Aug 27, 2018 | Corner, DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns
I have twin grandbabies, Harper and Sadi. I made them these cute elephant snugglies. They are very simple to make, they’re basically an over-sized granny square with a stuffed elephant head attached to the middle. It took me just a few hours to make each one.
I used the free pattern from DenDennis Amigurumist but added my own border. For the blue border I used a simple slip stitch/chain 1 pattern all the way around; for the pink one I used a picot type pattern to make it look lacier.
All the parts start with a “magic circle”. Click here to learn how to make a “magic circle” from Crochet Me.
The Granny Square is made with clusters of 3 double crochet stitches with a chain 1 in between and chain 2 for the corners. The Elephant head is an amigurumi using single crochet. Instructions for granny square and elephant head are from DenDennis Amigurumist. Lacy border trim is optional, instructions are at the bottom of this post.
Click here for basic instructions from DenDennis Amigurumist.
Blue Border Trim:
The border trim is the 14th. round and is repeated all the way around the square. Complete granny square as instructed but do not fasten off. Instead proceed to round 14.
Round 14: slip stitch into first sc on round 13; *chain 1, slip stitch into next sc; Repeat from * all the way around; slip stitch to first slip stitch on this round. Fasten off.
Pink Lacy Picot style trim:
Complete granny square as instructed but do not fasten off. Instead proceed to round 14.
Round 14: slip stitch into first 2 sc on round 13; *chain 3; go BACKWARD and slip stitch into first sc on round 13; go Forward skip stitch (this would be the 2nd. slip stitch made before you went backward); slip stitch into next 2 sc on round 13; Repeat from * all the way around; slip stitch to first slip stitch on this round. Fasten off.
Aug 13, 2018 | Corner, DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns
I’m in Vicenza, Italy welcoming my sixth grandchild. Of course I had to make him a baby blanket, just like I did for all my other grandchildren. This time I decided to work with this lovely 100% cotton yarn made here in Italy. I choose a dark gray color to coordinate with his solar system themed layette set from Crate & Barrel. The yarn is so soft and silky that I decided the yarn itself should be the the focus of this Chunky Yarn Baby Blanket.
In short I wanted a simple design so that one could focus on the look and feel of the yarn. So no fancy stitches for this chunky yarn baby blanket! Just a plain double crochet with a single crochet border.
This Chunky Yarn Baby Blanket is so easy to make and it because the yarn is so thick it works up pretty quickly. If you have the time you can actually finish this project in a day!
The only down side, sort of, to this project is that the cost of the yarn can quickly add up. I used very good quality 100% cotton machine washable yarn that came in 100 gram balls that cost more than $10 each. I used 12 balls so this blanket cost me about $120. But the cost is easily cut by either using a less expensive yarn like Bernat Blanket yarn that is sold in 10.5 oz. skeins for about $7 a skein. Or you can make the blanket smaller. Mine measures 36″ x 24″. Because of the yarn weight it’s actually a good idea to keep this chunky yarn baby blanket on the smaller side, it can get heavy!
Here are the directions to make this Chunky Yarn Baby Blanket.
Supplies:
Size K 6.5mm crochet hook ( I use a wooden bamboo hook but use a hook you’re comfortable with.
Chunky Yarn – any brand any color
You’ll need about 6 skeins minimum, more for larger blankets
Yarn Needle
Scissors
Directions:
Stiches: CH – chain
SC – Single Crochet
DC – Double Crochet
SL – Slip Stitch
CH 63
Row 1: Double Crochet in 4th. CH from hook (CH counts as first DC of this row), DC in each stitch across, CH 3, turn. 60 DC
Row 2: DC in each stitch across until you get to the 3CH on the row below, DC in the 3rd. CH, CH 3, turn. 60DC
Repeat row 2 until the blanket is the length you want it to be. Then the next row will be the beginning of the boarder.
Border Round- CH 2 (counts as 1 SC), *SC to the the last stitch, (SC, CH 2, SC) in the last stitch of the row, this will be your corner, Turn work and SC evenly down the side until you reach the last stitch, (SC, CH 2m SC) in last stitch of the row, this is your next corner*, Turn work Repeat between **, SL to the top of the CH 2 at the begining of the boarder round.
