Diagonal Baby Blanket, and How To Do a Yarn Over

When I first started knitting I would scour the Lion Brand free patters, because it was pretty much the only brand of yarn I was familiar with and liked, and I didn't know about Ravelry yet. I had found this Diagonal Baby Blanket pattern, which is pretty and simple, but I was intimidated by the yarn over, and just couldn't get it. I was also intimidated by the thought of using circular needles. I guess I was a wimp… And really, I had no reason to be afraid; this is a beginner pattern, and a great way to learn how to make a yarn over, and work diagonally.

Anyway, I recently saw a few pictures of diagonal knit blankets, remembered the pattern, and decided to give it a try. I haven't finished it yet, but I will give you my notes so far, as well as a little video (my first knitting video!) on how to do a yarn over in the knit stitch.

Though this project would be great in a cozy merino wool, I am using Wool-Ease Worsted, because it's affordable in bulk, and machine washable. I found a pretty, neutral grey, which is great for any age or gender. I was able to get six skeins in the same dye-lot, and it seems this thing will probably come out to be about 32"-36". We will see.


Pattern Notes

I don't really like the way this pattern starts out. It's a bit skimpy, going almost immediately into the yarn over (yo) "eyelet," which just looks weird and won't match the other corners very well. So I changed it, twice.

Version 1 (the blanket I'm working, now) and Version 2

The pattern says to cast on five stitches, and then go into the yarn overs in row 2.

Tutorial Tuesday: Dimpled Stripe Cup Cozy

Here is another project to use up bits of yarn left over from your fall and winter projects, the Dimple Stripe cup cozy.

After learning how to do seed stitch, I played around with the little dimple effect that it made. I knew that I must be able to use the same method to create little patterns and designs. I sketched out some rather complex designs last year, but never got the chance to work them before losing the sketches.

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: "Swiss Dot"

I really love seed stitch, but depending on the yarn, sometimes it can be a bit much. I wanted a dotted look, but less compressed... Now, I have been playing around with patterns quite a bit, and after doing the striped cup cozy I thought I would apply the same method with dots.


What I came up with were two Swiss dot inspired patterns:

"Swiss Dot" No. 1 is a bit of a closer dot and works well for smaller items, like cozies.

"Swiss Dot" No.2 is a bit more spread out and subtle, and good for scarves or blankets.

Below are both "diagram" patters, as well as written patters, for each.

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: the simple cowl

I am proud to offer you an original pattern and tutorial this week!

It turns out that I have become rather hooked on crochet! I ended up watching a number of tutorials on YouTube recently and I got inspired to try my hand at making a cowl.

To get an idea for size I wrapped one of my scarves around my neck to see how long I would like it. Then I took it off and grabbed my measuring tape - it was somewhere in the area of 30"-36". As I was making the chain I checked the length along the way by wrapping it around my neck. I started off with a 6.5mm hook and two strands of worsted weight yarn, but it was much too stiff! So, I unraveled, scoured the internet for other cowl patterns and found that a 10mm hook is ideal when using two strands of yarn, and I happened to have a 10mm hook on hand! So I started up again and it turned out great!

The pattern uses the following stitches:

SS (slip stitch)
SC (single crochet)
HDC (half double crochet)
DC (double crochet)

Matterials*:

1 skein* of Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn (Michael's brand)
     (note: I just made this with Caron Simply Soft and I love it!)
1 10mm crochet hook
1 stitch marker*
1 large-eye yarn needle
Tape measure
Scissors


Method:

Using two strands of yarn at the same time, the outside and inside strands, make a chain that is approx. 32" (or desired length) and join with a SS, taking care not to twist your chain.

Row 1.   SC into each chain, marking the final stitch with your stitch marker.

Row 2.   Chain one (don't turn, you are working in the round) and HDC for the entire row. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 3.   Chain 2 and DC into every stitch. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 4.   Chain 1 and HDC into every stitch. Mark your final stitch. SS to join to the beginning of your row.

Row 5. Same as 3

Rows 6-10. Continue alternating between HDC and DC, as in the rows 4 (HDC) and 3 (DC), ending with the HDC.

Row 11.   SC into each stitch, marking your final stitch. You will not need to "join."

