Cabled V-neck Cardigan
I’ve been meaning to post this pattern for ages. I actually created the pattern last year but kept forgetting to publish it. Having created a cabled jumper for K in 2010, I had decided it was about time I created something cabled for myself. I flirted briefly with the Karisma Cardigan but absolutely hated the pattern, so I went back to basics and created my own pattern instead.
Flower Clips
I recently bought some hair clips to try and keep my rather unruly curls out of my face with the idea of adding crochet flowers to each of them. There are lots of patterns for sweet little crocheted flowers out there but not much on actually attaching the flower to the clip. Glue seemed messy (and knowing my luck, unlikely to be a permanent solution). I did find a pattern for creating a crocheted “clip hat” but was both fiddly and a little too bulky for my taste.
Illusion Bag Pattern
I had 2 x 50gm balls of Sirdar Illusion hanging around . I really loved the yarn colours but having tried to use Illusion for a scarf, I found it way too scratchy to wear. So it sat in my yarn stash for a long time whilst I tried to figure out some way to use it. In the past, I’ve crocheted market bags from cotton yarn and, one day, it occurred to me that perhaps I could use Illusion for such a bag. A quick test with a crochet hook revealed it’s not a good yarn for crocheting but…
Simple V-necked Shell
A combination of lots of raw silk yarn still in my stash (the yardage on that stuff is amazing!) plus a yearning for a new summer top resulted in the following pattern. The main body is worked in one piece using garter stitch with absolutely no shaping. So it’s perfect for a beginner. Or for some mindless knitting if you’re feeling a little burnt out. I’ve also made a version in a heavy cotton yarn with a 10cm 1×1 rib.
Child’s Ribbed Hat
I’ve been meaning to write this up for ages! When I made K a cabled jumper last year, I had enough yarn left to knit him a matching hat, so I same up with this pattern. It’s designed to fit a 20 inch head circumference.
Buttonhole Belt
I had 50gms of worsted, hand-painted, cotton in my stash that was a lovely colour but was really too coarse to incorporate into a garment. It seemed best suited to a belt but I don’t like belts that tie. And I didn’t have a nice buckle lying Round either. What I did have was quite a few large, odd, buttons. So I began to play with the idea of a belt that buttoned rather than buckled.
Apple Blossom Shrug
Having crocheted an Apple Blossom wrap and an Apple Blossom scarf, it occurred to me that this pattern might make a rather nice shrug — with the trellis forming the back & upper arms and the lace for the sleeves.
Boot Cuffs
I had some black fun fur cuffs hanging around that I used to wear over the top of a short pair of boots (since gone). Saw a pattern for boot cuffs and thought I’d improvise my own,
Openwork Crochet Scarf
I had a single skein of Wild Fire Fibres Bambino (Purple Lotus) and was looking for something fairly simple that would show this lovely, drapey, yarn off. After some false starts, I settled on an openwork scarf with borders at each end based on Doris Chan’s All Shawl Strawberry Lace. Materials 400 yards soft 4ply yarn 5mm crochet hook Scarf Body Foundation: Ch 54st. Row 1: Skip next 8st, sc, * ch5, skip next 4st, sc **; repeat from * to **, turn (9 loops + 1 half loop) Row 2: Ch5, skip next 2 chains in the loop, sc…
Glasses Case
My old spectacle case was looking decidedly worse for wear, so I decided to spend a few hours knitting myself a case that I’d actually enjoy using. Now at least I get to handle alpaca and silk yarn on a daily basis… I also felted my case slightly but bear in mind that this will reduce the size (especially the length) of the case a little. So bear this in mind when working out how many stitches you need to cast on and how many inches you need to work.
