Happy New Year!!!

Free Pattern - Ziggy Hat - love, love, LOVE!!!

Happy Christmas! As promised here is my Christmas pressie to you! My Ziggy Hat as a free pattern! 

I love it, especially how to yarn changes color in the rows. 

Hope to see loads of pictures of finished hats on my blog, facebook or Ravelry!

You can download a copy of the pattern here!

You can find it in my Ravelry and Craftsy shops as well!

Woodland Animal Series: Fox!

I have finished my first Animal of the Woodland Family. My Fox!

Isn't he adorable? I'm going to make him a whole family of woodland animals!

Fox! is for sale in my Etsy, Ravelry and Craftsy shops.

I have a special introductory price for the first week of Euro 2,50 in my Etsy and Ravelry! So hurry on over to get your copy!
          
                     

More pics after the break!

Stories about love, labour, creativity and recognition...

Once upon a time... at a market, a man came up to me with 3 kids. The kids loved the hats I had made. The man came up to me and said: "12.50 euro is a good price for these 3 hats, you make amazing things and you can see you love what you're doing." And handed me the money.

I looked at him and asked him what he did for a living. He was a painter. So I asked him if he liked what he was doing. And yes, he loved it so much he went into business for himself and he did well. I asked him if he could come over to my house to paint a room. Sure, he said, let's talk business. I explained what I wanted done and asked him how many hours of work would that be? He replied and said it was at least a day's work.

8 hours then? I asked and he replied yes. So I gave him 4 euro and asked if he could come by the week after so I could get the paint for him. He looked at me weirdly and asked, what the 4 euro was for. I told him that was his fee and he started laughing. Are you crazy, he said, I work for at least 25 euros per hour without the supplies I need.

So I looked at him and asked: So why do you expect me to work for 50cents an hour?

This is just one of the many little stories I can tell you about about how a lot of people look at Handmade items. They are willing to pay hundreds of euros for machine made items, because it has a special label/brandname on it. But for something that took hours to make by hand with love, it couldn't be more then a few euros.

Another story I can tell you is about a photographer. This guy makes the most beautiful pictures of your new born and or family. I met him at a market and he loved my hats. So I contacted him, see if he would make a deal with me. I would make him some photo props (cocoon, hats, whatever he wanted) that he will be able to use over and over again. And all I asked for in return was one picture of my children together.

He came back to me with a proposal. I would make him 2 cocoons and 4 hats (images included) and he will give me exposure. Because a picture of his would be worth so much more than 20 hats in total. So I was a bit shocked and asked him if he really charged 400 euro for 1 picture. I was puzzled at how people could afford a whole set of pictures.

So I thanked him for his offer and told him politely no thank you. And no I don't need his exposure.

Because I don't drive to the office every day or collect a steady paycheck at the end of the month, doesn't mean that what I do is not work.

I love what I do. And I put a lot of time and love in what I do. And I think what I do is worth something...

99c Patterns

Some patterns are free, some patterns you have to pay. That's the way it is.

I started out with selling patterns. I needed the income to pay for my yarn addiction! And now that I'm doing ok (not ok, like hubby stop working now, I'll support you.. Ok as in, I can buy myself a nice box of yarn every now and then...) I have been publishing some of my patterns for free. And yes, my free patterns perform waaaay better hahaha.

But I just can't publish all of my patterns for free, some hats will take me weeks to get the pattern right. And yes, sometimes even then, when I think they are perfect, there will be a little mistake (patternblindness). I have my little group of crazy crochet ladies, who test and read patterns for me (you know who you are, *bow* very grateful, xxx).

But some patterns are not like the big patterns, such as my Minion, Turbo, Smurf, Ponies,etc etc. So I decided to create my 99c (that's eurocent! $1.40 converted, still have to pay my fees!!) category. So a lot of my patterns will go in to that category! Yay!

I started out with my Triple S Beanie. I will lower the price of more items in my shops! And a lot of cool new patterns coming up!

So hope to see you there!

Granny with no name... Free Pattern!!

Help, my granny has no name!

I was just playing around today, after a week full of &^%$£ I was in no mood to do anything.

Yes, I need to make a gazillion Christmas decorations for my tree, that is going up this weekend. It's going to be a bare tree, with my few crochet Christmas baubles and few felt hearts. But no, I was in no mood to make Christmas decorations. I already finished a hat yesterday (the pretty little baby Triple S hat, I will show you on my blog very soon). So no, in no mood to make another hat from a pattern. All my Simpson's Tapped Out characters were hard at work (another addiction), no work for me there. Kids were in school, dishwasher and washing machine were running, freezing cold outside and I was just staring outside watching the hail, the wind and grey clouds go by. I love winter, but I wanted it freezing cold, no wind and no rain/hail. Not this Dutch weather, where plus 10C feels like minus 10C!!!

Free Pattern: Robin Hat

Yay! It's time again for a new free pattern!

I have been working on this the last couple of days.. in between school runs, mad wednesday, housework (well not really... )

I have made this hat for me! I loved the first one I made, green, grey and white. But those are not my colors. So I made this one for me! And I will wear it all winter! And I hate selfies, so unless a really good one turns up you just have to believe me that it looks great (especially with the cowl and gloves I'll be making as well!).

I named it Robin, because it reminded me of the hat Robin Hood wears. My first name was Miss Dorothy, because of the spiral. But I liked Robin better.

So I hope you like it! And I would love to see pictures of your finished Robin Hat!

Supplies

Let's make our own Zombie Apocalypse!!!

