Crochet Baby Jacket - My Second Piece of Crochet Clothing

Following on from my first effort of the little sun dress last week, I decided to try out the crocheted jacket / cardigan pattern by the same people at DROPS Design. The pattern can be found HERE.

Again it's translted from Norwegian so the pattern was slightly tricky to follow in places, but having cracked the dress pattern, this one was written in the same style and so was a bit quicker to decipher.

Firstly, base pieces of front left panel, front right panel, two sleeves and back panel were made.

Mitten was helping with the photography as usual.

Here are the pieces lined up to show how they will fit together.

From here the pieces were all crocheted together and then the crocheting continued upwards towards the collar, with decreases in each row to shape the shoulders.

Lacey detail was added round the collar and cuffs to give it a pretty finished and finally some buttons were sewn on the front.

And here is it all finished!

I feel I'm now getting the hang of following clothing patterns and I think I'm now ready to up-scale and try my hand at something that I can wear so I am now on the hunt for a suitable pattern!

Happy Friday.

And Now for Something Completely Different - A Crochet Baby Sun Dress

I thought it was about time I tried my hand at a piece of crochet clothing.  Obviously it made sense to start with baby clothing, pracising on a manageable small scale.  A friend pointed me in the direction of this beautiful pattern, a DROPS Design pattern at Garn Studio.  I had some wool that a work colleague had kindly donated to me following a loft clear out.  II estimate it's about 30 years old, so not likely to be available now, but it was a double knit baby blend by Peter Pan. 

On my first attempt I restarted it twice, thinking I'd completely misunderstood the pattern but I think I'd got it right all along so I persevered and the front and back pieces grew very quickly. 

After sewing all the ends in (of which there were quite a few as the balls of wool were only 20 g each so I had to do several joins) the two pieces were ready to sew together at the shoulders and down the sides.



Next a loopy details was added around the neck and arms.  Then a few rows of more intricate crochet was added to the bottom of the dress, a flower to the front and a couple of buttons on the back and it was all finished. 

I altered the pattern slightly as there was meant to be an extra couple of rows at the bottom of the dress but I stopped after three, partly because I was happy with it like that and partly because I didn't have enough wool to keep going round a couple more times.  I also made a different flower to the one povided in the DROPS Design pattern. 

Having not followed a 'proper' pattern for a while I did find it a bit challenging at first but it started to make more and more sense as I went along and I think it's turned out really well.  I definitely want to make more items of little clothing.  In fact there is a very pretty coat, hat and boottees set that coordinates with this dress so I will be trying those next.  There are loads of other great patterns on the Darn Studio website so I will be looking through those too and lining up some future projects. 

Crochet Bowls - Experimenting with Starch Crochet

I remember my Gran making a few lacy crocheted things that she set hard in a sugar-starch solution.  I decided to try and make some decorative bowls using this technique. 

I made these up as I went along really.  Using my bowl of choice to use as a mold and guide I began with a flat circle, working in increasing rounds until it was large enough to cover the base of the bowls.  Then working with less increases to work the sides of the bowls.  I wasn't too fussed about the stiches used at this stage as it was really just for experimentation.  I thought once I'd mastered the art perhaps I could try something more techincal.  Here are two I created.  The pink one is mostly worked using clusters of two (American) double crochet stiches.  The purply one was made using chains and single crochet stiches in the chain spacesof the previous row.  Here they are looking all floppy:

And viewing from the top:

Here's the little one over it's bowl mold:

And the other one:

Then it was time to make the starch solution.  I did some research and the simplest method seemed to be by boiling up some cornflour in water.  The general consensus seemed to be approximately two tablespoons of cornflour to one cup of water.  Into the pan they went.

It starts off as a milky solution then starts to turn thick and translucent as it boils.  Once it'd turned into a nice smooth gloop I turned the heat off then had to leave it to cool for a while as I'm pretty sure it was hotter than the sun by that stage. 

The crocheted bowls got dunked into the hot goo and then once cool enough to handle I gave them a good squeeze to get rid of the excess.  They were then placed back over their molds and put in the sunshine to dry out. 

