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Sunday, 11 December 2016

DIY Mini Yarn Hat

A while back I fell in love with the tiny hats I made for the Crochet Santa Minion and the Crochet Snowmen. I had a great urge to make more this year but I want to make a LOT so I wanted to find an easier and quicker way than crochet.

Here it is:

I think these would be a great crafts for kids where they could choose whatever colour Yarn strips they want to make funky coloured hats!

To make these hats you need:
  • Yarn (I used some scrap Yarn in holiday colours but any colour would look awesome)
  • Scissors
  • Tape measure/ruler
  • Toilet roll or kitchen roll
  • Cotton balls
First cut the toilet roll or kitchen roll into Just under 1 inch pieces and cut the Yarn into approx 12 inch strips. For one hat I used 1 piece of toilet roll and between 40-60 strips of Yarn (depending on the Yarn thickness).


Next tie Larks head knots with the Yarn all the way around the toilet roll, here's how:

Take a piece of Yarn put the two ends together to fold the Yarn in half.


Put the looped end of the Yarn through the centre of the loop (this bit is important to keep the hat nice and neat  - Loop through the MIDDLE of the toilet roll, I realised this on my third attempt). The Yarn ends will go around the outside of the toilet roll and through the loop of the Yarn. Pull the ends tight, but not too tight mind.




Continue tying the knots the same way all around the toilet roll loop.


It will end up looking like this. Straighten out all the Yarn out getting rid of any tangles. 


Hold all the Yarn ends together, twist all the Yarn (about half a turn will do) push the twist of Yarn through the toilet roll so the ends end up on the other side. The twist in the Yarn is important as it keeps all the Yarn ends nice and tight whilst they are pushed through the loop. Straighten out all the Yarn ends again getting rid of any tangles.




Tie a piece of Yarn around all the Yarn ends nice and tight- to make a loop so the hats can hang tie the ends of the same piece of Yarn together.


Gently push 1 piece of cotton wool inside the hat for extra plumpness.


Give the mini hat a haircut to make it look a little neater, however the scruffy look is pretty fun too, then fluff out the Yarn ends.


Here are a few I've made so far, I am planning to make many more. I love them!



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Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Crochet Viking Hat and Beard

I made this a year ago but haven't got round to putting it on here. I think this is one of the best/most enjoyable projects I have made to date. I made it for a friend's Halloween party last year. I think it took me 3 days to make but I loved making the beard, it was so much fun! The only thing is the beard needs a lot of yarn to a get it long, thick and luxurious. (I just had to have a ginger beard as orange is my favourite colour!)


Please excuse the photo it was taken before I had attached the beard to the hat. Which I also love because it was attached with buttons so the beard is removable! However after a few drinks I totally forgot and was very warm for most of the night with a massive yarn beard on...


I used a few different patterns to make the hat and beard. For the hat I found a generic hat pattern, there are many hat patterns out there. I found a separate pattern for the horns (horn patterns are again easy to find). To make the 'bolts' I made circles, stuffed them and stitched them on to the hat. For the hat detail I made two long chains and stitched them onto the hat at the ends. Click here for the amazing beard pattern. 

I cannot recommend this enough it takes a while to make but in my opinion it is totally worth it. 


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Saturday, 1 October 2016

DIY Paper-Cut Flower Card

I posted Paper-cut bird card a few days ago and wanted to try a slightly more complicated design so I decided on a flower. It's still pretty simple but I'm very slowly increasing the difficulty. I love the shadow that these type of cards make.



I didn't have anyone in mind for this card so I picked orange as it's my favourite colour.

I can't make my mind up if I like this card more than the Bird card or not, but it now has someone to go to already as a thank you.

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Saturday, 20 August 2016

DIY Paper-Cut Bird Card

I love to make things from scratch, it makes me feel like I've achieved something. Which means I always try and make cards with nothing but sheets of card and paper. No shaped cutting equipment etc just scissors and a craft knife. I am still in the practice stages of using my craft knife so I'm trying to keep it simple at the moment.

My Grandma loves birds, any type of small bird usually so I wanted to make her a card incorporating a bird. I looked at some cards for inspiration trying to find a simple bird which I could use for a card.

Here is the finished card.



I simplified it even more than the image I found to make it easier for myself, I think the card looks quite nice in its simplicity, the shadow it creates looks pretty awesome. My Grandma's favourite colour is green, hence the green card. I hope she likes it, I just need to find an excuse to give it to her now!


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Sunday, 14 August 2016

Crochet Taupe Belt

I was looking for a belt I could make to go with a new top which is quite baggy. I just wanted something simple looking that I could whip up quickly. However I made the belt, which I really like by the way, but it does not look so great with my new top... typical...So here it is with a random top:


The pattern is written well and there is also a video which I used for the tassels. I think this is a great project for a beginner as it is a simple repeated stitch to make a long rectangle; good practice for turning work. The end product is actually quite versatile. It can obviously be used as a belt, it can also be used as a scarf and believe it or not a head band too!

The pattern is Here if you fancy a go.

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Saturday, 16 July 2016

Crochet Waistcoat (with link to free pattern)

I love waistcoats and have spent a lot of time looking for a crochet waitcoat pattern that I actually like. When came across one that I would actually wear I added it straight to my to do list! I think it is quite smart and simple looking (just the way I like things).

