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!

Light and Airy Pretty Pink Cap for a small child

This cap was originally intended for a 9 year old, but its turned out too small for her. This one will fit a 1 to 3 year old, so I will make another one that is larger.

My friend knows a 9 year old girl who is loosing her hair due to chemotherapy. Just imagine being 9 and having to go through that. I’m hoping to make her a nice cap, I chose this yarn because it’s nice and soft with a silky feel. She would need an especially soft yarn, and because its still summer and quite hot, I don’t want to make anything too warm. I’m not sure what the blend is but my guess is that it’s acrylic. I started this on Thursday afternoon and finished it on Friday, using a 4mm hook.

There are 6 increasing rows, then the non-increasing rounds have a pretty lacey pattern. The pattern is 2 ch sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1 (1 dc, sk 1, 3 dc, sk 1) repeated to end, sl st. I thought it would be big enough but I had nearly finished when I realised it would only fit a small child, not a 9 year old, after checking a site that lists head sizes for crochet hats.

But I finished the hat anyway, because I know some 1 year old girls. Maybe one of them would like it?

Monster Beanie for a Small Child

I made this monster beanie yesterday, thinking it was going to be a gift for a 1 year old boy next weekend, but it is sooo hot right now, I really think my beanie will be an inappropriate gift! I will just have to make something else that is more summerish! Inspiration for this beanie came from googling images of ‘crochet gift for one year old boy’ then ‘crochet monster hat’, none were quite like mine.

Using some more of the sea green I have left from the Wangaratte Mill, I started by making a beanie. I fitted it to my 1 year old son’s head, to make sure it would fit, using a 4mm hook. The first 6 rows are increasing, the very first round had 16 dc. The 2nd round increasing every 2nd stitch, so it’s 2 dc 1 dc repeated *, which makes 24 stitches in the round. The 3rd round increases 2 dc 1  dc 1 dc, repeated, the 4th round increases 2 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc, repeated, the 5th round increases 2 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc 1 dc. After that, each row just has the same dc as the previous row. To make a beanie for a larger head, you increase the number of increasing rows, to make a smaller beanie you decrease the number of increasing rows. I make rows until the beanie covered my son’s ears. You can make it slightly shorter, or longer if you want a turned up edge. I hope that makes sense to you, because it makes sense to me!

To make the beanie look like a monster I decorated it with two eyes and 4 sharp white teeth! The pattern for the teeth is 1 ch, 2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, 1 sc, 1 sl st, (1 sc, 2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, 1 sc, 1 sl st) x 3, for 4 teeth. Pull and pinch the ch at the tips slightly to make the teeth appear pointed.  For the eyes, I made 2 flat circles in white. 1st round has 12 dc, the 2nd round has 24 as it increases 2 in every st. Then I made 2 smaller black circles, using finer black wool, I threaded the ends onto a needle to sew the eyes together and onto the beanie at the same time. To finish, I edged the eyes with varigated yarn, also from the Wangaratta Mill, to attach the eyes more securely. I think the multi-coloured edge to the eyes makes the monster more friendly looking, as does the wonky tilt to his eyes!

I’m not sure what will happen to this beanie, I might give it away, or use it as a beanie for my son this coming winter. This was so easy to make, if my friends wanted some I’m sure I could whip up some more. I like making these as the colour choice is pretty open ended, which means I can use up some of this yarn that is piling up here!

* my apologies to my fellow Australians who read UK crochet, as this is in US crochet. To convert into UK crochet sc = dc, dc = tr crochet

A Christmas Eve Tea Cosy

This is my first attempt at a tea cosy, and considering I didn’t have the tea pot with me at the time to fit to measure as I went,  it turned out damned well!

It was pretty damn lucky this thing fit, but I did use a stitch that has a lot of stretch in it so it had a chance. I chose some nice soft acrylic my mum had spare and started with two rectangles of alternating rows of ridges. In hind sight, the ridges should have gone vertically instead of horizontally for even more stretch. This would increase the chance of the cosy being used for different tea pots. I chose the cheery and bright yellow colour, not only because it felt soft and would be nice to work with, but because it is a sunshiney happy colour for good luck, perfect for a family kitchen.

