Crochet Pattern Designing

Last year, I released my first ever crochet pattern on Ravelry.com! (In case you don’t know, it’s a member only site for crochet and knitting patterns. So, you must sign-up with them in order to browse their collection.) It’s something that I have been wanting to do for awhile but I have never actually finished one. It was part of my “doing something for myself” thing that I am trying to do every day.

Actually, a couple of years ago I was in a creative link group where we had to decorate a Target $1 tree and post how we did it while including the links to the pages of the other people in the challenge. It was pretty fun! For mine I created a crochet cover for the bottom of the tree. It was a pretty easy pattern . That is where I started thinking about over things that I could make/design.

The two that I have created and put on Ravelry, are both mug hugs (something that you wrap around your mug so that it stays warm and doesn’t burn your hands). The first one was a free pattern and the other was a paid pattern. I’ve had a bunch of people download the free pattern which is pretty exciting. I hope to be able to get more people to purchase the pattern as I upload more things that I design. I know that it will be a slow process. But I have faith that they will do good.

My first pattern is called the Simply Sweet Mug Hug. It’s a simple design that just uses the Single Crochet Stitch and Chains. It’s very basic but quick to work up. You can easily complete this while watching your favorite afternoon show or waiting for dinner to cook in a crock-pot!

You can tell that this was my first design because the image isn’t that favorable. I wish that I had taken better photos of it to use for advertising purposes! Maybe I will redo that in the somewhat near future…

My latest one is called the Mossy Love Mug Hug. This one features the moss stitch which is still a basic stitch and easy to work up. It works great with variegated yarns because of the texture of the stitch. That is why I used this yarn by Red Heart.

I created both of them to be used as stash busting projects so, that left over yarn, from that blanket you made three months ago, doesn’t go to waste! Because we all know how much extra yarn we have to hold onto because we don’t want to waste it.

You can follow the links to find them on Ravelry.com (you will need an account to view them).

Simply Sweet Mug Hug

Mossy Love Mug Hug

Please keep an eye out for more patterns, as I have been dreaming up a lot of new designs. I just have to get the time to sit down and work them up!

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 07

The latest Pattern Test that I did for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns was the Plum Perfect Footed Leggings. These cute little things come in 11 different sizes! That’s right, I said 11! This means that everyone in your family can have a pair!
Infant/Toddler Sizes: 0-3 Month / 3-6 Month / 6-12 Month / 12-24 Month
Child Sizes: 3T-4T / 5-8 Years / 9-12 Years
Teen & Adult Sizes: Small / Medium / Large / X-Large

They also have the option of doing either a plain legging.

Or, you can add the attached foot part on it!

Wouldn’t this be perfect for dance class or just lounging around?!
Another fun thing about this project is made with a fun new stitch! I LOVED doing this stitch and it was totally faster then doing a straight up single crochet stitch.

You can get this pattern here: Ravelry | Etsy | Craftsy
Make sure you head over to her Fan page too! Sweet Potato 3 Patterns

Giveaway: Melody’s Makings New August Pattern Release Giveaway!

Click image to go to Melody’s Makings Facebook page to enter the contest!

Melody’s Makings has put up a fun little giveaway! The winner will get a free copy of all of her newly released patterns for the rest of August!

All you have to do is click on the image about to be taken to her Facebook Fan page. Look for her post with the same image and make a comment! If you know anyone else that is a lover of yarn, make sure you tag them in separate posts on that same image! Each name you add will get an entry and if your friend wins, you will win also because you suggested them!

Giveaway: Melody’s Makings

My wonderful friend Melody over at Melody’s Makings has put up another awesome Giveaway on her Facebook Fan Page!

You really need to head over there if you love making cute and adorable knit/crochet items for little ones!!! You Bet that I entered!! All you have to do is go to her Fan Page and look for the image above in her comments!

Melody’s Makings:
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings
Blog: http://melodys-makings.com

Giveaway over at Melody’s Makings! 10 Free Patterns of Your Choice!!

Melody over at Melody’s Makings is having an awesome giveaway right now! It ends on Friday December 5th!

