HappyBerry turns 17 years old this year! And with over 400+ crochet designs behind me, it feels like a good moment to look back and revisit some of my earliest patterns, to see what still holds up and what might benefit from a fresh pair of hands.
One design in particular came to mind, my Lace Picot Heart. Interestingly, it never made it into written form and existed only as a video tutorial, published back in December 2019. Thinking back, I suspect that even then I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the design, which is probably why I never committed it to a written pattern.
So, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it felt like the perfect excuse to return to it. So I decided to write the pattern at last, re-crochet the heart, and see how I might refine and improve the design with the experience I’ve gained since.
For reference, this is the pattern’s first appearance in written form. The main issue I had with it was quite simple, the shape was a little too round and didn’t read strongly enough as a heart in my eyes.
Original Pattern
Round 1: Ch4, sl st in first ch to form a loop, ch1, crochet 8sc into centre of loop, sl st in first sc to join - (8) Ch1
Round 2: 1sc in first 2 sts, ch4, 1dc in next st, *ch1, 1dc in next st* repeat from * to * until last st, ch4, 1sc in last st, sl st in first sc.
Round 3: Ch4, 1dc in next ch4sp, *ch1, 1dc in same ch4sp* repeat from * to * 3 more times, ch1, [1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch1sp, ch1, 1dc in next ch1sp, ch1, 1tr in next st, ch1, 1dc in next ch1sp, ch1, [1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch1sp, ch1, [1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch4sp, ch4, sl st in same first sc from round 2
Round 4: *Ch3, sl st in next chsp* repeat from * to * end, sl st in same first sc from round 2 again. Fasten off and tie in all ends.
What I wanted was a clearer heart shape, fuller curves at the top and a slightly sharper point at the bottom. You can see the difference in the photo below, with the original design on the left and the updated version on the right.
So what did I change?
Updated Pattern
Round 1: Ch4, sl st in first ch to form a loop, ch1, crochet 8sc into centre of loop, sl st in first sc to join - (8)
Round 2: Ch2, skip first st below chs, 1sc in next st, ch4, 1dc in next st, *ch1, 1dc in next st* repeat from * to * until last st, ch4, 1sc in last st,
sl st in ch2sp.
Round 3: Ch4, 1dc in next ch4sp, *ch1, 1dc in same ch4sp* repeat from * to *
twice more, ch1,
[1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch1sp, ch1,
1tr in next ch1sp, ch1, 1tr in next st,
ch1, sl st in top of previous tr, ch1,
1tr in next ch1sp, ch1,
[1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch1sp, ch1,
[1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc, ch1, 1dc] in next ch4sp, ch4,
sl st in same ch2sp from round 2
Round 4: Sl st in next ch4sp, *ch3, sl st in next ch1sp* repeat from * to * 6 more times to bottom of heart, ch3,
sl st in ch1 picot, repeat from * to * 8 more times,
sl st in same ch2sp from round 2. Fasten off and tie in all ends.
The sections highlighted in green show where I made design changes. Round 1 remained exactly the same, and Round 2 was largely unchanged as well, with the only adjustment being the replacement of the opening single crochets with a chain 2 space. This small tweak was intended to slightly reduce the rounding along the top edge.
The biggest changes came in Round 3. Here, I removed some of the double-crochet repeats and introduced treble crochets at the bottom of the heart, along with a picot point at the very tip. This adjustment not only created a more defined point but also helped the heart sit flatter overall.
Round 4 simply finishes the picot edging, worked in much the same way as the original pattern.
I’m really happy with these changes. While I still love the original design, the updated version feels much more heart-shaped and defined.
If there are any other old HappyBerry patterns you’d like me to revisit and give a refresh, let me know in the comments below.
So, what do you think, does the new heart win your vote, or does the original still hold some of that 2019 charm? đź’–