Crochet Projects

Just a few projects I have been working on recently.

I've been thinking about destashing, especially the small quantities of left over yarn. This is one project I had success with, I gathered lots of scrap blues and called this scrappy blues. It has several different crochet st's in it too.

 

 

Another scrap project was a cot blanket made for a grand son due in November, it is the C2C crochet pattern, found here.

 

 

I got involved in a granny square swap and these are some of the squares I made, I have a board on pinterest which have the patterns for the squares found here.

 

 I have also made some head bands for custom orders.

 

I have another order for a family member which I am currently making, a small throw made with the African flower square which is so pretty. But we could not resist the happy hippo pattern made with the African flower to go with the throw, the hippo is almost finished too.

 

 

I also made a peppa pig for my grand daughter, she loves peppa pig, when the show finishes on TV she hits the TV screen and cries, so she needs a peppa pig of her own, the free pattern can be found here

 

 

Some coffee cozies

 

A baby hat

Tunisian honey comb st head band

 

Cable crochet head band

 

So I have been busy with my crochet and have many more projects cued up.

This is my place to share with you and also keep my memorable crochet addiction in a place that I can reflect upon.

Thanks for reading, happy crafting. 

 

Crochet Kokeshi Doll Construction

After making my very first Kokeshi doll

 I wanted to make more.

So I did!

I took pictures as I made them and wanted to share them with you.

It's very clever how they come together.

 As you can see I am making 3, this is the body and head made in one piece, these have been stuffed and a small weight placed in the bottom to make them stand up.

These dolls are your typical amigurumi, made with sc's in the round next was their hair, made separately and placed onto their head.

Then their little back thingies are made, I think they are called an obi.

Then I made their sleeve's and hands, the sleeve is just a basic triangle.

They are really taking shape now, with their hands and sleeves attached it was play time for me, sewing eye's and mouths and little extra features.

I did go on line to get inspiration, I mucked up the pink one's eyes a bit and had to play around with them more, but I achieved a different look with her, I also made up my own little flower and found a pattern for a small umbrella

 I did the screen free hand and am currently thinking on lanterns or small pieces of furniture to finish the setting off.

I'm not sure if I should add a little more bling to their hair, chop sticks and beads.

The main thing is that I had fun!

But I have so many more items I want to crochet I may just leave these ladies the way they are and move onto something else that I have in mind to do, as a matter of fact I have already started a bit of it, thumbs up for crochet!

I found this pattern for the doll using the way back machine, here is the link.

Cute Crochet

Just a few pictures of what I have been making of late, some cute and cuter!

I've used a hdc in the round in some of these, looks just as good as the sc in the round and works up faster.

I made my own pattern for the cup cakes and doughnuts, using lots of inspiration from other patterns.

These look good enough to eat

Free patterns here

These are made with a hdc, no pattern, I was inspired by other pictures, Duncan on the left and Earl on the right.

There are so many ways to make a crochet coffee or tea cup look so cute!

I also made my very first Kokeshi doll

And some out fits for my Grand daughters

 Good colors and a cute factor = success

For Savannah 1 yr old

Free pattern link

These colors were a shade too dark, but they match Cindy's skin color, pattern from the Candy Tots pattern book

 

 

Crochet Continuous Granny Daughters

 technique could be used in the granny edge slouch hat

Not sure about a color change using this technique, but it could be possible.

How To Add A Stem To A Crochet Flower

How To Add A Stem To A Crochet Flower

Free Flower & Leaf Pattern Here

I did search for help on this topic and was not able to find much help at all, so I tried quite a few ways and this is what I came up with.

Using coat hanger wire cut to about 10 to 12 inches in length I made a coil on one end, this part attaches to the flower.

I started with an 8 figure coil then changed it to a simple circular coil as the flower is not heavy and this way was less work.

The tools I used were heavy duty wire cutters, round nose pliers (or anything to get the circular shape that you can wrap the wire around) and a mini bench vice to help me straighten any bent wires.

 

Once I had the wire ready and clean, I made a slip knot onto the wire and began a knitting cast on to the wire it's self as crocheting over the wire was a real pain!

I began at the straight end and pushed the st's up the wire as it grew.

I was able to cover the coil and the entire wire.

I attached the flower head with the beginning yarn tail and then secured the end.

I sewed up and down the end of the wire for a few inches to secure the end, then sprayed glue onto it, any clear glue or clear nail polish will work to make the end adhere to the wire.

I've made a video tutorial on how I did this process.

I hope this may help some one with the same problem I had, how to make and attach the stem to a flower.

 Another useful tip you may be able to use.
After I made each flower, I placed it into a sealed bag, in that bag I had a piece of paper toweling that was dipped in some rose oil.
I kept adding my new flowers to the same bag and they all came out smelling like real roses.
You can do the same with a scented soap bar, scented candle etc.

Crochet Rose Spike Petals and One Piece Triple Leaf

My Rose Spike Petal Pattern

I made many free and pay for, rose patterns and I was not happy with the way they worked up. Inspired by some and styling them the way I was eventually happy with, I came up with a pattern for a rose which I liked.

There is no tricky assembly and the flower rolls up into a rose, not like something that resembles a rose.

I know roses come in many shapes and colors, but this is the rose I was aiming for. Cupped and spiked petals, I also came up with a 3 petal calyx that is made in one piece. The two parts come together very nicely.

Materials:

Hook to suit yarn ply, small amount of yarn

Sewing needle

Wire for stem, if needed.

US terms used:

Sc-single crochet

Dc-double crochet

Trbl-triple crochet

Picot- see instructions

The picot is made on the top of the trbl in row 4.

Once the trbl is made, ch 2

 Then sl st into the front loop of the top of the trbl and also the side top loop of the trbl, picot made.

