupon sale codes and free patterns. If you fancy some crochet goodness in your inbox, then I would love to have you onboard. You can subscribe just here and I promise not to spam you!
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I am currently writing a new pattern for a bottom up beanie, which is a completely new way to make beanies for me. I’m just doing the grading, so it can be made for all the family. Here’s a sneak peek…
I have treated myself to some new yarn too, so I will show you that as soon as I take some photos. But for now, I will leave you with some crochet highlights from last year.
I haven’t got much spare time at the moment, but I wanted to give you all a little Christmas present to say thank you for stopping by and supporting me over the last year…I really appreciate every one of you that reads my posts, likes my posts or leaves me a comment, so I thought a little free Christmas crochet pattern would be the perfect gift for you.
The hot Summer weather has me out and about and in the garden which isn’t leaving me a lot of crochet time. So I have been looking for small crochet wins to satisfy my creativity and to gain a sense of achievement with the little time I have. I have found myself creating delicious treats to add to my previous trio of cupcakes and have made these perfect macarons in beautiful pastel shades.
I love the idea of making play food sets and I would have loved these as a little girl; and now with two beautiful neice in my life I have just the right excuse to make play food sets for their play kitchens (albeit I am prepping for a couple of years ahead!).
These macarons are quick and easy to make. With play food sets in mind I treated myself to a Drops Safran cotton yarn pack and am giddy with the colours and have peace of mind that the cotton is Oeko Tex standard 100 approved; which means the cotton has been certified to be free of harmful chemicals and is safe for human use, as well as being verified as both safe and non-irritating to human skin. For more of my patterns using this yarn take a look at my
which means I am getting through my Drops Safran stash quite quickly and making beautiful items I can gift.
This pattern is written using English crochet terminology but has US terminology in brackets within the stitch abbreviation section of the pattern. The macarons are made in continuous rounds or spirals. A method commonly used in amigurumi and means there are no visible seams. The pattern is suitable for beginners with some knowledge of basic stitches and includes 20 step by step pictures to assist you.
Let me know what you think or if you can recommend any good crochet food patterns I can take a look at!
With Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee just around the corner I thought I’d share my progress on my Jubilee decorations and share the pattern with you. After all what good is a garden party or afternoon tea without a bit of bunting?
To make the bunting flags please see my previous post just here They are simple to make and the lace trim gives a pretty, vintage vibe. What’s more if you tie your embellishments to the flags rather than sew them on, the bunting can be recycled and dressed up again for the next occasion / holiday season in your calendar…clever eh!
I wanted my Jubilee bunting to be traditional in colour , so of course it had to be red, white and blue, but I wanted it to look pretty and almost understated, so you won’t find any navy or lipstick red here! instead I chose a more muted red tone and coupled it with a mid blue. I also wanted to incorporate the Union Jack and found these gorgeous little buttons, which again are more subtle in tone.
This pattern is written using UK crochet terminology and the stitch abbreviations can be found below. I have included US terminology in brackets if you wish to convert.
Dc: Insert hook into chain or under both loops of stitch, yarn over and pull through so there are 2 loops on hook, yarn over again and pull through both loops on hook.
Tr: Yarn over hook, insert hook into chain or under both loops of stitch, yarn over and pull through so there are 3 loops on hook, yarn over again and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and pull through last 2 loops on hook.
Large Jubilee Rose
In cherry
Leave a long tail, ch 50
Tr in 2nd ch from hook, tr in each ch along, dc in last ch
Ch3, turn
2tr in same space, 3tr in each st a long, dc in last st. Fasten off leaving a long tail
Small Jubilee Rose
In denim blue
Leave a long tail, ch 33
Tr in 2nd ch from hook, tr in each ch along, dc in last ch
Ch3, turn
2tr in same space, 3tr in each st a long, dc in last st. Fasten off leaving a long tail
To assemble
Spiral flower in an anti-clockwise direction with one long tail at the front of the rose and one long tail at the back of the rose. With a darning needle take the front tail through to the back of the rose to secure centre petal. Now make several passes of the needle at back of the rose making sure you catch all the layers of the rose. With other tail, thread darning needle and make several more passes at the back of the rose. Tie tails together in a knot to secure. Attach to bunting by passing both tails with a darning needle through to back of flag and tie neatly so tails tuck neatly behind flag and can be easily removed when you wish to re-dress your bunting. Add buttons to string in between flags with hot glue / glue gun.
