Hungry Caterpillar Baby Cocoon and Hat crochet project

This is a very cute baby cocoon and hat combo for everyday use and photo fun. It is very easy to make, using a crochet pattern called Snug as a Bug by Little Crochet Shop (click here).

The original pattern is for babies aged newborn to 2 months. I needed to make a slightly larger cocoon and hat to fit a baby aged 3 to 6 months.

My larger cocoon had a finished size of:

length – 56cm (22”)

smallest circumference – ~58cm (23”)

largest circumference – ~63cm (25”)

The modifications made to the cocoon pattern were as follows.

Cocoon:

·         Use a 9mm crochet hook.
Crochet one extra increase row in the first colour section to give 60 stitches (rather than 54).
Crochet one extra row in the centre of each of the 4 coloured sections.

Decrease rows as follows:

HDC 8, SC dec (54 st)

HDC 5, SC dec, plus SC dec last 2 st (46 st)

Increase rows as follows:

HDC inc, HDC 5 (54 st)

HDC inc, HDC 8 (60 st).

 Hat

I made the hat as per the pattern, and then added an extra three rows at the end (giving 24 rows in total).

Chunky Crochet Blanket Pattern

This blanket is very fast to crochet as it uses super chunky yarn and a large crochet hook. It is also a wonderful gift to make if you are short on time, and I like this design so much I’m making three of these (one to keep and two for gifts).

The blanket is made using a pattern by Mama In A Stitch (click here).  I used a slightly smaller 9mm crochet hook and King Cole’s Big Value Super Chunky 100g acrylic yarn, which is very soft. One blanket is made using the Glacier colour (a beautiful grey green shade), and the others with the Champagne colour.

The Glacier blanket has a finished size of 170cm (67”) long and 130cm (51”) wide, and used 24 balls of yarn (about 1940m). The dimensions can easily be altered by adjusting the number of beginning chain (keeping an even number). For this blanket I began with 130 chain (which produced a length of 170cm, however you simply begin with an even number of beginning chain to achieve your desired length or width.  

Note: the original pattern used an 11.5mm crochet hook and Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick N Quick in Fisherman. I used a 9mm crochet hook instead. 

This is a great cold weather project as the blanket is made in one piece, and therefore by the end you have a rather large lap blanket whilst you're crocheting! 

Made myself a Market Bag using the crochet pattern by Simply Collectible

This is a fabulous looking market bag, and so easy to make, using a crochet pattern by Simply Collectible (click here for pattern).

Due to the heavy yarn load and large hook, it is a bit hard on the hands (if you have arthritis). On the plus side, it does make up quickly.

The pattern calls for using two strands of worsted weight cotton (~440m). However, I didn’t have any in my stash so instead used some Moda Vera Elenna yarn in a light sand colour. This is a bulky (12 ply?) 50% acrylic 50% cotton yarn in 100g balls (85m). Using a single strand, instead of the double, and a 6.5mm hook, my bag used almost 2 balls of yarn.

The finished bag has a length of about 11 inches (not including the straps).  I am very happy with my new market bag and definitely would like to make another one using 2 strands of worsted cotton as per the pattern.  Next time, however, I’ll make the straps a little longer.

July 2017 update: made another one of these and added 10 stitches to each strap (53 instead of 43) - and I find it more comfortable to use.

Crochet a Woman’s Scarf using Tamara Kelly’s Chevron Lace Wrap pattern

This is a quick and easy crochet pattern by Tamara Kelly (click here for pattern).

To make my scarf, I used about 3 and a half balls of Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable yarn in Echo. This 100% acrylic yarn has an aran weight with varying thicknesses, and the 100g balls contain about 250m of yarn.

The scarf I made had a finished size of about 70” long by 16” wide. I used a size 5mm crochet hook, and began with 92 chain as per the pattern.

The finished scarf is very soft, has a lovely drape, and is almost wide enough to double as a wrap.

Eevee’s Big Bed Blanket

 This granny square blanket is made of 54 granny squares which each measure about nine inches wide, laid in a 9 x 6 arrangement. It is large enough to use as a single bed bedspread.

The granny square is made using Chris Simon’s flower burst pattern which is available free on Ravelry. Click here for pattern.

The concept was taken from AnnabelsArmoire Big Bed Blanket, also on Ravelry.

The yarn used was Paintbox Simply DK yarn from LoveKnitting.  This blanket used the following:

4 balls Vanilla Cream (107);

4 balls Slate Green (126);

3 balls Pistachio Green (124);

3 balls Tea Rose (142);

3 balls Dusty Lilac (146).

These are 100g balls with 276m each.

A 4.5mm hook was used.

