Scarves, skulls and more!

I’ve been very busy the past few weeks, both with crochet and many other things! I have a cool pattern I’ve been working on the past week but it’s not quite ready yet so I thought I’d show you some of the other things I’ve been up to – there are quite a few more that I didn’t manage to get photos of before they were whisked off to their new owners so this is just a small subset:

Centre-pull balls

Since seeing this tutorial for creating centre-pull balls of wool I’ve been doing this before using any of my wool – it makes it much easier to use, stops it tangling especially when using double strands or huge, unwieldy 500g balls!

Hooded scarf

I made a green hooded scarf based on this pattern from crochet spot. It’s very simple and I didn’t add the border or pockets so it was very quick to make. I think it could be really cute for a kid with little eyes to make the hood into a frog or ears on another colour to make a monkey or bear or rabbit.

Skull phone case

I thought I’d have a go at trying crochet with multiple colours (tapestry crochet?) and ended up with this skull phone case. it was an interesting experiment but I don’t think I’ll be doing much of this in the near future – it could be nice for a blanket one day. I put the buttons onto the strap just for a bit of fun so that when it’s undone the skull looks like it’s asleep and you have some (surprisingly quite cute!) disembodied eyes:

plant pot coaster

I was given a lovely plant this week and so made this very simple coaster/mat for it to stand on – literally just chunky wool worked in the round, increasing 6 stitches each round to keep it flat until it was slightly bigger than the pot then completing one final round with a few bobble/cluster stitches for decoration.

Persimmon Pullover

I decided this weekend to try my first ever crocheted clothing so I’ve started this top using a free lion brand pattern and it seems to be going well so far:

Filed under: crochet, other, clothing, coaster, creepy cute, mobile phone case, scarf, wool

What is this?

I have these exact colours of yarn and I want to make some coasters/placemats and this pattern is so lovely but what is it? Is this crochet? knitting? embroidery? I can’t figure it out and can’t find anything online. If you know what this is or know of a crochet stitch that gives a similar result please let me know!

UPDATE: I know what this is.

Filed under: other, coaster, crochet, crochet stitch, flower, pattern, placemat, wool

Zombie Phone Case

I had a request from a friend for a zombie phone case and after a little bit of thinking this was the result. The thing that really makes it great, I think, is the hanging out eyeball and I can’t take any credit for that whatsoever – I saw it on an amigurumi bunny of doom at a blog called A Clockwork Angel and instantly knew it had to be the focal point of the phone case.
To make this case first follow the instructions for the flower phone case in grey (or green would look good) up to step 6. Go on, go do that now – we’ll wait for you….

Done that now? and your phone fits nicely inside? Good then let’s continue:

FASTENING STRAP

You don’t have to have a strap to close the top but I think the fact it’s on one side instead of central and that it hooks around the ‘good’ eye all adds to the creepy/quirkiness. Maybe there used to be a strap on the other side too but that eye just couldn’t take the strain….? If you want a strap too then stop your dc spiralling towards one side and chain long enough to loop down to the centre of the case while the phone is in it. Now dc into the next stitch of the case and slip stitch the next few stitches.

HAIR

If you have fluffy yarn like I did then change to this yarn and complete a couple of rounds of 1dc in each stitch – keep going until there is as much hair as you want. If you don’t have fluffy yarn then fasten off the grey yarn and you could tie lengths of a contrasting colour yarn around individual stitches on the top of the case and trim them into tufts. This will be more time-consuming but you have more freedom for the hairstyle – odd random tufts, male pattern baldness or a Mohican maybe.

FACE

If you are using a strap then the button eye should be positioned first and used as a basis to build the rest of the face. Put the phone into the case to locate the best position for the button so that the strap fastens easily and securely. For the popping out eye I used a small black bead inside a larger white bead but as you can see on the Bunny of Doom just a black bead looks great too. Thread the bead onto a length of pink thread or thin yarn and repeatedly knot the thread to create the eye entrails (or whatever they’re actually called!) until it is a good dangling length. Using black thread sew a patch opposite the button to act as an eye socket and pull the ends of the pink thread through either side of the centre of the socket. Tie the ends together and trim inside the case.

Finally using black thread again sew a mouth as shown in the photos or in any expression you like, I’m sure the options are endless!

Filed under: amigurumi, crochet, instructions, other, amigurumi, creepy, creepy cute, crochet, crochet pattern, easy, instructions, mobile phone case, zombie

Lacy Pink Bookmark

Today I made this beautiful bookmark. It was my first time crocheting with thread and using such a small hook. The smallest I have is 2mm but luckily this seemed to be the right size for the thread. I found it quite fiddly doing the bullions to start with but they got easier as I went along and it was definitely worth it in the end. After I finished I pressed it so it would lie perfectly flat between the pages.

