Variegated Plastic Bag Holder

Well, three of these plastic bag holders in almost as many days, I don’t plan on doing too many more of these any time soon!

I made this one for my friend after she saw the photos of my other bag holders on Facebook. We went to coffee and Lincraft yesterday and she picked some yarn she liked. Its a nice variegated acrylic with flecks of green, purple, orange and pink. For this one I used my 4.5mm hook because I started it at the library and didn’t have my 5mm with me, I don’t have a 5.5mm and the 6mm was too large. It still didn’t take me too long to make it up, especially because my husband made dinner so I could finish it!

I’ll probably make more of these, especially if the ‘product testing’ (!) goes well, just not too soon because I have lots and lots of other projects I want to make within the next 2 months. There are so many birthdays coming up, I’m not sure how I’m going to get it all finished!

Pale Green Plastic Bag Holder

I made this second plastic bag holder on Monday, snatching moments here and there while baby slept or played to finish it.

This plastic bag holder is the same as my dark blue one, only a bit longer. This time I used a pale green acrylic my mum gave me, I figured it would be a nice colour for the nursery, and the blue one can go in the kitchen. Again I used a 5mm hook so this would make up quickly.

I already have an order to make one of these for a friend, we just need to find some yarn in a colour she likes. I wonder if anyone else would like me to make them one?

Dark Blue Plastic Bag Holder

I just made this plastic bag holder up in a couple of hours, and it was put straight to work!

This took me just over two hours to complete, I used some dark blue acrylic yarn my mother gave me, and a large 5mm hook to make quick work of it. It is 9 inches wide, to start I just made a chain that was 18 inches long and sl st it to form a loop. The next round was a dc (US crochet) into every ch. The 2nd round was 3 ch, (sk 1 dc, 1 dc) repeated to end, sl st in 2nd ch. The 3rd round is sl st into next sp, 3 ch (dc into next sp, 1 ch) repeat to end, sl st into 2nd ch. Repeat 3rd round until the tube is 18 inches high. The last round is 2 ch (dc into next sp, dc into next dc) repeat to end, sl st into 2nd ch. Then finish with a chain that is 18 inches long. Thread this ch in and out of the last round of dc then sl st into 1st ch to form a drawstring, fasten off. Lastly, make another drawstring for the other end by starting an 18 inch ch anywhere at the end, then thread this ch in and out of the 1st round of dc, then sl st into 1st ch to form a loop. Pull the ch to tighten the loop.

Because I live in a townhouse, I need to make another one of these for downstairs! I wonder what colour I should make the next one?

Small camel stitch purse with a fluffy edge

I just finished this small purse today, completing the purple fluffy edge. I had made this to give to a friend as a gift, but I’ve decided to make her something else instead! I don’t know who I’ll give this one to.

The other week while on youtube, I stumbled upon some videos of a stitch I didn’t know. It was called the ‘camel stitch‘. It was interesting because it’s supposed to resemble knitting, so I decided to give it a try. I made a rectangle that measures 18cm x 8cm of the camel stitch. Then I went around it with a border of 2 rounds of sc. I used the last of my berry pink yarn from Lincraft, and a 4mm hook. Then I folded it to make the purse and stitched the sides and the lip in sc, leaving a 5 ch loop for the button, using the fluffy purple yarn. I ended by stitching a large purple button on the front. Hey presto! A small purse!

The finished product measures 11cm x 9cm, I wonder if anyone would like it.

A little pink bag with a fluffy top

I made this little bag today (last Saturday), I’m thinking this might be a gift for a one year old girl and inside I will hide a small toy or book!

Like almost all of my little bags, I started this one with a row of dc, then 2 extra dc in the end then continue around the other side of the ch dc in the bottom of ea dc, then 2 more dc in the other end, sl st to make a round. The second row is another round of dc. Then I put a part section of the same shell stitch as in the caps I made in this same soft silky acrylic yarn. I did that for 10 rounds, then 2 more rounds of just dc. I then do a round of 2 ch, (sk 1, sc, 1 ch) repeated to end, sl st in 2nd ch. Then the lip is finished with 2 rounds of dc. I then made a long ch to form the drawstring, which is threaded through the 1 ch, 1 sc round. Lastly I added a ch handle, then a second row of dc into that handle. I embellished with some fun fluffy yarn at the lip to add some extra colour and texture.

For this bag I used a 3mm hook to make it more firmer than the hats, when I used a 4mm hook so they come out light and airy. I hope this will make a nice little gift!

