The Criss Cross Crochet Beanie. You wanna make this one!

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A couple of weeks ago I was surfing through my crochet Facebook groups and ran across a post from Loops & Love  asking for pattern testers.  I've always wanted to be a pattern tester, but up to now just didn't really know how to go  about becoming one.  So, of course, I applied.

This began a surge of beanie making that hasn't stopped yet!

I absolutely love this pattern!  The different stitches give it great texture.  It appears a bit complicated, but is really so easy.  The stitches are simple, but the way they are combined is just brilliant!  And  the color combinations are endless.  You can find this awesome free pattern at  Loops & Love.
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The first beanie I made was with Universal Yarn,  Classic Shades Frenzy.  The color is HARBOR LIGHTS.    After the fact I decided to add a pompom just for fun and because this beanie is a Christmas gift for a 4 year old.  (This PomPom Maker is awesome and very reasonably priced!)




The second one was crocheted from Red Heart Stripes.   (The same yarn Loops & Love used for her beanies.)   One skein was enough for about one and a half beanies.  So for the third beanie I used the remainder of the Stripes yarn and then searched through my stash to see if I had any yarn that would keep the continuity of the colors to finish off the beanie.  I think I came pretty close!



So now I'm on a roll!  My Pokemon kids, decided they all need Pokeball beanies, sooooo......I used this same beanie pattern with a few minor changes. These are crocheted from Red Heart worsted weight acrylic yarn.   The ribbing is the same as the original Criss Cross Beanie Pattern, but as I started the body of the hat I used a simple half-double stitch throughout the remainder of the beanie.  As I  neared the place where decreases needed to be made, I decreased in one row and crocheted in each stitch in the next row until I reached the top, where I finished off the beanie with a yarn strand woven through the final row of stitches and pulled tight.   I then secured the end of this strand inside the top of the hat and wove in the ends.   This pulls the top together nicely.   The 'button' is simply a circle with a row of black around the edge to finish it off.

As you can see, this pattern is extremely versatile.  Instructions for different sizes are included.  Oh, and did I mention that this beanie works up quickly?  You could easily make one in a few hours time, even if you work slow like I do.


So hop on over to Loops & Love. and make everyone on your Christmas list one of these great beanies!  You'll be glad you did, and so will they!

Blessings!
Reny 

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Crochet Pokeball Beanie for Our Littlest Pokemon Master

Our youngest grandson, Bentley, has been playing Pokemon since before he was born!  His momma and daddy and big brother Blane got lots of exercise prior to labor and delivery.  And they all still go out as often as they can to add more Poke Characters to their collection.   They must have hundreds by now!

The extent of my own Pokemon hunting has been following around my 10 year old grandson, Sam, as he 'taught' me how to play the game.  I'll tell you, he's a lot better at it than I am!

But one thing I can do is make things from yarn!  So I designed this adorable little beanie for Bentley.  While there are several similar beanie patterns out there, this one was designed especially for an infant in mind.  The yarn is soft and a little stretchy and the stitch is close for comfort and warmth.

Here is the pattern, designed for a baby's head. 

 Before I began, we measured the circumference of Bentley's head and used that measurement as my gauge.  The ribbed band on the hat needed to be about the same length as Bentley's head.  In his case, that was 16 inches.

This beanie is made from the band upward to the top.  I used single crochet stitches throughout.  The beanie is made from baby or sport yarn.  I just used what I found in my stash so I can't give you a brand name on this.  I used a G or 4mm hook.  You will also need a yarn needle to stitch on the button and to weave in ends.

Hat band:

1.With white yarn chain 8.  Sc in 2nd chain from hook and remaining 6 chains for a total of 7 sc.

2-72.  Sc in each stitch back loop only.  Chain 1 and turn.  Using the back loop on the band is what gives it the ribbed texture and a very neat look.   (Your band may need more or less rows depending on your head circumference measurement.)  Remember that the stitch count may be different from what I have listed if your measurements are different.

When your band is the length you need put the two ends together being careful not to twist it and slip stitch the ends to one another.  Do not fasten off yarn!  Turn the band so that the slip stitching is on the inside.  

Hat:

1.  Now sc in each row of the band to form the first row of the hat.  (72)  I use a running stitch marker to keep track of my rounds.

2-7.  Sc in each stitch.

8-10.  Change to black yarn.  Sc in each stitch.

11.  Change to red yarn.  Sc in each stitch.

12-13.  Sc in each stitch.