The pattern is called Elegant Bullion Bookmark: click on the link if you want to give it a go. I did have to skip a few stitches on one of the rounds to make the pattern work out and then after I finished I found someone had posted a correction on Ravelry which is as follows:

• Round 1: Chain 54, not 56.
• Round 4: Either skip 1 ch when it says to skip 2, or work the chain 5s on round 3 as ch 7s.

The first part of the second correction sounds pretty much like what I did to make it work so do take note of those two points before you start.

Filed under: crochet, instructions, other, bookmark, bullion, crochet, crochet pattern, pattern, pink, thread

He♥rt-Shaped Bag

I needed a bag quickly last week to match a dress I was wearing for a big night out. The result is the heart-shaped bag above – it was made in a rush so is not lined as I would have liked and it’s only big enough to hold the essentials but I still think it’s very cute. Here’s how I made it – there are no in progress photos so I hope my little diagrams will help to explain.

Crochet terms are English so have a look at the conversion chart if you prefer American terms (although the whole thing is worked only in English double crochet (American single crochet))

To help speed up the process I used 2 strands of DK/Worsted weight yarn together as one (I used two different shades of red for a mottled effect but you can use completely different colours or just two strands of the same colour for different effects) and a 5mm hook.

FRONT & BACK (make 2)

1. Chain 20

2. *chain 1, turn, skipping the turning chain dc each stitch of row (20 stitches)*

*repeat step 2 until you have 20 rows. Your work should now be square – if not then increase/decrease the number of rows to make your piece (vaguely) square.

3. complete 2 more rows as in step 2.

4. *turn (without a turning chain), skip the first stitch of the row and dc all the rest.*

*repeat step 4 for four rows. (ie. dc 4 rows, decreasing by 1 stitch at the beginning of each row)

5. *turn (without a turning chain), skip the first stitch of the row and dc the rest stopping 1 stitch from the end of the row.*

*repeat step 5 for four rows. (ie. dc 4 rows, decreasing by 1 stitch at the beginning and end of each row)

Fasten off.

CONSTRUCTION

Pin the 2 pieces together at right angles to create a heart shape as shown in the diagram below.

Starting at the position shown dc through both layers (1 stitch in each row) down to the point of the heart, continue up the other side crocheting through both layers still until you reach the position marked END. Now following the arrows on the diagram dc through just one layer to neaten the shape. Continue around until you again reach the position marked END and fasten off.

This is the basic bag and you can adjust the next steps to suit how you would like it to close/what you want it to look like etc.

OPENING

Using the same yarn I sewed just less than half way up each edge as shown in the photo above to narrow the opening and added a small press stud to the centre (a larger one would have been better but that is all I had.) You could instead add a small loop to the centre back and a button to the front.

STRAP

Attach the yarn to the centre of one side of the heart and follow the instructions as shown on the diagram below. If you would like a thicker strap then just keep repeating this process. Fasten off at one end and weave in loose ends.

DECORATION

I finished off this bag by adding a flower made using the cardboard cog flower loom from the same yarn as the bag and with a button in the centre.

I’m sure some of you lovely people can come up with better ways of closing this bag (a zip and a lining would be very nice) but I had limited time and resources - I’ll hopefully get around to making another, improved version sometime. If you would like any steps clarifying then please leave a message or send me an email. Enjoy!

UPDATE

Here is a quick sketch of my thoughts on how to improve this pattern (if anyone feels like giving it a go – i don’t know how long it’ll be before I get around to it!).

1. add a lining to the front and back pieces before they are crocheted together.

2. add tabs and rings between the lining and outer pieces to more securely attach the strap.

3. instead of sewing a little way up each side and having a press stud sew up the back edge completely and just have the opening all along the front edge closed with a few decorative buttons (or a zip if you prefer). this would make the usable section of the bag bigger and be more secure.

Filed under: crochet, instructions, other, bag, crochet, crochet pattern, flower, heart, instructions, pattern

Underwater Baby Blanket

So I’m going to be an auntie soon and I just found out it will be a little boy. I decided to make a baby blanket for him and here is the result. I used chunky yarn because I didn’t want to spend weeks and weeks on it. I wasn’t thinking I was going to write up a pattern for this so I didn’t pay much attention to what I was doing so this will be less of a pattern and more just general guidelines for the bits I can remember. For the blanket itself I used this helpful ripple tutorial. I’m not going to try to tell you exactly how many to chain etc. because I’m sure I went wrong and it only turned out ok by luck! Anyway as is fairly obvious from the photo you need blue for the water (I used two 100g balls of chunky but while it said to use a 6mm hook on the label I went for an 8mm hook to make the blanket less dense and more breathable) then change to lighter blue or white for the sky. Then it’s just up to you what you populate your sea with. English crochet terms as always, look at the conversion chart for American equivalents.