Repeat – Border Round 2 times, fasten off.
Weave yarn ends and joins into the blanket using the yarn needle
Hope you love this Chunky Yarn Baby Blanket! Share your creations we’d love to see them!
Aug 6, 2018 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Patterns
My youngest daughter is having her second child any day now. I’m here at her house in Vicenza, Italy, waiting for baby’s birth. You might say I’m on baby watch. Anyway for her layette my daughter decided on a planetary or solar system theme. We ordered the crib set from Crate & Barrel complete with crib sheets, blanket, and changing pad cover. To complete the look I made her a crocheted solar system crib mobile.
You might be wondering how one goes about crocheting a solar system crib mobile. It’s really simple! After all what are the integral parts of a solar system crib mobile? Why planets of course! And definitely a sun in the center. So what are planets? They nothing but balls of varying sizes and colors.
That’s right think of that 6th. grade science project when you made a model of the solar system using styrofoam balls! In my case I made crocheted balls in colors to match the planets and varied the sizes, you know Jupiter represented by the largest red ball, the earth in blue and green, and so on. Of course the sun was yellow! By the way this was a great way to use yarn scraps from other projects. This mobile didn’t cost me more than the price of the hoop which was about $1.50 at Walmart.
Ok I didn’t make ALL the planets, just Jupiter, Saturn (with a crocheted ring tacked to the center of the ball), Earth, Pluto, and Venus. But feel free to add as many of the planets as you want.
To make the balls I used this wonderful free pattern I found on Craftsy. It gives directions on how to crochet 5 different sized balls and if you need a larger ball just follow the increase pattern and add as many rounds as you want.
After I made all the planets I attached them with yarn to the inside ring of a wooden embroidery hoop. The planets obviously hang down and to hang the solar system crib mobile on the ceiling I attached 4 equal lengths of yarn to the hoop and tied the tops together in the center and folded it the tips over to form a loop. Pretty much just follow the pictures, it’s pretty much self explanatory.
So here’s what you’ll need to make your own solar system crib mobile:
Yarn – you can use any color you want. I used Yellow, red, blue, green, orange, purple, black, and white.
1 inner hoop of embroidery hoop set – you can use either the wooden ones or the plastic
Pattern from Craftsy click here!
Hope you love this idea! Share your solar system crib mobile pictures, we’d love to see them!
Jul 9, 2018 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Patterns
As you may know by know my youngest daughter will be having her second child this summer and she’s kept me busy with all sorts of baby projects. She’s been searching the internet for all sorts of cute and adorable things that I can make. One of our favorites are these adorable crocheted jellyfish.
They’re very easy to make, beginners will catch on real quick! And those curly tentacles, well think of them as free form crochet, you can make them as long as you want and as straight or curly as you want.
I found the pattern for these adorable crocheted jellyfish online and I just had to share. Of course I added my own touch by crocheting the ruffled fringe at the bottom.
The pattern I used is from One Dog Woof blog. It was so nice of them to share! You can use the online version for free or if you prefer you can purchase the ad free version from their Etsy or Craftsy stores. Click here to see the online version of the pattern. To purchase just click on the links on their site, it should take you directly to their Etsy or Crafsy stores.
This post contains affiliate links
As you can see I couldn’t stop at just one crocheted jellyfish, I made 5!
I used 5 colors of Lion Brand Ice Cream Yarn. This yarn comes in a variety of colors. The ones I used are Strawberry, Grape, Mint, Blueberry, and Lemon Meringue. They’re all variegated and you end up with a lovey combination of colors.
I used a 6mm hook but you can use whatever size you like to get the correct gauge. Better yet experiment with different hooks and get variety of crocheted jellyfish in different sizes!
I also added the ruffle you see at the bottom edge of each crocheted jellyfish. This is definitely optional, they look just as cute without.
If you want to add the ruffle just do this after you attach the bottom to the stuffed head:
*sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc in first stitch, sl st in next* Repeat all the way around ending with a sl st in the last stitch. Fasten off and weave ends in.
Other than the changes I just mentioned I followed the pattern from One Dog Woof to the tee!
Click here for the pattern!