She is offering 10 Free Patterns of Your Choice! I mean who doesn’t need some more patterns right?! I don’t think I have ever heard a knitter/crocheter say that they had too many patterns and didn’t want anymore.

To enter all you have to do is click the image above to leave a comment on her post! Then for extra enteries head over to her facebook page and link some of your crafty friends who would love this deal as much as you do! Then if you win they will too! How awesome is that!!??

To get your extra entries follow this link!

https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings/photos/a.166904303368142.38508.164711616920744/812584068800159/?type=1&theater

 

Melody has also been doing some extra deals on her facebook page every day until Christmas. Today was $3 off one of her Ravelry patterns! There are 23 days left until Christmas so that offer was only good for the first 23 customers! Tomorrow’s deal will only be available to the first 22 customers and so on! So, be sure to keep checking her page! She is posting them at random times during the day so everyone has a chance to get in on the fun!

Dollar Bin Challenge – Christmas Edition

I have been a member of a blogger group for a couple of months now, they have been doing a monthly challenge between the people that belong to the group. I usually didn’t sign up to do it… until this month! Their dollar bin pick was Target’s $3 Mini Christmas Tree! I looked at this tree for awhile trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Then it hit me… make it into a crochet tree! The bottom of the tree was just screaming for a crocheted cover. I didn’t think that anyone would have a pattern for something like this. So, I decided to design my own! Yup, that’s right… I wrote my first pattern (which I will be sharing with all of you, for free)!

The first thing you need to do is pick yourself up a Mini Christmas Tree. We got ours from Target in their $3 bin.

Once I got it home I fluffed it up and took off the burlap wrap on the bottom of it. I was a little surprised to just find a a cylinder shape piece of concrete there to stabilize the tree. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect under there… but I didn’t think that.

After I took it off I dived into making my own pattern for a cover. It’s pretty cute if I might say so myself. You can make it striped like mine or one solid color. I didn’t specify my color changes in the pattern so that it’s completely up to you!

Mini Christmas Tree Base Pattern

This pattern will work with a 16.5 inch mini tree with a 3 inch wide x 2.5 inch tall cylinder base.

Materials:
Worsted Weight Yarn
H Hook

Gauge: 6 sc sts and 7 rows = 2 inches

Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
Sc – Single Crochet
Slst – Slip Stitch
Flsc – Front Loop Single Crochet

Row 1: Ch 4, Slst into 1st Ch.

Row 2: Ch 1, Sc 8 in loop. Slst into 1st stitch. (8)

Row 3: Ch 1, 2Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (16)

Row 4: Ch 1, *2Sc, Sc* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (24)

Row 5: Ch 1, *2Sc, Sc in next two stitches* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 6: Ch 1, Flsc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 7-12: Ch 1, Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 13: Ch 1, *Sc in next 3 stitches, Ch 1 Skip 1 stitch* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (32) (This row creates the holes for the tie)

Row 14: Ch 1, Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

You can end there or repeat Row 14 until you reach the height that you want. I would suggest trying it on to see how you like it. I ended mine with Row 16.

For the tie, I just braided the three colors of yarn together and cut them to the length that I wanted. You can use whatever you want: yarn, ribbon or twine to name a few!

Tree Decorations: I made little balls of yarn and stars to decorate my tree and I used a small string of LED lights.

Yarn Balls: For the balls I just rolled up the colors that I wanted. Then when I was happy with the size of the ball I glued the loose part of the yarn down to keep it held together. I took toothpicks and made crochet hooks and knitting needles to stick into the balls.

Stars: It took awhile to find a good start pattern that I liked, but I found one on Ravelry. The little stars from Amination where the perfect size and super easy to make! You can find them here: http://aminationblog.tumblr.com/post/44573037824/reach-for-the-moon-and-stars Once I had them made I just glued little buttons to the centers. For the tree top I made two and sewed them together, Leaving the bottom open so that I could slide it over the top of the tree.

All you have to do is make a bunch of these until you are happy with how full your tree is. I did three yarn balls and three stars per color (red, green and white).

