Welcome to this 3-part pattern for the ‘I Carry Your Heart’ Crochet Mandala. I will be sharing the pattern in weekly instalments, starting today with Part 1, Eve’s Heart. I am delighted to end 2022 with this design, which has been a long time in the making and is very dear to me. It is, in fact, the most emotional of all my designs.
This design takes its name and its meaning from the poem by E.E.Cummings, but it was inspired by (and is dedicated to) my sister’s two angel babies, Eve (pronounced Evie) and Sam, and her rainbow baby Greyson.
Every person we love, whether that love is reciprocated, easy, complex, or unspoken; whether we have exchanged a million words or never got the chance to say any…
Every person we love leaves their mark on us. They change our very insides and shape who we are, who we become, and how we choose to show up for ourselves and for others.
The mandala is created by crocheting four hearts (Part 1) and joining them together (Part 2) before growing them in the round (Parts 2 and 3).
For now, that is where the journey will end. Behind the scenes, however, I have plans for growing this beauty into a full-sized blanket. I can’t resist sharing a photo of the version I am making in Truly Scrumptious…
It is huge! It’s already approximately 112cm!! You may remember that I shared a sneak peek of the heart when I wrote my post about Scrumptious and Truly Scrumptious.
Resources
- Add This Pattern to Your Ravelry Queue
- Hashtag: #iCarryYourHeartCrochet – I would like to thank everyone who has shared their story with us so far. So much love, so much loss, so much bravery… thank you! May your stories encourage and empower others x
- PDF: I will be releasing a Paid PDF for this mandala when I have shared all 3 parts. In the meantime, you can use the PDF button at the bottom of this post (and the posts for Parts 1 – 3) to save an ad-free version of each post as a PDF.
Materials
- 1 x Scheepjes Whirl (60% cotton/40% acrylic), 220g/1000m/1093yds – we used Tasty Nom Nom (789) from the Inside Out
- 3.25mm hook (I used a 3.75mm hook – we all know I crochet tightly!!!)
- 75cm hoop (a 75cm hula hoop will work)*
* I couldn’t find a 75cm hula hoop on short notice for love or money (all the shops sold out in the lead-up to Christmas), so I went maverick and made my own using 3mm thick galvanised garden wire like a double magic ring and some insulation tape. Good thing I have a gift for making near-perfect circles :) I do think this deserves a tutorial, so will try and squeeze one in.
Gauge
Please see Size of One Heart (Ish) in Part 1.
Do not be worried about the vagueness of the Gauge/Size. This mandala ends with 3 simple double crochet rounds that can easily be omitted if you crochet much looser than I do. I also had a good 30g of yarn left at the end, so you have plenty of wiggle room.
Size
75cm blocked, 72cm unblocked
Testers
Thank you to the following people for testing this pattern for me:
- Anna Moore (@annamoore3)
- Jenny Lowman (@kungfu_fishwife)
- Hege Moen (@LittlePawsCrochet)
Instructions
Part 1 – Eve’s Heart
Please follow the Instructions for Part 1 HERE to create four hearts. Yes, you can make them all different colours. Yes, you can change colours for each round if you want to. I’ve provided instructions for using a single colour AND for changing colours.
Part 2 – Flowers for Sam
Once you have made all 4 hearts, you will need to join them and plant some Corner Flowers, using the Instructions for Part 2 HERE.
Part 3 – Greyson’s Garden
In Part 3, we will turn our ‘interesting’ shape from Part 2 into a circle, using a simple Pineapple border. You can find the Instructions for Part 3 HERE.
This blog post contains affiliate links. I only link to products I personally use or would use. All opinions are my own.
Sarah says
Fell accross this beautiful pattern as I’ve been looking for a Mandala to make for myself. It’s gorgeous and the story of its inspiration is inspiring. I lost my own baby girl last year at two months old and I will make this to hang in what was her nursery, its stunning. Thankyou for sharing.
Jenny Lowman says
So sorry for your personal loss. Enjoy the pattern. It is so beautiful!