Variegated Slanted Shell Cap

I’m really pleased how this cap turned out, I hope it fits the intended recipient and that she likes it enough to wear it!

For this cap, I used a beautiful variegated yarn from the Wangaratta Mill, which is in Australia. If I had a choice, I would only use locally produced yarn, but of course its amongst the most expensive. Luckily I found this yarn on special! It has flecks of green, purple, pink and blue in it, which is very nice! My guess is this is acrylic, not wool due to the price I got it at, but I might be mistaken as the label did not say.

For this cap I used the 4mm hook and started with 7 rounds of increasing dc. I then tried a new stitch I saw for the first time the other day on youtube called a slanted shell stitch. I had to have a think about how I would do it in a round though. I turned the cap around and went back the other way, starting with 3 sl st before starting the slanted shell pattern. There are 10 rounds of slanted shell in this cap. Finally, I edged it with 5 dc scallops, with a sc in the 3rd dc. This is 24cm along the rim (so 48cm circumference), and its 19cm high.

This cap might be too warm to wear on a hot summer’s day, but hopefully it will make a very pretty autumn cap.

Reversible Blue Cotton Cap with Ridges

I used some very nice 100% blue cotton for this cap, intended for a 9 year old girl. I hope she likes it!

Because the cotton has a bubble texture, I decided I needed a simple design for this cap. I chose to do ridges which you can see through the thick yarn, anything more delicate and you would have missed it.

I started with a 3.5mm hook, because with thicker yarn than I used for the other caps I made for this recipient, the hat would not be the same size in the end. This one has 6 increasing rows, and one side of that section has horizontal ridges. These ridges are formed by only going through one part of the loop when you normally go through two.

When the rounds stop increasing, I turned the cap over so the back became the front and the ridges on the underside were showing. Then I started making vertical ridges by going under the post. There are 8 rounds like that.

Finally I made all the stitches in the next 2 rounds go behind the posts, making them all sit forward, and the reverse side had ridges. The very last round is a row of sc through one loop only to again create a ridge.

Its a very ‘ridgy’ kind of cap! Hopefully the cotton will mean it ends up being a nice, cool one too!

Three chemo caps, medium size

I finished the medium size pink cap on Thursday, after finally working out a size that might fit a 9 year old. I made a small size, and then an adult size, before doing that though!

These caps are intended for a 9 year old girl who has started chemotherapy. How awful for her, I hope she likes at least one of my caps enough to wear and help her through this time (as little comfort as that may well be).

The light and airy, pretty pink cap has 7 increasing rows. Then there is the shell pattern to the end, finished off with a scallop edge. The pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. The scallop edge is 5 dc into every middle of 3 dc, with a sl st into the single dc.

I used a 4mm hook for this one, just like the other two pink caps I made. Without stretching it, the cap measures 23.5cm across the base (so 47cm circumference), the height is 19cm. There are 7 increasing rows, then 11 rows of shell pattern, then one round of scallops.

I hope I get to find out if any of these fit!

Matching Pair of Pink Mother Daughter Caps

So after I made the  light and airy pretty pink cap for a small child, I had a go at making another one except larger. But I ended up making it too large, so now I have a matching pair of pretty pink mother daughter caps.

This large cap has 9 increasing rows, 11 rows of shell pattern and one round of scallops at the edge. It’s a bit on the large side, it probably should have 8 increasing rows, not 9. I used the same silky soft pink yarn for both caps, and the 4mm hook, and the same pretty shell pattern I like, inspired by the doll’s dress my grandmother made. The shell pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. I finished the adult size pink cap on Thursday.

I’m not sure who might like this mother daughter pair, but I have some ideas!

Pink Butterfly

I was thinking to crochet a butterfly to go with the small pink cap, so tried this one. It’s not quite right for the hat though so I will have to think of somewhere else for this butterfly.

I googled images of crochet butterflies and found one I liked. I followed the chart, except the largest stitch I used was  a triple treble. That’s when you yo (yarn over hook) 4 times. There is a larger stitch in the chart which looks like yo 5 x, after some research I couldn’t find the name for that stitch. I decided I would just do triple trebles instead. The result is the two top wings look quite large, I don’t think the photo on that site matches the chart. Maybe I will try a variation of this butterfly again with thicker yarn so it is a bit firmer, and with some of the stitches smaller than in the chart.There was another butterfly I liked I might also try one day.

This butterfly is too floppy for a brooch, maybe I can stitch it onto a bag or something one day?