Love these adorable crocheted jellyfish? Check out the crocheted octopus pattern I shared!
Jul 2, 2018 | Corner, DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns
As you know my daughter is having her second baby this summer. That means she’s kept me busy making cute baby items she’s finding on Pinterest and Instagram! So of course she came across these crocheted hightop sneakers that look like the ever popular Converse Chucks.
I searched high and low (no pun intended) for a pattern to make these crochet hightop sneakers. There are actually several out there for free and for a fee. The patterns run about $5 on Ravelry where even I post some free patterns (here’s a free legwarmer pattern I shared on Ravelry). Anyway I digress.
Back to the crochet hightop sneakers. I actually made some booties using some of the free patterns I found on the web. I wasn’t happy with any of them! A couple were too big, I mean really big like toddler or even child size!. And one of the most popular ones was so difficult to follow, at least I found it difficult. So in the end I decided I had to figure it out for myself. And that’s just what I did!
The Crocheted Hightop Sneakers that I’m showing on this article are actually those that I’ve made using the pattern I made up. Actually I made the pattern up as I went then after the third or fourth pair I decided I needed to write it down so that I can make the same booties again in the future and also to share with you my readers.
I used Caron Simply Soft Yarn and a size C 2.75mm crochet hook. And of course you need scissors and a yarn needle. If you need to you may want to use a stitch counter and markers. And of course you will need yarn in 2 colors or more if you like. You will not use a whole skein for one pair so it’s a great project to make if you have lots of left over yarn from previous projects.
This project may seem difficult but it’s really not as long as you follow the pattern and have the correct number of stitches and rows. Hence the counter and markers, they’re helpful tools for everyone, specially beginners.
The stitches you will need to make these crocheted hightop sneakers are:
Magic Circle (If you don’t know how to make a crochet magic circle here’s a quick video to show you how)
Chain (Ch)
Slip Stitch (Sl St)
Single Crochet (SC)
Half Double Crochet (HDC)
Double Crochet (DC)
Back Loop Single Crochet (BLSC) – This means you work the SC in the back loop of the stitch under it.
Increases are made by making 2 stitches in the same stitch
Decreases are made by SC stitches together (SC2Tog, SC3Tog, SC5Tog)
So here’s the pattern for Newborn sized Hightop Sneakers!
This article contains affiliate links.
Crocheted Hightop Sneakers
*The 1st Ch on every round/row does not count as the 1st. stitch of that round or row.
Sole
Using white or whatever color you want the bottom rubber part to be. (Main Color is the color of the tongue and upper sides.)
Rd. 1 – Ch 11 Sc into second ch from hook and every ch to end – 10 total.
2Sc more into last ch and then turn work so the foundation chain is now on the top.
8SC in each chain back to where you began. 2Sc twice into last ch.
Join using a Sl St to the 1st. ch st you made but skipped in this round. Total 22 SC
Rd. 2 – Ch 1. Inc in 1st st.(2 sc in 1st. st), SC 7 (this means SC in next 7 sts.) 2SC in the next 3 Sts , SC 8, 2SC in last 2 sts. Sl St to join. Total 27 SC
Rd. 3 – Ch 1. 2SC 1st st, SC10, 2SC in next 4 st, SC 10, 2SC last 3 sc. Join with Sl St Total 36sc
Rd. 4. – Ch 1. Sc into 1st st,2SC in next st. Sc 10, [2SC next st, SC] x 2, [SC, 2SC next st] x 2, Sc 11, [2SC next st, SC] x2, SC, 2SCin last st. Join. Total 44 SC
Rd. 5 – Ch 1. SCinto 1st st, 2SC next st, SC 12, [2SC next st, SC 2] x 3, 2SC next st, SC 12, [2SC next st, SC 2] x 2, 2SC next
st, SCin last st. Join. Total 52SC
Rd. 6 – Ch 1. SC1st st, 2SC next st. SC 14. {2SC next st, SC 3, 2SC next st,SC 2, 2SC next st}, SC 3, 2SC next st. Sc 14(.