Big fish.

1. Create a magic ring with 6dc

2. 2dc in each stitch (12 stitches total)

3. dc, dc, chain 1, turn

4. dc, dc, chain 3, turn

5. 2tr, 3tr, fasten off.

Little fish.

1. Create a magic ring with 6dc

2. chain 3

3. dc in 2nd chain from hook

4. chain 1

5. dc in same stitch as step 3.

6. fasten off.

Seaweed.

1. chain the length you would like your seaweed.

2. chain 1, turn, dc the second chain from the hook and each stitch of chain.

3. chain 1, turn, dc the second stitch from the hook and each stitch.

4. chain 1, turn, dc each stitch but whenever you want a tendril (leaf?) of seaweed do the following:

4a. chain the length you like your leaf/tendril

4b. chain 1, turn

4c. slip stitch the 2nd chain from the hook and the next few stitches.

4d. dc the next few stitches until you are about halfway back to the base.

4e. htr the next few stitches.

4f. tr all the rest of the stitches until you are back to the base.

4g. dc into the next stitch along from where you started the leaf/tendril.

5. dc each stitch until you reach where you would like your next leaf then repeat 4a – 4g.

6. continue in this way to the end of the row. fasten off.

I’ll update this post with more of the bits when I have chance to think about what I actually did! I’m sorry it’s not a more structured pattern today.

Filed under: crochet, other, baby blanket, colourful, crochet, fish, seaweed, underwater

Improved 60′s flower!

I wasn’t completely happy with the 60′s style flower – I thought it looked a bit scruffy so today i’ve been trying to improve it and have ended up with the flower on the right. Much better I think with lovely distinct, neat colour changes. Here’s how I did it:

I used worsted weight yarn and a 4mm hook to make a flower that is ~10cm diameter. I’m using English crochet terms, for American equivalent see my lovely new conversion chart.

Stitch into the back loop only of each stitch unless otherwise stated.

Rnd1. In first colour (yellow here) create a magic ring with 6dc

Rnd2. 2dc into each stitch (12 stitches total)

Rnd3. *2dc into 1st stitch, 1dc into next stitch. *Repeat 6 times (18 total)

Rnd4. *2dc into 1st stitch, 1dc into next 2 stitches. *Repeat 6 times (24 total)

 

Rnd5. change colour to pink. * 2sc, sc, sc, sc. *Repeat 6 times (30 total). For the last stitch of the round go through both loops of the stitch.

 

Rnd6. *sc, dc, 2tr, tr, dc, sc. *repeat 5 times

 

 

 

Rnd7. *sc, dc, tr, 3tr, tr, dc, sc. *repeat 5 times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rnd8. change colour to blue. * sc, sc, sc, sc, 2sc, sc, sc, sc, sc. *repeat 5 times. For the last stitch of the round go through both loops of the stitch.

 

 

 

 

 

Rnd9. *sc, sc, dc, htr, 2tr, 2tr, htr, dc, sc, sc. *repeat 5 times. Fasten off and weave in ends.

 

 

 

 

One side of the flower will show a smooth colour change and the other side a stripy colour change – use whichever you like the look of most.

Filed under: crochet, instructions, other, colourful, crochet, crochet pattern, easy, flower, instructions, pattern

Mobile phone cases

The green case was one of the first things I crocheted and the vampire bat case is one I’ve just finished for a friend. They’re very quick, easy and fun to make and I think the possibilities of styles and designs are endless. I’m going to try and post instructions for the flower case and the bat case in the next few days.

UPDATE: patterns are now available for the flower phone case, vampire bat phone case, and the newly added bunny and frog cases. Enjoy!

Filed under: crochet, other, bat, case, crochet, cute, flower, mobile phone case, strawberry, vampire bat

Multicoloured madness

A couple of weeks ago there was a sale at my local wool shop and I bought some “smiley stripes” rainbow coloured yarn. Then I got it home and didn’t really know what to do with it.

I started playing around with it and the result was the crazy pear on the right. I have to keep him in a box as he scares my housemate but I think he’s quite cheerfully colourful.

With the rest of the ball I just started a flat square in moss stitch as I really like how you can see one row alternately dip into the one below because of the changing colours.

So then I ran out of yarn and was left with a multicoloured square. I decided this would made a lovely hook case for my multicoloured crochet hooks! so I gathered up some complementary fabric and yarn and lined the square:

I sewed a thin strip of double crochet across the middle to hold the hooks and then added buttons to hold it closed when folded. These buttons looked like eyes so I added a mouth to turn it into a cheeky chappy – he’s a bit lopsided and wobbly but keeps all my hooks safe and makes me smile :)

Filed under: amigurumi, crochet, other, amigurumi, colourful, creepy, crochet, cute, hook case, multicoloured, pear, rainbow