Crochet a man’s beanie using an easy pattern by Drops Design

This man’s beanie is very popular in my family and is super easy to make. Click here for the pattern http://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=6379&cid=17 .

I made these beanies in the recommended Drops Nepal yarn (65% wool, 35% alpaca) and they’re very warm and have a lovely texture.  The colour is very nice also.

The pattern has a great spiral design and fits perfectly. I also made a smaller beanie for my nephew, and a beanie in an 8 ply acrylic yarn for a friend who doesn’t wear wool – the pattern is quite easily adapted for other yarn and hook sizes because it provides some basic measurements.  Just remember to divide the required head circumference by 3.14 and increase every row until the diameter measures that amount, then continue the pattern without increasing until the length from the centre to the edge is sufficient (23cm for a large adult head is suggested by the pattern).

This pattern only uses single crochet stitch (US terminology) so is very simple.

Woman’s cotton jumper using Rowan’s free Sicily crochet pattern

This is a lovely cotton jumper which I’ve just completed. It was made using the free Sicily pattern from Rowan, by Marie Wallin (click here for pattern) .

The pattern includes very clear instructions and caters for various sizes from small to XXL.

For this jumper, I did not use the recommended yarn. Instead, I used Sirdar’s Cotton DK yarn, colour Cottonfield (shade 517). I made the jumper in the Small size, which used 7 balls of the Sirdar yarn with no yarn leftover.

The finished jumper is very nice and I like the colour, however I particularly like Rowan’s Cotton Glace yarn in Ivy so I might make up another in that yarn next time.

Women’s crochet scarf using 100% alpaca yarn - in violet

This is an easy scarf pattern by Shara Lambeth (click here for pattern). It makes up light and drapey using an 8 ply yarn and the recommended hook. This type of pattern is great when you’re not sure if you have enough yarn for a long scarf because you just decide the width and then keep crocheting until the yarn runs out.

For this scarf, I used  Rowan’s alpaca colour yarn (50g, 120m, 100% alpaca, 8 ply, colour violet). Recommended needle size 4.0 mm. This was a lovely yarn to work with, and created a soft and warm finish that I’m very pleased with.

Using a 4.0 mm hook, and starting with 32 chain, the scarf used 4 skeins of yarn, and had a finished size of 6.25 inches wide and 80 inches long.

This pattern is suitable for any size yarn or hook. Simply start with any number of chain divisable by 7 plus 4, which gives the desired width, and then work the pattern to the desired length.

Make a man’s scarf using an easy crochet pattern suitable for beginners – free pattern

This is a really easy scarf to make and has a nice solid texture.

 The scarves in the picture were made using the following Aran and Chunky weight yarns:

• Light grey scarf – James C Brett Chunky with Merino yarn (3 x 100g balls, Chunky)
• Dark grey scarf – Bergere de France Recycline (5 x 50g balls, Aran, colour Beton)
• Dark blue scarf - Bergere de France Recycline (5 x 50g balls, Aran, colour Marin)

The light grey scarf was made using a 5.5mm hook and had a finished size of 6.25 inches wide by 77 inches in length. These Chunky weight 100g balls have a yarn length of 150m or 164 yards, and the scarf used almost three balls of this yarn.

The other two scarves were made using a 5mm hook and had a finished size of 6.75 inches wide by 71.5 inches in length, with no yarn remaining, using about 425m (465 yards) of Aran yarn each.

This scarf pattern can be made using any weight yarn, just use the recommended hook size for that yarn and adjust the number of beginning chain to achieve the desired width.

The first two rows are a bit fiddly if crocheting into the ‘butt’ loops as recommended, however this is not essential.

For a downloadable pdf pattern (at a small cost) go to click here, otherwise, a free pattern is below.

Pattern (US terminology):

sc = single crochet

ch = chain

Ch 29 (or a sufficient odd number of beginning chain to achieve a length slightly longer than the desired width), turn.

Row 1: (working into the “butt” loop of each chain – see below for explanation) sc into the 3^rd chain from hook. *ch1, skip 1 chain, sc into the next chain. Repeat from * to end. Ch2, turn.

Row 2: sc into the first chain space (into the “butt” loop of the beginning chain below Row 1’s chain space). *ch 1, skip 1 stitch, sc into the next chain space. Repeat from * to end, with a sc into the last “butt” loop/chain space.  Ch2, turn.

Row 3: sc into the first chain space. *ch 1, skip 1 stitch, sc into the next chain space.  Repeat from * to end, with a sc into the last chain space.  Ch2, turn.

Repeat Row 3 until the scarf reaches your desired length. On the last stitch of the last row, make a slip stitch instead of a sc. Fasten off yarn and weave in ends.

Be careful not to increase or decrease the number of stitches in each row.

(The “butt” loop is the little bump on the bottom, or back side, of the chain stitch. Working into this gives the scarf’s beginning and ending edges the same finish/look. If this is too fiddly, just work into the chain or chain space instead.)