Elda Da Fonseca says
Thanks you Dedry you are mynibsoirarion !! Live it ! As all your creations ! ❤️❤️
Dedri Uys says
Thank you Elda x
Annique Boer says
Would you please please please translate it in Dutch. It is allready in my heart but to difficult in English. I want to pay a reasonable price for it❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I suffer everyday with pain and nothing helps only paying attention to something else that you like very much, something like this. It will be helpfull!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Annique, I will see what I can do x
Patricia Gray says
can you use 3 ply yarn to make this instead of cotton/acrylic….thank you
Jenny Lowman says
You can use whichever yarn you like, to be honest!
BW Jenny
Jenni Salazar says
I am so glad I stumbled across this pattern and I can’t wait to get started. My baby is due in July and I was looking for a project to hang above my baby’s nursery… once I saw this pattern, I knew this was it! Thank you so much!!
Dedri Uys says
Congratulations and good luck :) It is going to look amazing in the nursery.
Diane Carter says
I found out my daughter was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer just after the first part of this pattern was released and as her name is Carrie I made it for her and called it “ I Carrie your heart chemo blanket. I would like to thank you so much for this pattern and hope you don’t mind my play on the name.
Dedri Uys says
Hi Diane, I am so sorry to hear this news. I think it is brilliant that you have made the name your own. Sending such good wishes for you and your daughter, and a fervent hope that her treatment goes well and that she tolerates it well x
Minette says
What a sweet nod to your daughter.
Lisa says
I ran across this pattern while looking for a portable project to work on while waiting in the hospital (my sweet husband was having a pacemaker installed in his heart). This mandala also spoke to me because I am one of 4 sisters, one of which has gone before and another has become feeble. Thank you so much for sharing your enormous talent with us. ❤️
Dedri Uys says
Hi Lisa,
I hope your husband is recovering well. It’s a lovely tribute to your sisters :)
Beth says
Hi,
I love this pattern! I am currently completing Greyson’s Garden section and wondering if you have any timefeame for releasing further instructions to continue making the current Mandala into a blanket?
I would love to gift it to my Rainbow niece/nephew due in April.
Thanks foe another amazing pattern!
Dedri Uys says
Hi Beth. I am glad you like it.
I don’t have a time frame for completing the blanket as I am working on another project at the moment. Sorry!
Win says
Hi Dedri, I love this beautiful pattern! I would really like to make this into a blanket for my beautiful granddaughter. I know you mentioned a year ago that you didnt have a timeframe for creating a blanket from this pattern. Has there been any change in timeframe since that time.
Keep up the great work Dedri, I love seeing all of your new creations.
Jenny Lowman says
Hello Win.
As far as I am aware, there are no squaring off plans ready to go, but do keep checking back for any update :)
Dineke de Vries-Kamp says
Wat mooi, ik ga deze maken ter herinnering aan mijn lieve man, hij is 12 jaar geleden overleden. mijn man was nog maar 65 jaar.
Ik ga ook losse harten maken om uit te delen aan mensen die iemand verliezen…..
Jenny Lowman says
What a caring thing to do! We send you our love and good wishes.
BW Jenny
Ingrid says
Good day
Is part 3 (Greyson’s garden) of I carry your heart pattern available yet?
Thank you
Ingrid Liebenberg
Jenny Lowman says
Yes, Ingrid. It is now on the blog :)
Elda Da Fonseca says
Thanks a Lot for this Mándala Lovenit !
Betty says
Thank you so much for such a wonderful way to pay tribute to those we’ve loved and lost. I’ve been in a crochet slump for the last 3 years due to the loss of 6 family members, 3 of which was the last of my sisters I will be making this in their memory!
Dedri Uys says
Oh Betty, I am so sorry to hear of your losses. My heart goes out to you x
LeAnna says
Beautiful! I look forward to making this! Is the pattern in British notation or American notation?
Dedri Uys says
Thank you. US terminology (all the abbreviations are in Part 1).
Miranda says
What a fabulous design, I love it
Did you just let the whirl colors flow when you made the hearts or did you cut the yarn for every single heart?
Dedri Uys says
Thank you. I just let the whirl colours flow :)
Linda Greer says
Such a gorgeous work of art! I’m hoping to make this to honour of my husband. He passed away 6 months ago.
Jenny Lowman says
So sorry for your loss, Linda. We hope this pattern will bring you some comfort.
Margalit Abas says
Thank you so much Dedri, fell in love with this mandala at first sight