I used 8 ply yarn and a 4 mm hook (AU sizes)
Small flower 12 petals:  
(please note this flower can be made bigger, use any amount of odd numbered sc's to get a bigger flower)
Leave a long tail on row 1 (14 inches approx)
Row 1, make a 25 sc foundation row, ch 4, turn
(if you are not familiar with the scf row, make a row of 25 sc's)
 



Row 2, work 1 dc in the 3^rd sc space, *ch 2, skip 1 sc, work 1 dc in the next sc,* repeat from *to* to end (12 spaces made), ch 3 and turn
Row 3, work 1 dc, ch 3, 2 dc in the first space, make 1 sc in the dc of the row below, * work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc in the next space, work 1 sc in the dc of the row below* repeat from *to* to end, omitting the last sc into a dc at the very end, ch 3 and turn

 (picture, row 2 and part of row 3)

Row 4, work 2 dc into the ch 3 space, work 1 trbl into the ch 3 space, make a picot on top of the trbl just made, work 3 more dc’s into the same ch 3 space, 
work 1 sc into the sc space of the row below,
* into the next ch 3 space of the row, (work 3 dc’s, 1 trbl, make a picot on top of the trbl just made, work 3 more dc’s), 
work 1 sc into the sc space of the row below,* repeat from *to* ending with a sl st to the top of the ch 3, break off yarn leaving a 6 inch tail (12 petals made)

(row 3 and beginning of row 4)

(finished row 4)

Assembly:
Beginning where you just left off, fold the last petal onto the petal bedside it, connect petals through the sc space and sew down toward the base (inner bud), finish off that yarn, attach sewing needle to long thread and sew as you roll the rose closed, 

sew down the side of that last petal, tie off loose ends, pull picots into shape, finished.

 

One Piece Triple Leaf
I wanted a thicker leaf vein and a faster way to make 3 leaves, so I came up with this idea

Materials:
Hook to suit yarn ply, small amount of yarn
Sewing needle
Wire for stem, if needed.
US terms used:
Sc-single crochet
Hdc- half double crochet
Dc-double crochet

Ch 6, sl st to form a circle
Row 1, ch 11, work 1 sc in second ch from hook, work 1 sc in next 9 ch’s, sl st into circle (10 sc’s)

Row 2 and row 3, repeat row 1

Row 4, sl st into the chain space (bottom of the leaf spine), ch 3, skip 2 chain spaces, work 3 dc’s into the next ch space, work 1 dc into each of the next 3 ch spaces, work 1 hdc into the next ch space, work 1 sc into the next ch space, sl st and ch 2 into the last ch space, now working on the other side of the leaf spine, sl st into the next sc, 1 sc into the next sc, 1 hdc into the next sc, 1 dc into the next 3 sc’s, 3 dc’s into the next sc, ch 3 and sl st into the last sc space of the leaf spine, sl st into the ring

Repeat row 4 instructions for the next 2 leaves, leaving a long tail for sewing onto the flower

You can also make 4 or more leaves this way.

How to add the stem instructions here.

Print Instructions: Crochet Rose Spike Petals

Materials:

Hook to suit yarn ply, small amount of yarn

Sewing needle

Wire for stem, if needed.

US terms used:

Sc-single crochet

Dc-double crochet

Picot

Small flower: 12 petals

Leave a long tail on row 1 (14 inches approx)

Row 1, make a 25 sc foundation row, ch 4, turn

Row 2, work 1 dc in the 3^rd sc space, *ch 2, skip 1 sc, work 1 dc in the next sc,* repeat from *to* to end (12 spaces made), ch 3 and turn

Row 3, work 1 dc, ch 3, 2 dc in the first space, make 1 sc in the dc of the row below, * work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc in the next space, work 1 sc in the dc of the row below* repeat from *to* to end, omitting the last sc into a dc at the very end, ch 3 and turn

Row 4, work 2 dc into the ch 3 space, work trbl into the ch 3 space, make a picot on top of the trbl just made, work 3 more dc’s into the same ch 3 space, work 1 sc into the sc space of the row below,* into the next ch 3 space of the row, (work 3 dc’s, 1 trbl, make a picot on top of the trbl just made, work 3 more dc’s), work 1 sc into the sc space of the row below,* repeat from *to*  ending with a sl st to the top of the ch 3, break off yarn leaving a 6 inch tail (12 petals made)

Assembly:

Beginning where you just left off, fold the last petal onto the petal bedside it, connect petals through the sc space and sew down toward the base (inner bud), finish off that yarn, attach sewing needle to long thread and sew as you roll the rose closed, sew down that last petal, tie off loose ends, pull picots into shape, finished.

One Piece Triple Leaf

Materials:

Hook to suit yarn ply, small amount of yarn

Sewing needle

Wire for stem, if needed.

US terms used:

Sc-single crochet

Hdc- half double crochet

Dc-double crochet

Ch 6, sl st to form a circle

Row 1, ch 11, work 1 sc in second ch from hook, work 1 sc in next 9 ch’s, sl st into circle (10 sc’s)

Row 2 and row 3, repeat row 1

Row 4, sl st into the chain space (bottom of the leaf spine), ch 3, skip 2 chain spaces, work 3 dc’s into the next ch space, work 1 dc into each of the next 3 ch spaces, work 1 hdc into the next ch space, work 1 sc into the next ch space, sl st and ch 2 into the last ch space, now working on the other side of the leaf spine, sl st into the next sc, 1 sc into the next sc, 1 hdc into the next sc, 1 dc into the next 3 sc’s, 3 dc’s into the next sc, ch 3 and sl st into the last sc space of the leaf spine, sl st into the ring

Repeat row 4 instructions for the next 2 leaves, leaving a long tail for sewing onto the flower