Free Pattern: Teapot cozy

Cozy for the IKEA Riklig Teapot (0.6 l)

Cozy for the IKEA Riklig Teapot (0.6 l)

Yarn: worsted weight (I used Patons Canadiana for the grey)

Hook: 4mm

Notions: 2 buttons, IKEA Riklig Teapot (0.6 l)

Sizing: IKEA Riklig Teapot (0.6 l)

magic circle
1: 10 hdc, join, ch 2
2: 2hdc* (20) join, ch 2
3: hdc, 2hdc* (30) join, ch 2
4: hdc 2, 2hdc* (40) join, ch 2
5: hdc 3, 2hdc* (50) join, ch 2
6: hdc 3, 2hdc, hdc* (60) join, ch 2
7-9: hdc* join, ch 2
10: hdc 58, turn, ch 2
11-13: hdc* turn, ch 2
14: hdc 18, hdc2tog*, hdc 18 (56) turn, ch 2
15-16: hdc* turn, ch 2
17: hdc 26, sc 4, hdc 26, turn, ch 2
18: hdc 25, sc 2, sc2tog, sc 2, hdc 25 (55) turn, ch 2
19: hdc 25, sc 5, hdc 25, turn, ch
20: sc 54, (sc, ch 12, sk 6 sl st 6, sc) in last stitch of r. 20, working down the side, sc 7, ch 12, sk 6, sl st 6, sc 7, sc 2 in r 9, working evenly along the other side, sc 14, join
21: slst around entire edge*
finish off, sew in end

sew on two buttons, one between rows 20-21 and one between rows 14-15

optional: I added some extra colour by adding some rows of slip stitches

Free Pattern: Bat Sensory Toy

Thanksgiving in Canada happens in October, and since I was going to be spending it with family, including an adorable little boy, I figured I would whip up a quick sensory toy for him! This will be available for a limited time for free to all of you! Just my way of saying thank you to everyone who reads my blog!

Thanksgiving is a very important holiday for me because it always meant family, which is why 5 years ago J and I actually got married on Thanksgiving Sunday. In a lame sort of way it helps to remind us to always be thankful for each other and it means that every year I get to gather with family on my anniversary and celebrate our family, including the adorable new cousin who I made this little bat for!

This sensory toy is small enough that a 6-12 month old can handle it without being bogged down, and it includes both crinkle wings and a jinglebell body. It whips up stupidly fast, so there's no excuse to not make one for someone's first Halloween in your life this year!

***Pattern will be available for sale shortly***

Hope everyone who took advantage of the free pattern enjoys their bats!

My New Cardigan!

I've always wanted to make clothing for myself. Due to my size though, I've always been discouraged by the fact that most patterns call for 5+ balls of yarn (I'm cheap) and also I'm impatient! There's a reason I mainly crochet tiny dolls and hats! But I was determined this past weekend to make something for me. I started out with the popular Chevron Lace Cardigan, then realized I didn't really like lace that much, or the zigzag bottom edge and that I was making it too big... so I frogged that one, and found the Brown Sugar Shrug pattern! This is more of a tutorial than a pattern. Kristi very clearly lays out what measurements you need, and how to create the garment so it'll fit you perfectly! It's also highly modifiable, which was a big plus for me, I wanted something that would hit a bit below my waist, with elbow length sleeves. This one is plain light grey, though I've drawn up a bunch of other colour variations that I'll hopefully be whipping up!

In case anyone is interested, here's the pattern I wrote up for my cardigan!

My Raglan Cardigan

Size: XXL or 18/20
Yarn: Red Heart Soft Touch (2 balls)
Hook: 6.5mm
Gauge: --- forgot to check, will update

Yoke & Body
ch 95
1: sc in 2nd ch, sc to end (94) turn
2: (dc 15, [dc, ch, dc]) x 2, dc 30, ([dc, ch, dc], dc 15) x 2 (98sts + 4ch) turn
3-11: dc in each dc, [dc, ch, dc] in each ch-sp* (should have 170sts + 4ch the end of r. 11) turn
12: dc 25, dc in ch-sp, sk 35 dc, fdc 10, dc in ch-sp, dc 50, dc in ch-sp, sk 35 dc, fdc 10, dc in ch-sp, dc 25 (124) turn
13-27: dc* (124) turn
28: sc around entire cardigan
finish off