I was staring at the two rectangles wondering how to fix it all up as there were several options. In the end I opted to do a quick job with minimal fuss, with 1 dc 1 ch along the top for the ch pull handle. Next time this should only be 1 sc 1 ch to reduce heat loss. If I wanted to do a really good job, I could do two layers and sew them together with a 1 sc 1 dc lip, or maybe that would need the 1 dc 1ch lip, because it will be that much thicker. Also, there should be another row of dc above the lip, to further reduce heat loss. All good to note for the future, in case any one else wants me to make them a tea cosy.

I whipped up this tea cosy on Christmas Eve while everyone else slept and I couldn’t. It took me just under two hours, and I used either my 3.5mm or 4mm hook. On Christmas day I did a free form patch on my brother’s damaged beanie, I just used some blue that was on hand, it doesn’t match very well but I’m sure it doesn’t matter as this beanie is bound to end up in the bin. It was very tricky, especially as I’ve never done it before, but because I am so clever I did an absolutely awesome job!! I can not for the life of me imagine why anyone would think it was ok to take to an especially made custom crochet beanie with a pair of scissors to rig up a tea cosy, but truth is stranger than fiction it seems. Thanks for taking some time to read my blog.

How to make shoes for a flat-footed Barbie

My niece is turning 4 soon, and an order for new shoes for her flat footed Barbie has arrived so I set to work!

These are now the 3rd and 4th pair I’ve made for flat footed Barbie dolls. The shoes for these flat feet are very hard to find, and when you do find them, they are overpriced. So I make my own, and it’s very easy. The first pair of flat-footed shoes I made were these slip on pink shoes which went to Darwin with my niece. The second pair I made were these orange sandals with ankle strap, which were for a flat footed doll I picked up at an op shop for $1. I’m most happy with those ones, they worked out quite well.

To make these doll shoes, I use some recycled black vinyl, I can’t even remember where I picked it up from. You sometimes can find this on packaging or old things you might throw away, so keep an eye out for it, you don’t need much. Any kind of flexible plastic you can pierce with a needle will do. I trace around the soles of the doll’s feet to make a paper template, then trace that with white crayon onto the vinyl, and cut out the soles with sharp scissors. Then I pierce the plastic with the largest needle I have, pushing it all the way through, 3 times each side where the shoes strap will go.

I then use my 1.25mm crochet hook, and push that through the needle holes to make sure they are big enough. Then using fine crochet cotton, the first row is three single stitches (UK dc), then 4 rows of 2 ch 3 dc (UK trbl). The last row is some slip stitches and singles again to attach to the other side. Sometimes I’ll add an ankle strap of chain stitches like I did with these red ones. I always put the shoes on before finishing the final stitch to make sure they’ll fit. They don’t take long to do, especially as I chose not to spend too much time fiddling on these ones.

In the package I’m sending to Darwin, I’m also popping in some doll knickers which I made ages ago using a pattern I found at crochetville. I’m not happy with them, they have ties but I’ll pop them in the package none the less.

So I had a go at making my own Barbie doll knickers, they are ‘boyleg hipsters’ so very easy to make. They simply pull on and sit on the hips, which will be easier for my 4 year old niece to dress her doll.

My own pattern for Barbie doll ‘boyleg hipsters’
1. ch 28, sl st to form ring, treble into ea ch (US dc), sl st, do not turn, 28 stitches
2. ch 2, treble into ea treble (US dc), sl st, do not turn, 28 stitches
3. ch 2, treble ea into next 5 treble, turn
4. sl st into next treble, ch 2, treble into next 2 treble, turn
5. ch 2, treble ea in next 2 treble, sl st into 3 trebles on opposite side of ring to form two leg holes
fasten off and turn inside out to hide the seam at the crotch.