The squares were joined in the Vanilla Cream using slip stitch on the right side. The border consisted of 3 rounds of single crochet (first in Vanilla Cream, rest in Slate Green), and the low row of the border (also in Slate Green) was done as follows: 8 double crochet in a corner stitch, *skip 2 stitches, single crochet in next stitch, skip 2 stitches, 6 double crochet in next stitch**. Repeat from * to ** around blanket, except make 8 double crochet in the corner stitches.

Weave in ends and enjoy J

Minion Fingerless Gloves for child - free crochet pattern

These child-sized Minion fingerless gloves were adapted from a pattern for adult sized Minion gloves by Tink Jones.

These will fit a 2-3 year old child, and are made using 8 ply yarn – you will need yellow, blue, white, grey and black, and a 4.5mm hook.

To make them larger or smaller, adapt the starting number of stitches to suit.

PATTERN

FSC: foundation single crochet

CH: chain

SC:  single crochet

HDC:  half double crochet

When changing colours, I usually do this when making the slip stitch at the end of the previous round.

Gloves

Begin with yellow

R1: FSC 22, join with a slip stitch to first FSC – it is important to use FSC stitches for the beginning row to give better stretch for the gloves.

R2-4: ch1, HDC into all 22 stitches, slip stitch into first HDC.

Change to black

R5: ch1 and sc into first stitch, ch 3, skip 3 stitches, sc into next stitch, HDC into next 17 stitches, slip stitch to first sc.

R6: ch1, HDC into first stitch, 3HDC into 3 ch space, HDC into next 17 stitches, slip stitch to first HDC.

Change to yellow

R7-12: ch 1, HDC into 22 stitches, join to beg HDC.

Change to blue

R13-16: ch 1, HDC into 22 stitches, join to beg HDC .

R17: ch 1, sc in 22 stitches, join to beg sc.

Break off yarn and weave in all ends.

Made another glove, except when making rows 5 and 6 put the (sc, 3 chain space, sc) section at the end of the round. This allows the “seam” to be put on the underside of each glove.

Eyes (make 3)

Black

R1: chain 2, 6 sc into second chain from hook.

Change to white

R2: ch1, 2sc in each of 6 stitches, join to beg sc (12 stitches)

R3: ch 1, *sc in first st, 2sc in next st**. Repeat from * to ** five more times, join with slip stitch to first sc (18 stitches) – also keep a long tail of white yarn for stitching the eyes to the gloves.

Change to grey

R4: ch1, sc in front loop of each stitch

R5: ch1, sc in each stitch, join to beg sc. Break yarn and weave in ends.

Mouth (make 2)

With black yarn, chain 12, keep a long tail for stitching on gloves.

To assemble:

Position the eyes on the black stripe of the gloves – one eye on one glove and two eyes on the other. Stitch onto the gloves using the white tail and stitching through the back loops of R3.

Position the chain mouth on the gloves and sew on.

Weave in all ends.

Baby crochet blanket for a cot

This crochet baby blanket is made using a lovely crochet throw design by Marianne Forrestal click here for link.  

The original pattern uses aran yarn however I had already purchased 8 ply yarn for this project so I modified the pattern a little and used a 4mm hook, instead of the 5mm hook used by the pattern.

I made this blanket using seven balls of Paintbox Simply DK yarn – 2 x Pistachio Green, 2 x Vanilla Cream, and 1 each of Peach Orange, Blush Pink and Duck Egg Blue - I have about half a ball of Vanilla Cream left over. Paintbox Simply DK are 100g balls with about 276m of yarn, so my blanket used about 1800m of yarn.

Making blankets using squares is my preference because little squares are so portable and you are not toting around a half made blanket while you crochet.

To make my squares a little larger, I also added an extra row of double crochet (US terminology) to each of the 42 squares. I made 11 squares in Pistachio Green, 10 in Vanilla Cream, and 7 each of the other three colours.

This blanket has a finished size of 45.5 inches (115.5cm) long and 39.5 inches (100cm) wide, suitable for a cot.

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

Women’s crochet basic slouchy hat

This is a very easy women’s slouchy hat to crochet. I used the free pattern by PDDesigns (click here for pattern). This pattern was well written and very easy to follow; suitable for a beginner.

For this slouchy hat, I used Paton’s Cosmos 12 ply yarn (50g, 85m, 47% wool and 50% acrylic and 3% polyester). This yarn was easy to work with and produced a slouchy hat with a very soft  finish.

Using a 6mm hook, the hat used just over one ball of yarn.

Although it is difficult to see clearly in the picture, the yarn has a nice shiny silver thread through parts of it. The yarn is also self striping, which I really liked.