Crochet: Granny Square Flower Pillow

I recently came across a pattern for these wonderful flower crochet granny squares. I love the texture of the puff stitch used on the flower that makes it stand out from the cream colored background.  Wouldn't this look lovely in a nursery or girls room?

I used a larger hook for the flower and thinner yarn for the background so that the flower would pop.

To join the fabric to the crochet work:

- Simply fold the fabric to your desired size (in this case 16 x 16 inches) and iron a crease so that the fabric doesn't fray.

- With a sharp crochet hook, or sewing machine, add a blanket stitch around the fabric. My sewing machine was stolen a while back and I have not replaced it so I opted for the manual approach. I prefer to do it manually because I can space the stitches to match the granny square and have it line up correctly.

 - Use a coordinating color of crochet thread and a sharp crochet hook or needle, insert the hook into the fabric, and pull up a loop of the thread to the height of the edge of the blanket. Yarn over and pull through both loops on hook. Continue around your fabric until you have a stitched border to crochet into.

- Using yarn, join the crochet work with the fabric by inserting your hook into the blanket stitch, then your crochet work, yarn over and pull through.

- Continue on three sides, insert the pillow form and continue until you have a border around the entire pillow. You can then add a border if you'd like.

Easter Bunny Applique Crochet Pattern

I am in love with these adorable Spring Bunny appliques. They are great to add to a hat, headband or other hair accessory or even a Spring garland to decorate a room.

Love the Blue Bird has a great photo tutorial and free pattern you can follow. I decided to jazz mine up with a white pearl button and a small bow around the neck.

My favorite part is how the bunny ears tend to curl up giving it more dimension.

Here are links to four more free spring crochet patters:

- Butterflies by Little Birdie Secrets
- Easter Bunny Hat and Diaper Cover by Repeat Crafter Me
- Birds with Heart Shaped Wings by damn it Janet, let's crochet
- Easter Egg by Swirls and Sprinkes

Enjoy!

Romy

Baby Blessing Hat & Flower Pattern

A friend asked me to make a baby hat for her little girl who was getting blessed on Sunday. I wanted a shell stitch design that started from the top instead of double crochets around until reaching the right width.

I found the pattern on Lacy Crochet's blog.  It only comes in 3-6 months size. You can make it wider by starting with more than 11 dc on round 1.

The No-Sew Rose pattern is from Ali Crafts, another blog I really like.  

The best part was seeing baby Mia wear the hat that I had made her. Most of what I make for other people I don't ever get to see them wearing. It was fun to be a part of this wonderful memory.

New Etsy Shop: Coccole Creations

 

In January I made the big decision to begin selling my handmade crochet accessories on Etsy. It's been a great learning curve for me in many areas. I've developed better photography and Adobe Photoshop skills. I've become more knowledgeable about e-commerce, social media mediums, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Web analytics. 

I am still learning much, and I imagine the learning will continue indefinitely. 

The journey has been fun, rewarding, at times disappointing, but always educational in allowing me to discover new talents and abilities I hadn't know I have.

If you haven't done so yet, visit my Coccole Creations Etsy shop and follow my Facebook page for photos completed projects and updates.


Recently my headband and legwarmers were showcased by other Etsy members in their Treasuries.  Can you spot them?

Crochet: Baby Flower Sandals Pattern

I finally finished these adorable baby girl sandals. I used Whistle and Ivy's pattern for Bitty Bow Baby Sandals but chose to add a flower embellishment to the top instead of the bow.

They are for sale on my Etsy shop or you can make them by following the pattern provided.

Here is the pattern for the flower and leaf, if you choose to add those to the top instead:

Leaf:
I used Caron Simply Soft Acrylic Yarn  and a 4mm hook
1. Ch 10.  dc into 3rd chain from hook, htr into next ch, tr into next ch, htr into next ch, dc into next ch, hdc into next ch, sc into last 2 ch.  (You should have run out of chain here)
2. Make picot by ch3, slst into 3rd ch from hook.
3. Now working along the opposite side of the leaf, sc into first 2ch, hdc into next 2ch, dc into next ch, htr into next ch, dc into the next ch, sc into last ch.
4. Fasten off and leave a nice long tail to sew your leaf onto whatever you are embellishing.

 Flower:
Make magic ring (photo tutorial)
1. 15 sc in magic ring, pull tight, slip st in first sc
2. Chain 4, *skip 1 sc, dc in next sc, ch 1, repeat from * 6 more times. Join with slip st in 3rd chain of first ch 4. Tie off color.
3. Join new color to first chain loop with a slip stitch, work sc, dc, trc, dc, sc in each ch 1 loop, making eight petals, slip stitch in first sc.

Check out my other Free patterns at http://blog.humphriez.com/p/crochet.html

Enjoy!

 

 

Latest Crochet Projects

A couple of friends of mine had babies in May. I decided to make a baby hat for their baby boys. For the sock monkey hat I followed a pattern. The monster hat was a mix of cute ideas I had seen on-line.

Ear Warmer Headbands

Last winter I came across some really cute ear warmer headbands and I just had to get Emilia and me one.  The headbands we purchased were knit and I crochet so I looked around the Internet until I found a pattern I liked and I got to work.

I rarely follow a pattern, rather I use it as a starting point to determine size and number of stitches and then I improvise, therefore each piece is unique. So it is with the two headbands I made (teal and gray). My first attempt turned out great, the second one was even better.

These are gifts for some friends of ours. I hope they make some girls pretty happy.

Crochet Projects

Here are pictures of some projects I've done (some recently, some a while back). I don't have patterns for them because I usually work off of a photograph that inspired me and then modify it as I go along.

The three bags hanging from the tree are trick or treat bags for my kids. They are pretty simple to make. Think of them as upside down hats with handles.

A friend of mine introduced me to Pinterest. It's an awesome board where you can collect and categorize bookmarked photos you come across while browsing the Web or your friend's Pinterest boards. You need to be invited by a member to join. Leave me a comment if you are interested in subscribing and I'll forward you an invite.

Romy

Having Fun with Crochet

Even though I won't be able to know what the baby's gender is for another few weeks it hasn't stop me from making a few things.

I finished the baby blanket today. It turned out all right, but I already know I'll be making another one once I know if we are having a boy or a girl.


Then I decided to make a baby hat. The instructions were a little vague so I took some creative license and made one for Emilia and one for her baby.

Aren't they cute?

Contest

I've been really getting into crochet and having a lot of fun. Here are just a few photos of what I've made.

It is amazing to me how I can make something with just some yarn and a crochet hook.

I've decided to share some of what I've done to those that follow my blog. Just leave me a comment and you'll be entered in a random drawing for a crochet hat like the one below (you get to pick the colors). The flower is on a clip so you can remove it and use it separately. I will publish the name of the winner next week.

Crochet Flowers

Emilia's hair is getting really long but it is still very fine. She looks best when it's pulled up on pig tails so that's how I usually style it. I don't have many bows that look alike so I've been wanting to make some more.

The other day I saw one of Emilia's friend wearing a bow with a crochet flower on it. That inspired me to make some for Emilia.

I found a great instructional video on you tube. Here is the link if you are interested in making some as well.

I would rate my crochet skills at basic and I picked it up pretty quickly. They really turned out cute!


The next day I decided to buy some more yarn to add some colors. As any knitter knows, the trouble with yarn lays in storing it. I didn't like the idea of keeping it in bags. Too messy and impractical.

Then I had an idea! I don't drink wine so the bottle rack in bar area of my house has been empty since we moved in. Now it is the designated yarn rack. I just used some kabob sticks to rolls in place since they are not long enough to stay on their own.