This is it! Finally, the long awaited Kalevala CAL begins! This particular day is also the nameday of llmatar in the Finnish calendar. So have a wonderful Ilmatar’s day and a splendid Kalevala CAL journey!
In primeval times, a maiden, Beauteous Daughter of the Ether, Passed for ages her existence In the great expanse of heaven, O'er the prairies yet enfolded.
(The first poem, 111-116) Source
You can share pictures of the Ilmatar square on social media with #kalevalacal_ilmatar. Hashtags for Kalevala CAL are #kalevalacal and #kalevalacal2017.
General Kalevala CAL info and all the links to other parts of the blanket project will be found on the Kalevala CAL page on the blog of Arteeni.
Designer Portrait: Sari Åström
I am Sari Åström, around 40 years old, an overall crafty person and a mother of two children. I work as a project manager in a technical sector and I am one of the two project managers in the Kalevala CAL. I learnt to crochet as a little girl being taught by my grandmother. Crocheting and handicrafts have always been an important part of my life; therapeutic colours and the feel of materials heal both my body and soul. I also like the community and charity spirit which make crocheting a true joy in my life. Although I have designed some crochet patterns of my own, I haven’t published them before because they are pretty laborious to write down.
My design for the Kalevala CAL are the Ilmatar square, Väinämöinen (joining of the squares) and Aino - the border. I was so excited about this future project that I designed Ilmatar even before we had a name for the project!
Favourites of the designer
Yarns: High-class natural fibres such as silk, merino wool and linen
Colours: I like to use lots of colours and especially, I like greyish brown as a base colour.
Favourite stitch: Almost all of them, depending on the situation and the context
Place to crochet: Armchair
Ilmatar
Hints from test crocheters
* Beginner ** Easy *** Average **** Demanding
Rather small Right size Rather big
There is a lot of overlay crochet in this square, but after all it is pretty much the same as normal crochet; you just place the stitches differently!
Try to crochet quite loosely and not too tightly, so that your square will be right size. Test crocheters have managed to get their squares approximately 0.5 cm smaller than the sample square, but it does not matter at all when joining the squares.
Colours
Here you can find all the colours needed in every row for the different colour packs (Click to see the lists bigger). The colour list for the Metsä / Forest -colour pack can be found on the pattern itself.
The Pattern
English pattern can be found lower down on the same page.
Links to translations (pdf):
Link to Ilmatar video which works as a support for the written pattern. Videos are done by Iris van Meer.
Other info
You can find pictures of the squares made by other Kalevala CAL participants on Instagram: #kalevalacal #kalevalacal2017 #kalevalacal_ilmatar
General Kalevala CAL info and all the links to other parts of the blanket project will be found on the Kalevala CAL –page on the blog of Arteeni.
Kalevala CAL –Square
Ilmatar (a virgin spirit of the air) by Sari Åström
This crochet square pattern is a part of a Finnish crochet project. We have designed a crochet blanket based on the Kalevala Mythology. It has been created as a tribute to Finland's 100 years of independence. The general information and links to all the square patterns of the blanket can be found in the Kalevala CAL info post at the blog of Arteeni.
Congratulations to a hundred years old homeland! Ilmatar (a virgin spirit of the air)
Ilmatar is the maiden in the Kalevala poem, a maiden from heaven who has created the world. She was tired of being in the sky, descended to the sea and became pregnant by the wind. This crocheted square respects the divine femininity of Ilmatar and her blooming, as well as the air of heaven and wind. Happy crocheting!
Materials
Menita Lasse yarn, hook and the gauge specifications in Kalevala CAL info page. Tapestry needle to secure ends, and scissors.
The pattern forms an almost perfect square so you can stretch it a little while during work to keep the shape right, but you do not have to do the actual blocking before you join your squares together.
Abbreviations and explanations
Copyright: I, Sari Åström, retain all rights to this pattern, pictures and instructions. Please do not copy, reproduce, or distribute this pattern as a whole or in part. You can share the link if you want to share the pattern. You may sell a product made by you, but please mention me as the designer. Thank you!
Pattern is written in two parts: first part for a solid colour square and second part is for a multicolored one.
Note. you can open bigger photos by clicking them!
ILMATAR - SOLID COLOUR
Make magic ring.