14.  *Sc in 7, dec*  (64)

15.  Sc in each stitch.  (64)

16.  *Sc in 6, dec*  (56)

17.  Sc in each stitch.  (56)

18.  *Sc in 5, dec*  (48)

19.  *Sc in 4, dec*  (40)

20.  Sc in each stitch.  (40)

21.  *Sc in 3, dec*  (32)

22.  Sc in each stitch.  (32)

23.  *Sc in 2, dec*  (24)

24.  *Sc in 1, dec*  (15)

25.  *Sc in 1, dec*  (10)

Fasten off leaving a long tail to sew top closed.  Thread the tail onto a yarn needle and weave the tail through the sc stitches of the last round.  Pull the yarn tail fairly snug so that the hole at the top is pulled closed.  Secure the yarn tail with a couple of stitches inside the hat to secure.  Weave in the end.

Button:

1.  With white yarn  make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Increase in each stitch.  (12)

3.  *Sc in 1, inc*  (18)

4.  *Sc in 2, inc*  (24)

5.  *Sc in 3, inc*  (30)

Change to black yarn.

6.  *Sc in 4, inc*  (36)

7.  *Sc in 5, in*  (42)

Fasten off yarn leaving a long tail to stitch button to front of hat.  Line the button up as pictured and stitch securely to the front of the hat.

Your infant Pokemon Beanie is finished!

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Blessings!

Reny

Crochet a Pete the Cat Earflap hat for the little ones!

In our family, we love Pete the Cat, the zany, adorable blue cat with the mismatched shoes!   I have made several of these Pete Amigurumi's for family and friends.  Paired with a Pete the Cat storybook they make a wonderful gift for any occasion.

I found this awesome Pete the Cat pattern on Ravelry and it has served me well. 

So as I was pondering what to make my great-grandson for his birthday this year Pete the Cat came to mind.  Since my great-grandson already has the Pete amigurumi,  I decided to make him a Pete earflap beanie to wear this winter.

I found an ordinary beanie pattern on the net.  This is the one I used.  Then I searched for a tutorial for adding the earflaps.  This site gives simple instructions for adding earflaps, as well a pattern for the beanie if you would rather get the whole pattern from one site.

My next step was to make ears and cut felt for the eyes and nose which I stitched on.  I just winged the ears, but I believe you could probably use the ears from the main Pete amigurumi pattern and use a bulky yarn and a larger hook to get larger ears for the beanie.












Finally, I made the ties.  For these I used the shoe pattern from the original pattern and made the ties the same as the leg pattern but decreased the diameter to 6sc around rather than the 9sc the leg called for.  This makes the ties more flexible.   I then stitched the ties to the earflaps.

The end result is this cute Pete the Cat earflap hat.  I hope my great-grandson will love it!


And I hope you will love it as well!

Happy Hooking!
Reny

Crochet Puppy Ornament/toy, Quirky, Unique Handmade Amigurumi

I love searching out new and unique projects to work on!  I found one similar to this on Pinterest and searched in vain for a pattern.  Not finding one, I did the next best thing.  I developed my own.  It's not exactly like the one on Pinterest , but close enough to satisfy me.

I have made this puppy in a larger size, but wondered if I could downsize the pattern to make it more the size for a Christmas ornament.  While it turned out larger than I really wanted, I think it will work just fine.  

Below is the pattern for the puppy.  It is a little involved with the construction of it, but if you follow along closely, you should be able to make it.

For a downloadable pattern with photos plus the pattern for the cat, visit my Etsy shop.

The pattern in my Etsy shop also includes instructions to make the cat in this pic.  I thought they looked like best friends!

Puppy Pattern

This finished puppy is approximately 6 inches long from head to tail.  The size can be increased or decreased by changing the weight of the yarn and the hook size.  A heavier yarn (ex. worsted weight) and a larger hook will give you a larger puppy.  A thinner yarn and a smaller hook will give you a smaller puppy.

Materials:

DK or Sport weight Yarn  (I used Cleo Cotton)

2.75mm or C hook

Safety eyes

Polyfil stuffing

Yarn needle

8 buttons with large holes

12.5mm wooden or plastic beads  (12 of them)  Optional.

Crochet Terms:

CH- chain

ST-  stitch

MC-  magic circle

SC-  single crochet

INC-  increase (2 stitches in one stitch of previous round)

DEC- decrease  (one stitch made over 2 stitches of previous round)

F/O-  fasten off

Repeat instructions between asterisks ** to end of round.

Tips:

Worked in rounds.  I used a running stitch marker to keep track of rounds.  The easiest way to make this puppy is to complete all individual components and then assemble.  My method of attaching the legs requires securing them to the inside of the body before stuffing and closing it, but you could just stitch the leg balls together and then sew them to the body if you like.   If you use my method, be mindful of where you position the legs, as they cannot easily be moved after the body is stuffed and closed. The safety eyes are placed before the head is stuffed and closed.  If you prefer, you can embroider or use felt for the eyes.  Embroider on a mouth and eyebrows if you like.

Head:

 In a mc make 6 sc.

