Crochet Hearts Garland

I’ve had a few questions about this banner that I have hanging up in various spots around my blog.  So let me introduce you to my crochet Hearts Garland.  I made it up last Valentine’s Day as a part of a crochet-along from the Ravelry group Crafty Hookers to celebrate the spring.  It was so much fun to make.  I often take on so many projects that take months from start to complete, so being able to sit down and make a handful these in just an evening was a real treat.

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The pattern (found here as a free Ravelry download) originally calls for one heart and one circle together, kind of like a hanging ornament with the circle above the heart.  But I had the idea for a garland as soon as I saw the pattern, and so I made up several.  Making it a garland also saved me from making up a duplicate of the front for the other side, since you only see the front when it hangs on the wall.

To start off with, the pattern is absolutely gorgeous.  It’s easy to mix and match yarn colors to get them to coordinate.  One of the most fun parts about making these were all the little embellishments that I put on each one.  Some I embroidered a little bit, others I added a popcorn stitch or changed up the border a little.  For a full, detailed list of the changes along with the pattern notes for each of them, you can see my Ravelry project page here.

I’ve tried so many times to get a good photograph of this hanging in my front hallway.  But the hallway is narrow and dark, with no windows or natural light at all.  Every time I’ve tried to get a decent picture, I either bump into the other side of the hallway and can’t get back far enough to get the whole banner in, or the garish light from my hallway (which I already have as bright as the socket will allow) totally washes it out.  I’ve had so many requests for the finished product hanging up though, that I’ll post my least-awful picture here to give you an idea of how it looks, so do forgive the harsh lighting (and yes, I did paint the walls pink!):

As you can see, I crocheted a long chain and then just looped the hearts and circles on.  They’re not tied into place; the hearts are tacked up on the wall and the loops just hang in the center.  Even though they look huge in their photos, you can see that the bigger hearts are only about 6″.

I think these would make a really cute stocking stuffer gift.  In fact, I might make up a few of them and use them on the outside of some of my holiday gifts this year as a present decoration.  What do you think?

~ Mellie ★