Tutorial Thursday: Spring Cleaning Scrubby

Hello! Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday Thursday! The next few weeks are all about Spring Cleaning! Not so exciting perhaps, unless you consider cleaning out your yarn stash equally as necessary as scrubbing down the kitchen, which I do.

So to start with, you can clean out the stash AND clean the house with these lovely scrubbies! One in knit, the other in crochet, depending on your preference. Now you have an excuse to go for the yarn stash before scrubbing!

Tutorial Tuesday: beanies for breast cancer

Hello!

I know that I promised an original knit hat pattern, but alas, I am in the process of moving and writing a ton of papers, so it will have to wait until November. But I do have a cute hat pattern from the blog Grow Creative for you (make sure to check out the rest of her blog)!

Photo from GrowCreative.blogspot.com

It is a lovely shell-pattern that is not too difficult to manage, even for a beginner. I wouldn't suggest this for a first project, but if you have done a project in the round and/or know how to do a double crochet stitch, you can manage this! I say this because I am a beginner and mine is coming along just fine! But, if you find that the shells are too challenging, you can go ahead and finish it off with double-crochet stitches.

You can find the pattern right here. I am sure she would love to know if you try it out, and I know I would love to hear about it too!

Here are a couple pictures of my progress, and some notes to help you through the shell stitches if this is your first try (I will apologize now for the varying color quality - these were all taken with my phone,  some at night with nasty CFL lighting, and some during the day with natural light...)

So, here is just the double crochet bit - this part is fairly easy, the only thing that might be confusing for a beginner is the joining of the stitches at the end of the round.

A note on the first round of shells: I ended up starting them in too close to my beginning chain, so if I were you, I would do what I did after I had to take all of my stitches out - count through your stitches the same way you will be putting the stitches in, i.e. one, two, five, one, two, one, one, two, five, etc... so that you can see where you will end. It will save you from possible frustration.

first round of shells

Here is a close-up of putting in the second row of shells.

beginning of second round of shells

At first I was concerned that it would be really difficult to put in the next round, but you are really just stacking the rows, with the short in-between stitches on top of a shell and the shells over the in-between stitches. You almost don't need to count...

two rows of shells

That is as far as I have made it through the pattern so far, but I will update the post once I am finished.

And finally, some notes on my materials:
I used a metal Boyle hook in the recommended size, 5mm (I prefer metal to plastic).
I used Vanna's Choice yarn in pink. This yarn tends to split a little, which can slow things down, but I do love the colors they offer...

Well, that is all that I have to say about this project/pattern.

Hope you enjoy this lovely pattern!

Stephanie
MWLP

Tutorial Tuesday: Beanies for Breast Cancer

Hello! So sorry I missed last week - it was a pretty hectic week between midterms and apartment hunting...

Anyway, this week I am bringing you a link for a video tutorial, as well as a link to the written pattern. This is for a basic beanie done in the half-double crochet, and it can be adjusted to any size head and any yarn (or, "wool," as Clare calls it). Clare offers nice clear instruction that is easy to follow.

Photo from claresaddictedtoyarn.blogspot.com

Here is the link for the video.

And here is the link for the written instructions.

If you are concerned about having the right size, you can go here for a sizing chart.


Now, for the beanie pattern that I am working on: I have not started just yet... I need to get some double pointed needles in the right size. The last time I went to the craft store they didn't have the size I needed in stock, so I need to go back or find a yarn shop. But, since next week is the final Tuesday in October, I will do my best to have it for you!

Happy crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday: Beanies for Breast Cancer

I am sorry to say I do not have my own pattern for you yet... It has been a hectic week and I still need to buy the right needles.

picture credit Lion Brand Yarn, lion brand.com

But I do have another slouchy pattern for you! This one is from Lion Brand Yarn and seems like a nice simple project, all in knit stitch. I love slouchy beanies - probably because I look terrible in the tight ones - and they are pretty popular right now, and this one just looks so cozy!

Hopefully I will be able to get those needles today and have the pattern up in a week or two.

Take care!

Tutorial Tuesday: Beanies and Breast Cancer

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and as someone whose family has been touched by the decease, I thought it would be appropriate to encourage all of you to make a beanie for a breast cancer patient this month.

There are lots of patterns out there, so I will feature a new one each week, but if you want to look ahead I have pinned a few of both knit and crochet patterns.

This one is a favorite of mine!

Photo from AllAboutAmi.tumblr.com

I haven't tried it yet, but I hope to really soon - it's such a cute slouchy beanie pattern! I found it through All About Ami, which is the lovely blog that inspired me to start crocheting (she has a ton of cute amigurumi patterns)!

After looking at a bunch of patterns, I am going to try my hand at my own knit pattern using some pink yarn that I have. I will try to keep track of what I do so that if it works out I can share the pattern here.

Happy crafting!

P.S. Can you believe it is already October?!

Tutorial Tuesday: Knit and Crochet

For the very first Tutorial Tuesday I have decided to post links to tutorials on how to knit and crochet. Below are links for written and video tutorials that I have used to learn how to knit and crochet. I really love the videos on how to crochet - they are well done and easy to follow. 

   Here are the written and illustrated instruction for knit and crochet.

   And here is the link for the video of how to crochet.

Knitting in simple rows of the garter stitch can be very therapeutic and meditative, and makes a nice simple scarf or headband. If you want something a little more involved, crocheting in the round is also easy enough for beginners, but requires a bit more focus, and can be used to create hats.

As for materials, I love bamboo knitting needles and metal crochet hooks. When choosing a yarn, there are a lot of really fun yarns that hide mistakes well, but they can also make it difficult to see your stitches and know that you are working the yarn correctly. So if you must have the fun yarn, get some simple yarn as well to begin your practice, so that you are familiar with what the stitches are supposed to look like.

Before you buy materials, check your local craft stores' website to see if they have coupons discounting full price items, and also check to see if they are having a sale on yarn.

Enjoy!