Women's long cardigan using a No Seams crochet pattern

This is an easy cardigan to make, using a pattern purchased from AnniesCatalogue.com (click here for pattern). The pattern includes very clear instructions and caters for various sizes from small to 6X, with options for length and sleeve style. The cardigan is worked in one piece with no seams to sew, and makes up very quickly using a 5.5 mm hook.

For this cardigan, I used the recommended yarn – Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable. I actually made up 3 of these cardigans, one for each of my daughters. The pictured cardigan is made in the Dragonfly colour in size small (about a women size AU 10) and it finishes just above the knee (which used 7 balls of yarn). I made up the other cardigans using the Polo and Echo colours (love all three colours) and made these slightly longer to end just below the knee.  

The cardigans are really soft and drape beautifully. 

Pretty Crochet Cardigans for Little Girls

These cardigans were made using the free Ellie pattern by Berroco (designed by Maureen Basher) (click here for pattern).  

The cardigans were made in sizes 2 and 4, using the recommended yarn (Berroco Comfort DK, 3 balls of Rosebud (2723) and 4 balls of Teaberry (2730)) and hook sizes 4.5mm and 5.0mm. There was only a tiny amount of yarn left over.

The pattern states it requires an intermediate skill level, and it was relatively easy to follow, just watch for a few errors – one of these being the sleeve length instructions which differ between the text and the diagram (follow the text). The other errors are minor and easily avoided if you are careful to keep the stitch pattern constant.

I am very happy with the finished cardigans as they are very pretty, and have a great texture and a nice soft finish. 

Crochet a Throw Blanket using Drops Design Log Cabin pattern

I made this throw blanket using a crochet pattern by Drops Designs (click here).  It was an easy and quick throw blanket to make, the yarn colours are lovely, and I'm very happy with the finished blanket. 

For this blanket, I purchased and used the recommended yarns, however I did not have sufficient merino yarn to finish the joining and outside border (because the outside edge of the squares used 4 and a bit balls of the 5 balls of merino yarn purchased). Because the merino yarn was temporarily out of stock, I decided to use a different method of joining and a different outside border (and purchased an additional 300m of a matching yarn  for that purpose).

The pattern suggests using the following yarns:

DROPS BIG DELIGHT

400 g color no 11, berry muffin

200 g color no 05, chocolate banana

200 g color no 06, fall forest

200 g color no 10, olive/rust/plum

DROPS BIG MERINO

250 g color no 05, mocca

Following the pattern, I found I had a lot of leftover Big Delight yarn (used for the squares) – almost 4 whole balls of yarn. To avoid this, next time I will make 22 squares from the main colour and six squares each of the other 3 colours, to produce the 40 squares (note that the pattern had 19 squares of the main colour and 7 squares of each of the other 3 colours). That is, to make the blanket, next time I will be purchasing the following yarn:

•             4 balls Big Delight main colour (400g)
•            1 ball each of the other 3 Big Delight colours (100g each colour) and
•            400-450g of the Big Merino yarn (assuming my method of joining squares and outside border – see below).

 In addition, you could swap the berry muffin (11) with the olive/rust/plum (10) if you want less of the berry colour in the blanket.

The pattern also recommended using a 7mm hook, however I had to use a 6mm hook to produce squares of the correct size (17 x 17 cm / 6 3/4" x 6 3/4").

Using a 6mm hook, my blanket had a finished size of 38” x  60” (96cm x 152cm).  The pattern states approx. 90 x 140 cm / 35½" x 55" and the difference will be essentially the different border and method which I used to join the squares.

To stitch the squares together, I used single crochet, with the wrong side of squares facing together, to join the squares.

Outside border:

Row 1: starting in a corner space, *sc ch2 sc into 2 chain space, sc in each st**, repeat from * to end. Slip st into beg sc, slip st into corner.

Final row: ch3, 4dc into corner, *skip 2st, sc into next st, skip 2st, 5dc into next st**. Repeat from * and adjust as necessary to also have 5dc in each corner 2ch space . Slip st into top of beginning 3 chain and fasten off. Weave in ends. 

Blanket No. 2 (finished 12 June 2017)

I decided to make another of these as I love the Drops Big Delight yarn colours and it's such an easy design.

This blanket was made using the following yarns:

Drops Big Delight –

  4 balls of colour 06

  1 ball each of colours 05, 10 and 11

Drops Big Merino – 7 balls of colour 05 (mocca).

For this blanket I sewed the squares together with Big Merino yarn and using slip stitch on the right side. 

For the border I used the pattern from the original Drops design, which turned out great.

Blanket No. 3 (finished July 2017)

I made another blanket using the following yarns:

Drops Big Delight –

  4 balls of colour 11

  1 ball each of colours 03, 05 and 10

Drops Alaska – 7 balls of colour 50 (brown).

For this blanket I crocheted the squares together with Drops Alaska yarn, using a 4mm hook, using slip stitch on the wrong side (into the back loops only). For the border I used the pattern from the original Drops design, and a 5mm hook. Using the different sized hooks for the assembly and outside border helped the blanket sit flatter, which I’m happier with.