And here is my finished tree!

 

Now that you have seen my entry for the  $3 Mini Tree Challenge, be sure to check out the other bloggers that participated! You will surely get some great ideas on how to decorate your Mini Christmas Tree!!

: DIY Inspired : Life With Lovebugs : Zoo Cutie Printables :
: Simply Creative Ways : Pandora’s Craft Box :

Pattern Test for Melody’s Makings – 01

I am happy to share this pattern test with you all. It’s for a designer that I know that I have mentioned before but haven’t I haven’t shared a pattern test with you all yet. So, here is the first one for my friend Melody and Melody’s Makings! I have done pattern tests for her before and I have also done a couple of her Create-a-Longs that she hosts. She is a designer that does both crochet and knit. She has an awesome How-to-Knitting series on her blog that I have been following and plan on sharing my creation with with you soon so, keep your eyes out for this soon!

Anyways when she posted that she needed some testers for this little hat, I just had to do it! It’s so adorable with it’s puff balls and the diamond pattern going around the crown of the hat. I don’t usually do pieces that have that kind of detail on them, so this was a fun thing for me.

One thing that I love about her patterns is that she does a crochet and a knit version for a lot of her patterns! When I was first introduced to her work she had a larger portion of knitted patterns then crochet. At that time I hadn’t even picked up a set of knitting needles but it didn’t stop me from getting some of her knitting patterns.

Then when she revamped her website and added her How-to Knit series on her blog I was really excited! I have been working with that series and can’t wait to test/work on one of her knitted patterns!

Make sure to check out all of her awesome stuff on the following sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings

Website: http://melodys-makings.com/

Website – Crochet: http://melodys-makings.com/shop/double-puff-earflap-hat-crochet-pattern/
Website – Knit: http://melodys-makings.com/shop/double-puff-earflap-hat-knit-pattern/

Ravelry – Crochet: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-puff-earflap-hat-crochet-pattern
Ravelry – Knit: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-puff-earflap-hat-knit-pattern

Also, be sure to sign up for her newsletter if you haven’t already! As a bonus to getting her awesome emails you will also get some pretty fun patterns for Free!

 

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 03

This little set was just too cute to pass up when she asked if I would be able to test this pattern! It totally makes me think of Thanksgiving, Peter Pan (my kids have been watching that lately) and my Native American ancestors (my Mom’s Grandma was French/Native American). It also reminded me of when I would go with my family to the County Fair and walk around the Native American area. They always had traditional clothing on and shared with everyone the ways of their ancestors.

This pattern had a couple of stitches to it that I don’t normally use so, for a beginner it might be a little harder but it wouldn’t be difficult to look up how to do the stitches. I love that you can totally changed up the colors or leave the embellishments off. The pattern size that I tested was the Child size which is the biggest size available. It also has sizing for Newborn up to Child.

Ravelry Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/indian-princess-set-headband–ankle-cuffs

Etsy Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/203977888/pattern-indian-headband-crochet-head?ref=shop_home_active_5

 

Did I mention that you can also get this pattern in a pattern bundle?!

The pattern bundle is very cute! It includes and Indian Hat with Braids, a Pilgrim Hat, and an Indian Headband! Just imagine how cute your kids will look this Thanksgiving all dressed up in these!

Ravelry Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/thanksgiving-pattern-set/patterns

Etsy Link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/203997281/thanksgiving-pattern-pack-pilgrim-hat

 

You can get the other pieces of the pattern pack separately as well just follow the links to her pattern shops!

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 01

This is by far not my first pattern test that I have done for Sweet Potato 3 but apparently it is the first one that I have put up on my blog! This pattern test was to make something that I really haven’t made before. Something that I have been wanting to make but I just never got around to making one. So, I was glad when she sent the email asking if I wanted to test this Swaddle Pod!

