Free quality crochet patterns

My eyes just came across a splendid new resource for free crochet patterns. I love that I can look up free patterns through crochetville and craftster, but nothing replaces a lovely looking and well thought out blog. This gal is a photographer as well as a lover of crochet and her website reflects her talents.

Check out  Crochetlatte here!

Super Sonic (Sega): Crochet!

We have such an amazing talent and generous artist in Wolfdreamer when it comes to yarn art. She offers free patterns for a bunch of kid (and adult) favorite characters. Check out her website here.

Last year I took on the challenge of crocheting a Sonic the Hedgehog from her awesome pattern. It was  so fulfilling to create something COOL that you couldn't buy in a store. My youngest son, a huge Sonic fan, was beside himself with joy when he opened his new plushie Sonic for his birthday last year and still sleeps with him. You can see my version and my variations here.  A year later, as another birthday approached, he asked me for a Super Sonic. As his love for the speedy hedgehog had not waned, I couldn't resist. He was so fun to make.

Using a Deborah Norville WW in Baby Yellow and a Lily Sugar n' Cream, well, Cream, I worked Super Sonic just the same as the Sonic pattern. The only other variation was the red eyes. I tried to turn up the quills at the tips, but they don't really stay that way, which is okay. He makes a great playmate for Sonic anyway!

Chronicles of Meap: Crochet!

From the amazing adventures of Phineas and Ferb comes the not Bungaroo named Meap. In fact he is a space alien, and probably the cutest one you've ever seen. He even vomits rainbows, which is somehow adorable. Without his translating mustache he simply says "Meap!"

Isn't he SO CUTE??!

And now, my version of Meap done crochet style:

Hook size G
Yarn: WW white, WW pink
Felt in blue, black & white
Yarn Needle & a tiny bit of black yarn
Thread & Needle
Fiberfill

Unless otherwise posted, this pattern is worked in the round:

HEAD (using white)

MC 6
R1: 2 sc in each st (12)
R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
R3: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (24)
R4: *3 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (30)
R5: *4 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (36)
R6: *5 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (42)
R7: *6 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (48)
R8 - R19 : sc around (48)
R20: *6 sc, sc2tog* around (42)
R21: *5 sc, sc2tog* around (36)
R22: *4 sc, sc2tog* around (30)
R23: *3 sc, sc2tog* around (24)
WORK ON FACE: Cut out a large blue circle, smaller black circle and 2 small eye highlights
Sew the eyes onto the head, note: they are fairly wide set
Using black yarn & yarn needle, embroider mouth. This took me forever, trying to find just the right way to show an underbite. Work it until your happy with it.

R24:*2 sc, s2tog* around (18)
R25: sc around (18)
F.O.
STUFF with fiberfill



HAT (using pink)

MC 6
R1: 2 sc in each st (12)
R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
R3: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (24)
R4: *3 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (30)
R5: *4 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (36)
R6: *5 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (42)
R7: *6 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (48)
R8 - R18 : sc around (48)

EARS - make 2 (using pink)

MC 6
R1: 2 sc in each (12)
R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
R3- R6 : sc around (18)
F.O. leaving a long tail
STUFF & SEW onto hood. Do not close the ear, but as you sew onto the hood in a circle so it stays puffed out.

BODY (using white)

MC 6
R1: 2 sc in each st (12)
R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
R3: *2 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (24)
R4: *3 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (30)
R5: *4 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (36)
R6 - R18: sc around (36)
R 19: *4 sc, sc2tog* around (30)
R 20-R22: sc around (30)
R 23: *3 sc, sc2tog* around (24)
F.O. leaving a long tail

ARMS & LEGS - make 4 (using white)

MC 5
R1: 2 sc in each st (10)
R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next st* around (15)
R3-R16: sc around (15)
F.O. and leave long tail
STUFF & SEW legs in the circle shape (open) onto the bottom of the body section.
STUFF & SEW arms first by sealing the opening with a whip stitch. Then sew onto the top of the body section near the neck.

