Lotus and Blossom Mandala Pattern

One Sunday afternoon I was scrolling through my Instagram feed - as one does - when I came across a gorgeous crocheted mandala pattern! It was called the Lotus and Blossom Mandala - even the name sounds amazing! The creative genius behind this beautiful pattern is Mark from @theguywiththehook. I had only recently discovered him on Instagram and I'm crazy about all of his work. 

In Mark's post on Instagram he happened to mention that the pattern would soon be available, after he had tested it to make sure everything was ok with it. On a whim I commented and offered to test it for him. I was over the moon excited when a few minutes later I received a message from Mark saying he would love me to help as a tester. 

I've always wanted to be a pattern tester, so first thing on Monday morning I popped in to my favourite yarn shop (Be Inspired) and chose some Scheepjes Catona colours to get going.

The pattern was super easy to follow and I am so in love with how mine turned out.

All the information about the amount of yarn used, sizes etc and links to the pattern can be found on Mark's lovely blog here. 

Mark has two options for the mandala, either using Scheepjes Catona or the magical colour-changing Scheepjes Whirl yarn. 

As I hadn't really worked with Catona too much, I decided this was a good excuse to give it a go and I have to say I really love it so much! And the range of colours it comes in is incredible - giving you endless options.

I used the cute little 25 gram balls of Catona in the following colours:

Colour A - 106 Snow White (1 Ball)
Colour B - 173 Bluebell (2 Balls)
Colour C - 247 Bluebird (3 Balls)
Colour D - 253 Tropic (4 Balls)
Colour E - 385 Chrystalline (3 Balls)
Colour F - 392 Lime Juice (2 Balls)

I was a little worried after doing a few rounds of Colour D that the mandala was getting really wavy (as pictured above). I contacted Mark and sent him a photo as I thought for sure I must have done something wrong, but he assured me that it was correct and I should continue. He said the outer rounds and blocking would pull it flat and of course he was right - always trust the designer! Once finished and after blocking it does lie beautifully flat.

I'm quite a tight crocheter, so even though I used a slightly bigger hook than Mark recommends (I used a 3.75mm hook) my finished mandala was still a bit smaller than his. Mine measures just over 65cm from point to point.

So go on, give it a go and support a wonderful designer too. It really is a lovely pattern to follow and the end result is just so pretty!