First thing first, this pattern is reversible (which is also my first time making a reversible item)! Both sides have a fun texture to them. One side has a nice raised strip pattern to it and the other looks like it is nicely woven. When I was done with the test, she asked which side I preferred. I told her the raised strip side because I haven’t really made anything with that kind of texture to it, but the more I looked at it the harder it was for me to decide which side I liked more. I feel that with the reversibility, this prop has endless possibilities for newborn photographers.

I actually sent mine out to my friend Shannon Mulligan who is a photographer on the east coast and can’t wait to see what she does with it! I will be sure to share with you when I get the photos so stay tuned!

You can use it by itself or you can pair it with a cute headband or hat. You can make it multicolored or a solid color. The tie can be crocheted or you can use a ribbon for a softer look! Just think of the things that you can do with this!

Did I mention that this pattern was super fast to make too?! You could easily make one in a day and have a photographer photograph it on a cute little model the very next day!

Find this pattern by following the links below:

Reversible Swaddle Pod – Photo Prop – Crochet Pattern

Etsy: Pattern Reversible Swaddle Pod – Photo Prop – Crochet
Craftsy: Reversible Swaddle Pod – Newborn Pattern
Ravelry: Reversible Swaddle Pod

Also, if you want to check out her fan page and blog feel free to check out these links and tell her I sent you!

Facebook Fan Page – Sweet Potato 3 Patterns
Blog – My Sweet Potato 3

July Guest Blogger – Annie Ciszak Pazar – Free Knitting Pattern

I have been dabbling with the idea of having guest bloggers write on my blog for some time now. After some thinking & planning I have decided to try to showcase one fellow crafter a month. I put out a feeler on my FB fan page and was lucky to have the wonderful Annie Ciszak Pazar jump on board as my first guest!

Annie and I go way back to our High School Orchestra where she played the String Bass and I played the Viola (It’s pretty much a slightly bigger and deeper toned Violin for those of your who have never heard of it). We also took part in Mr Coppin’s first ever Clay Olympics back in 1999.

Many years went by before our paths crossed again, but when that happened Annie’s work did nothing but wow me! Her creativity, determination and awesomeness is very inspiring! She has her own online personal shop for her handmade jewelry and knitted goods and she has a storefront in Alaska called Bella Boutique. When asked what her shop has in it she simply states, “Almost everything is handmade, the majority locally.” She is a big advocate for anything handmade and the people behind those goods.

Without further ado, here is my first guest blogger with a FREE knitting pattern just for you!

————

Annie Ciszak Pazar Owner of Annie’s Arts & Follies & Bella Boutique:

It seems everyone I know is expecting these days, and I have been a busy, busy knitting bee working on blankets for those special people and their soon to arrive new babes. In the past I have worked up some funky fan and feather pieces, but decided to switch it up this time with a little checkerboard action.

This is a super easy pattern requiring knowledge of only 2 stitches (if you can knit, purl, & count to 8, this is for you!), but looks far more complicated (as all knitting patterns do). Now, this is the pattern I loosely followed for this blanket:

Using size 9 32” circular needles, C/O 136 sts
Rows 1-16: sl 1st stitch of each row, k across
R 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27: sl 1, k across
R 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28: sl 1, k7(edge stitches), p8, (k8 , p8 ) 7 times, k 8 (edge stitches)
R 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39: sl 1, k across
R 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40: sl 1, k7, k8, (p8, k8) 7 times, k8
R 41-208: repeat rows 17-40, 7 more times for a total of 8 pattern repeats.
R 209-224: sl 1, knit across
R 225: B/O in K.

Now, I say loosely as I wanted this blanket to be a rectangle and not a square, so I repeated the blocks for a few extra rows – hold it up and see what you like. On the next go ‘round, I would also like to use a smaller needle (I think an 8 would do just fine) and then add another block or two to the width to even it all out. But that’s the beauty of this pattern – it’s so simple that it’s in turn easy to tweak to make your own. I could actually see myself adding several more blocks and making a new blanket for our couch. But that would mean my friends need to take a baby break first!

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You can check out just how awesome Annie and her creations are by checking out the following links!
Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Annies-Arts-and-Follies/265865906211
Blog: www.anniecraftypants.com
Instagram: @Msanniepants