Maelstrom is out now…

Finally, a new crochet pattern to add to my digital collection! The last months have been very busy with books, books, and even more books! As the third book has now finally landed and has already been out for over one month now, I think it is safe to return to the mainstream of what I do. Writing books was also a part of it, but publishing independent crochet patterns on their own is still my main purpose. And for a long time, this one was waiting in line to get ready. I have worked hard on many new things over the past months to get out in the world, but I have decided to mostly transfer all of that to the new year. Still, a few projects will be released in the last months of 2023.

Meet Maelstrom, a wonderful, lacy mandala crochet pattern that is actually pretty simple to crochet. There are no hard stitches in this pattern, which makes it very beginner-friendly. Maelstrom is inspired by the eye of a hurricane. I always have been fascinated by these forces of nature, sucking up all of the things around them. The actual eye of a storm is what fascinates me most, the complete silence and calmness for a moment when you enter that center. A moment of silence with complete chaos around you. Isn’t that the prettiest metaphor in life as well? I have felt a lot of moments like this over the last months, but every time the storm passes on and you conquer another battle. Anyhow…this is getting way to dramatic and I will continue on:)

Maelstrom is perfect to crochet in a ring, but it actually has such great tension that it remains flat in the end and no ring is needed. You can see it on the test result of Tineke above. As it seems in some parts of the world a ring is hard to find, I can imagine this pattern is a relief as it definitely has no need to have one. In this way, the pattern could also be very handy as a tablecloth or doily.

Some general information:

Yarn requirements: This pattern is made with a gradient type of yarn. For this version, I took a Scheepjes Whirl, which comes in cakes of 215-225 grams with a length of 1000 meters of yarn. For my example, I used the Whirl 783 Brambleberry.

It doesn’t matter which type of yarn you take; you will need approx. 900-950 meters of yarn. It also depends on whether crocheting the project into a ring or not – as you will use approximately—50 meters of yarn for attachment into a ring.

Hooksize: I used a 2.5mm hook for this pattern.

Size: The diameter of the Whirl version will be 90 cm/ 36 inches.

A ring is optional; if you like to use one, take the above diameter for a ring. However, it is better to crochet the project first and then decide on the size of a ring.

The pattern has clear, written instructions guided by a chart. The pattern is very beginner-level level as the stitches used are very basic and not that hard.