Mosaic Sampler CAL From Daisy Knots 🧶

The Mosaic Sampler CAL is a free crochet pattern from Daisy Knots Crochet. This gorgeous mosaic technique looks far more complicated than it is, and it's a true delight to crochet!

In a recent scroll through Instagram, I stumbled upon some gorgeous mosaic crochet from Moira at Daisy Knots Crochet. She was sharing sneak peeks of her new design the Turkish Delight Afghan, and I was immediately drawn to this new to me technique.

Her feed is truly inspirational, and it led me to her website, her shop and her You Tube Channel as I tried to discover more and more about this stunning style of crochet.  I was ready to purchase the new Turkish Delight Afghan pattern, but she'd noted that the pattern was the next step for those who had already completed her free Mosaic Sampler CAL pattern - I hadn't, so the sampler it was!

Finding yarn where I live can be challenging. We have one independent yarn shop and a Spotlight store, and while ordering yarn online is convenient, the true representation of the colours and the textures doesn't translate on a computer screen.

I spent a night researching yarns I could source locally and narrowed it down to two possible options which I could see in person and squish to my heart's content.

I chose Lionbrand's Feels Like Butta yarn for a few reasons. It's super soft, almost like velvet, the colours have lovely warm tones and were close to the ones I was looking for, and I'm confident it will hold its shape better than the other yarn (this sampler has dense crocheting and it will be heavy).

This is the first time I've worked with this yarn and I have to say I'm impressed. There's no splitting, it glides on the hook and it's going to make a warm, cosy blanket. It is pricey but PSA for Australian readers - Spotlight currently has it on sale, YAY!

Moira has designed a stunning blanket and it looks way more complicated than it really is. If you can crochet a single crochet and a double crochet (US terms) you can crochet this sampler. The pattern is written in graphs only, with a few keynote written instructions where needed. I'd suggest watching Moira's videos to familiarise yourself with reading the graphs - it's not as daunting as it looks, trust me.

It also helps if you're confident with the anatomy of the crochet stitch. You need to be able to identify the back and front loops of the single crochet, and Moira does show everything clearly in her video's if you've never encountered this before.

One of the main differences with this style of crochet is that the rows are crocheted from the front of your work only. There's no turning, you simply snip the yarn at the end of a row and reattach the next colour - the tails are enclosed in an envelope border, so no tails to weave in!

The Mosaic Sampler CAL is written in ten instalments, seven for the afghan centre and three for the borders. Moira gives separate yarn requirements for each of the borders so you can decide how many you wish to add. The pattern is worked in repeats making it easy to increase the size of the afghan by added extra increments of 12 stitches.

You're able to print the graphs and mark off rows as you go, and she has included a coloured version so you can follow along with her colour sequence and a black and white graph so you can choose your own combinations.

Moira has done an amazing job putting this CAL together - she has thought of everything and presented a design that is easy to achieve and simply stunning.

I've just finished the first instalment and that gorgeous texture makes me so happy. Once you've crocheted a few rows the pattern begins to form, and you don't need to refer to the graphs as often - I double check the start and finish of each row.

It's very addictive. The night I started I crocheting away till the wee hours unaware of how late it was - now that's a sign of a fun project!

If you're looking for a new project to crochet then you might consider Moira's Mosaic Sampler CAL. This will be a long-term project for me and I'll keep you updated on my progress. Next on my list is her gorgeous Turkish Delight Afghan, oh and did I mention the Mosaic Sampler Cushion? See, it's addictive!

Happy crocheting :)