Finally - instructions in English for the Winter Carpet :)

Dzisiejszy wpis będzie po angielsku, jako że zagraniczne dziewiarki regularnie proszą mnie o anglojęzyczną wersję instrukcji dywanu adwentowego z 2014 roku. Jeżeli trafiliście tu niechcący szukając wzoru po polsku, znajdziecie go [ tu ]. Ale jak zawsze zachęcam Was do szlifowania swojego szydełkowego angielskiego :) Jeżeli znajdziecie jakieś błędy szydełkowe lub językowe, to koniecznie zwróćcie mi uwagę!

Many foreign crocheters have asked me to post an English translation of instructions for [ this carpet ], so here it goes :) But please, read the copyrights first!

Copyrights notice You may make a carpet using my design and even sell the carpet to make lots of money :) if you make the carpet, it would be great if you e-mailed me its photo and wrote a few things about yourself, like your name and where you're from, etc... You should if you make this carpet and put photos of it on your blog or a website or your Facebook page, you should always clearly state where the design came from.  You may not claim this design to be yours, copy this design to your website or a blog (instead, provide a link to my blog or my Ravelry account or my Facebook fanpage), reprint this design in a magazine or a book without asking me first and paying me for it.

I made the Winter Carpet to share its pattern with my blog readers as part of a crochet-along countdown from December 1st until the Christmas Eve back in 2014. If you’re curious, you can check it out [ here ] in Polish.

You will need:

• about 850 meters of cotton twine (5 mm thick),
• a 10 mm crochet hook (in the US it's size "N" or "P"),
• less than 10 hours of your time.

No matter what string you use, remember one important thing: the crochet hook needs to be twice as thick as the string! Otherwise the carpet will come out crooked - it will wobble or buckle. For example, if your string is 3 mm thick, the crochet hook should be 6 mm thick (in the US: size "J"). If you use a string of smaller thickness than mentioned above, the dimensions will decrease but I can't predict by how much. If you use a 10 mm crochet hook and a 5 mm thick cotton twine the carpet should measure about 135 cm in diameter.

I use the same kind of string they put in sweatshirts to tighten the hood. It can be washed in an ordinary washing machine. I order my string on-line from [ a factory in Poland ] but I have no idea if they are willing to ship small quantities of string overseas.

Another important thing: you should be sitting on the carpet while crocheting it. This way the carpet will appear as if it has already been washed and blocked – because you have been ironing it with your buttocks the whole time. If you crochet the carpet while sitting on the couch, it will come out crooked and uneven. Remember, you will never be able to block it because it's just too big.

Let's start :) You have 32 rounds to go. I will be using US terminology throughout this tutorial.

Round 1. Make a magic loop and in it make 10 sc (the first sc can be "pretended" by 2 ch). Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 10 sc.

Round 2. Make 2 dc in each stitch in the back loop. As usual, you can make 3 ch instead of the first dc in this round and throughout this tutorial. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 20 dc.

By making your stitches in the back loop, you now have 10 unused front loops visible on the right side of your work. Mark 4th such loop from hook with a hairpin or some other fancy marker.

Round 3. Make 2 sc in each stitch. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 40 sc.

This video sums up the first three rounds:

Round 4. Watch this video first, and then read the instructions:

Make a triple treble (that's 4 yarn-overs!) in the marked front loop from round #2, make 2 sc on round #3, make another triple treble in the same front loop on round #2, make 2 sc on round #3. Repeat 9 times: {make a triple treble in the next front loop from round #2, make 2 sc on round #3, make another triple treble in the same front loop on round #2, make 2 sc on round #3.} Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 20 triple trebles and 2 sc between each two triple trebles. That's 60 stitches altogether.

Round 5. Make an ss in the back loop all around. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 60 ss. The carpet may wobble a bit, but don't worry, it will become flat after the next few rounds :)

Round 6. Make a dc in the back loop all around. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 60 dc.

Round 7. Make 3 ch (it will pretend to be 1 sc and 2 ch), skip 2 stitches, make 1 sc. Repeat all around: {make 2 ch, skip 2 stitches, make 1 sc}. In the last repeat close the round with a slip stitch instead of making the final 1 sc. You have 20 ch2-spaces separated by sc's. These spaces will be used to hold popcorns in the next round.

Round 8. Slip stitch into the first ch2-space. Make 3 ch (pretending to be a dc) and 3 more dc in the first ch2-space. Drop the loop from your hook and insert the hook in the third ch. Grab the dropped loop with your hook and pull it tightly through the stitch. You've just made a starting popcorn. Make 4 ch. Repeat all around: { make 4 dc in the next ch2-space, drop the loop from your hook and insert the hook in the top of the first dc, grab the dropped loop with your hook and pull it tightly through the stitch. You've just made a popcorn. Make 4 ch.} Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 20 popcorns, with each two popcorns separated by 4 ch.

Don't worry, there's a video:

Round 9. Make 5 sc in each ch4-space. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 20x5 = 100 sc.

Round 10. Make 1 dc in each stitch in the back loop.  Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 100 dc.

Round 11. In this round we'll make zig-zags. Watch the video first :)

Repeat all around: { make 2 ch, ss in the front loop on round #9 in the middle between popcorns, make 2 ch, ss in the front loop on round #10 exactly above the popcorn}. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have some zig-zags attached to rounds #9 and #10.