Rnd 1
Ch 1 (does not count as st), 8 scs into the magic ring, join to the first sc with sl st. Stitch count: 8 sc
Rnd 2
Make dc cluster (which starts with ch 2 that count as first incomplete dc), ch 3, *dc cl, ch 3*, repeat *-* 6 more times, join to the top of the first dc cl with sl st (note: join on TOP of the dc cl, not in the ch). Stitch count: 8 x (dc cl, 3 ch)
Rnd 3
Ch 1 (does not count as st), *fpsc around top of the dc cl, (hdc, 2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc, hdc) into the ch-sp*, repeat *-* across, join to first fpsc with sl st. Stitch count: 8 x (fpsc, 2 hdc, 4 dc, 1 ch)
Rnd 3
Use 3 sl sts to move to the ch1-sp, ch 1 (does not count as st), *sc into ch-sp, ch 7*, repeat *-* across, join to first sc with sl st. Stitch count: 8 x (sc, 7 ch)
Rnd 5
Ch 1 (does not count as st), *fpsc around sc, 7 sc into the ch-sp*, repeat *-* across, join to the first fpsc by taking the hook out of the loop, hook through first fpsc from back to front, putting the dropped loop back onto the hook, pull it through to the back side of your work. Stitch count: 8 x (fpsc, 7 ch)
Rnd 6
Ch 2 (does not count as st), bphdc across in each st, (first st falls in fpsc from the previous rnd), join to the first bphdc with sl st.
Stitch count: 64 bphdc
Rnd 7
Ch 1 (does not count as st), *sc (in first repeat, make sc into same stitch you joined), ch 3, sk 2, sc, ch 4, sk 3, tr cl, ch 4, dtr cl, ch 4, tr cl, ch 4, sk 3, sc, ch 3, sk 2*, repeat *-* 3 more times, join to the first sc with sl st. Stitch count per side: 3 sc, 2 x 3 ch, 4 x 4 ch, 2 x tr cl, dtr cl in corner
Rnd 8
Ch 1 (does not count as st), *fpsc around sc, 2 sc into the ch 3-sp, fpsc around sc, 3 sc into the ch 4-sp, fpsc around cl, 4 sc into the ch 4-sp, (fpsc, ch 2, fpsc) around dtr cl, 4 sc into the ch 4-sp, fpsc around cl, 3 sc into the ch 4-sp, fpsc around sc, 2 sc into the ch 3-sp* repeat *-* 3 more times.
Join to the first fpsc, pulling the loop through to the back of your work, as on rnd 5. Stitch count per side: 18 sc, 7 fpsc, 2 ch in the corner
Rnd 9
Ch 1 (does not count as st), bpsc in the next 13 sts (first bpsc falls in the fpsc), *(sc, ch 2, sc) into the corner ch-sp, bpsc in the next 25 sts, *, repeat *-* 2 more times, (sc, ch 2, sc) into the corner ch-sp, bpsc in the next 12 sts, join to the first bpsc with sl st. Stitch count per side: 25 bpsc, corners have 2 sc and 2 ch
Rnd 10
With sl-st in the next 2 sts move the yarn along, start with ch 3 (count as first incomplete tr of tr3tog), complete this tr3tog, (ch 2, tr3tog) 3 times, ch 6 (corner), *(tr3tog, ch 2) 9 times, ch 4 more to make corner*, repeat *-* 2 more times, (tr3tog, ch 2) 5 times, join to the first tr3tog with sl st.
Stitch count per side: 9 x tr3tog, 8 x 2 ch, 6 ch in corner
Rnd 11
Ch 2 (does not count as st), fpdc around the same tr3tog, 2 dc into the ch 2-sp, (fpdc around tr3tog, 2 dc into the ch-sp) 2 times, fpdc around last tr3tog, *(4 dc, ch 3, 4 dc) into the corner ch 6-sp, (fpdc around tr3tog, 2 dc into the ch-sp) 8 times, fpdc around the last tr3tog*, repeat *-* 2 more times, (4 dc, ch 3, 4 dc) into the corner ch-sp, (fpdc around tr3tog, 2 dc into the ch-sp) 5 times. Join to the first fpdc, pulling the loop through to the back of your work, as on rnd 5.
Stitch count per side: 9 fpdc, 8 x 2 dc, 2 x 4 dc, 3 ch at the corner
Rnd 12
Ch 1 (does not count as st), shallow bpsc in the next 14 sts, (Note: 1st shallow bpsc falls in the fpdc top of the tr3tog (rnd 10). (See stitch explanations list).
*(2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) into the corner ch-sp, shallow bpsc in the next 33 sts*, repeat *-* 2 more times, (2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) into the corner ch-sp, shallow bpsc in the next 19 st, join to the 1st bpsc with sl st.
Stitch count per side: 33 shallow bpsc, 4 sc, 2 ch in corner
Rnd 13
Ch 3 (count as dc), dc in the next 15 sts, *(dc, ch 3, dc) into the corner ch-sp, dc in the next 37 sts*, (note: do not forget the first slightly hidden stitch after the corner). Repeat *-* 2 more times, (dc, ch 3, dc) into the corner ch-sp, dc in the next 22 sts. Join to the 3rd ch with a sl-st and fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count per side: 39 dc, 3 ch in corner
MULTICOLORED ILMATAR
These are the instructions using the official colours of the Kalevala CAL. You may choose your own colour choices.
Kalevala CAL colors with Menita Lasse yarn:
Colour 1 = olive green 9963 Colour 2 = purple 757 Colour 3 = magenta 8755 Colour 4 = dark grey 203
Make magic ring.
