You will need a blocking guide (I use these ones), rust free pins, cling film, pva glue, a paint brush and some kind of blocking surface you don't mind sticking pins into.
My blocking surface is my ironing board covered with a piece of cardboard because I find the cardboard helps hold the pins in place.
Print off a blocking guide. I always use one with more axes than I need - so for a 6 pointed snowflake I use a 12 point guide. And I always use the circular ones just because they have more guide lines.
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| Smiley wax crayon face optional |
Put the blocking guide onto your blocking surface and cover it with a piece of clingfilm (gladwrap/cling wrap) to prevent the snowflake being glued onto the paper.
Take your sorry looking unblocked snowflake
and start pinning it into place along the axes of the blocking guide. Use lots of pins. You may get sore thumbs.
Paint the pinned doily with PVA glue (watered down if you like).
Leave the snowflake to dry - overnight is best - then unpin and marvel at the transformation you have wrought.
x
Edited to add: the pattern for this snowflake, the snowflakes you could see in my last post and all those I made last year, appears in '60 crocheted snowflakes' by Barbara Christopher.
Other great resources for crochet snowflake patterns are the 'Snowcatcher' blog and Ravelry, which brought up 374 results when I searched for free crochet snowflake patterns.
Edited to add: the pattern for this snowflake, the snowflakes you could see in my last post and all those I made last year, appears in '60 crocheted snowflakes' by Barbara Christopher.
Other great resources for crochet snowflake patterns are the 'Snowcatcher' blog and Ravelry, which brought up 374 results when I searched for free crochet snowflake patterns.
Ah just what I needed! Thanks for sharing this Victoria.. ps: beautiful snowflake :)x
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, thanks for sharing Victoria! :)
ReplyDeleteVivienne x
W O W!!!
ReplyDeletevery clever!
ReplyDeleteLove x
Very, very clever and so timely as I have just started a snowflake garland. Can I ask if you made the snowflake up yourself or is the pattern available someplace? Sorry if this shows as anon, I am having awful problems with Blogger. dev aka Fairyglade.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteLove the snowflake - it's pretty. Thanks for sharing the link for the blocking guides. :)
ReplyDeleteI made this exact snowflake the other day!
ReplyDeleteI use spray starch to block it - do you find PVA works better?
Sam x
Gorgeous snowflake.
ReplyDeleteAnne xx
I did mine with starch...
ReplyDeletePerfect! Thanks so much for sharing Victoria xox
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea, thanks so much for sharing this with all of us.
ReplyDeleteMeredith
Excellent, thank you so much for sharing this. Love the cling film tip.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant! I have some wonky snowflakes that need this treatment. I bought some spray starch but the can burst! PVA glue however I have in abundance so thanks!
ReplyDeleteOne of my dreams is to make enough crocheted snowflakes to cover a big Christmas tree. I never seem to get any made. Well I did one years ago and it was made in a variegated pink yarn. Don't ask me why I chose pink, I have no clue. Maybe it was just an experiment with some left over yarn? Thank you for the tips on blocking and starching. This will come in handy for the future. Your snowflake is so pretty. I have seen some with glitter. I believe a spray adhesive was used to keep it in place.
ReplyDeleteHola. Que bonito te ha quedado¡¡¡¡¡
ReplyDeleteSplendid! I am a snow lover and I am totally impressed by your crystal flake creation.
ReplyDeleteMay I ask you timidly what colour is winter in your opinion?
Hello Victoria, you've won my giveaway! Can you send me your address, my email is andamento@hotmail.co.uk. Thanks,
ReplyDeleteAnne.
PS I've been following your blocking tips, they're most effective.
What a perfect tutorial. I'm going to have to figure out what PVA glue is and give that a try. I've been struggling with glues the last couple of months, so it is refreshing to find one that might actually work.
ReplyDeleteI love these! Your snowflakes reminded me of a book of snowflake photographs that I found in a secondhand shop. They were mostly taken by 'snowflake Bentley', a farmer in Vermont who (I think) was the first to photograph them. Beautiful!
ReplyDelete