This week I am releasing the actual playmat pattern for the Polar Playmat Series. Included as part of this is the igloo pattern and also the storage bag to store it all in. Everything in this playmat is made from Paintbox Simply Aran Yarn* (my favourite at the moment) which I purchased from Love Crochet.
The actual playmat is constructed in two different stitches. A wave stitch for the sea and then a leaping stripes stitch for the ice. One thing I wanted to do with this playmat is give it some texture, so I purposefully looked for stitches that would do that. Most of the sea is constructed in a Royal Blue colour, but as you get closer to the ice, I introduced the seafoam blue to give the effect of the tide. This eventually turns into the ice, which uses champagne white. I wanted to create a little bit of a rise in the tidal area and so I make use of all the loops in a crochet stitch to create this effect. At the edge of the water is a row to level up the wave stitch before beginning the leaping stripes. I love the textured effect this stitch gives, but I have never actually worked it up in one colour only. I am glad I chose this though as I really like the bumpiness which I am sure you would find in the ice and snow of a polar region. The playmat is finished with a simple border in the midnight blue just to tidy up the edges.
All of the animals in the polar region are fish eaters (At least in this polar region they don't eat each other!) and so I needed to add some fish to the playmat. I made 5 fish motifs in slate grey although you could easy add as many as you wanted to. The fish work up quickly in one piece and then sewn into the sea.
No polar region would be complete without an igloo and so one was created. I had originally thought I would make the igloo so the animals could use it, but the size that would have needed to be would have meant it would have covered the whole icy area, so in the end it is just decoration. I made my igloo in the blanket yarn, but holding 2 strands of the aran together would work too. The igloo is worked in 2 parts, the main circular area and then the porch is worked separately and added on. I then used the misty grey to give the brick outlines.
Finally having created all the creatures, playmat and igloo I knew it needed somewhere to be stored. My kids seem to be going through a phase of putting stuff all over the place and so I wanted to be able to keep it all nicely together. This also means it can be taken out and about more easily too. I wanted the bag to have some stretch, but still be a closed stitch, so I chose the Tunisian knit stitch, which is fast becoming one of my favourites. The bag is worked as one big rectangle and then a flap is sewn at the top to allow the cord to go through. Then I just sewed up 2 sides and threaded a long Romanian Point Lace cord through the top and tied the ends together. The bag actually looks quite small but actually I was able to store the playmat, igloo and 2 of each toy in and it still closes easily.
If you would like to create your own Polar Playmat, Igloo and storage bag then you can find the FREE pattern here. If you would prefer to get the ad free, printable PDF version then it is available for a small fee in my Etsy Store here.
I hope that you have enjoyed this week's blog post on the Polar Playmat, Igloo and Storage Bag and as usual I would love to see pictures of your creations on the blog. See you next time for the release of Sally the Seal.
Vicky x
Polar Playmat
& bag
1. Materials and Resources
Below is a list of everything you will need to make the playmat & Bag
· Paintbox Simply Aran Yarn (although any aran/worsted weight will work) – 100g balls in the following colours
o Champagne White (202) x 3 balls
o Seafoam Blue (231)
o Royal Blue (240) x 3 balls
o Slate Grey (205)
o Misty Grey (203)
o Midnight Blue (237)
· 4.5mm hook/3mm hook/ 5mm hook/ 5mm Tunisian hook
· Tapestry needle
2. Stitch List
Below is a list of all the stitches (and
their abbreviations) featured in this series of patterns. All terms used are American.
·
Wave Stitch –3 dc, (dc dec) x 2, 3 dc, (dc inc) x 2
·
f/l – front loops
·
Block Stitch – (2 dc, ch 2) repeat
·
Sc – single crochet
·
Dc – double crochet
·
Hdc – half double crochet
·
Trc – treble crochet
·
Tunisian crochet knit stitch
·
Romanian point lace cord
·
Sc stack – instead of ch3 work a sc in first stitch and
then put a sc on top of it to create a stack
3. Notes
Here are a few handy tips to help you with the pattern.
· There is no specific for the playmat or bag however, the playmat is approximately 21” x 39” and the bag is 13” x 12” when used.
· It is worth counting your stitches across every few rows to make sure you are not increasing or decreasing by accident
· Try to make the stitches as tight as possible for the igloo to avoid any stuffing coming out.