If you like this pattern and would like me to continue to share my patterns please give me a clap and follow me on instagram
I would love to see your Jubilee Roses, so please tag me in your makes on social media and I will share your lovely makes.
Welcome to you, if you used to stop by here and spend some time with me, it’s good to have you here. And if this is your first time here, you are very welcome. Please stay, grab a cuppa and I will tell you what has happened here at the nest whilst the world has gone crazy!
It is sooooo good to be back here, in this lovely spot of the cyberspace. I have not dropped in for so long, but the time is right to start writing again. I think we can all agree that the world has changed so much over the last couple of years with Covid.
How are you?
Really, how are you? let me know in the comments below, I would really love to catch up with you.
I’ll start with a little nest update and then share my hooky plans for this year…I’ve got lots planned. So, if you want to skip the nest update and jump straight to the crochet, skip the next couple of paragraphs…I don’t mind.
The big news is the little Robins are not so little anymore and are now 18,17 and 14 years old… yep! how does that happen so quickly? The eldest is teetering on the nest edge and has pretty much fledged…I am full of pride and fear all rolled into one.
Our Alfie…
Our saddest news occured in October when we had to say a very hard goodbye to our beloved labrador, Alfie. He was the grand old age of 15 years, 9 months and 6 days old, when rainbow bridge finally called him. We buried him in our garden and I miss him so much. He will be in our hearts forever.
Little Jess was so good and seemed to understand where her pal had gone, but it wasn’t long before Mr R suggested we should find her another buddy as she has never been on her own before.
I felt like it would be a betrayal and couldn’t settle the idea in my heart. A couple of months later, Mr R had found a lovely little chap and had called to see if he was still available, but had to leave a message. That night as we waited for a call back, Alfie came to me in a dream and licked my hand. The following morning the lady called and said the handsome little fella was still available and we went to fetch him home… it felt with Alfie’s blessing.
Introducing Duke…
Let me introduce you to Duke, he is now 16 weeks old. He’s a cheeky chappy, who loves a cuddle and to zoom about the house. His Mother is an Italian greyhound and his Dad is a Beddlington terrier / Whippet mix, so he shouldn’t grow too much bigger. He has settled well and Jess seems to approve. Life has a way of being heartbreakingly, beautiful and hope is everywhere, if you just look for it.
So, you are up to date largely. Lockdown was full of Mr R renovating the garden whilst I worked through. I have impressively pinned an enormous amount to my pintrest boards, oh! and have wrestled a large dose of unwanted anxiety. I didn’t do a great deal of crochet, other than orders, which I was grateful for.
My big plan this year though is to get back to blogging and pattern writing and sharing it with you. That is what I enjoy and have come to realise, I have missed. My baby Etsy shop has been great fun over the last couple of years; and to my suprise has been quite successful. However, I have made the decision to make it a pattern shop as of now. There are several reasons for this, the first and main one being time!
Whilst crocheting to order is great and has been very satisfying it leaves me zero time to write patterns and to crochet other things…like the crochet angel at the top of this post (I will post about this separatley). I also don’t want to have to deal with orders getting lost in the mail (this seemed to happen several times last year).
So a pattern shop it is…and that, well that makes me happy, very happy indeed. I have lots of ideas and I have missed being here…it may be a bit old school but I aint’ getting tiktok and reels!
my toasty ear flap hat
This is what I am currently writing up…’my toasty earflap hat’. It will be available in sizes newborn to large adult. I made this one for me, for the bitingly cold dog walks I am taking every day. It is so warm and toasty, hence the name. It is perfect for those cold winter days and I’m looking forward to making it available.