24 hours later, with a gentle twist they came away from the molds and here they are:

Hooray!  It's been quite a success.  I can now start trying out starch crochet for other sorts of things.  Now time to get brain storming about how I can use this technique in other ways. 

A Handy Crochet Carrier Bag Dispenser

Whilst getting out my reusable shopping bags from my boiler / vacuum cleaner / coat storage / shoe cupboard I decided my carrier bag supply was starting to take over the floor space and was in desperate need of organisation.  Now I don't accumulate too many carrier bags because of course I use my reusable shopping bags whenever possible.  However, I do like to keep a stash to use to line my kitchen dustbin.  A carrier bag dispenser was of course just what I needed.  I did a bit of Googling and Amazoning and was considering treating myself to one but then figured I was sure someone must have a crochet pattern for one I could make myself for pennies.  Indeed the nice people at All Free Crafts have posted this pattern for free online.  Lovely stuff.  Here are the first few rounds:

And a few more a rounds:

Once I'd reached the end of round 27 where the mesh part stops in the pattern I decided it wasn't quite large enough for my bag storage needs so I kept going for several more rounds until I thought it was big enough.  I then also adapted the finishing off slightly by doing one round of double crochet in each stictch around and then finally I worked a second hair bobble into a round of single crochet in each stich to make the top opening a bit tighter.  For the loop I just did a chain of 15 stiches and then went back along the chain with a row of single crochet.  And here it is finished and keeping my carrier bags neat and tidy and ready to use in my dustbin.

Finally, I do like to calculate roughly how much things cost me to make.  I used 35 grams of a 100g ball of acrylic double knit that cost £1.50.  So at 1.5 pence per gram the dispenser cost me only 52.5p in wool, plus the cost of two hair bobbles, of which I had a pack of 20 for £1 from Primark.  Therefore the total cost to me was a teeny tiny 62.5p. 

Crochet Footstool - From Stinky Bar Stool to Pretty Pouffe

Remember the old bar stool I got for £2 from a charity shop?  Here it is again to jog your memories.  Rather tired and sad looking to say the least.  I hummed and ahhed about what to do with it and decided that I really didn't have a use for a bar stool. However...

...I could find provide the perfect home for a footstool.  So it was OFF WITH ITS LEGS, which I achieved using a rather tiny hack saw.  As such my arms took several days to recover.  But I dare say I did a pretty good job, and thanks to the convenient placement of the bobbly bits on the legs it almost perfectly straight and doesn't wobble, hurrah!

Typically, Mitten instantly thought this was all for her benefit and made herself comfy on it.  Though I must agree it is the perfect size for her, see:

I also had to tidy up the base a bit and once that was sorted I got to work on the cushion cover.  I used the same colours as I had for my Round Granny Stripe Cushion, and the same technique of adding increases to make the circle grow. 

Then once it was large enough to cover the top of the cushion I continued adding rounds of the same number of stiches and then finally a couple of decreasing rounds to hold it underneath.  The pattern for the Granny Stripe Round Cusion can be found here on my Crochet Patterns page. 

Naturally, owing to my general obsession and fascination with hats and headwear I could not resist trying this out for size.  Mushroom head.

Playtime over it was time to complete my stool.  I pinned the cover on using upholstery tacks and my little pouffe was done. 

Isn't it sweet?!   From such a grotty old stool that must have spent many an evening propping up folks at the bar, which was then discarded and cast away, to a handy little pouffe on which to put up my feet after a long day.  I'm pretty sure it must be very happy to have been given this new lease of life. 

And I'm very happy to have it completing my cosy corner. 

Mitten Update

Meet Mitten-van-Gogh:

 She often turns her ear inside out while washing and it's so cute.  It usually takes her a couple of minutes to notice it before she shakes her head and her little furry ear pops back into place :)

Battle with Technology

I had a fight with my PC (Mrs Pink) and my iPhone yesterday.  Trying to be sensible and transfer my photos from my iPhone to my Mrs Pink for safekeeping something went horribly wrong and they somehow got erased from my iPhone and simultaneously did not transfer to Mrs Pink.  I have performed this action plenty of times before so I had no idea what happened.  Anyway, I was resigned to the fact they were gone forever.  

