Although I never knew her, outside of seeing her blog posts and lovely mandalas, I was still very sad to see the news about Wink at A Creative Being. I don’t know what to say, except, that it’s beautiful to watch the response from the crochet community, with the hashtag #MandalasforWink on IG, and the many touching posts on FB. I, for one, wish I knew her better. She must have been a lovely person to garner this outpouring of love. As someone else who also struggles with depression, this support is on a whole other level. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, there are help lines available 24/7: SuicidePreventionLifeline.Org. Please, do not hesitate to ask for help.
For my mandala for Wink, I didn’t quite go with a traditional circular mandala, it’s more of a pentagram than a circle. It was rather circular in the beginning but as it continued to develop, I had started with 5 points not 6, 6 would have made it circular. I guess my brain didn’t put that together for me but I do love stars, so maybe that’s what happened there. HodgePodge Crochet has put together a lovely post with mandalas created to honor Wink, if you have time, you should head over there to see it. I really don’t know what else to say so I’m just going to get to the pattern:
Materials:
- 1 – 13 colors of worsted weight yarn (2.7 oz/ 77 g/144 yards (based on using Vanna’s Choice)
- US I (5.50 mm) crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
Gauge:
- I: 4” x 4” = 14 dcs x 7 rows
Terms/ Stitches used:
- Ch: chain
- St: stitch
- Slip st: slip stitch
- DC: double crochet
- Dc2tog: double crochet 2 together
- Dc3tog: double crochet 3 together
- Tr: treble crochet
Notes:
- This pattern is worked in the round with the last st being slip stitched to the first st.
- The dc3tog (and dc2tog) at the beginning is a cluster st, you’re not actually decreasing.
- Each row is a different color, although that’s not expressed in the pattern.
- Beginning with standing DC helps to make the mandala seamless.
- If you don’t want a slip st marring the beautiful finished piece, fasten off after every row and use the invisible join technique before moving onto the next one. It will make it nearly impossible for anyone to spot your join/ seam.
- Each row begins where the previous one left off, before the dcs on the point.
Finished Product Dimensions:
- Diameter: 17″ (from flat portion to a point)
Pattern instructions:
Row 1: Ch 6, slip st to form a ring
Row 2: Ch 2, dc2tog into the circle (with the ch 2 counting as the first leg of the dc3tog), ch 3, *dc3tog into the circle, ch 3,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc3tog – 5 dc3togs
Row 3: Start in one of the ch 3 spaces, dc 5 times, ch 1,* skip to next ch 3 space, dc 5 times, ch 1,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 25 dcs
Row 4: Skip first dc in the group of 5, dc into the next st and into the next 2 sts, ch 9, *skip next 2 dcs, dc into the next 3 sts, ch 9,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, skip next 2 dcs, slip st into the first dc – 15 dcs
Row 5: Start in a ch 9 space, [6 dcs, ch 3, 6 dcs] into first ch 9 space, ch 1, skip next dc, sc into next dc, skip next dc, ch 1, *[6 dcs, ch 3, 6 dcs] into next ch 9 space, ch 1, skip next dc, sc into next dc, skip next dc, ch 1,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of first dc – 60 dcs, 5 scs
Row 6: From where you ended the last row, skip first two dcs, dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 4, sc into the next sc, ch 4, skip next 2 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 4, sc into the next sc, ch 4, skip next 2 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 60 dcs, 5 scs
Row 7: From where you ended the last row, skip first two dcs, dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, skip next 2 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, skip next 2 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 60 dcs, 5 scs
Row 8: From where you ended the last row, skip first two dcs, dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 4, sc into the next ch 6 space, ch 4, sc into the next ch 6 space, ch 4, skip next 2 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 4, sc into the next ch 6 space, ch 4, sc into the next ch 6 space, ch 4, skip next 2 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into first dc – 60 dcs, 10 scs
Row 9: From where you ended the last row, skip first two dcs, dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, skip next 2 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, sc into the next sc, ch 6, skip next 2 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 60 dcs, 10 scs
Row 10: From where you ended the last row, skip first two dcs, dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, skip next 2 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, dc 3 times into the next ch 6 space, ch 2, skip next 2 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the first dc – 105 dcs
Row 11: From where you ended the last row, skip first three dcs, dc into the next 3 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 3 sts, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 5, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, *dc into the next 3 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 3 sts, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 5, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3, dc twice into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 3* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 100 dcs
