Good Vibes Mandala

One of my creative goals for 2021 was to design my first crochet pattern. I was looking for something easy and fun to create, then mandalas seemed to be an obvious choice. I love the large variety of designs you can come up with, playing with different stitches, differents textures and colors. It gives you the freedom to experiment without the complications of gauge and size and you can quickly end up with a beautiful finished piece to hang.

As a result, I am happy to share with you my Good Vibes Mandala pattern. It is an intermediate level pattern but any confident beginner should give it go as well.

To go along with the pattern, I recommend that you do this little exercise while crocheting your piece : for each section of the mandala, try to associate a cheerful thought, a happy memory, something or someone you love, a song that makes you feel good.. it can be anything that has a positive influcence on you and your mood. The mandala will capture your thoughts within each section, so that when it's done you'll be able to enjoy the good vibes it's giving you back when looking at it..

Section 1 : Round 1 & 2 / Section 2: Round 3 / Section 3 : Round 4 & 5 / Section 4 : Round 6, 7 & 8 / Section 5 : Round 9 / Section 6 : Round 10 / Section 7: Round 11

And now let's get to it !

DK Yarn - I used Stylecraft Special DK
4mm Crochet Hook
Scissors
Needle to weave in ends
12 stitch markers
Metal/Plastic ring approx. 26cm / I 3D-printed mine but you can easily find hoops on Amazon.

For colors, I recommend 2 colors of the same hue (here it's Purple and Pink), 1 contrasting color (here it's Denim Blue) and 1 neutral color (here it's white, you can also think of black, grey, beige). But you're free to experiment !

ch - chain
st - stitch
rnd - round
sp - space
yo - yarn over
lp - loop
ss (slip stitch) - insert hook in indicated st, yo, draw yarn and pull through the 1st loop on hook.
sc (single crochet) - insert hook in indicated st, yo, draw up a lp, yo and pull through both lps on hook.
hdc (half double crochet) - yo, insert hook in indicated st, yo, draw up a lp, yo, pull through 3 lps.
dc (double crochet) – yo, insert hook in indicated st, yo, draw up a lp, *yo, pull through 2 lps* twice.
tr (treble crochet) – yo twice, insert hook in indicated st, yo, draw up a lp, *yo, pull through 2 lps* three times.
st-(…) - stitches that have ‘st-‘ in front of them are made as standing stitches

Special Stitches

tr2tog (2 trebles worked together) - *yo twice, insert hook in indicated st/sp, yo, pull up loop, (yo, draw through fi rst 2 loops) twice; rep from * once more, yo and draw through all 3 loops

FPtr (front post treble) - yo twice, insert hook from front to back to front to go around post of indicated st, yo, pull up loop, (yo and draw through 2 loops) 3 times.

dc4tog (4 double crochet worked together) - (yo, insert hook in indicated st/sp, yo, pull up loop, yo, draw through 2 loops) 4 times, yoh and draw through all 5 loops

Start with a magic ring

ch3 (counts as first dc), 11dc in ring; join with ss in third ch, fasten off

[12 dc]

St-tr2tog in any dc from Rnd 1, ch2, *tr2tog, ch2;

rep from * around, join to first tr2tog, fasten off

[12 tr2tog, 12 ch2-sp]

St-hdc in any ch2-sp from Rnd 2, 3hdc in same sp, *4hdc in next ch2-sp;

rep from * around, join to first hdc, fasten off

[48 hdc]

St-sc in any 1st hdc from Rnd 3 (the hdc above the tr2tog), *ch3, skip 2 sts, 1sc in next st, 1FP-tr around tr2tog from Rnd 2, 1sc in next st;

rep from * around, omit last sc on the last rep, join to first sc, fasten off

[12 ch2-sp, 12 FP-tr, 24 sc]

St-sc in any sc right from the FPtr from Rnd 4, *skip 1 st (= skip the FPtr), 1sc in next st, (1hdc, 2dc, ch2, 2dc, 1hdc) in ch3-sp, 1 sc in next st;

rep from * around, omit the last sc on the last rep, join to first sc, fasten off.

[12 petals with 12 ch2-sp]

Ss in any ch2-sp, *ch8, ss in next ch2-sp;

rep from * around, omit last ss on the last rep and join to first ss, fasten off.

[12 ch8-sp]

St-sc in any ch8-sp, *ch9, 1 sc in next ch8-sp;

rep from * around, omit last sc on the last rep and join to first sc, fasten off.

[12 ch9-sp, 12 sc]

After you finish this round, single crochet stitches might be off centered. Just slide them on the chain they're attached to, to center them.

St-sc in any ch9-sp, *ch10, 1 sc in next ch9-sp;

rep from * around, omit last sc on the last rep and join to first sc, fasten off.

[12 ch10-sp, 12 sc]

Again, slide the single crochet stitches on the chain they're attached to, to center them.

St-sc in any ch10-sp, *ch4, dc4tog in next sc from Rnd 8, ch4, 1 sc in next ch10-sp;

rep from * around, omit last sc on last rep, join to first sc, fasten off

[12 sc, 12 dc4tog, 24 ch4-sp]

Your work might curl a little at this point, but when stretching the mandala to attach it to the hoop, everything will find its place.

St-sc in any dc4tog, *(2hdc, 2dc, 1tr) in ch4-sp, ch1, (1tr, 2dc, 2hdc) in next ch4-sp, 1sc in next st;

rep from * around, omit last sc on last rep, join to first sc, fasten off

[132 sts, 12 ch1-sp]

St-sc in any sc from Rnd 10, *1 sc in next 5 sts, (1sc, ch1, 1sc) in ch1-sp,1 sc in next 6 sts (NB: the 1st sc has to be worked in the tr from Rnd 10, it might be a little hidden under the sc you just did in the ch-sp);

rep from * around, omit last sc on the last rep, fasten off.

[156 sc, 12 ch1-sp]

When attaching a mandala to a hoop, it's best to have 2.5cm between the mandala and the hoop, all around. It might seem a lot but that way the mandala will be perfectly stretched.

Step 1 : Weave in all your ends

Step 2 : Place 1 marker in each ch-sp and attach to hoop. This will stretch the mandala and help for next steps.

Step 3 : Take a long enough thread of yarn and attach it to one marker. Leave more thread on the left of the knot.

Step 4 : Insert the needle from the back of the hoop into the next ch-sp (where the next marker is placed). Pull all the thread.

Step 5 : Take the thread in front of the hoop then to the back again and insert the needle from the back to the front in the next ch-sp.

Step 6 : Repeat all around. Untie knot and remove markers. Pull as tight as you can and do a couple knots with both ends. You can cut yarn or use the thread to hang it.

Now that you're done, you can find a nice place to hang your mandala and enjoy the good vibes it's giving you !