Reminding myself to lead with intention this year, thanks to my Yarn Arrow front door wreath
Happy New Year! I’m not big on New Years Resolutions. I do like to set goals, and I am working on those for the year. But there is a tradition that I do follow, and that is to pick a word for the year.
I started in 2014 with the word ‘Shine‘. In 2015 I picked the word ‘Grow‘. And for 2016 my word of the year was ‘Impact‘. For 2017 I have picked the word Lead.
Impact turned out to be a really big word for me last year. The women’s volunteer organization that I joined has been using the phrase “Aiming for Impact” as our 2016-2017 motto, along with drawings of arrows. I made some large scale cross-stitch arrows last year and I still have arrows on my mind, along with my word Lead, at the start of this year.
I decided to create an arrow themed front door wreath to remind me to lead with intention as we start the new year. I have some big announcements coming soon in regards to leading and I can’t wait to share those as well.
“Lead from where you are, with everything you’ve got”
For my yarn arrows I used both knit and crochet stitches, though you could do this with just crochet stitches.
I used three different colors of yarn (for the shaft, arrowhead, and fletching). I also used a craft stick (you could also use a dowel) and some wire (I had some green floral wire in my craft stash).
The first piece I made was the knit I-cord (you could also use the crochet I-cord technique if you don’t knit). I made the I-cord as long as I wanted the shaft on my arrow to be, in my case this was long enough to stretch diagonally across my wreath base.
The second piece I made was the fletching (the ‘feathers’ that go on the end of the arrow). And finally I made an amigurumi crochet triangle for the arrowhead. Leave a tail for weaving on the arrowhead and the I-cord.
Once all the yarn pieces were made I slipped the craft stitch through the I-cord. Then I put the end of the craft stick into my crochet triangle and used the tail I left to stitch the arrowhead closed and attach it to the shaft of the arrow.
I used my green floral wire and ran it through the chevron ‘fletching’ to give it some shape. Bend the wires in half to get the pointed look in your feather fletching. Then I used some more yarn in the same color as the fletching to whip stitch it to the shaft.
Once those pieces were assembled I whip stitched my arrow to an already completed finger knit wreath base.
And now my Lead Yarn Arrow front door wreath is hanging on my front door!
Yarn Arrow Pattern
Shaft
- Using double pointed needles cast on 7 stitches.
- Knit in I-cord until desired length.
Arrowhead
- Create a magic loop, chain 1
- Round 1: Single crochet 4 inside of loop
- Round 2: 2sc in 1st stitch, sc in next, 2 sc in next stitch, sc (6)
- Round 3: 2sc in 1st stitch, 2 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 2 sc (8)
- Round 4: 2sc in 1st stitch, 3 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 3 sc (10)
- Round 5: 2sc in 1st stitch, 4 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 4 sc (12)
- Round 6: 2sc in 1st stitch, 5 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 5 sc (14)
- Round 7: 2sc in 1st stitch, 6 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 6 sc (16)
- Round 8: 2sc in 1st stitch, 7 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 7 sc (18)
- Round 9: 2sc in 1st stitch, 8 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 8 sc (20)
- Round 10: 2sc in 1st stitch, 9 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 9 sc (22)
- Round 11: 2sc in 1st stitch, 10 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 10 sc (24)
- Round 12: 2sc in 1st stitch, 11 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 11 sc (26)
- Round 13: 2sc in 1st stitch, 12 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 12 sc (28)
- Round 14: 2sc in 1st stitch, 13 sc, 2 sc in next stitch, 13 sc (30)
- Finish off, leave long tail for assembly
Fletching
- Chain 26 + 2
- Row 1: Make dc in 3rd chain from hook, dc in next 9 stitches, 3dctog, 3dctog, 10 dc. Chain 2 and turn. (20 stitches)
- Row 2-4: make 3 dc in first stitch, 7 dc, 3dctog, 3dctog, 7 dc, 3 dc in last stitch (20 stitches)
- Finish off
Do you make resolutions or goals? How about a word of the year? Let me know!
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
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