Hello Kitty Hat

March 5, 2013 11:54 am \ 3 Comments \ Carol B.

Since Christmastime, my three-year-old has been asking me to make her a Hello Kitty hat. And for whatever reason I’ve put it off. I’m not sure why, because hats are quick and easy to whip up. Last week I finally had the time to hook one up for her, and she could not have been happier!

For the hat itself, I used my favorite hat pattern, which at the moment happens to be the one I used to make Repeat Crafter Me’s owl hat. I find it a little small, and I always need to crochet more rows than the pattern calls for, but it is an excellent base pattern. Laura didn’t want earflaps, and I ended up adding a picot border just to make the hat a little bit longer.

For the nose, I followed the directions on Crochet in Color’s Hello Kitty Hat pattern. I also used her basic ear instructions, but I started with a magic circle, ch2, and then 7 hdc. I didn’t connect the end and beginning, I just made a ch1 and followed the rest of her instructions. When I used her method, I was left with a gap I couldn’t seem to tighten up. Using the magic circle helped with that.

For the eyes, I started with a magic circle (can you tell how much I love that nifty little trick?) and then a ch1, and 10 sc. Then I just sewed it all up.

I think the nose could go a little lower, but she’s so happy with it, I am not about to start taking it apart and redoing work needlessly. Too many other projects in the queue!

What are you working on at the moment?

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Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: crafting, crafts, crochet, easy projects, hats, hello kitty hat

{Tutorial} Country Christmas Crochet Garland

November 6, 2012 10:36 am \ 9 Comments \ Carol B.

It’s Election Day! I’ll be voting this evening, as my polling location is adjacent to the library and I’m working there for a couple hours tonight. Every year we have an election day raffle to help support our little library, so the hours are extended to correspond with voting hours. This year I decided to whip up this sweet country Christmas garland for the raffle. It’s such a fun project (not to mention instant gratification), that I just had to share it with you!

For the garland, you’ll need:

about 50″ of jute twine
homespun fabric
worsted weight yarn (I used acrylic)
“H” hook
darning needle, scissors

There are a few patterns out there for these granny-style crochet Christmas trees. I modified and merged a few patterns to come up with a shape I liked, but by all means use your favorite!

Crochet Christmas Tree Motif

Abbreviations:

Ch = chain
SC = single crochet
DC = double crochet
Sl St = slip stitch

Start with a magic circle.

Round 1: Ch 3 (the Ch 3 always counts as the first DC stitch), 3 DC, ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2. Slip stitch to the top of the beginning ch 3 st. (Three clusters of 4 DC and three ch 2 spaces.)

Round 2: Sl st over to the first ch 2 space of the previous round. Ch 3. 3 DC, ch 2, 4 DC in this space. *Ch 2, 4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC in next ch 2 space. Repeat from * in the last ch 2 space. Ch 2. Sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3 stitch. (Six clusters of 4 DC and six ch 2 spaces.)

Round 3: Sl st over to the first ch 2 space. Ch 3, 3 DC, ch 3, 4 DC in the space. *Skip three DC of the previous row. SC in the next (fourth) DC (this will be the DC immediately before the ch 2 space). 4 DC in the next space. Skip three DC of the previous row. SC in the next DC. 4 DC, ch 3, 4 DC in the next space. Repeat from * along the second side of the tree. Ch 1. 4 DC in the next ch 2 space. Ch 1. Sl st to the top of beginning ch 3.

Tree Trunk: Turn work. Sl st into first DC. Ch 3. DC in the next 3 DC stitches. Turn so that the front of the tree is facing you. Ch 2 (counts as the first SC). SC in the next three DC stitches of the previous row and top loop of starting ch. Finish off and weave the yarn end into the back of the tree.

I hope that was clear. (Yeah, clear as mud, I’m sure!) I’m certainly no expert in writing out patterns. Oh, and if you don’t want to use a magic circle, you can certainly start with a Ch5, and connect the beginning and end with a slip stitch and then work out of the center of that loop you create. I just think the magic circle is neater.

After you accumulate your little stack of trees, it’s time to assemble the garland. You’ll need 9 trees (you could also use 11 if you want them closer — up to you). You’ll need 9 (or 11) 7ish-inches x 1/2 inch pieces of homespun fabric. And you’ll need your jute.

Take a piece of fabric and form a loop. Stick the bottom of the loop through the topmost hole in your tree (1). Lay the jute over the two fabric ends (2). Pull the ends through that loop (3). Then just tighten up the knot until your tree is securely attached to the jute (4).

Repeat this for every tree you’ve crocheted. Then slide the trees around until you have the spacing you want and voila! You have a quick and easy Christmas garland to hang across your mantle, the front of your entertainment center, across a mirror, wherever!

If you make this project, be sure to post a link in the comments. I’d love to see your creations!

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Posted in: Crafting, Free Patterns, Holidays & Entertaining, House & Home, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: christmas, crafts, crochet, free pattern, holidays, tutorial

Flower Pillow “Ta-Da!”