Row 12.   SS into each stitch around, taking care not to make the stitches too tight. Bind off, leaving a tail, pull tight and sew in the tail.

Tighten the tail from the slip knot where you began and sew in the tail.

Your finished product should be about 18" flat, 36" around, and about 7" tall.

* 1 skein refers to the solid color ball with 277 yards of yarn - other styles of Impeccable have fewer yards of yarn. If you us a different yarn you might need more than one skein (i.e. Vanna's Choice is only 145 yds., so you would need two skeins). UPDATE: I just made a cowl with Caron Simply Soft and I LOVE IT - it has such a nice weight to it, and the yarn is set up for pulling from the outside and the inside for convenience. It also has more yardage than Impeccable, so you can make the cowl a bit taller if you like. For a stitch marker I typically use a paperclip, but in the pictures above I just used a strand from the tail. You can use a piece of yarn in a different color, a safety pin... whatever you have.

You could also make this 60"+ so that you can wrap it twice. And you might want to try stacking stitches rather than doing every-other, or throw in some single-crochets, or maybe even the treble stitch.  Have fun with it!

If you have any questions regarding the pattern, please leave a comment or send me an email at TheMadeWithLoveProject {at} gmail {dot} com.

If you try this pattern I would love to see the pictures! Tag me on Instagram or share a link in the comments. Thanks!

Enjoy!

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!

Knitting (and crochet) for Your Health

I know that for me, knitting and crochet are really helpful in reducing stress and anxiety, and going through the motion is often more important to me than the finished product. I guess that is why I have never really branched out too much and learned special techniques and stitches - I just like repetition of a simple stitch. Starting this blog, and my desire to share this fun skill with others, has increased my desire to learn new stitches and techniques, and so I am really trying for more than my typical knit & purl routine.

As I have been branching out, I have realized that sometimes I am in the mood to do something a little complicated or new, and other times I just need some yarn, needles, and a garter stitch. Regardless of the mood that I am in when I start, I always feel better when I am done, and I can see that my time was not wasted because I have something physical to show for it. And I am not the only one who feels this way.

I decided to do a quick Google search on "knitting for health" and I found a lot of articles and videos. It turns out that knitting and crochet are not just great for reducing stress, but they are also great for prevention of depression, pain, and memory loss. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that when you knit or crochet you are very focused on what is happening with the yarn and the tool(s) you are working with, your brain is telling your fingers how to create a series of loops, the motions are repetitive, and there is a product that comes from the work that you are doing.

For me, I become lost in the stitches; they take over my brain and I am not thinking of anything else but what my fingers will do next, what is happening with the fabric I am producing, and how I will move forward - will I switch stitches or keep going with what I have? - all of this, plus the chance to be creative, to decide what I want to make and what I want it to look like, and also the ability to keep expanding and growing in the skill. It is all very rewarding, materially, mentally, and creatively.

So, I encourage you to pick up your needles and hooks, whether for the first time or the thousandth time, and make something. Big or small, simple or complex, the doing is all that matters.

Happy Stitching!

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: Crochet Kitty

Meet Priscilla! She is my first amigurumi, and my first completed crochet project. I think this makes her perfect for this week's Tutorial Tuesday.

I found the pattern a while back on Bethsco Blog, and have been meaning to try my hand at it. Her directions are clear and easy to follow, so that a beginner like me had an easy time of it (thanks Bethsco!). The only part that was a little frustrating was attaching the pieces. I wasn't really sure how to go about it, so I did the best that I could. I probably should have looked up a YouTube tutorial, but it all worked out.

Amigurumi, or knitted/crocheted stuffed animals, are really fun to make - it's easy to get hooked (wow, a lot of puns today)! It's pretty exciting watching everything come together, piece by piece, and finally having a cute little guy that you made!

These would make great gifts, and would be a wonderful thing to donate to family shelters, etc., especially with the holidays coming up (just make sure the place you are donating to takes hand-made gifts - some places require new, store-bought toys)!

Can't wait to finish my next amigurumi!

Happy crafting! 

(P.S. Priscilla was made with Vanna's Choice yarn in Dusty Grey-Brown, with a size G hook)