It’s that time of year again! When you bring out the hooks and needles and get all caught in the mess of yarn and warmth!
Ever since knitting a sub-par scarf for Gareth last winter (the yarn was really crappy), it’s been on my to do list to make him a proper one using some yarn of decent quality. From my stash, I picked out a dark wool 50% merino/50% acrylic blend and used a half double crochet (hdc) stitch the entire way through. Here’s a good graphic tutorial by Crochet Spot on how to do a hdc if you’re unsure.
When it came to the width and length of the scarf, why that was simply asking for feedback from Gareth about what he wanted. There’s no hard or fast rule for how long or wide it needs to be, just make sure it suits the style of whomever you’re creating it for. Happy crocheting season, I’d love to see what you make this year. And if you don’t know how to, I’d highly recommend buying a good book or using a great online source to assist.
What have you got planned to craft this year to keep warm?
Happy Easter everyone!
Here in Australia, we have a long 4-day public holiday weekend due to the Easter holidays. It’s a great time of the year to tackle that long to do list that builds up over weeks and weeks. So what have you got planned?
In our corner, we’ll be catching up with family and have already made trips to two of my favourite places: IKEA and Flower Power. It’s easy for me to just start going on a gardening tangent about what I purchased but I know you’re not all as fanatic as me, so I’ll save that for Gardenado (my new gardening mag/site that I’ve decided to start - coming soon!) Instead, I want to share with you this floral tablepiece that I put together for tomorrow’s Easter brunch with Gareth’s family.
I had an issue with time and also lack of coloured dye for my original egg-themed tablepiece, so I had to scratch that last minute and create something simpler. Replacing eggs with flowers (what else, right!) and taking inspiration from Martha Stewart, I ultimately created a bouquet of crepe paper and coloured stock paper flowers.
This bouquet consists of roses, spidermum, tulip and carnation. I had so much fun making them, which makes sense in hindsight considering I love flowers and paper craft, that I’m contempating on making more myself and exploring different flower types! Do you think that would be a good idea? I’d love to hear what flowers you think I should try out, throw ideas at me!
If you’re interested in trying this at home, all you’ll need is:
- Crepe paper or coloured paper
- Florist wire - you can get this at Lincraft or a good craft store
- Coloured washi or florist tape
Here’s my guide to making the tulip: draw two petal templates, one about 30% larger than the other. I drew these freehand and mine measured 4.5cm and 7cm in length.
You also need to make the stamen of the flower (the central structures of the flower). I did this by just cutting a 3cm length of crepe paper and then snipping lengths of 75% in from one edge (see the photo below):
I cut 5 small petals and 7 of the large out of crepe paper. Using my fingers, I then took the top of the petal and pulled it at both sides gently to stretch the petal and create some shape to mimic a real tulip.
Taking the stamen, I wrapped that around the tip of the florist wire and secured that in place at the base using washi tape. Then taking the smaller petals first, I attached that around the stamen one by one, with a slight overlap from one petal to the other. Note that I make creased pleats at the base of the petals as I stick them done using washi tape.
I proceed to do the same using the larger petals and then I secure the entire flower by using a few more layers of green washi tape to create the look of the receptacle. I recommend playing around with it and not being afraid of being as creative as you want with it! Don’t forget to add some little chicks too!
Baby feet are the cutest, aren’t they? Even more so when their little toes are tucked away in soft, cute handmade slippers!
Crochet is really such a wonderful traditional art form and technique. You can basically create anything with it - clothes, homewares, linen, accessories, toys, the list goes on… At the end of the day, you have the power and inspiration to make something out of yarn, be it for practical or entertainment/fun reasons. I really enjoy being able to do this and find making practical things just as fun as making cute amigurumi.
So when a colleague of mine late last year announced she was going on maternity leave soon, I knew the perfect gift to give: little blue baby booties for her boy. I added a touch of white ribbon to contrast and luckily had the chance to make them in pink for someone else too. They’re just so adorable!
For the pattern, I customised this one that I had found in a craft forum - enjoy!
Do you have any ideas of small practical things that I could crochet? And if you’ve come across a just as awesome booties pattern, please, share and tell us about it so we can try it out too!
Yay, it’s that time of the month where roses are quadruple their standard price and lonely hearts searching for love feel even more depressed and anxious! You can probably grasp that Valentine’s Day isn’t my favourite event of the year. I’ve had my times of valentine-induced sadness and happiness and through it all, I can gladly now say that I’m not an avid Valentine-obsessed girl. Most of the time, over-commercialism and marketing ruins such events and holidays for me (like Christmas). My belief is, if you love your partner, you can show them your love for them any day. Choose when you want to do it, not when society and the media dictates it! :)
Despite my nonchalance, I’m still a fan of the general message behind Valentine’s: the celebration of love around the world. Taking my fancy for heart shapes, I created this love-inspired DIY just by combining my love for crochet and love hearts. BAM! Love heart crochet coasters! It’s super simple and can be a quick and useful gift - whether it be for Valentine’s, Christmas or just a birthday!
You can find the pattern below right after the jump!
In advance, I’m sending you some e-love right now! But seriously, do you celebrate Valentine’s Day or do you not give a hoot?
DIY Love Heart Coasters
You will need:
- 3.5mm crochet hook
- White yarn
- Red thread
- Needle
- Red felt
- Heart template (I used paper)
Method:
1. Chain 2, 6 single crochet (sc) in first chain, slip stitch (sl st) to join next sc
2. 2 sc in each sc around, sl st to join (12 sc total)
3. [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc] and continue repeating this around, sl st (18 sc)
4. [2 sc in next sc, 2 sc] and continue around, sl st (24 sc)
5. [2 sc in next sc, 3 sc] and continue around, sl st (30 sc)
6. [2 sc in next sc, 4 sc] and continue around, sl st (36 sc)
7. [2 sc in next sc, 5 sc] and continue around, sl st (42 sc)
8. 42 sl st around (42 sl st), cut off loose strand and weave in to hide the finishing
9. Using your heart template, cut the felt around this shape
10. Position the felt heart in the centre of the coaster and hand sew the heart down, leaving a bit of room between the stitch and the edge of the heart. Make sure to not push the thread through all the way out of the back of the coaster, but only half way before coming up and out. This way, there will not be any unsightly red stitch marks at the back of the coaster.
And that’s it, easy right? Remember, you can have a bit of fun and swap in different yarn and felt colours for different effects so have fun! Feel free to ask if you have any questions about the pattern!