Lovely Baby Blanket to Crochet

Baby Blanket using Modern Grace Design pattern

This is an easy baby blanket to crochet, using a Modern Grace Design pattern (click here).

For this baby blanket, I used 2 balls of Bernat Softee Baby 8 ply yarn (140g, 331m, 100% acrylic) in lemon. This yarn produced a soft and warm blanket with a great texture. The only alteration I made to the Modern Grace Design pattern was to begin with 89 chain – the pattern stated to begin with 62 chain – because I wanted a wider blanket.

The pattern also used a contrasting colour in the edging (2nd and last row). This would give a pretty finish and I might do this next time.

Also, when crocheting the first border row on the sides, making one single crochet for each row gives a nice finish.

The baby blanket I made had a finished size of about 20” by 24” and is great for use in the bassinet. It also used almost the entire 2 balls of yarn, which is 660m of yarn.

Here is another made up with a contrasting border of Antique White.

This was such an easy pattern to make that I plan on making a few of these and storing them for gifts.

Blanket number 4, finished on 14 June 2017. This one was made using Bernat Softee Baby 8 ply yarn in Mint, with edging in Antique White.

Women’s easy crochet scarf using Lattice Shell pattern, plus slouche hat

This scarf is made using an easy lattice shell pattern that is suitable for beginners. It also makes up very quickly with 12 ply yarn and a 6 mm hook. This type of pattern is great when you’re not sure if you have enough yarn for a long scarf because you just decide the width and then keep crocheting until the yarn runs out.

For this scarf, I used Cleckheaton’s Artisan  yarn (50g (75m), 50% wool and 50% acrylic, 12 ply, colour 38 -  purples). This yarn was easy to work with and the self striping colour produced a very pretty scarf. The scarf is also chunky and warm, thanks to the 12 ply yarn.

Using a 6mm hook, and starting with 24 chain, the scarf and a matching slouche hat used 5 balls of yarn (375m – I think the split was scarf ~260m, hat ~115m). The scarf had a finished size of 6 inches wide and 72 inches long.

This scarf has a base pattern of 8 chain and has three shells per row. To make this pattern using a finer yarn, simply increase the beginning chain with multiples of 8 chain to achieve the desired width.

Because I had some yarn left over, and it was so pretty, I decided to make a slouche hat. My favourite women’s slouchy hat pattern is the free pattern by PDDesigns (click here). This pattern is well written and very easy to follow; suitable for a beginner.

 

Lattice Shell Scarf Pattern

(US terms)

Using 12 ply yarn and a 6 mm hook, this scarf uses about 260m of yarn.

If using a finer yarn and smaller hook, increase the starting chain in multiples of 8 to achieve desired width.

St = stitch

Sk = skip next stitch

Ch = chain

Sc = single crochet

Dc = double chochet

Shell = (2dc, ch1, 2dc)

Beginning - Ch 24.

Row 1: Sc in 2^nd ch from hook and in each rem ch.

Row 2: Ch3 (counts as first dc of row), * sk2, shell in next st, sk2, dc in next st, sk1, ch1, dc in next st **. Repeat from * to ** until 6 stitches left, then sk2, shell in next st, sk2, dc in last stitch. Turn.

Row 3: Ch3 (counts as first dc of row), * Shell in ch space of next shell, sk2, dc in next st, ch1, sk1, dc in next st **. Repeat from * to ** to end of row, ending with a dc in top of previous row’s beg ch3.

Repeat row 3 until scarf has reached desired length.

Last row: Ch1, sc in same stitch, sc in all remaining stitches.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Women’s crochet rectangular wrap pattern

This is an easy wrap pattern to make which is worked up along the length so that the stitch design runs lengthwise. It uses about 1150m of 8 ply yarn. Using a 3.5mm hook, this wrap has a finished size of 15 inches wide and 56 inches long.

It is made using a combination of moss stitch, noughts and crosses stitch, and wave stitch, with some small sections of single crochet. These different stitches give it an interesting texture and the solid centre ensures it is warm to wear.

Noughts and crosses stitch:                                            

Wave stitch:

For this scarf, I used Lincraft’s Opus yarn (50g (150m), 25% alpaca 30% wool and 45% acrylic, 8 ply, colour maroon) for the bulk of the wrap and Lincraft’s Double Knitting yarn (100g (250m), 100% acrylic, 8ply, colour maroon) for the wave stitch sections. It could be made using a single yarn, multiple yarns and colours, or a multicoloured self striping yarn. The Opus yarn is very soft and gives the wrap a very nice draping quality. The wrap is also soft enough to fold in half lengthwise and wear as a scarf.

 

The pattern could also be made using a different thickness of yarn and hook. You would simply need to adjust the number of beginning chain (increase or decrease in multiples of 21), and adjust the middle section of the moss stitch, to achieve your desired length and width.

If you would like a detailed pattern, please click here.

I hope you enjoy wearing your wrap J