Sleeve
Join yarn to a stitch from r. 12
1: dc 49, turn
2-6: dc* (49), turn
7: dc2tog, dc* (48), turn
8-9: dc*, turn
10: dc2tog, dc* (47), turn
11-12: dc*, turn
13: dc2tog, dc* (46), turn
14: sc*
finish off

Free Pattern: Zigzag Cowl

I have become obsessed with cowls recently. I was looking around online for a cute zigzag (chevron) version, but all the ones I could find, were cowls made bottom to top, which gave them zigzag edges, which wasn't exactly what I was envisioning. I wanted a straight edged cowl with a sideways zigzag, so I decided to design my own! The cowl is worked flat, then the first and last rows are joined.

I decided to primarily use a single colour (pale gray) with a contrasting zigzag stripe (dusty purple) every 8 rows to emphasize the zigzaggedness (and yes I'm making up terms now) However you can obviously choose your own colour pattern, change colours every row, every other row, every 4th row, every 6th row, every 8th... whatever! It's all good! I know I'll be making different version of this soon!

I'm providing two versions, an easy and an advanced, of this pattern. I would personally advise anyone, who is comfortable with double crochet, to try the advanced version. The "advanced" techniques are pretty sparse throughout the pattern, and there are tons of tutorial online for them (including on this very blog), but I wanted to make sure that there was a version of this pattern that anyone (who can crochet) can make!

The easy version uses ch 2 or 3 at the beginning of every row (it's your choice as to which you use, I prefer a loose ch 2 usually, as it's easy to work into and keeps my edges tight, but ch 3 is technically the standard for starting a row of dc), and at the end of your last row, you need to sew the last and first rows together.

The advanced version uses chainless dc at the beginning of each row (besides the 1st row) and the cowl is formed into it's loop during the last row of crocheting by joining as you go, making it a seamless pattern.

Free Pattern: Zigzag Cowl

Yarn: thick worsted/aran weight yarn (I used Vanna’s Choice; MC silver grey, CC dusty purple)
Hook: 6mm
Finished Size: 27" x 7 3/4" (approx.)

Special Stitches:
dc3tog: yo, insert hook in next st, pull up loop, yo, pull through 2 loops on hook* repeat 3 times, 4 loops on hook, yo, pull through all loops on hook
3dc: work 3 dc in same st
2dc: work 2 dc in same st
Cdc (chainless dc): see my tutorial on chainless dc
Join as you go: see my tutorial on join as you go

Advanced Pattern
with MC ch 32
1: dc in 4th ch from hook, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 4 (29)
2: Cdc, dc in same st, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 2, 2dc (29)
3-7: repeat row 2, change to CC at the end of the 7th row
8: repeat row 2, change to MC
9-47: repeat row 2, changing colours as per the pattern (7 rows in MC, 1 row in CC)
48: complete this row using the seamless join as you go method while still following the pattern established in row 2
finish off, sew in any loose ends

Easy Pattern
with MC ch 32
1: dc in 4th ch from hook, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 4 (29)
2: ch 2 or 3 (counts as 1st st), dc in same st, dc 2, *dc3tog, dc 3, 3dc, dc 3* repeat three times, dc3tog, dc 2, 2dc (29)
3-7: repeat row 2, change to CC at the end of the 7th row
8: repeat row 2, change to MC
9-48: repeat row 2, changing colours as per the pattern (7 rows in MC, 1 row in CC)
finish off, leaving a long tail, line up your first and last row and whip stitch them together
sew in any loose ends

HtbaFB #2

"How to be a Fat Bitch" - Week 2

Discussion
What do you love most about the word fat? How has the word fat evolved for you?

I love how simple it is. I spent many years having people impose names on my size (chunky, chubby, voluptuous, overweight, plus size) and none of them felt right. I'm too big to be chubby, I'm not curvy enough to be voluptuous, I'm just fat. It took me a long time to be okay with that word. My husband actually helped me a lot, knowing he finds me attractive even thought I'm fat, helped me see that it's not a bad word.* I'm working on getting better at others calling me fat. I'm generally okay when people do it now in a conversational manner, but when someone yells it from a car at me, I totally turn into a 13 year old again.

*I decided to look up some synonyms for the word "fat". I wasn't surprised by most of these words (I've been called many over the years) but the word that stood out was "gross". So "fat" = "gross" according to thesaurus.com. Good to know.