Assembly:
Attach hat to head.
Attach head to body.
Attach arms & legs as suggested.

Cut out black felt mustache & sew on, if desired.

He's a cute fella and turned out almost "life" size! A good snuggly :)

Meap!

"

Hobbes & Hearts: A Valentine Version

My daughter saw Hobbes and instantly needed one. Since my oldest got his Hobbes for his December birthday I thought, "Okay, I can make one for your March birthday." March was TOO far away. She saw her brother being pounced on by his Hobbes and he wouldn't share. She needed one NOW.

I admit I was anxious to try another Hobbes to solidify the adjustments I made to this Sugar n' Cream pattern. So I figured I could satisfy both of our interests in making a new one sooner than later.

"But wait, Mommy!"
"Yes?"
"I want a VALENTINE'S Hobbes!"

Of course you do, sweetie. How could I resist?

He was so much fun to make. I added little felt hearts to the pads of the feet, one to the tummy, and made the nose heart-shaped. As I mentioned a few days ago, I think I'm starting to like Valentine's Day more!

Of course Valentine's Hobbes needed a scarf, too:

Using 5 hdc rows for as long as I needed the scarf to be and cutting out a couple matching felt hearts, this little scarf became a perfect accessory for V-Day Hobbes. And we all know that Hobbes isn't above dressing up in scarves that match the season...

My daughter actually gets into the fact that she's pretty much the Suzie of the family and enjoys out smarting the brothers. For all she goes through with Calvin's taunting, she normally gets the last word. So just to send you off with one more...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hobbes: Crochet!

I am thrilled when I see my kids reading comic books. Perhaps some would gawk at this, but I embrace it. Of course, the comic of choice in our household is Calvin & Hobbes. If any comic could build a big vocabulary, that one would! I love that they laugh along side the famous duo even if they don't fully understand it. "What does 'nuances' mean?" "What's 'mayhem'?" "Why is Calvin's mom mad?" They then bring the comic to life as they reenact certain recurring events including G.R.O.S.S. meetings and Calvinball. But without a Hobbes, they have not been able to reenact the reunion of Calvin & Hobbes after a long day apart.

My oldest adores Hobbes. For Halloween we sprayed his hair yellow, found a red shirt with black stripes and he was Calvin. But he needed a Hobbes to complete the ensemble. However, Bill Watterson never allowed his characters to be licensed for plushies (or anything else for that matter) so finding a Hobbes look a like was a challenge. We were able to find a cute Hobbes substitute for the costume at a Goodwill that year, but ever since, my eyes have been scanning the web for crochet patterns. In my searching I came across several great Hobbes projects folks had crafted:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amigurumiphotos/4450655872/

http://www.cuteamigurumi.com/2009/06/29/hobbes-andno-calvin/


Of course Hobbes doesn't look like an active tiger all the time. To moms and dads he's just a stuffed animal:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=334522.0

http://www.amiamour.com/2010/08/hobbes-your-imaginary-friend/

http://sukigirl74.blogspot.com/2011/03/free-hobbes-crochet-pattern.html

I noticed that so much of what makes Hobbes great is in the details of his face, which each fiber artist interpets themselves. This gave me the idea to look at some generic toy tiger patterns that I could then adapt. I decided to start small and my first Hobbes was inspired by this Sugar n' Cream pattern:

http://www.sugarncream.com/pattern.php?PID=4772&cps=21191

I liked the full amigurumi style of this little guy, and the color scheme (doing brown & orange instead of black and orange) but he needed some major adjustments on body shape, tail length and facial features to really become Hobbes. The end result?

Calvin & Hobbes love the snow so much, you often see Hobbes wearing a scarf:

A quick work up of 5 hdc across to the proper scarf length gave Hobbes an accessory for the winter weather:

If enough folks are interested in the specific changes I made to the toy tiger pattern from Sugar n' Cream, I'll try to post it soon. For now enjoy a last C&H comic strip and come back this weekend for 

Hobbes & Hearts: The Valentine Version ^-^

Valentine's Day Bunting: Crochet!

