A long time ago at our local craft circle, I was introduced to the Apiary Puff and the concept of a crochet/knit "quilt" of sorts, using stuffed crochet tiles in a larger blanket design. I fell in love immediately, but I knew it would be quite the endeavor to make a whole project out of them. Well, when Lydia (a fellow crochetter) found out she was expecting, I knew I couldn't do anything less! I changed the pattern, because I was trying to find a simpler way of making, stuffing, and then sewing together the puffs. Here is what I came up with!
Yarns: Pound of Love (in Pastel Yellow), Red Heart Super Saver (in Coral), I Love This Yarn (in Hot Rose).
Hook(s): 5mm for Pound of Love, 4mm for Red Heart, and 3.5mm for I Love This Yarn
Gauge: Overall gauge is unimportant, however, you'll want all of your hex pieces to be the same size in the end, so with every different yarn you use, test the gauge with different hooks until you match the gauge of your existing hex pieces. I had to use a different hook for each yarn to get the sizes to match!
Additional Supplies:
Stuffing (I buy $1 GOSA Pillows from Ikea and one pillow was enough stuffing for this project)
Yarn Needle
Yarn Scraps
Hexa-Puff Pattern
Back Hex:
Begin with a Magic Ring
Into the Magic Ring: Ch 3, dc, ch1, *2dc, ch1* Repeat from * to * 4 additional times. Tighten your magic ring. Sl st to top of the ch 3 to join.
Round 2: Ch 3, dc in next st, *(dc, ch 1, dc) into the ch 1 space, dc in next 2 sts* Repeat from * to * 4 more times, end with (dc, ch 1, dc) into the remaining ch 1 space. Sl st to top of the ch 3 to join.
Round 3: Ch 3, dc in next 2 sts, *(dc, ch 1, dc) into the ch 1 space, dc in next 4 sts* Repeat from * to * 4 more times, (dc, ch 1, dc) into the remaining ch 1 space and dc into the next st (right before the ch 3 that started the round). Sl st to top of the ch 3 to join.
Round 4: Ch 3, dc in next 3 sts, *(dc, ch 1, dc) into the ch 1 space, dc in next 6 sts* Repeat from * to * 4 more times, (dc, ch 1, dc) into the remaining ch 1 space and dc into the next 2 sts (right before the ch 3 that started the round). Sl st to top of the ch 3 to join. Fasten Off.
Front Hex:
Same as Back Hex for Rounds 1-4. Do NOT fasten off at the end of Round 4.
Round 5: Begin by matching up a completed back hex to your almost-complete front hex, wrong sides together. Ch 1, and sc through BOTH the back and front hex to join the two pieces together. Sc into each st and 2sc into each corner ch 1 space until you're almost all the way around. Stuff a bit of stuffing into the hex before finishing. Sl st to the top of the first sc to join. Fasten off.
Half Hex:
Same as Back Hex for Rounds 1-4. Do NOT fasten off at the end of Round 4.
Fold the hex in half so that the wrong sides are inside. Ch 1 and sc through both halves of the piece, around, placing 2sc in each corner st. Add 3-4 sc stitches along the corners closest to the fold, and sc along the fold as well (this will make edging much easier). Make sure to STUFF your half-hex before you finish sc'ing all the way around.
When you've made all of your hex pieces, arrange them how you would like them and pin in place. Sew them together using a yarn needle and coordinating yarn. Be careful to secure them thoroughly at the corners.
My blanket used 50 Hex Pieces (9 Rose, 9 Coral, and 32 Yellow) and 8 Half-Hex Pieces (6 yellow, 1 rose, 1 coral) and I used scraps of the Rose yarn to add a simple single-crochet border. Final measurements were 24" wide by 30" long.
I LOVE the look of this project, even though it was one of the most involved project's I've ever done. I'd like to make it again using yellow for ALL the hex pieces, and a honey-colored yarn for the joining round (and sewing). I think that it would look like a honeycomb and it would be adorable if paired with an amigurumi bumble bee!
My Grandma also makes Hexagon Garden Quilts similar to this one, and I think that would be a neat arrangement as well!
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| Lydia Showing off the Hexa-Puff Quilt! |