Assignment # 1
Reclaim the word fat and do something amazing with it. Make art, take photos of yourself with fat written on you, bake a cake with fat written in frosting, etc

I wouldn't call this amazing, but it's cute and practical! I crocheted a ❤ Fat ❤ cup cozie! This cup sleeve is crocheted flat, then buttons are sewn on and finally it's cross stitched!

❤ Fat ❤ Cup Cozie Pattern

Yarn: worsted weight (2 colours; 1 for crocheting, 1 for cross stitching)
Hook: 5mm
Other supplies needed: 2  buttons (approx 1/3-1/2" big), yarn needle

Finished size: 9" x 3 1/4"

Pattern:
ch 34
1: sc in 2nd ch, sc to end (33) ch, turn
2-13: sc in 1st st, sc to end (33) ch, turn
14: sc in 1st st, sc to end, turn cozie so you can work down the unfinished edge, slst 3, ch 8, sk 6 ch, sl st into last 2 chs, sl st 6 down the edge, ch 8, sk 6 ch, sl st into last 2 chs, sl st 3.
finish off

Finishing: use a long piece of yarn, to sew both your buttons on to the opposite side of the cozie (make sure they line up with the button holes). Sew in your ends.

Cross stitch:
Cut an 18" piece of yarn, following the graph below (design is un-centered on purpose, to make room for the buttons), cross stitch into your cozie (working into the corners around a stitch). You will need to cut 4 or 5 pieces of yarn to complete the whole design. (As you can tell I forgot to include the top and bottom X on the right hand side). Make sure any loose ends are sewn in.

And now you can hit up your local coffee shop and show off your fat pride!

Free Pattern: Bow

So… this is a variation of this pattern. I wasn’t happy with the way the pattern looked, it was WAY too finicky and the ties were a bit too long for my liking.

The pattern still needs some work but here it is if you are interested:
ch 62
dc in 4th ch, dc 4, hdc 2, sc, sl st 2, sc, hdc 2, dc 12, hdc 2, sc, sl st 2, sc, hdc 2, dc 12, hdc 2, sc, sl st 2, sc, hdc 2, dc 5, ch 3, sl st in last ch, working down other side of ch, ch 3, dc 5, hdc 2, sc, sl st 2, sc, hdc 2, dc 12, hdc 2, sc, sl st 2, sc, hdc 2, dc 12, hdc 2, sc, ch 12, dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc in remaining ch, sk sl st, sl st, sc, hdc 2, dc 5, ch 3, sl st in base of beginning ch 4
finish off
fold bow so the 3 thinner parts layer on top of each other, wrap the extra row of dc around and sew it into place! TADA! An awesome bow!

*pattern has been updated to eliminate the extra ch, I missed a stitch when writing it originally!

Free Pattern: Tunisian Scarf/Cowl

My first available pattern! well if you can even call it a pattern! it's a simple, beginners tunisian scarf/cowl. I made mine 90" long, which is enough to comfortably go around someone's neck three times and be buttoned. This was my first ever tunisian project and I'm very annoyed with myself that I waited this long to learn because it is EASY!

Tunisian Scarf/Cowl

Yarn: worsted weight approx 300-325 yards for a 90" scarf (I used Bernats Mosaic, I would suggest a variegate yarn to give it some character)
Hook: 6mm tunisian or regular hook (the scarf is narrow enough that a regular hook will work)
Notions: needle, 2 - 1" buttons
Size: 4.5" x 90" (or whatever size you want)

To make this scarf, you need to know how to do a few things in tunisian crochet: base row, tss (tunisian simple stitch), tps (tunisian purl stitch), and binding off (there are instructions all over the internet on how to do this, I found YouTube to be the easiest source to learn these stitches, I was going to try to explain them, but I'm a visual teacher and writing out the instructions wasn't working well!

Buttonhole: I improvised how to do this... tss to buttonhole, yarn over (yo) 2, skip 2, continue tss as normal, on return pass, work the yo the same as any other loop.

base row: 15
1: tss* (15)
2: tps* (15)
3-4: repeat rows 1-2
5-?: tss* (15)
work until desired length (mine was about 90")
1: tps* (15)
2: tss 3, buttonhole, tss 5, buttonhole, tss 3 (15)
3: tps* (15)
4: tss* (15)
bind off

Finishing: sew your buttons onto the starting edge of the scarf, make sure that they line up with the button holes. Sew in all your ends!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me