Then I just had to make a simple pull on party dress, didn’t I?
My own pattern for a pull-on dress for Barbie
* using 3.5mm hook, gauge depends on the yarn and how many stitches it takes to go around the chest, check every few rows to check fit.
1. ch enough ch to go around chest, sl st to form ring, pull on over hips up to chest to check fit, ch 2, trb in ea trb (US dc), sl st in 1st trb, 23 trb
2. ch 2, trb in ea trb, sl st in 1st trb, 23 trb
3 – 8 repeat row 2
9. ch 2, 2 trb in ea trb, sl st in 1st trb, 46 trb
10. ch 2, 2 trb in ea trb, sl st in 1st trb, 92 trb
11. ch 2, 1 trb in ea trb, sl st in 1st trb, 92 trb
12. in bottom of row 1 using contrast yarn, ch 1, dc (US sc)  in bottom of ea trb, sl st in 1st ch, fasten off

 

Pretty Irish Rose for a Sunhat

I had a go at adding a flower to the child’s sun-hat I made the other day, using a tradition Irish Rose pattern. I think the end result is very cute, if I do say so myself!

I wasn’t sure how the colour changes would go, but it worked out fine. I changed colour after doing the back posts and chain foundations for the next row. I made a 6th petal, although the pattern I followed had 5, as I prefer it this way. A couple of buttons added to the centre provided just the right amount of embellishment. I’m glad a couple more of my homeless buttons have found a new home. This flower is not removable like my other flowers I make for hats, I just sewed it right on securing it tightly.

I wonder if my 4 year old niece would like this hat? I don’t know anyone else this would fit, and it would be a shame if no one wore it, it’s just too nice!

Child's Cotton Sunhat

Because I had to cancel going to craft group today due to the piano repairs, I went to Lincraft yesterday instead. While there, I picked up a pattern book and some cotton for some new projects, including this child’s sunhat, which I finished just this morning.

This is the last of 25 patterns in a book I picked up from Lincraft called ‘cute clothes for kids’ by Sue Whiting. The book looked pretty comprehensive, and I didn’t think it was too expensive, so I grabbed it. Flicking through it, I was reminded how I didn’t make any hats for my sister’s children as they were going back to Darwin and had no need for woollen beanies up there. My sister had suggested I make my niece a sunhat, so now I have given it a go using this pattern. I found some cotton blend at Lincraft, not 100% cotton unfortunately, its a 50% cotton 50% arcylic blend, but I’m very happy with the colours and how they go together.  I chose white, pink, purple and a light brown colour. For this I used a 4mm hook, and I think it took me about 3 hours, it really wasn’t hard to do. The pattern says it fits a 2 to 4 year old.

Now I’m trying to decide if I want to add a big floppy flower to it, or is it better as it is? Luckily, I have some of the cotton left so I can make a flower, or perhaps a matching bag as suggested in the book.

Light and Lacy Purple Scarf with Flower Ring

I’m really pleased how delightfully light the lacy trellis stitch on this scarf turned out. Finished with a nice scalloped edge, it has a cute detachable flower scarf ring.

The scarf took me a couple of evenings to complete while watching Battlestar Galactica on our tivo. I used some of the left over winter warmth yarn from Lincraft and an 8mm hook, following the ‘plain trellis’ lace stitch which is basically made up of 5 chains,  on page 94 of Crochet Basics by Jan Eaton. It’s a handy book so I extended my library loan on it for an extra month. The light purple yarn turned out beautifully I think, and I made it nice and long, too. The edges are some scallops I added to make it a bit more ‘pretty’, putting 7 trebles (US dc) in each one, 4 in the corners, each edge has 2 rows of scallops to round it out nicely.

I still felt the scarf needed ‘more’ so I searched for a new flower pattern. I wasn’t happy that the ones I know would ‘match’, so I found this flower on youtube by Teresa. She does heaps of very  well explained crochet tutorials on youtube and has helped me with several things so I do recommend her. This flower turned out real cute, using a 4.5mm hook to make the shape more defined than the loose stitch in the scarf. By making a chain on the back, the scarf can be threaded through and held firmly, so this flower can be used as a scarf ring which can be removed.

I made this purple scarf with my mother-in-law Freya in mind, as I remember she likes purple and I still had this beautiful yarn in my stash.  Although winter is over, it’s still a little chilly, maybe she will get some use out of it before it gets really hot. I hope she likes it!