Inc. in each st. (12)

3.  *Sc 1, inc*  (18)

4.  *Sc 2, inc*  (24)

5-17.  Sc in each st.  (24)  Make color change at about round 8.  Place safety eyes at about round 12.

18.  *Sc 2, dec*  (18)

19.  *Sc 1, dec* (12)

20.  Dec x’s 6  (6)

21.  Dec till closed.  F/O

Neck:

 Mc with 6 sc.

Inc. in each st.   (12)

3.  *Sc 1, inc*  (18)

4-6  Sc in each st.  F/O

Stuff neck and stitch open end to bottom of head.

Ears:  Make 2

 Mc with 5 sc.

Inc in each stitch.  (10)

*Sc 1, inc*  (15)

*Sc 2, inc*  (20)

5-7  Sc in each stitch  (20)

8.  *Sc in 8, dec*  (18)

9.  *Sc in 7, dec*  (16)

10.  *Sc in 6, dec*  (14)

11.  *Sc in 5, dec*  (12)

12-14.  Sc in each stitch.

15.  Dec x’s 6.  F/O.

Stitch ears to head in desired position.

Nose:

 Mc with 6 sc.

Inc  in each stitch  (12) Stuff llightly

Dec  till closed.

Stitch to end of snout.

Body:

 Mc with 6 sc.

Inc in each stitch  (12)

*Sc 1, inc*  (18)

*Sc 2, inc* (24)

*Sc 3, inc*  (30)

6-25.  Sc in each stitch.

26.  *Sc 3, dec*  (24)  Attach legs at this point before stuffing.  (See assembly instructions)

27.  *Sc 2, dec* (18)  Stuff body.

28.  *Sc1, dec*  (12)

29.  Dec x’s 6  (6)

30.  Dec till closed.  F/O

Feet top:  Make 4

 Mc with 6 sc

Inc in each stitch  (12)

*Sc 1, inc*  (18)

*Sc 2, inc*  (24)

5-8.  Sc in each stitch.  F/O

Feet bottom:  Make 4

 Mc with 6 sc

Inc in each stitch  (12)

*Sc1, inc*  (18)

*Sc 2, inc*  (24)  F/O

Balls for legs, tail and head bows.  Make 19

 Mc with 6 sc

Inc. in each stitch  (12) 

3-4  Sc in each stitch  (12)

Place a bead inside your work at this point. (Or you may choose to simply stuff the balls rather than use beads.)

5.  Dec x’s 6  (6)

6.  Dec till closed.  F/O

Tail:  Make 3

1.  Chain 15 or however long you want your tail to be.  

2.  Attach a ball to the end of each chain.

3.  Tie the ends of the chains together and attach to the backside of the puppy.

Head bow:  (optional)

 Make 2 chains about 40 stitches long.

Attach a ball to each end of each chain.

Tie into a bow and attach to head.

To assemble and attach legs and feet,  thread your yarn needle with some strong cord.  Thread through one of the holes on a button leaving a length of about 3 or 4 inches for tying off.  Thread through a foot top from the inside with the button resting against the inside top of the foot.  Next thread through 3 balls with the cord going through the center hole of the beads.  Thread through the body at your preferred position for the leg and through the hole of a second button inside the body.  Now, thread through the second hole of the button going back through the body and through each ball, down throuh the top of the foot and through the second hole of the button inside the foot.  You should now have 2 cord ends.  Pull the cord tight and tie into a tight knot to secure the leg to the body.    Repeat with remaing legs.  Now you can stuff the body and close it up.  Also stuff the feet and sc the bottoms on to the feet with all yarn and cord ends tucked inside.

Attach head and neck to front of body.   Add the tail and the bow.  Your puppy is completed. 

Oliver the Octopus Crochet Amigurumi Ornament

Well, I'm losing track of the weeks of ornaments I've been making and posting because I wanted to offer my Nativity Play Set pattern.  And since that pattern is quite lengthy, I have seperated it into 4 posts.  If you missed it, just go back to my previous posts and get it.

But today I am back on track with the projects for my Whimsy Christmas Tree.  The whole idea of this tree is to delight my grandchildren when they come by at Christmas this year.

I had in mind to make a cute little octopus.  I've seen quite a few on Pinterest, but wanted to design one of my own.  This pattern is so simple and cute!  I made my in black, but you could use any color you want.

  I do love the way the blue eyes show up on the black!  If you don't have safety eyes, you could  cut a couple of circles of felt and add a smaller circle of black for pupils and sew them on.  You could also add a little red smile and maybe even a whimsical little tuft of hair to the top of his head by looping in short strands of yarn.   The finished size of this fellow is approximately 2 1/2 inches tall and wide.

Here is the pattern.  Enjoy!

