Kelpie hat

I had promised this as a Christmas present but it turned into a rather more complicated make than I had imagined.

The pattern is the Kelpie Hat by the Crochet Project, and is described as being ‘easy’ or for the ‘adventurous beginner’. Whilst I agree that the pattern contains no difficult stitches (it is a slip stitch, UK half treble repeat) there is a lot to remember whilst you are doing it – which is the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side, have you remembered to join and turn, or did you join and carry on? There is also a typo in the instructions for the rib, where it forgets to tell you to work in the back loop only, and this threw me for the remainder of the pattern, as I thought potentially all the half trebles were back loop only. However, Joanne (who wrote the pattern) was available by email to sort this out, and I did eventually get going…

I used Fyberspates Vivacious dk (as suggested by the pattern), which is a gorgeously soft superwash merino wool, and I chose Deep Forest for the colour. The hat is made on a 4.5mm hook for the rib, and a 6mm hook for the body. My hat took 80g of wool and measures 19cm from rib to crown, and 24cm from side to side when laid flat. I made the small size but added four extra rows to the to the body, as I was in danger of making a skull cap.

I do love the texture of this stitch, and would potentially make the pattern again, but I have written copious notes to simplify it for myself next time!

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A spring in my step

This little parcel of goodies is on its way to a friend, who commissioned them as a baby gift.

Elephant in Scheepjes stonewash XL ‘coral’ (856), Top knot baby hat in Stylecraft Batik elements ‘magnesium’ (1940) and wash cloth in even berry stitch in Rico creative cotton aran ‘corn’ (25).

I love the non-traditional baby colours, and I think they look quite spring-like.

Top-knot baby hat – pattern launch

Thanks to those of you who volunteered to pattern-test this, I now have an easy and free pattern to make a top-knot baby hat in three sizes (premature, new-born and 0-3 months).

Top knot hat crochet pattern JH

You are welcome to make and sell as many top-knot hats as you wish. You may also pass on the pattern to other people, but please leave the link to my blog on the pattern.

Mine are made in Scheepjes merino soft Copely (634) Waterhouse (649) and Titian (647), Rowan baby merino silk Teal (677), Iceberg (699) and Rose (678 – discontinued), and an odd ball of King Cole baby alpaca plum (509), and weigh approximately 40g for the 0-3 month size.

Top-knot baby hat

Having seen a few ‘top-knot’ hats on line, like this one by Annelies Baes, I thought I would have a go at making one myself:

Mine is made in Drops cotton merino dk in Lavender (23) on a 4.5mm hook. I actually started off with a free pattern by Justbehappylife, but ended up modifying it rather a lot, to make it in UK double crochet. I did scribble down what I was doing, so when I have had a chance to make another one I will share the pattern with you.

This one is for Molly Drew.

Going to cable class

I recently had the chance to attend an advanced crochet class hosted by Black Sheep Wools near Warrington in Cheshire. The class was led by Gina Couch who is a Rowan tutor and we made a Celtic style headband in Rowan Cocoon.

It was necessary for me to practise a bit when I got home, so it has been joined by a few friends! Mine are made in Rowan Cocoon Alpine (802) and West Yorkshire Spinners Retreat Pure (10) both on an 8mm hook, and finally Sirdar Harrap Tweed Chunky Purdey (104) on a 7mm hook.

The pattern we used was Gina’s own, but it is essentially a 4 strand cable pattern and surprisingly not difficult to master with some expert tuition and a few hours of practice!

I had a lovely day at the class, and definitely improved my cabling confidence. If you would like to see a picture of the lovely ladies I was with, here we are towards the end of the day looking very pleased with ourselves!

April challenge – Bat Mitzvah hat

I was asked by one of my favourite 13 year olds to crochet a kippa (or skull cap) for her Bat Mitzvah, which is at the end of the month, and this was her vision:

So what made it a challenge? Firstly I did try to follow a pattern (which is rarely a good plan for me) and produced a most un-kippa like object, too wide at the top and too big overall.
It did however make me realise that fit was rather important and I asked her to send up one that fitted her, along with some cotton yarn. These arrived almost by return of post, and armed with a model I set about copying it, which turned out to be a much easier job than following the pattern. I did stick with the stitch in the original pattern which was half trebles, and overall I am delighted with it.

