The DIY Crochet Mandala Wall Hanging Kit You Need Now
I love this new kit! And if you love crochet mandalas, you’ll love it too! The DIY Crochet Mandala Wall Hanging Kit includes the book Modern Crochet Mandalas with more than 50 colorful motifs to crochet as well as the special mandala issue of Love of Crochet Spring 2017. The issue features so many innovative ideas for using mandalas (you’ll love the Labyrinths Cardigan!).
Love of Crochet Spring 2017 also includes the articles “10 Ways to Use a Mandala” and “How to Read a Chart”—both fantastic tools for your mandala-making marathon. The kit also includes a set of 4 embroidery hoops in varying sizes so you can use a hoop to display up to 8 mandalas! Bust through your stash and use yarn you already have to make your favorite mandala patterns. Display each mandala individually in a hoop or sew the hoops together. Add some fringe or leave the mandala on its own to shine. Design your own wall hanging however you like it! The choices are yours!
Joining a mandala to an embroidery hoop is easy and really helps to show off your project. Here are a few steps for getting you started on designing your own crochet mandala wall hanging and attaching your finished mandala to an embroidery hoop.
1. Pick the mandala you want to make. I chose the Rose Window Mandala from Modern Crochet Mandalas. If you pick the weight of yarn and hook size listed in the pattern, you will know the approximate size of the finished mandala. If you use larger yarn or a larger hook, you can expect the mandala to be larger than its listed size, and a smaller weight of yarn or hook will make the mandala smaller. Pick your favorite mandalas that will fit best in your embroidery hoops. You’ll want the mandala to be slightly smaller than the hoop.
2. Pick your colors. Often, a mandala changes color every few rounds, which makes this a great project for using up your stash or leftover yarn from other projects. You’ll want all of your yarn for one mandala to be the same weight. Don’t try to mix your leftover bulky with a fingering-weight yarn, or you’ll end up with one funny-looking mandala. White is my favorite color for home décor, so I’m going through my stash of white and cream-colored yarns in a wide variety of weights.
3. Once you have chosen the mandala patterns and their colors, gather your materials. You’ll need yarn in varying colors of the same weight (the number of colors depends on the mandala you choose or personal preference), one hoop from the embroidery hoop set, scissors, and a yarn needle.
4. Work the mandala as written in the pattern, changing colors when instructed. If you are working the entire mandala in one color, as I am, you can slip stitch to where you should join the new color, or cut and rejoin. The choice is yours.
5. Block your mandala. It really helps the mandala lie flat and will make it easier to attach to your embroidery hoop.
6. Cut a strand of yarn in the same color as the final round of your mandala. Cut the strand between 15-30″ depending on the size of your mandala and embroidery hoop. If in doubt, cut it a little longer—you don’t want to run out of yarn for this part!
7. Leaving a 2″ tail, weave yarn through the mandala with a yarn needle. Choose a place in the mandala that appears regularly so there will be even tension as you attach it to the embroidery hoop. I’m weaving my yarn just above every popcorn stitch in the final rounds of the mandala.
8. Wrap the yarn around the hoop.
9. Continue weaving through your designated space on your mandala and then wrapping around the embroidery hoop.
10. As you make your way around the mandala, make sure it is spaced evenly in the center of the hoop. You may want to go back and pull the yarn tighter in some places.
11. Once you’ve made it back around to where you started, and the mandala is evenly spaced in the center, knot the ends together. Hide the knot behind part of the mandala and weave in the ends.
TIP: If you want your mandala to stretch further and fill more of the embroidery hoop, try attaching it to the embroidery hoop while it is still slightly wet from blocking. The fibers in the mandala will stretch better if they have some moisture in them.
And that’s it! Repeat this for all of your mandalas. Sew the hoops together if you like, as I have, and add some fringe, and you have your very own mandala wall hanging!
Have so much fun with this project. I know I have! I keep thinking of more mandalas I want to make and more things to do with them. Let us know how you are decorating with this mandala kit! Share a description in the comments or post a photo on Facebook or Instagram with #interweavemandalas.
Happy mandala making!
—Sara Dudek
Associate Editor, Interweave Crochet
Make Many Mandalas!
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