Here it is:



This is the first piece of clothing that I have made and I really like the way it has turned out. The patterns is well written and easy to follow, however I did have to keep trying the waistcoat on as I was making it because I have a very small build and most 'normal' sized clothes do not fit me. After making a few adjustments to the pattern the waistcoat fits perfectly. It is so comfortable and looks great over a shirt, I have had a few compliments whilst wearing it so overall a great make.

The pattern is quite simple as far as clothes patterns go, it took me about two days to make, I probably could have done it in one day if I had the time. Find the pattern Here.

Find other clothing posts Here.

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Sunday, 26 June 2016

Crochet Fortune's Shawlette (with link to pattern)

Starting a new job and having a busy life does not make for blogging and craft time, which makes me sad as it is a hobby that keeps me happy. Now that I have a bit of time tonight I am determined to blog!

I haven't made an awful lot of stuff recently. I have made a second Crochet Sorting Hat as a request. Also due to having less time to craft, I am being more organised and have started making Christmas gifts already. I think this is the most organised I have ever been. 

I love Pinterest for finding crochet patterns etc I think it's amazing that people can find and share amazing finds in one place. It was whilst browsing Pinterest that I came across Fortune's Shawlette and thought it was so pretty and something that I would actually wear. I have never made a shawl before, I haven't actually made that many items of clothing before so this was a new challenge for me. To be on the safe side I decided to use the exact yarn that was used in the pattern and I am so glad I did. Hawthorne Fingering Kettle Dye Yarn is so nice the subtle colour changes all the way through add a new dimension and subtle interest to the shawl and the weight and fall of the shawl when it has been blocked is brilliant.

I am making three shawls, one for my Mother and one for each of my Grandparents. If I decide I like them enough I may end up making one for myself and maybe my (soon to be) sister in law, but we shall see. Here is the first shawl I made in purple (my Mum's favourite colour) I am disappointed to say that the photo does not give the colour of the yarn its rightful justice but it will have to do:



The pattern for this shawl is awesome, see below for link. There is a written pattern and the designer has made videos for each step which are extremely helpful even if it's just to make sure that what your doing is correct. I did, however, have two issues whilst making this shawl. The first issue was that when I started the pattern I checked the gauge and what I made was in line with the gauge given in the pattern yet the shawl was looking really small, too small, so instead of carrying on and being annoyed that I'd wasted more time I decided to start again with a bigger hook and looser work. Even after doing this the shawl still looked small:
(compare this picture to the finished shawl above, you can see that blocking has made the shawl a lot bigger, the gaps within the shawl here are not very noticeable compared to after blocking, blocking makes the patter pop!)

In hindsight restarting the work was a mistake because at the end I ran out of yarn before I could finish the edging, luckily the shawl looks OK as it is. I did not realise how much blocking increased the size of the work. Live and learn for the next shawl.

Carrying on from the first hitch the next issue is not technically an issue it's more of a slight annoyance to those of us who are lazy... the pattern needs blocking, I have never really done blocking before, definitely not on anything this big. To be honest it's really easy to do but I am a little concerned that every time the shawl gets washed by the 'giftees' it will need re-blocking or perhaps hanging in a way that lets it stretch out. Experimentation needs doing before I gift them so watch this space (update: click Here for my rather boring experimentation with blocking).
Other than these two hitches, which to be honest are just a matter of opinion/inexperience on my part, The Pattern is great and I would recommend it to anyone. 

To block my work all I did was soak the shawl in water, place a clean towel on my carpet, stretch the shawl and pin it to my carpet:

It was dry within 24 hours. Here it is ready for gift wrapping:


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Thursday, 11 February 2016

Crochet Sorting Hat

A very Harry Potter obsessed friend wanted me to make her a Sorting hat. It was pretty good timing to be honest as I am currently re-reading the Harry Potter books at the minute, I read them when they first came out and had the urge to re-read. I do however need to get my hands on the films just so I can compare the books to the film just for my own interest. I've never really been interested in the films.

Here is the finished product:


The pattern (below for link) I used is ace and really easy to follow however when I made it the first time it was way too small. At the end of the pattern it says to add extra rounds and increases until the hat fits. If I had have done this the face would have been a really small face right at the top of the hat that would just have looked utterly wrong.

I used chunky yarn as suggested in the pattern however I did not have the size hook that was suggested so I used the size down but made loose stitches. Anyway, as I said, it turned out small so I took the whole thing back and used two strands of yarn to make the hat bigger and the yarn thicker. This time the hat and face were bigger but still not big enough so I took the whole thing back again for a second time and used three strands of yarn. This time the hat turned out just too small to fit on my head so I added a few rounds with increases until it fit. I think it still looks OK.

For the brim I changed back to using one strand of yarn as I would have run out of yarn otherwise. The brim turned out too small and looked rather odd:



It does look tons better after I added a few extra rounds (see first picture). So I'm not sure if it's the yarn that I used or the fact I used a smaller size hook (even with the loose stitches) that made the hat so small but I figured out a way to make it work.

So I used three balls (100g each) of Stylecraft Chunky, 1004 Dark Brown and a 8.0mm hook for the pattern that can be found Here. I think it's a great pattern even if I did have to make it multiple times to get it the right size. Due to having to use three strand of yarn to make the hat I did not need to stitch the mouth or eyes afterwards as the pattern suggests; the face can be manipulated and stays put due to its thickness.

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