Looking forward to being at the celebration and seeing it being worn.

Made in Ricco baby cotton soft dk on a 4.5mm hook in half trebles. The shade is number 56 – turquoise.

January challenge – Apple orchard beret

One of my loveliest Christmas presents was the Stitching Santa gift that I was given by Quiet water craft . Here is what I made with part of it:

Made in Lion Brand Landscapes yarn ‘Apple orchard’ on a 6mm hook. I started off using the Lion Brand ‘pom beret’ pattern but decided that I didn’t like all the double trebles (UK terms) so frogged the lot (as you do) and started again using UK trebles which gave a much more structured hat and significantly smoother colour changes.

This is the first of my monthly challenge posts, the idea being to try one new thing each month in order to make sure that I don’t fall into a crochet rut! It wasn’t difficult technically, but I think the yarn really suits the pattern, and I rather like the fact that I ended up re-designing it completely!

Cable mitten classes

Some of you will know that the North of Scotland has had rather a lot of snow this weekend. So I have finished these just in the nick of time…

The pattern is by Keira at Kiki’s craft corner, who also taught me how to make them. They are very cosy and the cable is especially so as it is made in a double layer. Made in Scheepjes merino soft ‘Michelangelo’ on 4.5 and 4mm hooks.

Crocodile stitch fingerless gloves

You may remember that a while ago I bought some crocodile stitch fingerless gloves made by Skye Cottage Crochet (see here )

There seem to be several versions of the crocodile stitch out there and I used this tutorial by the Twisted yarn and this Bonita patterns blog to help.

Mine are made in King Cole Riot dk ‘Rainbow’ on a 4.5mm hook starting off with a chain of 38 which gave me 6 scales for the cuff. The hand part of the glove was done in half trebles, and I added a couple of rows to make a thumb at the end.

The scales are not as crisp as the Skye Cottage version, but I am pleased with the gloves overall, and it is nice to have practised this lovely stitch and made something useful.

Child’s fingerless gloves

I have been waiting a little while for a picture of these on said child’s hands, and I think this one will bowl you over:

Who knew that green nail varnish went with burgundy gloves? I made these by drawing round the hand during a visit and bringing the picture home to work from, so I am surprised that they fit as well as they do. Made in Sirdar country style wool blend 4 ply on a 4mm hook, in shade 634 ‘Sybil’. There is enough left in the ball for another pair I think….

Crocodile stitch handwarmers

These are not mine, but I LOVE them and wanted to share….

Bought at a local Post Office recently (respect to them for stocking locally made crafts) I think they are a lovely marriage of yarn and pattern. The presentation is lovely too, and there are even care instructions on the inside of the cardboard sleeve. They are made on Skye by ‘Skyecottagecrochet’ who has a Facebook page if you use it, and she is also on Twitter as @crochet_skye. Check out her crocodile stitch pixie hats too!

Ribbed fingerless gloves

Well I said a little while ago that I thought I would be making another project soon from ‘Crochet One Skein Wonders’ and here it is:

It is a very simple but effective pattern, using just double crochet and front post treble crochet. I made it in New Lanark DK ‘Damson’ on a 4,5mm hook. The yarn is reduced just now (see here) and I used less than a ball for the two gloves.

Thumbs up

My daughter has asked me for some fingerless gloves long enough to wear with a 3/4 sleeved jacket. You might remember that I made her some gloves some time ago (see here), which met with her approval.

I had some of the yarn left, so embarked on a pair of simple gloves in half trebles, crocheted from the fingers up so I could make them as long as she needed.

I have never used a pattern for making gloves so am not sure whether fingers up or wrist down is the normal way. I know the Snail of Happiness makes hers from the wrist down. Which do you do? Is there a reason for doing one rather than the other??

Made in New Lanark double knitting yarn (90% wool, 10% silk) in Damson on a 4.5mm hook.