Valentine's day was never my favorite holiday. Sure, as a kid, it's great to pass out valentine cards and any holiday that produced free candy was always welcome, but as an adult I never got into the "let's buy expensive gifts for one another" idea and over time my cynical views of consumerism and sappy Halmark commercials embedded itself so deeply that up till now as I tried to be a fun, creative mom to three kids, I shied away from the so called "holiday."

This year, however, my old calloused heart is softening to the spirit of Valentine's day. With the help of Pinterest I have found not only cute, reasonable priced (aka free) things to do around this heart-filled holiday, but also realized just how special it is when someone intentionally writes down, in their own hand, how special you are to them. I saw this great idea to have each member of your family hand write a "Valentine" to each other member of the family. Not just to sign your name on a preprinted "BE MINE" Valentine card, but actually take the time to think of the person, what they like about them, and then write it down in your own script. My kids need this. In a time when they are coming up against many hard decisions and difficult people, they need to know that their family, their brother and sister, their mom and dad think they are a wonderful and important part of their family.

With this on my heart, I thought some small decorations in the realm of hearts would be appropriate to set the mood.  But I couldn't just do any ol' heart thing. It had to be unique. I tried to do pink and red and white...but this just made me sit back and sigh. It just wasn't the look I wanted. If I was going to put forth effort in this endeavor, I was going to LIKE the color scheme. Here's what I came up with (thanks to Pinterest helping me discover this fun pattern from Julia Crossland):

mmmmmm....red & teal!

Lots of HEARTS!

Bunting Love

YAY! I'm beginning to like Valentine's Day!

I had such fun crocheting these as I watched our recorded Australian Open match between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer (although it was hard to see Rog continue to hit it into the net!! ARG!). As I said, I tried to do pink and red and white, but I just needed my red and teal combo so I broke from the Valentine norm and made it my own. If you see the cute "LOVE IS" print from I Corinthians, you should head on over here to grab the free printable. 

I hope your hearts are softened to Valentine's Day as mine has been! And if you need a little softening, grab some soft yarn in your favorite colors and make a heart garland of your very own this year - it'll be sure to help!

Goodie Bag Giveaway Link!

Twinkie Chan is a crochet goddess. She inspired me from day one of my crocheting career when I was perusing amazon for crochet pattern books that did not include frail white doilies or chunky afghans. Once my eyes caught glimpse of her colorful wonderful food-iness, I was a goner.

Whether you know her awesome hooking skills or not, now's a great time to go visit because Twinkie Chan is having a fabulous give away right now! Go check it out TODAY as one lucky person will be randomly selected Jan 20th.

http://www.twinkiechan.com/blog/2012/01/13/lil-giveway

I want that cherry zipper pull SO BAD!

Etsy Sale!

In honour of the birthday of the late great Dr. Suess (and the inspiration for my Cat in the Hat mini hat clip) I am having a store wide sale at my Etsy store through March, 2, 2012!

^-^ **~** Enjoy a 20% discount on any mini hat clip! **~** ^-^

I'm sure I'm not alone when I mention that my kids' elementary school has a big Dr. Seuss "to do" in the month of March with tall striped hats and a green eggs and ham breakfast. Big and little girls alike would look absolutely adorable wearing a pint sized version of the Cat's famous Hat! I will be happy to take orders through mid February on orders that need to arrive by Dr. Suess' birthday (March 2nd).

My youngest is a big fan of the amazing Dr. Suess and has opened my eyes to more of his books than I even knew existed! While I grew up memorizing rhymes from Yertle the Turtle, Cat in the Hat and the tongue bewitching Fox in Socks, my sweet boy has grown up reciting lines from Hop on Pop, Horton Hatches the Egg and What Was I Scared Of? 


And so to sign this post off, some wisdom from the man himself:

"Today you are you, that is truer than true

There is no one alive who is youer than YOU!"

