Monday, 30 May 2016

Crochet Swans Amigurumi

I came across this pattern while looking for something to make as a small crochet gift for a friends wedding. 

It is a free pattern to crochet two swans who stand face to face and their head and beaks form a heart shape.

They were very easy to do and took only a couple of evenings using oddments of white yarn for the bodies and yellow for the beaks, to help hold the neck shape I used pipe cleaners inside the stuffing.

I couldn't use plastic safety eyes as the head was not wide enough to accommodate them - the back posts of the eyes stuck out the other side! So I embroidered them on instead.

I added a red heart to the back of each of them held in place with a crystal bead, I thought it added a little more effect and some more colour. The heart pattern was very simple and came from Attic24: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-hearts.html

You can find the free pattern for the swans here: http://littlegreen.typepad.com/romansock/2012/02/free-pattern-the-simple-swan.html Thank you Brie for a lovely free pattern :)








 Happy crocheting!



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Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Butterflies made from crochet hearts

I love these little butterflies which are made from 5 hearts - 3 small and two larger ones.

The pattern is really easy, the small heart is made in just one round with all the stitches being worked into the first of 4 chains.

The medium and large hearts are all made by starting the small heart and then adding more rounds to give larger sizes. It is so simple but VERY effective.

I made these butterflies in about 45 minutes one evening while watching TV.

You can find the FREE pattern here: http://www.goldenlucycrafts.com/free-patterns/crochet-heart-animals-butterfly

Thank you Elena for sharing your pattern for free :)





Happy crocheting!



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Tuesday, 10 May 2016

Teddies for Tragedies - Knit a bear for a child

Do you like knitting? Do you like teddy bears? Do you like helping others, especially children?

Well if the answers are yes, then this is ideal for you.

Coco's Foundation have produced a free pattern and instructions so you can knit teddy bears for children who have suffered tragedy in their life.

The teddies are send to children to make them smile. We all know the comfort a cuddly toy can bring to a child, it can make them feel they have something to 'care' for and something to love of their very own.


That pattern is easy to follow and the bear is knitted in one piece:




Find out more here at the Coco's Foundation website: 

http://www.cocosfoundation.co.uk/news/teddies-for-tragedies.html


Happy knitting!



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Saturday, 7 May 2016

Turning your crochet granny squares into wall art

Have you ever wanted to display your crochet or other fabric craft work?

This tutorial will show you how to fix your work into a deep frame so that it does not get squashed but is held in place for all to see:- Creating crochet wall art tutorial: https://youtu.be/-Qinm8Kwhw4

The picture is made using just 4 granny squares held together with flat chain stitch.

If you don't know how to make the granny squares with the daisy centre I have a full tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rT2NU0Eb2E and also a tutorial of how to join them with the flat chain stitch crochet technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1qKDJwCxmo


I think they would make lovely gifts and you could even personalise them with a favourite colour or flower centre.

You don't have to do 4, I'm sure one would be equally effective or do lots of very small ones in a fine thread, the possibilities are endless!

Happy crocheting!




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Thursday, 28 April 2016

Bride and Groom Love Birds Amigurumi

This is the second pair of little amigurumi love birds I've made, again as a little gift for a friends wedding.

 I changed the pattern slightly as I decided to crochet the wings rather than use felt, I just made 4 crochet wing shapes and sewed them on each side and I also added a decorative heart at the top, joining the two birds together.

 I used Drops Cotton Light in white for the birds, it is a DK yarn which I always buy from the Wool Warehouse.

 The flowers, heart and top hat were just oddments of yarn that I had in my stash, a little bit of netting finished off the bride's veil and I added two felt beaks, but you could embroider or crochet them.



The pattern is free on Ravelry, big thank you to magg314 for sharing it for free: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bride-and-groom-lovebirds

 The pattern for the tiny heart is from Attic24 "Teeny Tiny Heart", thank you to Lucy for that, again a free pattern: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/teeny-tiny-hearts.html 

It was really easy to do and the instructions are clear. This is the first one I made a few years ago:


Happy crocheting!



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Saturday, 23 April 2016

Tutorial - Adding beads to a crochet edge

Having finished my butterfly shawl (See my blog post for details of the pattern etc. http://www.pookiedoodlecrafts.co.uk/2016/04/butterfly-stitch-crochet-shawl.html)

I decided to add some beads to the final edging, both to give a bit of weight when wearing it and also to give it a nice decorative finish.
Adding beads is very easy, although to begin with it can be a bit fiddly to get hold of the beads and crochet at the same time, but it is well worth persevering and having a go.

I've made a video tutorial to show you how it is done if you want to have a go :)




 Happy crocheting!


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Butterfly Stitch Crochet Shawl

I've now finished the Butterfly Stitch Shawl, it was a lovely pattern to do and thank you Sharon and Debi for sharing it for free.

The design is by njSharon and DebiAdams and can be found as a free download on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/butterfly-stitch-prayer-shawl

It is worth noting that the pattern uses US crochet terms, so you will have to remember to convert them to UK terms if you prefer to work with them.

I used 100% mercerised crochet cotton from 'Boyes' the high street store, I used 2x65g balls in Ecru.

The pattern is really easy once you get into the rhythm of doing it and it grows really fast, I actually started it in December 2015 and finished in April 2016 but was working on it in between doing other things too, it is nice and relaxing to work on while watching TV.

Because it is worked from the back point you can make it as big or small as you want, so once you are happy with the size you simply stop crocheting!

Each of the pattern repeats creates an offset butterfly design.





When I had finished it I added a beaded edge to give it a bit of weight.If you would like to know how to add beads to edgings, see my video here:
https://youtu.be/wBb92wE0wgc


Happy crocheting!


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