Joining squares – the large cone in progress

Showing the strips and squares pinned together, and some of the variety in size of the squares. It is a good job yarn is quite ‘forgiving’. We came up with a term squish and stretch to make some fit together!

Me messing about!

Joining squares – squares to strips to cones!

5th November 2022

So last time we met up we distributed the lovely squares between the 3 of us, making sure we all had a mixture of colours and designs, plain and fancy etc. For the lower 2 cones we had estimated strips of 7 squares, and for the top cone strips of around 9 squares. I think each of us crocheted together 15 strips of 7 and either 2 or 4 of 9. That’s a total of 334 joins, 387 squares, with quite a lot of spares. That’s 63.46m of crochet joins!!

Karina’s strips in progress:

Rosie’s strips in progress, and Sarah’s ready for the next stage.

We next met up to lay the strips out on the cone shapes drawn out last time to set the correct layout to fit the steel structure. We mixed up the strips to try and make sure we didn’t have similar squares next to each other.

The strips obviously didn’t perfectly fit to the cone shapes, so we had to split a few strips back up, and add many single squares around the outside to fit the shape more closely. Strips were pinned together, then rolled up for each of us to take one ‘cone’ home to crochet together. In hindsight this didn’t work very well – we didn’t pin anywhere near enough squares and when I unrolled mine, the strips got really twisted, but thanks to the photos taken, we all managed to figure out the layouts we had and crochet them together….. Ready for the next meet up!!

Many thanks to The Spread Eagle in Lymm for letting us use the function room to lay this out. Perfect space!

The large cone has 24 strips 205 squares (approximately 240 more joins (1 side of a square), with the additional squares added to the strips). The middle cones has 17 strips 149 squares (155 more joins). The top cone has 10 strips 95 squares (90 more joins). Total of 449 squares. Another 92.15m of crochet joins, giving a total of 155.6m of double crochet joining we have done between us. No more dc for us for a while!!! It took us a couple of weeks to join the strips ready for the next meetup – the chicken wire stage!!

Creating the Crochet Cones

8th October 2022

I did the maths a while ago to go with the steel circle design. I just hope it is right!!!

We met to lay out paper on the floor and create the circle sections required to make the cone shapes, so we know how to join the squares together.

It was over 2 hours of crawling on the floor (my knees haven’t forgiven me yet!!), but we can now visualise the huge task ahead!!

We have sorted and distributed the squares to initially be crocheted together in strips. Once those are done, we will lay out the strips on the prepared cone shapes and arrange them for the strips to be crocheted together.

Still need to finish the steel structure and paint it, and get the chicken wire cut to the cone shapes too. It’s getting exciting.

Support structure

29th September 2022

The structure is made up of different diameter 10mm steel circles around a scaffold pole. Essentially 3 cone / part cone shapes that the crocheted squares will go around, supported further on chicken wire.

From 6 x 6m steel bars, cut, and put through a roller, and welded, to the hoops for the tree. Thanks to Crescent Sheet Metal for letting Paul use your workshop. Lots more to be done but it’s coming along now.

Some photos of the steel bar being bent to the circles, and the radials also cut ready for the next stage:

Many thanks are owed to Crescent Sheet Metal for allowing Paul to use their workshop.

and Lights

We have also received many strings of lights for the tree. One of the patterns used for these is this one – Crochet Christmas Lights – Repeat Crafter Me

Squares and Squares….

We have been overwhelmed by the fantastic response we have had from the local community, and collected a massive 759 squares. Thank-you so much to everyone who contributed.

We have also received many strings of lights for the tree. One of the patterns used for these is this one – Crochet Christmas Lights – Repeat Crafter Me

It would be impossible to show all the squares individually but here are some of the fantastic creations.

The Lymm Tree

Following the successful Jubilee Yarn Bomb in the village, and the positive response to the crowns and guards we would now like to do something on a much greater scale that will bring even more attention to Lymm Village.

Last year a village in Devon created a yarn Christmas Tree, and we would like to create The Lymm Tree.

Ours will be approximately 4m tall and a 2m diameter at the bottom, made up of hundreds of crochet / knitted squares, supported on a steel and wire structure, with a concrete base in the ground.

Initially the aim is for this to be a Christmas tree, but we aim to build on this and change the theme over the seasons to support other events in Lymm.  For example cascading poppies for Remembrance, ducks at Easter in line with the Duck Race, boats / cars for Historic Transport Day, general linkage to the canal.  The three part modular structure will give us flexibility for other seasonal theme formats.

We hope this will be a real community project with many crafters of all ages contributing their squares to the project.   Squares are to be 19cm made out of acrylic DK yarn (acrylic is better than wool when wet).