Repeat between { } , then SC into last 2 sts. Join. Total 60SC
Rd. 7 – Ch 1. SC into 1st st, 2SC next st., SC 16, {2SC next st, SC3, 2SC next st, SC 4, 2SC next st}, SC3, 2SC next st, SC 16, Repeat pattern between{ }, SC into each of last 2 sts. Join. Total 68 SC
Fasten off and Block so it lies flat.
Rubber rim –
Attach yarn to where you fastened off on the sole. You will be working around the sole and gradually form the sides up.
Rd. 1 – Ch 1, SC in every st around, join. Total 68sc
Rd 2-6. Ch 1 , BLSC (back loop SC) in every stitch around, join. Total 68 blsc (You will notice the sides will start to form up)
Sl St at end rd 6 fasten off
Join main color between rds 4-5, slip stitch all the way around to make the contrasting line on the rubber rim
Toe-
Find center, count 12 on either side so you have 24 st to work with
Row 1-2. Ch 1, 24sc
Row 3. Ch 1, sc2tog 12 times
Row 4-6. Ch 1, sc 12 turn
Row 7. Ch 1, sc3tog 4 Times
Row 8. Ch 1, 4sc
Row 9. Ch 1, sc4tog
Fasten off but don’t cut yarn
Take yarn to 1st sc an beginning row 1 and slst
Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) DC across total 18dc
Switch to main color and make tongue
Tongue
Row 1 – 18 dc turn
Row 2-4 – Ch 1, sc across 18sc
Row 5 – Ch 1, sc2tog, sc 14, sc2tog, turn 16SC
Rows 6-16- Ch 1, sc 16, turn
Row 17 – Ch 1, sc2tog, sc 12, sc2tog, turn 14SC
Row 18 – Ch 1, sc2tog, sc nxt st, hc nxt st, dc in nxt 6 sts, hdc in nxt st, sc in nxt st, sc2tog on last 2 sts.
Fasten off
Slst red on first row of toe part
Sides
Using main sneaker colour, pick up and sc remaining sts from around the “rubber” section. Once you have completed this first row, work as follows: You should have 44SC
Row 1: Ch 1, sc all sts, turn. 44sc
Row 2: Ch 1, Sc2tog, sc 1, ch 1, sc to last 3 st, ch 1, sc 1, sc2tog. Turn. 42sc
Row 3: Ch 1, sc all st (inc 1 sc in ch spaces), turn. 42sc
Row 4: Ch 1, sc2tog, sc to last 2 st, sc2tog, turn. 40sc
Row 5. Ch 1, 18sc, sc2tog 2 Times, 18sc turn. 38sc
Row 6. Ch 1, Sc2tog, sc 1, ch 1, sc 14, sc2tog 2 times, sc 14, ch 1, sc 1, sc2tog. Turn.
Row 7. Ch 1, sc 15 inc sc in ch space, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc15
Row 8. Ch 1, sc2tog, sc 14, sc2tog, sc13, sc2tog, turn.
Row 9 ch 1, sc all st, turn, 30sc
10 Ch 1, Sc2tog, sc 1, ch 1, sc to last 3 st, ch 1, sc 1, sc2tog. Turn 28sc
11ch 1, sc all inc ch spaces, turn. 28sc
12 ch 1, sc2 tog, sc to last 2 st, sc2tog, turn sc 26
13-14. Sc around sc 26
Fasten off.
Trim –
Attach white or your contrast color to the tongue and SC around 3 sides ( make 3SC in the corners)
Attach white or your contrast color to the front of the one of the sides by the tongue and SC up to the top, across the top, and back down to the other side.
Logo
Make 2
Make 10HDC in a magic circle.
Pull tight to make a circle of HDC, join.
Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing.
With a yarn needle and main color sew a 5 point star on the circle you just made.
Stitch to the sides of each sneaker. Be sure you put each logo on the opposite sides so that they can be seen when baby wears them.
Laces
Chain 150. Thread appropriately to the front of the sneaker.
Loving your creation? Share it with us! Post a picture in comments!
Don’t have time to make these Newborn Crocheted Hightop Sneakers? Order some from my Etsy shop!
My sixth grandchild was born just a few days ago. As I’ve done for my other five grandchildren I made this grandson a crocheted blanket, actually I made him a couple of blankets. This one is a simple Cluster Stitch Crocheted Baby Blanket.
