Pollevie Style

let’s color the world

PollevieS tyle

ElLen Deckers

©2019 Livres de Louise

Pollevie™ and Polleviestyle™ are trademarks of Ellen Deckers.

Patterns and text: Ellen Deckers Graphic design and layout: Studio Spence, www.spence.nl Photography: Sunghi Photography, Mees ISBN 978-90-828403-4-6 NUR 474

Printed in Europa

All rights reserved No part of this publication may be fully or partially reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher.

The publisher disclaims all liability for damage resulting from typographical error or misprints.

PollevieS tyle

ElLen Deckers

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preface Hi creative soul How incredibly nice that you have my first crochet book in your hands.

It has become a very colorful book full of lovely creative freestyle crochet designs. Some designs you might already be familiar with, because you may already follow me on social media, or have followed a workshop with me. But there are also new ones to explore. You can for instance make the Frida Pillow or lovely little felted bowls.

Being ‘creative’ has always been a part of me. My mother is also a creative person and is always busy with sewing, quilting, knitting or embroidery. Mum tried to teach me how to knit but without any luck.

Only 7 years ago I started to crochet little things that I couldn’t find in shops or wanted in a different color. I taught myself. In my head crochet consists of endless loops connected to each other. By playing with different stitches new shapes originate.

Crochet lends itself well for this. I also taught myself the art of freestyle 3D crochet this way. And never stopped since. Crochet has now become a big part of my daily routine. My designs grow organically. Rarely do I have a design already completely thought out about before I start. For instance the shawl with the tiger, I knew I wanted to make a tiger, but exactly how he should look was not planned yet. His look took its final shape during the crochet process.

That is also how I choose my yarns. Either the color or the texture appeals to me. There are gorgeous yarns from Japan with mini pompoms. Or neon colored yarns, hairy ones or supersoft ones. I love experimenting with them and come up with new ideas.

I hope most of all that you will get inspired by this book and will make creations that you will want to wear or will use in your house. Let your fantasy go wild and color your world.

-XEllen

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Preface Introduction

Use of color ....... ......................... 008 Materials .................................... 009 Designing ................................... 009 Decorations ................................ 010 Your design ................................. 010

Patterns

Wrapper for a skein of yarn ............ 013 Clothes hanger ............................ 017 PollevieBag ................................. 019 Felted Shawl ............................... 023 PollevieCardigan .......................... 029 PollevieShawl .............................. 041 PollevieCushion ........................... 051 PollevieStool ............................... 055 Felted bowls ............................... 059 Crochet case ............................... 061

content

Decorations

Roses ......................................... 072 Rosebuds .................................... 072 Daisies ....................................... 073 Little forget me nots .................... 073 Aster .......................................... 074 Frangipane ................................. 076 Green leaves ............................... 077 Lotus flower ................................ 080 Bubble ....................................... 083 Double and single carnation .......... 084 Dahlia ........................................ 085 Corn flower ................................. 086 Raised lines ................................ 087 Polkadots .................................... 088 Scalloped edge ............................ 089

Applications

Little fox .................................... 091 Canal house ................................. 095 Deer .......................................... 099 Swan .......................................... 103 Frida Pillow ................................. 107 Tiger .......................................... 117 Hare .......................................... 127

Extras Thank you

Introduction

Freestyle 3d designs The designs in this book are all Freestyle 3D designs in which you are completely free to use colors to vary the designs and adjust to your own taste. I do not use difficult types of stitches, thereby everyone can start a pattern straight away. You are not tied to specific yarns. I get inspired in the yarn shop through color and texture of yarns and seldom through brand names of the same ply’s. I solve that by adjusting my crochet hook or stitch.

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Use of Color You will not be surprised but I love color. But choosing a color is a personal taste. The most important question is “What am I going to make?�. Is it for use in your home? A cushion or stool? Then you should choose colors suited to your interior.

Or will it be an eye catcher and add contrast? Or will you make an item to wear? Like a cardigan or shawl. You may want the item to match your coat, or the color of your hair or eyes.

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When choosing a base color, the color you will be using the most, you should also consider the color of the possible decorations. Do you want them to stand out, then choose a neutral background color, for example black, brown, pale blue, pastelpink or cream. Your decorations will then stand out. If you prefer colorful shades then you can use a brighter color. Consider the color combination of red and pink together. If you prefer contrast choose colors opposite each other on the color wheel, for instance purple and yellow. Another option is to crochet your creation in muted tones and go wild with brighter intenser colors.

To give you some ideas of nice color combinations you will find some inspirational photos ahead. Collect your own yarns and vary the colors, which colors will you choose?

Materials I use a variety of yarns, wool, cotton, acrylic. The advantage of acrylic yarns is their light weight and the wonderful variety of colors available. An advantage is that acrylic colors fade less in sunlight. I also like working with cotton, for projects like a stool, because they are more durable.

Do not worry about the manufacturers advice on their labels about the size of crochet hook. It is interesting to vary your work with various yarns and hook sizes. If you use a chubby crochet hook for thinner yarns, you create a more open fabric. But using various weights of yarns and the same crochet hook works beautifully even if the label advises otherwise. Just try it for yourself.

Designing Once you have decided which colors you are going to use for your creation you will have to think about the decorations. Which pattern distribution will you use? Do you want horizontal or diagonal stripes? Just plain or spotted? Stripes ranging from thick to thin, circles, semi-circles, squares or a variety of color zones. Everything is possible. But beware, the more zones you create the more overwhelming the total picture will be, especially once you add your decorations.

Designing is possibly the most important step in the whole process, especially in the case of freestyle crocheting. Freestyle crocheting is very different to crochet following a fixed prescribed pattern. Think first then act is my advice.

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Decorations Decorating your creation is my favorite part. This can be done in various ways. Think of flowers, spots, stripes, decorative stitches, tassels, pompoms, embroidery, raised rows, scalloped edges etc. You can be very bold or calm but it can all be translated into crochet. When decorating you should think of using various thicknesses of yarns. Try using XL-yarns, or chenille threads available in all colors, or pompom yarn.

I buy a lot of yarns from wholesalers throughout the country, just try Google to locate an address near you. Or try collecting spare scraps of yarn by putting a notice in your local supermarket, or check the recycle outlet for fancy buttons or glitter yarn in a funky color.

Your Design 010

Now the time has come to put your idea onto paper. The design you put on paper will be you basic guide. You do not have to draw stitch for stitch details, a rough sketch is enough. It is after all ‘Freestyle Crocheting’ and your sketch is only a guide. Should you gain new insights as you progress with your creation, you can always adjust your sketch accordingly, it does not have to be exact. Sometimes I make a number of sketches before I begin crocheting. It is fun to do this with friends as well. During the workshops which I tutor, I often see people inspiring each other, thus leading them to new ideas.

Patterns

pattern 1

Wrapper for a skein of yarn “This is an ideal place to display your crochet hooks. During workshops I often move around and need different hooks. This is the best place for them to be and decorative too. It is also a quick fast and project to make.�

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PollevieS tyle

Pollevie Style is a colorful book packed with fun extras, but above all it has loads of creative freestyle crochet patterns. You will find the patterns for the PollevieShawl, cardigan, stool, basket and more. But also lots of patterns for applications like flowers and animals for instance to make your creation even more beautiful. This book helps you with mixing and matching colors and decorations so that you can let your fantasy go wild.