Better shape up

Put your !let shaping skills into practice with this pretty metallic dragonfly motif.

Designer Becky Skuse says: “Filet crochet is a simple technique that anyone can learn, and being able to increase and decrease within the fabric will enable you to work many more filet patterns. This sweet dragonfly motif is a great pattern to start you off, with plenty of increasing and decreasing to practice, both at the start and the end of the row. We’ve used a fine yarn and small hook to create a small patch to decorate a skirt or dress, but you could use a heavier yarn and larger hook to create a dragonfly as big as you like!”

NOTES

This filet motif is worked using blocks of 3tr or spaces of (tr, ch1, tr). Adjacent blocks share the outer trebles of the filet mesh. Follow the Dragonfly chart on p93 to work the motif, increasing and decreasing squares as instructed in the Crochet Workshop on previous pages. Rows 1-7 have been written out in full to help you. To make the dragonfly, you will need to start your work twice. The first part is worked from Row 1 to the end of Row 5a. The second part is worked from Row 3b to the end of Row 5b, then the two parts are joined as instructed in the pattern before the rest of the dragonfly is worked.

DRAGONFLY MOTIF

Ch10. Using the Dragonfly chart, work as follows:

Row 1 (RS) Tr in sixth ch from hook, (ch1, skip 1 ch, tr in next ch) twice, turn. [3 squares]

Row 2 Ch4 (counts as tr, ch1), skip next ch-1 sp, tr in next tr, tr in next ch-1 sp, tr in next tr, ch1, skip next ch-1 sp, (tr, ch1, ttr) in last tr (square created), turn. [4 squares]

Row 3a Ch5 (counts as 1 foundation ch, tr, ch1, square created), tr in ttr, ch1, tr in each of next 3 sts, (ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in next st) twice, turn. [5 squares]

Row 4a Ch1, ss in next ch-1 sp and tr (square removed), ch3 (counts as tr), (ch1, skip next st, tr in next st) twice, tr in each of next 2 sts, ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in 4th ch of beg ch-5, turn. [4 squares]

Row 5a Ch5 (counts as 1 foundation ch, tr, ch1, square created), tr in next tr, ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in each of next 3 sts, ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in next st.

Fasten off leaving last square unworked. [4 squares]

Now work the second part, using the Dragonfly chart, as follows: Ch12.

Row 3b (RS) Tr in sixth ch from hook, (ch1, skip 1 ch, tr in next ch) 3 times, turn. [4 squares]

Row 4b Ch7 (counts as 3 foundation ch, tr, ch1), tr in sixth ch from hook, ch1, skip 1 ch, tr in next st (this should be the last tr of Row 3b) (2 squares created), ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in each of next 5 sts, ch1, skip ch-1 sp, tr in last st, turn. [6 squares]

Row 5b Ch4 (counts as tr, ch1), skip ch-1 sp, tr in each of next 9 sts, ch1, skip next ch-1 sp, (tr, ch1, ttr) in last st (square created), ch1, ss to 4th ch of beg ch-5 of Row 5a to join the two pieces (square created). [7 squares] Continue as one piece, as follows: Working along Row 5a, ss in the top of each of the next 6 sts, turn leaving last square unworked.

Row 6 Ch4 (counts as tr, ch1), skip next tr, tr in each of next 3 sts, (ch1, skip 1 st, tr in next st) 3 times, tr in each of next 8 sts, ch1, skip 1 st, tr in next st, ch1, skip 1 st, (tr, ch1, ttr) in last tr (square created), (ch1, ttr into the side of the previous ttr) 3 times (3 squares created), turn. [15 squares]

Row 7 Ch4 (counts as tr, ch1), skip ch-1 sp, tr in each of next 7 sts, (ch1, skip 1 st, tr in next st) twice, tr in each of next 10 sts, (ch1, skip 1 st, tr in next st) twice, tr in each of next 2 sts, ch1, skip 1 st, tr in last st. [15 squares]

Continue to follow Rows 8-19 of the Chart.

Fasten off. Weave in all ends. Wet block and starch if desired.