September 18, 2012 12:46 pm \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

Earlier this summer when Lulu made the transition from her crib to a “big girl” bed, I knew I wanted to make something pretty for it. When my mom was visiting back in June, I started on a blooming flower pillow, using the pattern from Attic24. Only instead of using dozens of colors, I decided to make one enormous white flower.

And enormous it is! It took me forever to finish this, not because the pattern was hard, but I guess I got a little bored with all the white. There were quite a few nights where Drew was either playing around with beats on his drum machine or looking for awersome music accessories while I bemoaned the fact that this project was taking forever.

Nevertheless, I’m happy with the way it came out, and my little girl loves it! The backside is a light green and the side is a dark purple, so everything coordinates with her room.

Of course, now the boys want pillows, too (only not flower pillows…) Good thing I have a couple of extra cushions laying around. I guess I’ll be added their requests to my never-ending “to crochet” list, LOL!

Posted in: Crafting, Knitting & Crochet \ Tagged: blooming flower, crafting, crafts, crochet, decorating

Tea-Dying and Tote Bag Adorning

June 27, 2012 9:30 am \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

Here’s another craft project I created over the weekend! My mom was visiting (my dad was camping with Drew and the boys at Cub & Partner weekend for Cub Scouts) and I decided to introduce her to the wonder of Hobby Lobby. It’s a good thing the store isn’t that convenient for me to get to, otherwise I’d be in trouble.

We really struck gold with their various clearance sections (and hidden clearance within the aisles). I picked up a black fabric tote for under $3 and a package of 5 doilies for around $3 and immediately had an idea of how I wanted to adorn it. Originally I thought of placing a doily in the corner and spraying bleach. But that was going to be messier than I wanted. Next best thing? Dye the doily to get the antique color I wanted and then just stick it on the bag.

Here’s a quick pic of the doilies before I dyed them:

First, I dunked the doily in tea and let it sit for a few minutes before hanging it up to dry.

Can you tell that they now look a little aged? Then I gathered my supplies (LOL… told you this was easy).

And then I just carefully dotted fabric glue along the back of the doily and then placed in where I wanted it.

And now I have a roomy black tote bag with a little bit of style! I think that between trips to the lake and the park it’ll see a lot of use this summer.

Posted in: Crafting \ Tagged: craft ideas, crafting, crafts, easy projects

Ridiculously Easy Initial Wreath

June 26, 2012 11:57 am \ Leave a Comment \ Carol B.

I have been getting quite a bit of crafting done lately, which has been awesome! It’s a combination of finding just the right items at just the right price, and the fact that Laura is starting to play a little more independently, allowing me bits of time to play Last weekend I completed a project I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: make a new wreath for our front door.

I wish we could have a really cool painted front door, but our house is mahogany and stained a reddish-brown. Honestly, there aren’t a lot of colors besides white or cream that look good with it, so it definitely needs a bit of adornment. When I found a big “B” on clearance at Michael’s, I was totally inspired! Then, when I was at Hobby Lobby and I found burlap ribbon, my life was made much easier.

Basically, I took a straw wreath and wrapped it with the burlap ribbon, securing the back with floral greening pins (like these). I carefully positioned my letter so that I could feed ribbon through the top, allowing me to change it with the seasons. Then I hot-glued the letter to the wreath, arranged my silk flowers (hot-glueing when necessary and hoping it will peel off easily when I decide to change up the wreath), and fed the ribbon between the wreath form and the “B” to create the hanger.

And voila! A new wreath that I made in less than an hour (complete with interruptions). The real genius of this wreath, though, is how it is hung. My mom gets all the credit for this idea. Basically, I created a loop at the top of the ribbon (yep, again with my hot glue), and cut a slit for the wreath hanger to slide into. Here are a couple pictures — hopefully they make it clearer.

This way, the ribbons doesn’t get all twisted and you can use one of those inexpensive wreath hangers from the dollar store. So far it’s holding up great! I am sure you could sew the ribbon in addition to glueing it to make it extra secure.

Anyway, I am really happy with the way it turned out and now my front door is a little more welcoming.

Posted in: Crafting, House & Home \ Tagged: crafting, crafts, decorating, easy projects, wreaths

{made by dad} glue gun holster

December 21, 2011 5:58 am \ 1 Comment \ Carol B.

Who has the best dad ever? I do!!! A couple weeks ago I sent my dad a link to this idea that I originally found on Pinterest:

Source: ebay.com via Carol on Pinterest

How genius is that? My dad is quite the woodworker, so I had no doubt he could make this for me, I just didn’t know how many of my mom’s projects he had lined up. But he was actually able to get on this as soon as he read my e-mail He made it all from scrap wood. The only thing he had to buy was the tile used to catch stray glue drips.

I love the storage area for extra glue sticks. Mine are always rolling around in the cabinet where I (used to) keep my glue gun. Not any more — they’re all corralled!

And because my dad is super smart, he added a couple screw eyes and a mini bungee cord (cut to size) to hold everything together when I’m not using it.