I still need a couple of pattern testers, so if you have some aran yarn in a couple of colours (less than 100g) and you are able to turn this around within the next week or so, drop me a message. You would need to provide me with some good quality photo’s and in return I will send you the fully edited pattern.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Now it’s your turn…let me know how you are doing by leaving a message below.
With only a week until Easter Sunday, I thought I would share the pattern for these Easter bunny ears I made yesterday. I was making a little newborn bunny photo shoot outfit and needed some cute floppy bunny ears to complete the look. I am using my Baby Bear Bonnet Pattern and my own diaper cover pattern which I have just not had chance to write up yet!
They are super simple to make. I used Stylecraft special Aran weight yarn in grey and cream and a 5mm hook and my finished floppy bunny ears measure approx.16cms long.
The outer ears are worked in the round, with the inner ears worked in rows and made separately then sewn into place. My pattern is written using UK terminology but I have provided a US stitch conversion below. Please note chain stitches do not count as a stitch unless otherwise stated in the pattern.
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Round 1: 6htr into 2nd ch from hook, join with a slst into top of 1st htr, ch1 . ( 6htr see pic 1.)
Round 2: 2htr in each st around, join with a slst into top of 1st htr, ch1. (12htr see pic 2.)
Round3: *2htr in next st, 1 htr in next st* repeat around, join with a slst into top of 1st htr, ch1. (18htr see pic 3.)
Round 4 – 9: htr in each st around, join with a slst into top of 1st htr, ch1. (18htr see pic 4.)
Round 10: htr2tog, htr in next 14sts, htr2tog, join with a slst in top of 1st htr, ch1 (16htr)
Round 11: htr2tog, htr in next 12sts, htr2tog, join with a slst in top of 1st htr, ch1 (14htr)
Round 12: htr2tog, htr in next 10sts, htr2tog, join with a slst in top of 1st htr, ch1 (12htr see pic 5.)
Rounds 13 – 17: htr in each st around, join with slst in 1st htr, ch1 (12htr see pic 6.)
Round 18: htr2tog all around, join with a slst in 1st htr, ch1 and turn (6htr)
Now flatten circle and slst edges together, fasten off and leave an extra long tail for sewing…longer than you normally would, trust me here as you will need the extra length later! (see pic 7)
Inner Ear is made in rows
make 2
In cream
Row 1: ch4, htr in 2nd ch from hook and in each st along, ch1 and turn (3htr)
Row 2: 2htr, htr, 2htr, ch1, turn (5htr)
Row 3: 2htr, htr in next 3sts, 2htr, ch1, turn (7htr)
Row 4 – 6: htr in each st, ch1, turn (7htr)
Row 7: htr2tog, htr in each st along, ch1, turn (6htr)
Row 8: htr2tog, htr in each st along, ch1, turn (5htr)
Row 9 -11: htr in each st, ch1, turn (5htr)
Row 12: htr2tog, htr in each st, ch1, turn (4htr see pic 8.)
Row 13: htr in each st along, ch1, turn (4htr)
slst all around inner ear to finish, fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Sew to outer ear (see pic 9)
To attach bunny ears to chosen bonnet/hat I found that giving the top of the ear a twist and securing with a couple of stitches, gives the ear a little bounce and allows the inner ear to peek out. If the ear is not twisted before attaching to bonnet / hat then you will not be able to see the inner ear…which seems a shame, been as you have just gone to the effort of hooking them. See Pic 10 to see where to twist and sew (indicated by red dots).
Finally pin and securely sew your bunny ears to your bonnet. If you prefer a hat why not checkout My Best Beanie Pattern available in sizes newborn to large adult.
Now all that’s left to do is enjoy all of that floppy bunny ear cuteness!
Please do let me know what you think by dropping me a sentence in the comments below…I love to get your feedback and a like or a share goes a long way too!
Thank you for the lovely feedback I have received on my free baby blanket pattern; if you missed it you can find it by clicking on the link.
I had a lovely little hooking session yesterday evening, and this is what came off my hook. I am so in love with these sweet hats and I love the colours too!
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