FO | Ellerbe Cowl

Meet my latest Finish Object (FO), the lovely, Ellerbe Cowl, designed by Melissa Stajda. The pattern was released on the first day of Fall, and the knit-a-long (KAL) is going until the end of October. 

Tuetorial Tuesday: Simple Slouchy Beanie

It's been a while since I have posted a tutorial, and I had recently promised one on a seed-stitch cup cozy. Well, I used that cozy today and it was too big for a standard paper coffee cup. It fit around, but it would slide, and eventually stretched a bit and fell off when I set the cup down... So, I finished this post instead, which has been pending and unfinished for a while now...

Some of you may remember my post on Instagram several weeks ago with a beanie pattern I came up with. I was inspired by this video on making your joining stitches in double-crochet in the round nearly invisible - I was quite interested in this as I had just made a number of beanies for Christmas and was not really pleased with the gap at joining. So, here is the result of my experiment:

The Simple Slouchy Beanie uses double crochet, single crochet, and slip stitch, in the round. There are increases and decreases, but nothing fancy.

Tutorial Tuesday: a man hat

Hello! It's been ages since I posted anything...

Well, I survived finals, and now I am busy making hats for the (little) men in my life.

I scoured the internet for visor hat patterns for my nephews and this is the one that I decided to go with.

Photo from www.redheart.com

It is the Streetwise Hat pattern from Red Heart Yarn - it's a free pattern on their website. I sized it down a bit for my nephews, or I should say nephew, because I have only completed the hat portion of one so far. I wanted something that was a little more interesting than just single crochet hat, but also something that would be simple to make.

You can follow the hat-making process on Instagram if you like - @themadewithloveproject

I am starting another cap too, a knitted one, but that one is top secret until after Christmas...

Happy crafting!

Stephanie
MWLP

Tutorial Tuesday: Crochet Bow Headband / Ear Warmer

Searching through various blogs for cowl patterns a couple of weeks ago I stumbled on this cute headband. I decided to try my hand at one with the leftovers from the navy cowl I just made (you might have seen the pictures on Instagram). I think that this will be a great gift for one of my sisters - I won't say which (I have three).

I found the free pattern and tutorial on People Webs blog, right here.

Photo from peoplewebs.blogspot.com

She includes detailed instructions and step-by-step photos for you, which I think is great!

This is another great project for a beginner because it is all single crochet! This makes it a nice relaxing project too because it doesn't require a ton of concentration or counting... I have been making mine while I ride the bus.

This could also be done in a knit version using either garter or seed stitch...

I am going about mine a little bit differently - rather than working the length of the piece, I am working the width. When I make a second one I will work the length instead, and then let you know what I think of the two methods... My reason for working the opposite way is that I am not sure about the suggested length and want to make sure that it will be the right size. But, like I said, we will see how it turns out.

If you don't want to make your own, she does sell them on her Etsy shop!

Be sure to check out her blog and shop - she has a ton of great stuff!