Discount code: drsuess2012
works only at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/karilandia

Replacing the Blades

I live in Vancouver, Washington just across the river from Portland, Oregon. I normally just say I'm from Portland because although people don't seem to confuse Portland, OR for Portland, Maine, they will assume I'm from Canada. Folks living in Vancouver, WA are blessed to live where the evergreen trees sink their roots into the soggy soils of the Pacific Northwest. The grass is almost always green. The Columbia River is full of rushing water. You see, it rains a lot.

Because we Vancouver-ites are well versed in rainy days, we are those who own several umbrellas, rain boots and buy Rain-X (although, we are also the most likely to be found in the rain without umbrellas because we learned long ago that unlike the Wicked Witch of the West we won't melt if caught in the rain).

This exposition brings me to my point: It was a rainy day in Vancouver yesterday. Not unlike other days, except that my wonderful husband and I were planning a drive to Portland and found ourselves in a car with horrible wiper blades. We stopped by Napa and picked up some replacement blades.

I was wary because I'd heard how difficult they can be to replace, but our need outweighed our lack of expertise and we bought them. Once the old blades were off and we were examining the directions to reattach the new blades, I saw something that boosted my confidence in this endeavor:

Oh, yeah, I got this one. 

W.I.P. (after Christmas version 1.0)

Christmas has come and gone. What a blur it was at times! I found myself fairly busy finishing up presents as well as keeping up with the Marcel requests through Etsy. You could hardly find me without a crochet hook in my hand! It was quite a learning experience and I do need time to process and reflect on how I dealt with the holiday rush. But when Christmas finally arrived, I was able to put away my crazy crochet filled head and enjoy celebrating Jesus' birthday with my friends and family. It was a wonderful 3 days of Christmas eve (also the day my first born celebrated his first double digit birthday), Christmas day, and Christmas day-off Monday ^-^ There was glorious food, way too many presents, and a viewing of The Christmas Story. Classic.

In the holiday rush, (and I kick myself as I realize this), I forgot to capture on digital camera my crocheted creations. I made 10 scarves (two of them from this cute v-stitch pattern), 2 cowls (based on this convertible cowl pattern I found), and an ipad cover in a glorious red with the red angry bird's face sewn on in felt pieces (based on this ipad cover pattern). I also made one Hobbes the tiger. He lives in our home, so his photos and story will go into its own post at a later date. In the midst of all this gifting I whipped up 6 Marcel the Shells as well!

But even with all I DID accomplish, I am still mid project for at least 4 things! So without further ado, here's my W.I.P Wednesday pictures! The project are all now patiently waiting for me in my large new tote I got for Christmas ^_^

A first attempt at a double yarn project!
Hoping the Oregon Duck's fan in our family will like it come his birthday ^_^

Isn't it just obnoxious when you run out of yarn?
And then don't you just *HATE* it when the store ran out of the color??!
This is a soft red yarn from Deborah Norville's Serenity line and is working
up great for this cowl, but I just one more skein!

I am nearly done with this open lace style scarf.
I based it on Mary Poppins' scarf, but in a peacock
blue instead of coral. It should be finished with fringe
if it ever gets done!

The awesome large tote that now holds my W.I.P.'s!
Thanks, Babe!

And last I want to leave you with one of my favorite gifts of the 2011 year: A bird feeder! Yes, this bird feeder is going to be put out this spring, but with a unique purpose: as bird nest fodder for all the young birdie families in our yard. I saw this adorable idea on pinterest from fiberfarm.com and got this cutest bird feeder to stuff my yarn scraps in. I just think it will be so much fun to have the birdies build their nests with soft, colorful threads! It's like yarn bombing in disguise!

My bird feeder full of yarn scraps to be put out on the first day of spring!

Happy New Year to all!

~kari

Your Favorite Team Colors Scarf: Crochet!