Oliver the Octopus 

This little octopus is a  quick and easy project that would be suitable as a Christmas ornament, a halloween favor, a stocking stuffer or just part of your child favorite collection of sea creatures!

He can be made up in very little time and the design is quite simple.

Materials:  

Worsted weight yarn

G crochet hook

12.5mm or larger safety eyes

Polyfil stuffing

Abbreviations and Crochet terms:

Magic circle- mc

Single crochet- sc

Slip stitch- slst

Increase- inc

Decrease- dec

Chain- ch

Head:

1. Make 6 sc in a mc.

2. Inc x’s 6  (12)

3. *Sc in 1, inc*  (18)

4. *Sc in 2, inc*  (24)

5. *Sc in 3 inc*  (30)

6. *Sc in 4, inc*  (36)

7. Sc in each st.  (36)

8. *Sc in 4, dec.*  (30)

9. *Sc in 3, dec*  (24)

10. *Sc in 2, dec*  (18)

11-13  Sc in each st.  (18)

Place eyes between rounds 10 and 11  2 stitches apart.

Tentacles:  Make 8

Chain 13 leaving a 2 inch tail at beginning of chain.  Make slst in 2nd ch. from hook and each remaining chain.  Fasten off leaving a 2 inch tail.

Fasten tentacles around bottom edge of Oliver by pulling tails through the stitches from outside to inside and tie tails together securely to attach.  Be sure to space the tentacles evenly around and be sure the tails, as you pull them through, straddle a stitch in order to secure them.  Hide tails inside the octopus.  Stuff octopus firmly.

Bottom:

1.  Make 6 sc in a magic circle.

2. Inc x’s 6  (12)

3. *Sc in 1, inc*  (18) 

Sc bottom of octopus and bottom disk together to close octopus and provide a flat surface for him to sit on.

Congratulations!  Your octopus is finished!

Blessings!

Reny

Christmas Nativity Play Set Part 4

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Sheep

This is the last section of this play set.   I hope you have enjoyed making it and that your littles will enjoy playing with it while they learn the Christmas story.

Sheep

With brown yarn, make 6 sc in a magic ring.

Inc.  (12)

3-6.  Sc in each stitch.  (12)

7.  To form ears,  sc in 4, ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 3rd and 4th chains, sc in ch. space, sc in 4 sc, ch. 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 3rd and 4th ch. sc in ch space, sc in remaining sc in rnd.

8.With fluffy white yarn,(I use Bernat Pipsqueak)  sc in each stitch folding ears forward and working around back of them as you go.  (12)

9.  Make 18 sc this round.  It is hard to see individual stitches with this yarn so just try to place them evenly around.

10-13.  Repeat round 9.

14.  Start dec when you feel your sheep is about the size you want him.  Fasten off and weave in yarn.

Legs.  Make 4

 With brown yarn, Make 5 sc in a magic ring.

2-5.  Sc in each stitch.

Fasten off, stuff and attach to underside of sheep.

If you feel really ambitious, you could make a flock of sheep and using the Joseph pattern make some shepherds.  I think that would be a cute addition to this play set.

Blessings!

Reny

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Christmas Nativity Play Set Pattern Part 3

Christmas Nativity Play set Pattern Part 3

                                         

Donkey

Head

 Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

Inc. in each st.  (12)

*Sc 1, inc*  (18)

4-9  Sc in each stitch.

10.  *Sc in 2, inc.*  (24)

11.  *Sc in 2, dec.*  (18)

12.  Sc in each stitch.

13. *Sc 1, dec* (12)

14. *Dec*  (6)  Stuff head.

15. Dec. till closed.  Fasten off leaving tail to sew to body.

Ears  Make 2.

 Make 6 sc i a magic ring.

Inc.  (12)

Sc in each stitch.  Fasten off, leaving tail to sew to head.

Pinchone end together and sew ears to head.

For hair, loop several strands of black yarn onto top of head.

Body

 Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

Inc.  (12)

*Sc 1, inc* (18)

*Sc 2, inc* (24)

*Sc 3, inc* (30)

6-10.  Sc in each stitch.  (30)

11.  *Sc 3, dec.*  (24)

12. Sc in each stitch.

13.  *Sc 2, dec*  (18)

14-16  Sc in each stitch.

17. *Sc 1, dec*  (12)

18. Sc in each stitch.  Stuff body.

19.  Dec till closed.  Attach head to body.

Donkey legs.  Make 4

 With black yarn,  Make 5 sc in a magic ring.

Inc.  (10)   Change to main donkey color.

3-8.  Sc in each stitch.   Stuff  Fasten off leaving tail to seew to body.

Attach legs as desired or as pictured.

Tail.

Chain 7, slip stitch in 2nd chain from hook and each chain.    Attach loops of yarn to end of tail and sew tail to backside of donkey.

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Blessings!

Reny