Round 12. Make an ss in the back loop of round #10 all around. Ignore the front-loop slip stitches made in the previous round to attach zig-zags! Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 100 ss.

Round 13. It will get a bit complicated - watch the video first! I once saw this stitch on Ravelry in the [ Sea Turtle Rug ] tutorial :)

Yarn over, insert hook through stitch and pull up a loop, pull yarn through first two loops on hook, skip 1 dc, yo, insert hook through stitch and pull up a loop, pull yarn through first two loops on hook, then yarn through all three loops on hook. Make 2 ch. Repeat all around: { yarn over, insert hook through same stitch as last dc, pull up a loop, pull yarn through first two loops on hook, skip 1 dc, yarn over, insert hook through stitch, and pull up a loop, pull yarn through first two loops on hook, then yarn through all three loops on hook. Make 2 ch}. Close the round with a slip stitch. I sincerely hope you have 50 ch2-spaces.

Round 14. Make 3 sc in each ch2-space. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 50*3 = 150 sc.

Round 15. Make 1 dc in each stitch all around in the back loop. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 150 dc. By now you should be sitting on the floor indian-style, ironing the carpet with your behind ;)

Round 16. Repeat round #7. You have 50 ch2-spaces separated by sc's.

Round 17. Slip stitch to the next ch2-space. Repeat all around: { make dc4-tog in the ch2-space, make 3 ch}. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 50 4dc-clusters, each separated by 3 ch.

Round 18. Make 4 sc in each ch3-space. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 50*4 = 200 sc.

Round 19. Make ss in the back loop all around. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 200 ss.

Round 20. Make 1 dc in the back loop all around. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 200 dc.

Round 21. Time for more zig-zags :) Repeat all around: { make 4 ch, slip stitch in the unused front loop above the 4dc-cluster on round #19, make 4 ch, slip stitch in the front loop above the 4dc-cluster on round #20}. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have some zig-zags attached to rounds #19 and #20.

Round 22. Make an ss in the back loop of round #21 all around. Ignore the front-loop slip stitches made in the previous round to attach zig-zags. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 200 ss. 

Round 23. Make 3 ch (pretending to be one dc) and 2 more ch. Repeat all around: {skip 1 stitch, make dc in the next stitch, make 2 ch}. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 100 ch2-spaces. The edge of the carpet will be a bit wobbly, but don't worry about that :)

Round 24. This round will be made in all skipped stitches of round #22. Please watch the video first.

Slip stitch down to the first skipped stitch of round #22. Then, repeat round #23 attaching all dc's on round #22.  You should have two identical rounds of (dc, 2 ch)_{100 times}   attached to round #22. 

Round 25. You have to skew both previous rounds with respect to one another by one ch2-space and make 3 dc in each joined gap. This makes absolutely no sense in English (and writing it in my native Polish was just as difficult...), so please watch the video instead :D You should have 100*3 = 300 dc. The carpet will be a bit wobbly, but don't worry, it should even itself out in the next few rounds. 

Round 26. Repeat all around: { 8 ss in the back loop, 3 ch, skip the next 3 stitches from round #25, make 1 ss in the back loop}. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 25 ch3-spaces, each separated by 9 ss. 

Round 27. Slip stitch back to the middle of the last ch3-space. Make 11 dc in it - the first dc should be "pretended" by 3 ch. Repeat all around: { make 1 ss in the 5th ss, make 11 dc in the next ch3-space}. Close the round by making 1 ss in the 5th ss and 1 ss in the 3rd chain pretending to be the first dc. You have 25 "fans", each separated by 1 ss.

Round 28. Slip stitch to the third dc in the next "fan", make 3 ch (pretending to be the first dc) and 6 more dc's in the next stitches - altogether it's 7 dc on top of the 11-dc "fan" from the previous round (2 dc's on each side of the "fan" remain unused). Make 2 ch (or 3 ch, if you think your carpet buckles). Repeat all around: { make 7 dc on top of the 11-dc "fan" from the previous round, make 2-or-3 ch }. Close the round with a slip stitch in the top of the first dc (the one pretended by 3 ch). You have 25 groups of 7 dc, each separated by 2-or-3 ch.

Round 29. Slip stitch to the next ch-space and in it make 10 dc (the first dc can be "pretended" by 3 ch). Then make 2 ss more or less in the middle of the group of 7 dc from the previous round (e.g. in the 4th and 5th dc). Repeat all around: { 10 dc in the next ch-space, 2 ss somewhere in the middle of the group of 7 dc from the previous round. } Close the round with a slip stitch in the top of the first dc (the one pretended by 3 ch). You have 25 groups of 10 dc, each two separated by 2 ss.

Round 30. In the previous round we made groups of 10 dc's. In this round you should ignore the first and the last dc of each group, i.e. work on the middle 8 dc's of each group. Repeat all around: { make a back-post dc, make 1 ch }. Close the round with a slip stitch to the first back-post dc. You have 25 x 8 x (1 bpdc + 1 ch).

Round 31. Make 2 sc in each ch1-space. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 400 sc.

Round 32. Make an ss in the back loop all around. Close the round with a slip stitch. You have 400 ss.

THE END :) :) :)

If you make the Winter Carpet please send me its photo with some details about yourself, like your name and where you're from. I'm always curious to know how far my designs travel :)