Janie Crow (Jane Crowfoot) is a UK designer who creates the most stunning patterns that are easy to understood and follow. Her Persian Tiles blanket and Mystical Lanterns Blanket patterns are extremely well known and can be found in many Instagram posts by makers and creators all over the world. Here you will find a selection of her beautiful Festive Patterns. Each pattern comes in a printed booklet form and written in UK crochet terms (there is a UK - US conversion chart in the booklet). Festive Mini Stockings: These cute little crochet stockings make a lovely festive decoration and would look great hung on the Christmas Tree. They are big enough to fit in a small gift, so you could make some to use as an alternative to gift wrapping, or, if you fancy making 24 of them, you could create your own advent calendar and pop in some scrummy chocolate treats to enjoy during December! The stockings do not use much yarn so are a great stash busting project too! Why not try making stockings with brightly coloured stripes from lots of colours or add different types of decoration on the cuffs like bright pom poms or bigger beads? Beaded Christmas Decorations: I am a bit of a magpie – I am a sucker for a bit of bling and get easily side-tracked by sequins, sparkles and shiny things. These days I find it a little easier to resist the temptation of glistening, shimmery items as I wander around the shops, but I am still madly in love with the technique of adding beads to my crochet. I loved creating these twinkly decorations, which would look great hung from the tree or worn as a stunning corsage. I started work on these designs when I was away in India tutoring a knit and crochet workshop for the charity Knit for Peace. In my downtime between workshops I sat in the hotel gardens thinking through my ideas for the decorations, which were initially inspired by a Russian fairy tale mood board. Although the surroundings of Mysore are a long way from the Russian origins of the design, there are many similarities between the handicraft style of Russian wood paintings and fabrics, well known for their curved and vivid flower, berry and foliage patterns, and Indian Folk art forms, many of which have survived for generations. Festive Christmas Decorations: I love putting the decorations on the tree or around the house at Christmas time. I have a really eclectic assortment of hanging baubles, adornments and trimmings that I use to make our home feel festive. Out decorations have been collected over the years - some belonged to Andy's grandparents and we have baubles we found whilst on trips away and some were made by my children when they were small. My favourite is probably the paper angel with a head made from a ping pong ball, with a wonky smile drawn in felt tip pen and a dress made from a paper dolly that Charlie made when he was at primary school, although I think he cringes a little when I pop it on the tree! I love the way unpacking the decorations year after year and arranging them around the house brings back lots of lovely memories and good feelings. Handmade decorations make extra special gifts as they convey that sentiment too and are a great way of using up odds and ends of yarn from your stash. I have used 4 shades of yarn for a more contemporary, simple look, but I think these would also look great made with all sorts of yarn types and colours with added buttons, beads and ribbon to add in a big splash of fun! Please make your choice by clicking on the name of the product not the picture!