I love personal gifts. That's why homemade stuff is the best! I would much rather receive something my children made than a trinket from the store. Hoping that other folks feel the same, I definitely push homemade stuff on them - teehee! Even teachers. I figure one can only have so many apple shaped pencil sharpeners ^_^ So this year I thought I'd get the inside scoop on what my kids' teachers are into and see if we can't make them something unique this year. However, I had to stop and wonder what I could possibly make for my son's male teacher that he may actually use?

As I mentioned, I'm sort of into scarves this year, so I asked my son to figure out what his teacher's favorite sports team is. Well, he did his homework and reported back that the Bears where top on his teacher's list of favorite sports teams. The Chicago bears have great colors: Orange, White and a dusty Midnight Blue. Here's what I came up with:

Colors aren't showing true, but you get the idea!

I am a sucker for sacrificing yarn types for color. Now, this can turn out poorly if the weight is so dissimilar, but in this case, it was close enough! I grabbed a Sugar n' Cream in Indigo (100% cotton) because the color was spot on. I used Orange and White Red Heart Super Saver Yarn. Now, to be sure the stripes are a touch wider than the length of the blue, but honestly, I cannot find a good orange color in any other yarn type (let me know if you know of one!).

I used the hdc stitch throughout, which is my favorite stitch right now and edged the ends with the reverse single crochet or "crab stitch" (check out the tutorial here)

You can see the crab stitch better here

What I like about the crab stitch is that it is a decorative edging, but not a girly one. It sort of creates a corrugated tube when it is worked up. I rather like it!

So go forth and make scarves in whatever team colors you like! Personalize them with their favorite team colors, kids' school colors, or alma mater colors. Use the crab stitch edging and give them to the men in your life ^_^

A Cute V-Stitch Scarf

Last Christmas I received a lovely red crocheted scarf that went with practically everything. Thus, I wore it all the time and fell in love with it! The stitch was not a lace stitch, nor was it tightly crocheted, so I set out to figure out just what technique the yarn artist used. After a bit of research I found that it was a V-stitch. It's the perfect stitch for a scarf with some heft for warmth, but loose enough to be soft and wrapped snuggly around one's neck.

I knew I wanted to do scarves this year for Christmas so I came up with my own version using the V-stitch. It works up quickly, and I really think it turned out cute. So without further ado:

A Cute V-Stitch Scarf:

Hook G
WW yarn (I used Deborah Norville Everyday soft worsted in Chocolate Brown)

**Technique used for the V-stitch: (dc, ch 2, dc) all in one stitch**

Ch 24
R1) start 3rd stitch from hook 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R2) 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R3) 22 hdc, ch 3 & turn (22)
R4) sk 1 hdc, V-stitch, *sk 2 hdc, V-stitch* repeat 5 more times, sk 1 hdc, dc, ch 3 & turn (7 ch-2 spaces)
R5) V-stitch in ea ch-2 space across, then sk las dc, dc into top of turning ch, ch 3 & turn (7 ch-2 spaces)
R6) repeat R5
R7) repeat R5
R8) *hdc, hdc, hdc into ch-2 space* repeat 6 more times, hdc into top of turning ch, ch 2 & turn (22)
R9) 22 hdc, ch 2 & turn (22)
R10) 22 hdc, ch 3 & turn (22)

Repeat R4 - R10 until desired length of scarf is achieved.
I repeated the pattern a total of 12 times and end added the fringe to the bottom of both ends.

I used 3 lengths of yarn per ch-space for this scarf

How to add the fringe:
On both ends of scarf, attach yarn and do the following:
FRINGE BASE ROW: Ch 3, sk 1 hdc, sc, *ch 2, sk 1 hdc, sc* repeat across row (you should have 11 ch-2 spaces)
Cut equal lengths of yarn and follow this picture tutorial for adding the tassels or fringe through the ch-2 spaces you created.

I liked the look of the dividing up the v-stitch section with the hdc
Sort gives it a "patchwork" look ^_^

Candy Corn Scarf: Crochet!

