Crochet Meets Cross-stitch - Frida Style!
Oct 30, 2017
"I paint flowers so they will not die." Frida Kahlo
If you're a follower of The Little Bee you will already know that I'm more than a little Frida Kahlo obsessed. I love her art, her use of colour, her style & most definitely her attitude!
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to come into possession of a beautiful box of sweet Scheepjes Catona Cutie Pies. I spent a while thinking about a way I could best show off the wee 10g mini skeins. Flowers and garlands are always a popular option in my world, but when the idea of a cross-stitch over crochet image of Frida hit me I knew this was IT! Being the most impulsive human on the planet I needed to get started, yesterday! So I hit Google and began searching for a likeness of Frida that would be perfect for the job. I soon found an image and quickly realised I needed to find a programme/app to pixelate it for me. Thank goodness it's 2017 and there were plenty of options available that could take a photo/picture and generate a fabulous graph! Here's the site I used.
The graph was good but I still needed to tweak it a little to get it to work on the crochet blank I had created (a green rectangle 50 stitches wide by 57 high - I used US single crochet and a 50g ball of Apple Green for this), and I would need to work out my own patterns for the floral crown as well.
I began working from the bottom of the graph (neck up) making sure that I had aligned the centre of the image with the centre of the green base. I worked one cross-stitch 'X' across one sc stitch. If you're stuck on figuring the technique there are plenty of photo and video tutorials on the net if you need them, but basically you want to work on a diagonal from one corner to the opposite corner - i.e. top right to bottom left, and then back in the opposite direction - top left to bottom right. I'm no expert so I'd really suggest getting some advice on technique from a pro if you're unsure!
Below is the graph I have made for you to follow. The key for the yarn shades is also listed below and the diamond shaped icon indicates gold thread. I used some from my stash but a good match could be Scheepjes Lizzy.
For the whites of the eyes I ended up going over them twice to really make them stand out from the green background (you could also use a double strand).
I decided on a plain Vivid Blue border to finish the cushion front and worked 3 rounds of US sc around the edge of the green square. I had planned to decorate this space with crochet flowers, but in the end it was a bit too busy so I left it plain. It was during this stage that I decided to speed things up by working 3 rounds of US dc (which would have been covered by the flowers). If I were to make another I would use US sc all the way so it was less see-through. For the corners I made a sc/ch 2/sc in the corner stitches to create a nice right angle. A decorative golden layer of slip stitch was made at the end, along the line where the green and blue meet, which created a nice frame and linked in with Frida's earrings (keep your slip stitches fairly loose so that they do not restrict the stretch of the cover when you pull it over your cushion).
For the B-side I hooked 2 x half panels of US dc, which when combined fits the size of my cushion. They overlap a little, to allow for the cover to be removed, and tie up with several chain stitch ties (you could also use buttons). If you're handy on the sewing machine you could always fashion a fabric back instead.
Hopefully all this information is enough to ignite your inner Frida and get you started on your own Frida project! I'd love to see how you all get on with your creations. Please tag me in your photos on Instagram and Facebook or use the hashtag #fridacushion so I can stalk you all that way LOL!
And if you find yourself still wanting more Frida goodness, why not hook yourself a fabulous Frida Crown? Let's take over the world with happy, colourful flowers!
Happy hooking everyone!
Alia xx
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