However, turning on Mrs Pink this morning she marvellously recovered the lost photos which must have been corrupted or something whilst transfering.  She is a couple of years old now so not on top form generally and I was not expecting to see my photos again so I am very pleased they are back.  Here are a few of the lost and found photos.

This was an Easter basket commissioned by a friend and colleague for her granddaughter's Easter egg hunt, which I based on a pattern found here: http://missorganicskitchen.com/ 

Here are some more amigurumi baby rattles commissioned by a friend.  I've made quite a lot of these recently and this reminds me that I need to order more safety eyes for my stash. 

Mitten enjoying my colourful balcony and the sunshine..

And here she is again trying to steal a lick of my Loveheart (I have a serious weakness for these and managed to scoff a stick of them whilst trying to relocate the lost photos last night). 

Anyway, my photos are back and calm has been restored. 

Crochet Granny Stripe Round Cushion

Today I finished my latest project.  I had decided my grandad chair needed a round cushion so I set about making a round granny stripe cushion cover.  It was only after I'd begun that I had the opportunity to go shopping for a circular cushion pad.  It turns out these do not exist in Norwich, so I had to buy a square one and make my own round cushion. I created a make-shift pair of compasses from a pen, a piece of string, a pin and a piece of cork board.  I used a bedsheet for the fabric and chose pink because the crochet cover is quite holey so anywhere the pad shows through it's lovely coordinating pinkness.

I sewed it up using my recently acquired 1970s Frister & Rossmann sewing machine that had belonged to my Gran.  This was the first time I'd actually used it, aside from a bit of testing on scraps of material when I first got it, and I must say it is a solid piece of machinery and still works perfectly.  I then dismantled the square cushion pad and used the stuffing to create my circular one. 

The cover was made in two halves.  The colours were chosen at random to make the stripes, from 7 different pinks and purples.  I got a bit carried away with sewing up the cover before I'd taken a picture, so here it is mid-sewing.  Looking at that photo now I can see nothing but a pair of owl's eyes. 

And here we have the finished project, proudly in place on the chair.  The chair looks much more inviting and comfy now.  Perfect for relaxing in after my productive Sunday. 

The pattern can be found here on my Crochet Patterns page.  I used the same basic pattern to make my footstool cover from this post. 

A Sunny Sort of Day

 A sunny Saturday with nothing urgent to achieve called for a leisurely jaunt to the coast. It was mild and sunny, but not so warm that hoards had gathered on the beach - perfect coast visitng conditions in my opinion. 

I've been to Cromer many, many times in my life but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever noticed these quotes embedded in the promenade: 

I am happy to report that I did not share the sentiment of the above quote, which apparently was a "young WInston Churchill", as I was in fact having a very nice time indeed.  

Foolishly I failed to record who this quote was from, assuming I would remember...nice try!  But I thought it was rather lovely anyway, and not something one could argue with.   

I do like to watch happy seagulls bobbing up and down in the sea, and it does amuse me how they like to line up in a uniform fashion.  Sadly by the time I'd fished through my bag to retrieve the camera two of the little tykes had flown away, as if they knew they were about to be papped. 

The day was rounded off rather nicely with a pot of Earl Grey at Alby Crafts.  I did admire the lovely shape of that teapot, and was most impressed by the provision of an extra jug of hot water to re-fill said pot.  The tearooms were offering a good selection of cakes, but having already had both chips and a whippy at the seaside that would have been one indulgence too far so I had to give them a miss. 

On a final note, I am physically unable to go anywhere and return empty handed so I did purchase some jelly beans to refuel my jelly bean jar with and here they are on some crocheted coasters (which I'll be showing off in more detail at some point), on my little pink mirror table that I made a while back. 

And stumbling upon a shop that had Stylecraft dk wool at a very reasonable price I felt it necessary to replenish my stash of pinks and purples, which has taken quite a hit lately owing to my current WIP.  Not too much left to do on that now though so I intend to share the results with you all shortly.  

I hope everyone has had an equally lovely, sunny Saturday.