I love candy corns. While it is true that there have been years where I go a little candy corn crazy and get utterly sick of them, each fall I still look forward to the sweet treats (it normally takes a good long year for that particular craving to return - thus I shun all Valentine's or Easter candy corns ^_^) To borrow a Bugs Bunny quote: "Why do I like [candy corn] so much? They don't have much meat on them...but I love them! I LOVE 'EM I LOVE 'EM I LOVE 'EM! LUNCH TIME!!!!"

But more than their goodie value, I think they are just so darn CUTE!! I love the color combination. I love the rounded triangular shape. I love that they are tiny. If you hop onto my pinterest page here you will see that I have a board devoted entirely to the Candy Corn!

So of course I needed a crochet version! Inspired by Twinkie Chan's food scarves, I crafted this one up to share with you all:

The Candy Corn Scarf:

Hook G
WW white yarn
WW orange yarn
WW yellow yarn

These are worked in rows - be sure to ch 1 at the end of each row

Begin with WHITE: (leave a long tail)
Ch 3
R1) 3 sc (3)
R2) 2 sc in first st, sc, 2 sc in last st (5)
R3) sc, sc, 2 sc in next st, sc, sc (6)
R4) sc, 2 sc in next st, sc, sc, 2 sc in next st, sc (8)

Change over to ORANGE:
R5) 8 sc (8)
R6) 8 sc (8)
R7) 2 sc in first st, 6 sc, 2 sc in last st (10)
R8) 10 sc (10)
R9) 10 sc (10)
R10) 2 sc in first st, 8 sc, 2 sc in last st (12)

Change to YELLOW:
R11) 12 sc (12)
R12) 2 sc in first st, 10 sc, 2 sc in next st (14)
R13) 14 sc (14)
R14) 14 sc (14)
R15) sc2tog, 4 sc, sc2tog, 4 sc, sc2tog (11)

F.O. and weave in ends

I made 11 candy corns and fastened them together tip to bottom until you have a scarf.
Length can be adjusted by adding or subtracting corns.

The best thing about this scarf is it won't give you a stomach ache ^_^

Bulky Boucle Scarf

I love the yarn store. I am literally like a child in a candy shop. Well, I'm more like the child in a candy shop that looks over all the candy options, but only ever ends up buying the same ol' plain cookies and cream that she always does.  But you see, it is so fun to go and touch all the soft varieties of yarn and dreaming up things to make with the crazy variegated colors. However, after spending WAY TOO LONG on this, I do always end up heading back to that one familiar section that holds all the 100% cottons or acrylics for my plushies. Well, this summer I broke out of my "usual" purchase and actually purchased an über soft boucle with lovely teal and brown color changing threads. I had absolutely nothing in mind for it. I just bought it and stuffed it into my yarn stash at home.  It's been looking at me for several weeks now. I figured with Christmas coming up, a super soft scarf would come in handy. Plus, I was excited to see how the colors worked up.

Well, let me tell you something. Working with bulky boucle was a hard transition! My cottons and acrylics are normally so clean and easy to look at, but this boucle, PHEEEEEW! It was like crocheting blind! The foundation row was torture to add on to and even then, my hdc were blindly inserted hoping I was catching the stitch at the right point. I had to count EVERY SINGLE row because I never knew if I was missing a stitch or not. This was not your relaxing in front of a favorite movie while crocheting sort of project. There was too much for me to concentrate on.

In one regard, it is a rather forgiving yarn because I know I wasn't always even (sometimes redoing the row to try and space the stitches out and sometimes not) and it's really hard to tell the ones that seemed spot on vs. the ones I was just too tired to count for.

But now that I'm done, I can back away and be grateful that it turned out as well as it did. I finished it off with some "fringe,"tried it on and sure enough, it will be a great neck warmer for someone!

Look at that texture!!!

Next,I am trying a Paton's Lace yarn with sequins that jumped into my basket at the yarn shop. It, too, is super soft and the peacock color is gorgeous, but it is pretty fuzzy and thin (a sport weight). I'll definitely post pictures when I finish that one and let you all know what it's like working with a yarn infused with sequins!

~kari ^_^