Row 12: From where you ended the last row, skip first three dcs, dc into the next 2 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 2 sts, skip next 3 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, [3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc] into the next ch 5 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 2, *dc into the next 2 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 2 sts, skip next 3 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, [3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc] into the next ch 5 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 2 dcs, ch 2, dc twice into the next ch 3 space, skip next 3 dcs, ch 2,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the first dc – 110 dcs
Row 13: From where you ended the last row, skip first dc, dc into the next 3 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 3 sts, skip next dc, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, [3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc] into the next ch 3 space, skip next 3 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next dc, *dc into the next 3 sts, [2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc] into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 3 sts, skip next dc, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 3 dcs, [3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc] into the next ch 3 space, skip next 3 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next 2 dcs, dc 3 times into the next ch 2 space, skip next dc,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 145 dcs
Row 14: From where you ended the last row, skip first dc, dc into the next 4 sts, dc 5 times into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 4 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 3 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 6 dcs, dc 5 times into the ch 1 space, skip the next 6 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 3 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 4 dcs, *dc into the next 4 sts, dc 5 times into the next ch 3 space, dc into the next 4 sts, skip next 4 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 3 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 6 dcs, dc 5 times into the ch 1 space, skip the next 6 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 3 dcs, tr 5 times into the space between the last dc and the next dc, skip the next 4 dcs,* repeat from * to * 3 more times, slip st into the top of the first dc – 95 dcs, 100 trs
Fasten off, weave in your ends.
So, there it is. My heart is sad for the loss of such a talented and much loved crocheter and person. I’ve seen, first hand from losing friends and family, what this sort of loss feels like. My heart goes out to her family and close friends.
I’ve got another pattern coming up that I’m going to publish later this week. Please, friends, take care of yourselves. <3
This post is linked up to The Purple Poncho’s Linky Ladies Community Link Pary #6, Oui Crochet Fiber Tuesdays #16, Oombawka Design’s Link and Share Wednesdays #99, Lunamon Design’s 2 Day Link Party #27, and GSHeller’s Yarn Along #234.
Linda Ogren
Tuesday 2nd of August 2022
I know this pattern is several years old but I just found it. I am interested in making it however after reading the thoughts from others and seeing there were some missed steps and/or errors in the pattern I am wondering if you have made the corrections and updated this pattern. I would like the updated version so I can make it without trying to figure out the proper stitching sequence. I plan on making this in a small doily size with size 10 crochet thread and number 7 or 10 crochet hook. Thank you.
Divine Debris
Monday 8th of August 2022
Yes, the pattern was updated 7 years ago. Hope you enjoy it :)
Lisa B
Monday 23rd of March 2020
Thank you so much for this beautiful pattern! You do beautiful work!
Tina
Friday 12th of May 2017
I lost my daughter to suicide and this is reallky cool thanks you. My heart goes out to anyone suffering this type of loss
Divine Debris
Friday 12th of May 2017
I'm so sorry for your loss. <3 <3 I cannot believe it's been almost 2 years since I made this post. <3 <3 Take care.
Carol
Saturday 30th of July 2016
I too struggle with severe depression, which resulted in self harming. I have been on numerous medications which only made it worse or left me in state where i could not function normally. I have to rely 100% on my husband and family. I used to draw to vent some of my feelings but, i also have essential tremors. My entire body shakes constantly and has robbed me of that outlet. I now focus all my attention to crocheting now. I am very very thankful for the endless support of my family and thier ability to recognize small changes in my body language. I wish more could be done for those of us who fight the daily battle, instead of it being blown off as someone just seeking attention.
My question is... can this pattern be continued on to make it larger? Or would it be best to do as blocked and sewn together.
Divine Debris
Saturday 30th of July 2016
You could probably continue the pattern to make it larger, but you'd have to adjust it from where I left off so that'd be all up to your creativity and motivation. I think you could make a few and sew them together, I just don't know how that would look as I haven't tried it myself. :) Good luck and I hope you share how your work turns out. :)
[Free Pattern] Make A Difference In Someone's Life With This Lovely Pentagon Mandala - Knit And Crochet Daily
Sunday 14th of February 2016
[…] is calming and relaxing, the equivalent of a meditation translated in crochet. This gorgeous Memory Mandala by Divine Debris with a pentagon form is a beautiful memorial for Wink with the most appropriate […]