Welcome!

While we await the start of the Official Scheepjes CAL for 2025 (coming in October)*, Michael Wassenaar and I thought it would be the perfect time to revisit one of my most heartfelt patterns – I Carry Your Heart. Whether this design is new to you or already part of your story, we invite you to join us in a gentle, three-week crochet-along (CAL) starting 30 July 2025.

*Yes, you read that right.  I am thrilled to tell you, if you don’t already know, that I was invited to design the Official Scheepjes CAL for 2025, and Michael will be doing the Dutch translation and videos.  We have had SO MUCH FUN with this design already, and we cannot wait for you to share that fun with us.  And a little hint… It also features Hearts…

Back to I Carry Your Heart…

This is what I wrote in the original post about this pattern:

“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.”

So this is not just a project.  It is a pause.  A chance to sit with memory, love, and colour;  to stitch a story that honours the people we carry in our hearts, and who have made us who we are.

I Carry Your Heart Crochet-along Information

Please Note:  This crochet pattern is already available as a free 3-part photo tutorial on my website HERE. 

For this CAL,  Michael will be sharing the Dutch translation, as well as videos on his YouTube channel, in weekly instalments. He has lovingly created step-by-step videos for each section—in both Dutch and English, and for left- and right-handed makers. We hope these will make the process accessible and soothing, especially if you’re not confident with reading patterns.

I would like to point out that doing this CAL was Michael’s idea, and I am so glad that he thought of doing it.

To coincide with each weekly part, I will also be updating the existing posts with:

• Charts by the talented Masako Kawahara
• Links to the relevant videos
• Links to the Dutch and Japanese translations

At the end of the crochet-along, I will also release a paid PDF version of the pattern for those of you who prefer to have an edited, ad-free version.

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 we 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.
• Video Tutorials:  Will be updated in each part as the CAL progresses.

Translations

• Dutch Information Post by Michael Wassenaar
• Japanese Information Post by Masako Kawahara

Timeline

• Part 1: Eve’s Heart – 30 July
• Part 2: Flowers for Sam – 6 August
• Part 3: Greyson’s Garden – 13 August

If you want to read a bit more about this design, you can find that information in the original Information Post HERE.

Materials

There’s no ‘right’ yarn for this project.  It all depends on what you want to do with the finished mandala.  You can use whatever yarn/colour combination makes your heart sing.  To help you get an idea of size and yardage, we are including some suggestions below, with information on how big they turned out and how much yarn was used.

This mandala is beautiful as a stand-alone wall hanging, but we will reveal a way to ‘grow’ it into a full-sized blanket later this year.  Just saying…

Scheepjes Whirl Version (Fingering weight)

I originally used a Scheepjes Whirl in Tasty Nom Nom (worked from the centre out) and a 3.25mm hook.  The resulting mandala fit into a 75cm hoop when blocked/stretched, and used 190g of yarn.

Scheepjes Softfun Rainbow (Double-knit)

This is the version I made in Scheepjes Softfun (Rainbow Colours) and a 4mm crochet hook for the photo tutorials.  You can see the full photo at the start of this post.  It’s worked up to the final round of I Carry Your Heart as it stands now, and measures 90cm/35.4″ across. This version weighed in at 390g.

I appreciate that some of you may want to know which colours I used and where, so I will make that information available as well.  I just have to figure out how and where…

Scheepjes Softfun Denim Version (Double-knit) – Michael

Michael will be using the following for his videos:

• Scheepjes Softfun Denim (60% cotton/40% acrylic), 50g/140m/153yds
  • 503: 4 balls
  • 504: 2 balls
  • 505: 2 balls
• 3.0mm crochet hook
• 100cm/39.4″ hoop ( at least 2-5cm/1-2″ bigger than your mandala to ensure a good stretch if mounting to a hoop)

Scheepjes Truly Scrumptious (Aran weight)

I’ve also made one in Scheepjes Truly Scrumptious, using a 5.5mm hook.  It turned out 112cm/44″ and weighed 1350g!

This is the one I was planning to grow into a blanket, but it will be TOO big.  Well, too big for me, not for Michael.  He LOVES a giant blanket, and has already made Sophie’s Universe and Charlotte’s Universe in Chunky Monkey (HUUUUUGE), which is the sister yarn to Truly Scrumptious. 

Anyway, on balance, I think I’ll grow the Rainbow Softfun one instead.  Or even the Whirl one…  Oh, I can’t… I gifted that one to my sister.  Rainbow it is, then.

If you decide to make this mandala in a thinner or thicker yarn, we hope that you will share your size and yardage so that we can add more information for others wanting to do the same.

Go At Your Own Pace

Although the CAL is structured over three weeks, there’s absolutely no pressure to keep up. The patterns and videos will remain available indefinitely, so please crochet in your own time.

Share Your Journey

We would love to see your creations and hear your stories.

Please join us in my Facebook group or share your progress on Instagram using the hashtag #iCarryYourHeartCrochet, and tag me @barbertondaisy and/or Michael @mikescreatievewereld.

Thank you for being here.

With love,

Dedri and Michael

This blog post contains affiliate links. I only link to products I personally use or would use.  All opinions are my own.