4. Pattern
Playmat - Starting with the sea in Royal Blue in 4.5mm hook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
|
Ch 75 |
|
1 |
Working wave
stitch, skip first 3 stitches to create ch 3 and dc in 4th ch from
hook, then work repeating sequence (3 dc, dc dec, dc dec, 3 dc, dc inc, dc
inc) to last 11 stitches then work 3 dc, dc dec, dc dec, 3 dc and end with dc
inc, turn |
72 |
2 |
Ch3, dc in same st
as ch 3, then work sequence (3 dc, dc dec, dc dec, 3 dc, dc inc, dc inc) to
last 11 stitches then work 3 dc, dc dec, dc dec, 3 dc and end with dc inc,
turn |
72 |
3-23 |
Repeat row 2 |
72 |
24 |
Change to seafoam
and repeat row 2 |
72 |
25 |
Change to royal
blue and repeat row 2 in f/l |
72 |
26-27 |
Repeat rows 24-25 |
72 |
28 |
Change to seafoam
and repeat rows 24-25 |
72 |
29 |
Change to white and
work 1 row |
72 |
30 |
In white 4 sc, (2
hdc,2 dc,2 hdc, 6 sc) to end (last repeat will only have 4 sc) |
72 |
31 |
Sc stack, (2 dc, ch
2, sk 2) repeat to last stitch and end with hdc |
34 dc, 34 ch 2, 1
hdc, 1 sc stack |
32 |
Sc stack, 2 dc
working over the c2 and into the row below, ch 2, sk 2) repeat to last stitch
and end with hdc |
|
33-67 |
Repeat row 32 |
34 dc, 34 ch 2, 1
hdc, 1 sc stack |
68 |
3 sc, (2 dc, 2 sc)
repeat to last stitch and end with sc |
34 dc, 36 sc |
69 |
Change to midnight
– sc across top row, sc, ch 2, sc in corner stitch and then work 1 sc in each
hdc or sc stack and 2 sc in each dc, then work sc, ch 2 , sc in the next
corner. Then along the wave side,
work 1 sc in each stitch, then sc, ch 2 sc, in the third corner, finally up
the other side work 2 sc in each dc and 1 sc in each sc stack or hdc, finish
the final corner as sc, ch 2, sc |
97 stitches on long
sides and 72 stitches on short sides plus 4 corners |
70 |
Work hdc, ch 2 hdc,
in each corner, hdc in each stitch on long sides and short white side. On wave side work corner then hdc, (2 x
hdc dec, 8 hdc) to last stitch and finish with hdc and corner. |
99 stitches on long
ends, and 74 stitches on short white end 75 stitches on wave side plus
corners |
|
Cast off and sew in
ends |
|
Fish – Make 5 in slate grey in 3mm hook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
1 |
6 sc in magic
circle |
6 |
2 |
(sc inc) x 6 |
12 |
3 |
Stitches between
commas should be worked in same stitch of previous round, sc hdc, hdc dc, trc
trc, trc trc, dc hdc, hdc sc, sc, sc hdc, hdc dc, dc dc, dc hdc, hdc sc |
23 |
4 |
Sl st, ch 5, sk
first ch and work sc, hdc, dc, trc down chain, sk stitch in round 3 and sl st
to next stitch.
|
Forms 1 fin |
|
7 sl st then ch 5,
sk first ch and work sc, hdc, dc, trc down chain, sk stitch in round 3 and sl
st to next stitch. |
Forms 2nd
fin |
|
4 sl st, 2 sc, turn
(start of tail) |
2 |
|
Sc inc, sc inc,
turn |
4 |
|
Sc inc, 2 sc, sc
inc, turn |
6 |
|
Sc inc, 4 sc, sc
inc, turn |
8 |
|
Sc inc, 6 sc, sc
inc (finishes tail) |
10 |
|
Cast off and sew
fishes to playmat randomly |
|
Igloo – in white Holding 2 strands together with 5mm hook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
1 |
6 sc in magic
circle |
6 |
2 |
(sc inc) x 6 |
12 |
3 |
(sc, sc inc) x 6 |
18 |
4 |
(2 sc, sc inc) x 6 |
24 |
5 |
(3 sc, sc inc) x 6 |
30 |
6 |
(4 sc, sc inc) x 6 |
36 |
7 |
(5 sc, sc inc) x 6 |
42 |
8-12 |
Sc around |
42 |
13 |
(5 sc, sc dec) x 6
in b/l |
36 |
14 |
(4 sc, sc dec) x 6 |
30 |
15 |
(3 sc, sc dec) x 6 |
24 |
16 |
(2 sc, sc dec) x 6 |
18 |
17 |
(sc, sc dec) x 6 |
12 |
|
Stuff igloo |
|
18 |
(sc dec) x 6 |
6 |
|
Sl st and cast off
and sew shut |
|
Igloo
door
– in white Holding 2 strands together with 5mm hook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
1 |
6 sc in magic
circle – do not join, turn |
6 |
2 |
2 sc, (sc inc) x 2,
2 sc, turn |
8 |
3 |
2 sc in next
stitch, hdc dc in next stitch, dc trc in next stitch, trc dc in next stitch,
dc hdc in next stitch, 2 sc in next stitch |
16 |
4 |
Sc around in f/l |
16 |
5-6 |
Sc around |
16 |
|
Sl st cast off and
sew to front of igloo and then stuff |
|
Door
base
– in white Holding 2 strands together with 5mmhook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
1 |
Ch 4, sk stitch
closest to hook and sc across |
3 |
2-6 |
Sc across |
3 |
|
Cast off and sew to
base of igloo door |
|
Sew brick pattern to igloo in misty grey
Playmat
Bag–
starting in royal blue with 5mm Tunisian hook
Row |
Instruction |
Stitches |
1 |
Chain 85 |
85 |
2-45 |
Work in Tunisian
knit stitch |
85 |
46-50 |
Work in Tunisian
knit stitch in seafoam blue |
85 |
51-65 |
Work in Tunisian
knit stitch in white |
85 |
|
Cast off |
|
·
Fold the white
stripe down so 5 rows are facing the back of the crochet panel and sew shut,
this will create a channel to add the drawstring to later.
·
Fold the bag in half with right sides facing and sew shut
using whip stitch. (do not sew channel shut!)
Then turn right way out.
·
Create a cord using Romanian Point Lace Cord technique long
enough to go through the channel with a bit extra. Cast off and thread through channel, knot
the cord together.
·
Your playmat, igloo and animals can now be stored in the
bag.
© All patterns on this page
belong to www.cosycrochet.co.uk You may not sell this pattern. Please feel free
to sell the items you make using this pattern, however please acknowledge me in
your listing.
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