I think many of us have felt the heaviness of what is going on with Russia and Ukraine. It has been hard, especially in knowing that many members of the Crochet community live in those countries going through unimaginable amounts of fear and terror.
I have been searching for ways to show support and it's no quick task I must say. Until I can share more ways to show love and support I wanted to come up with something that could have an immediate result.
During the Gulf War in the 90s, I was in a girl scout troop that made ribbons for the city. We made what felt like thousands of yellow ribbon pins and you saw people everywhere wearing them to show their support. Our local news even came and did a story on our girl scout troop.
Eventually, we did more things like send packages to troops once the opportunities came available but I thought until more opportunities present themselves for the crochet community to help that we could do the same thing to show our support by making pins.
So this morning (Sunday, Feb 27th, 2022), I decided to make this pin that is easy to replicate and reproduce. The social media hashtag right now that is all over the world is #wesupportUkraine.
So this is what I would love for us to do, make as many of these pins as you can and share them with family and friends. Share your photos of yourself and friends and family wearing the pins on social media with the hashtag #wesupportUkraine.
Please tag #orchidandbees on Facebook and Instagram as I would love to see your photos from around the world. Also, feel free to use these as appliques and omit the pins!
I do plan to add this pattern to my Etsy and Ravelry shops at some point but the profits will go straight to Ukraine once I have gotten info on how and where to send it. I will not upload the pattern to Etsy and Ravelry until I have this info. I will send out an email update once I have this info available.
In the meantime, this post will not contain any ads or affiliate links because I in no way want to profit from this pattern. You can share this pattern wherever you would like. My main goal is just to share a pattern that will help people share their love and support for Ukraine!
I will update this post as soon as I can with a list of Crochet Pattern Designers who are from
Ukraine that you purchase patterns from to help support their families during this time. Just keep checking back! I hope to have the list up no later than Tuesday.
In the meantime, here is how to make the pins:
Info:
Size - Approximately 2 inches wide, 1.5 inches tall
Materials:
Worsted #4 weight yarn in Blue, Yellow, and Red *red is optional if you want to make the heart
Hook - E 3.5 mm and 3.0 mm or any smaller than E hook you have
Safety pins, craft pins, bar pins (any pin of choice)
Scissors
Yarn Needle
Mod podge, glue, hot glue *optional for if you prefer to stiffen your project or glue pin and heart on
Note: this morning all I could find was my safety pins (2-inch safety pins), so that is what my instructions will show how to use but use your crafting instincts and knowledge to use and do what works best for you. You can find craft bar pins like the ones shown in the photo below at Walmart and Craft stores for around $1 - $3 a box. These can be sewn or glued on as well.
Instructions:
Flag - E 3.5mm hook - Blue and Yellow
Begin - Ch 11
Row 1: With blue, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc 9, ch 1. (10st)
Row 2: Turn, hdc 10, change colors to yellow before finishing last st. (10st)
Row 3 - 4: Turn, hdc 10, fasten off after the last st of row 4, weave in ends, or trim and add a coat of glue to back.
Optional Micro Heart : Red - 3mm hook or D 3.5mm hook *the smaller the hook the better
Begin: MR, ch 1.
Round 1: All in MR (Sl st, sc, hdc, ch 2, sl st, ch 2, hdc, sc, sl st, ch 1), pull tight to close, sl st to join to 1st sl st of round. (6 st) Massage heart to get help define the shape of the heart more if necessary.
Assembly
Attach heart if you opted to make, make sure the yellow portion of your flag is on the bottom. Either sew or hot glue on.
Sew or glue your pin on the back. Below are photos showing how I sewed my safety pin on.
And you are done! These literally work up in less than 5 minutes and is an easy way to show our support for Ukraine.
Please feel free to share this post and to share your photos! Don't forget to include the hashtag #wesupportUkraine and #OrchidandBees. So that we can spread the love and have a visual connection with one another.
Sidenote and random thought, if you don't mind me going off track for a second. This pattern and post were literally written on a whim. Did I have time to test it, no... did I have time to have it proofread, no... please overlook those things to see the pure intentions and just go with it this one time... Thank you!
Moving on...
While we show our love and find ways to donate I want us to not forget to pray for the families. I believe spiritual warfare is real and that evil gets into the hearts of man to carry out its dark plans. Let's help in all the possible ways that we can when and where we can.
Please be sure to subscribe so that you do not miss out on any announcements or updates for this post and other support efforts.
I pray for peace and protection for each of you. May blessings, health, and provision find each of you in these interesting times in our world.
Blessings,
Karen. E. (aka Sonshine)
Orchid and Bee's