On a roll

I am on a roll making gloves at the moment:

This pair is made in Mirasol Hacho hand dyed merino wool using a 4.5mm hook. The label says shade 303 which is apparently called ‘coral reef’. I have never seen a coral reef in real life but the picture in my mind’s eye is not of this colourway. However the gloves are very comfy and it has made a useful inroad into my stash.

Under wraps

These have been ready for a while but I had to keep them under wraps as they are a birthday present.

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Made in Mirasol Hacho 100% hand dyed merino wool on a 4.5mm hook. The label says shade 315, described as ‘gold, olive, blue’ This is such lovely soft wool with absolutely no itchiness, and it is perfect for gloves. I hope the birthday girl thinks so too!

The red hand gang

I discovered when I had finished my socks that there was enough yarn left for a small project, and my son requested some fingerless gloves

They may not seem very seasonal, but we have the ‘lambing snow’ here in Scotland just now, and some extra warmth is just what is needed.

Made in Debbie Bliss fine Donegal in Deep rose, on a 4mm hook.

A passion for purple

My local craft shop offers a most helpful service of taking back unused balls of yarn, and some time ago I returned a ball of Debbie Bliss Riva in Thistle, having finished crocheting a scarf in it:

I was in the shop on Saturday (learning something rather lovely, of which more later) and the lonely ball of yarn was calling to me. So I re-bought it, and now have a cosy hat to match my scarf!

It has been quite a good experience actually as the last hat I made was very early on in my crochet journey, and I can see that my technique has come on:

For someone special

I made this panda cowl for a special small person who requested it as her birthday present.
Seen here chewing on a handy bamboo shoot!

It is based on a rather attractive Baylie bear cowl pattern by Heidi May on Ravelry

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baylie-bear-cowl

I made it using Hayfield super-chunky with wool in ‘Cornish’ and ‘Black’ using a 12mm hook, and used 3 balls of the cream colour and one of black. Overall I am pleased with it – but if I were to make it again I would make a smaller hood than the pattern suggests for the child’s size.
Are you making something for someone special?

Moss stitch fingerless gloves

This is definitely a first for me – a pattern that I have made up and could potentially do again!

These fingerless gloves are made in beautiful moss stitch, which I have not been able to find described on the web (perhaps it has a different name?) Anyway as it is fairly straightforward I should be able to explain it:

Cast on 30 stitches (less if your hands are nice and slender) and do a row of double crochet. This is the finger end of your gloves so it should fit snugly round your knuckles)
For the 2nd row do a row of double crochet but work into the front loop only of each stitch. Like this:

For the 3rd row do alternate double and treble crochets, the double crochets as normal into both loops of each stitch, the treble crochets into the loop of the row below. Like this:

All the even rows are a repeat of row 2
All the odd rows are a repeat of row 3 but stagger which stitch you start with (e.g. rows 2,6,and 10 start with double crochet, rows 4,8 and 12 start with treble crochet into the loop below)

Continue until your work is about 13-14cm long.
The next 5 rows are in false rib: Alternate front- and rear- post treble crochets. Mine are about 3cm long.

Now if you are like me you will need to make three (yes three!) triangle shapes – starting with a chain of 12 stitches and working in moss stitch as above. Decrease one stitch on each row of double crochet front loop. Like this:

Choose the two triangles that have come out closest in size and these will be your thumbs.

Stitch one side of the thumb in place on each glove (mine are 4cm from the bottom and 5cm from the cuff) Like this:

Then crochet the two edges together along the whole length of the rectangle to make the final glove shape:

And there you have it – give yourself a (wooden) hand!

Made in Rico baby classic dk ‘Light grey’ on a 5mm hook. It took less than 50g to make the pair of gloves.

A present from London

I am really getting into this version of the half treble stitch – and have made some more fingerless gloves to prove it.

The pattern is adapted from one in the Autumn 2013 ‘Love crochet’ magazine, and the wool is from a lovely shop in Crouch End in London (handmadenestshop.co.uk). It is the wool that makes them really – it is a Peruvian pure superwash merino called Malabrigo Arroyo, and the shade is Lotus (120). I made them on a 4.5mm needle.