Rnd 1, color 1
Ch 1 (does not count as stitch), 8 sc into magic ring, join to the 1st sc with sl st, fasten off and secure ends. Stitch count: 8 sc
Rnd 2, color 2
Start with standing stitch dc to make a cluster, *dc cl, ch 3*, repeat *-* across, join to the top of the first dc cl with sl st. (note: join on TOP of the dc cl, not in the ch), fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count: 8 x (dc cl, 3 ch)
Rnd 3, color 3
Start with standing st: *fpsc around top of the dc cl, (hdc, 2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc, hdc) into the ch-3 sp*, repeat *-* across, join to first fpsc with sl st, fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count: 8 x (fpsc, 2 hdc, 4 dc, 1 ch)
Rnd 4, color 4
Start with standing st: *sc into the ch-1 sp, ch 7*, repeat *-* across, join to first sc with sl st.
Stitch count: 8 x (sc, 7 ch)
Rnd 5
Ch 1 (does not count as st), *fpsc around sc, 7 sc into the ch-7 sp*, repeat *-* across. Join to the first fpsc by taking the hook out of the loop, hook through the first fpsc from back to front, putting the dropped loop back onto the hook, pull it through to the back side of your work (photo 1).
Stitch count: 8 x (fpsc, 7 ch)
Rnd 6
Ch 2 (does not count as st), bphdc across into each st, join to the first bphdc with sl st. Fasten off and secure ends. Stitch count: 64 bphdc
Rnd 7, color 1
Start with standing st in any st above sc from rnd 4: *sc, ch 3, sk 2 sts, sc, ch 4, sk 3 sts, tr cl, ch 4, dtr cl, ch 4, tr cl, ch 4, sk 3 sts, sc, ch 3, sk 2 sts*, repeat *-* 4 times, omit last sc in the last repeat and join to the first sc with sl st. Fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count per side: 3 sc, 2 x 3 ch, 4 x 4 ch, 2 x tr cl, dtr cl in corner
Rnd 8, color 4
Start with standing st in any the middle sc from the previous rnd: *fpsc around sc, 2 sc into the ch-3 sp, fpsc around sc, 3 sc into the ch-4 sp, fpsc around cl, 4 sc into the ch-sp, (fpsc, ch 2, fpsc) around cl, 4 sc into the ch-4 sp, fpsc around cl, 3 sc into the ch-4 sp, fpsc around sc, 2 sc into the ch-3 sp* repeat *-* 4 times. Omit the last sc at the last repeat. Join to the first fpsc pulling the loop through to the back of your work, as on rnd 5.
Stitch count per side: 18 sc, 7 fpsc, 2 ch in corner
Rnd 9
Ch 1 (does not count as st), bpsc in the next 13 sts (first falls in the fpsc), *(sc, ch 2, sc) into the corner ch-2 sp, bpsc in the next 25 sts, *, repeat *-* 3 times, (sc, ch 2, sc) into the ch-2 sp, bpsc in the next 12 sts, join to the first bpsc with sl st. Fasten off and secure ends. Stitch count per side: 25 bpsc, 2 sc, 2 ch in corner
Rnd 10, color 3
Start with standing st in 1st sc on any side *(tr3tog, ch 2) 9 times, ch 4 (corner)*, repeat *-* 4 times, join to the first tr3tog with sl st. Fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count per side: 9 x tr3tog, 8 x 2 ch, 6 ch in corner
Rnd 11, color 2
Start with standing st in any corner: *(4 dc, ch 3, 4 dc) into the corner ch 4-sp, (fpdc around tr3tog, 2 dc into the ch-sp) 8 times, fpdc around the last tr3tog*, repeat *-* 4 times. Join to the first fpdc with sl st. Fasten off and secure ends.
Stitch count per side: 9 fpdc, 8 x 2 dc, 2 x 4 dc, 3 ch in corner
Rnd 11, color 4
Start with standing st in any corner: *(2 sc, ch 2, 2 sc) into the corner ch-sp, (See stitch explanations list for shallow bpsc) shallow bpsc in the next 33 sts*, repeat *-* 4 times, join to the 1st bpsc with sl st.
(Note: See photos above of the SOLID COLOUR square rnd 12 for more information regarding the shallow bpsc).
Stitch count per side: 33 shallow bpsc, 4 sc, 2 ch in corner
Rnd 13
Ch 3 (count as dc), dc, *(dc, ch 3, dc) into the corner ch-sp, dc in the next 37 sts*, repeat *-* 3 times, (dc, ch 3, dc) into the corner ch-sp, dc in the next 34 sts. Join to the 3rd ch with a sl-st and fasten off and secure ends. Stitch count per side: 39 dc, 3 ch in corner
Designing the Ilmatar square has brought me a great joy, hopefully this comes across for you to enjoy too!
Xx,
Sari
Starting the Kalevala CAL, thanks for sharing your pattern. Michèle, South Africa.