My 4 yr old boy loves his zombies!! Not the scary zombies in Walking Dead or World War Z.. but the Plants vs Zombies - Zombies! He refuses to wear his Minion hat, Turbo hat, Smurf hat or any of his other 20+ hats he has in his collection. He still wears his summercap, his old man's hat I bought for him 2 yrs ago.

He never leaves the house without a hat and he gets really upset if other kids take his hat away. He's a cutey!

I washed his favorite hat, R2D2, from last winter too hot and had to bin it. So he is waiting for me to make this years IT hat.

I had this beautiful color in my big stash of Drops Nepal Yarn. A beautiful Grey Green. The perfect green Zombie color!

I was in the zone making this hat, everything fell in place while working on it. I LOVE it when that happens. Sometimes you have this idea in your head and it just doesn't happen with your hands. You're failing constantly and frustrations run high. And it takes a lot of work and will power to see it through. Most of the time, it will end up in my "One Day..." box.

Needle Felting!

As usual, browsing Pinterest, I saw some cute little felted hearts and I thought they would look brilliantly in my Christmas tree this year! So I did some research and found they were pretty easy to make! Yay! I LOVE EASY!

But I needed the materials for felting. Again another google search brought me to a felt shop online here in the Netherlands: MeerVilt! They have absolutely everything for felting and they do workshops as well.

Normally I just buy whatever I think I need. I did that with my soapmaking adventure. Well adventure, we never left off so to speak. Because it's all still there waiting for me to make soap! I will make soap... one day...

So to be sensible (yes I can be that!) I bought a starterpack. With needles, a foamboard and wool.

Free Pattern!!! The Pukado Cowl

Free Pattern!! Yay!

I received a request to make a cowl for a little girl, who refuses to wear hats, no matter how cold it is. So the mam hoped a cowl would do the trick coming winter. I have made a cowl before with my Starry Starry Night hat and promised it to be a free pattern.

But my head was just brimming with ideas I had to get out first, before I could start on this project.

I love a cowl, it keeps you nice and warm!

For the little girl, I will add some nice little ears, so she will be a warm little bear (or cat or what ever animal you want to make basically). You can also add a ribbon, so you're able to adjust the size. This would be handy with little kids, that way you can make sure it stays put!

This cowl I made with HDC's, but you can use any stitch you like basically. It's all about the calculations!!

Free Pattern!!!! Double Up Hat

I made a Cowl for a little girl, who refuses to wear a hat, and while working on the edging a light bulb appeared. I was just winging it with the edging and it kinda looked cool....

HAT! I have to make a hat with that stitch. 

I'm the hat person. I love making hats and I love wearing them! No more sinusitis since wearing hats as soon as the temperature drops below 15 degrees C. I make my kids wear hats all the time. And I'm trying to get my husband (who is a chosen bald one, meaning; he shaves his hair off completely even though he has the thickest hair in the world) wear a hat, but he makes ridiculous requests. Don't ask.....

I just started with a magic circle and let it flow from there.... an hour and a half later... finished! Shock! And it looked cool as well!

Thank you!

As November is the month of giving thanks, I would like to thank you all for your support and love for crochet. I have never thought a year ago a simple angry birds hat would lead to where I am now. There is so much more to come, so I hope you'll stick with me!

As a thank you to all of you, I'm offering a 25% discount in my Etsy shop until the 30th of November. Please use NOVTHANKS at checkout to receive your 25% discount!

I have read loads of things people are thankful for, from their cup of tea on a rainy day to the love of their live. Respect for all of you who are doing the 30 days of thanks. I love reading it in blogs and on facebook. I'm thankful for my husband, my beautiful little lady, my cheecky monkey boy, the support and love from our family and friends and my little corner of the sofa surrounded by hundreds of skeins of beautiful colored yarn.

xoxoxo

Gum drops...

I fell in love with the Gum Drop hat Kinga made! It's such a pretty stitch! I had to make one, just to try it out. And it's lovely and perfect for winter hats, because it's nice and thick.

I'm a loose crocheter and that gives me all kinds of trouble! My patterns are written with my crochet style in consideration. This means a lot of people have problems with gauge with my pattern, but also, it's giving me problems with other designer's patterns.

I found this great quote from Kim Guzman:

"Pattern=Guide, not Bible.

Remember, there is usually a method to the madness! What is perfectly clear to you as the crocheter may not translate to pattern writing. The pattern writer may have discovered a different method as well, but it simply didn’t work when writing the pattern, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do it! Get creative! That pattern isn’t a bible! Use it as a guide and I think you’ll find that you are much happier with your finished project." Quote Kim Guzman

It's so true. If I get a pattern, I always work it the way it works for me best. I love and appreciate the work the designer has put in the pattern, but there's nothing better then discovering what more you can do with a pattern. A lot of patterns start with 12 stitches in a magic ring. For my style of crochet, 12 is too much. So I use 8 stitches as average. See where I´m going with this? I might need 3 increase rows to get where I have to be, but the pattern tells me to do 6 increase rows. You have to make it your own to work it.

This doesn't mean, because I made something completely different, it's my pattern now. No, it still is Kinga's design and pattern. You can't copy write a stitch, but you should respect the work and creativity the designer has put in the pattern.

I think my hat turned out fabulous! But I don't have little baby girls anymore... So not sure what to do with it!

Happy Happy, Starry Starry night! Pattern Give Away!!

Yay!!! My Star Stitch Hat pattern is finally available in my shops!

To celebrate this release I'm giving away 5 Starry Starry Night Patterns with a bonus pattern of the matching finger less gloves! Woohoo!!

All you have to do is go to my facebook, like my page, like and share the post. I will randomly pick 5 winners who will receive the pattern! Yay!!!

Winners will be announced tomorrow night (European time)!

I'll just do a few more happy dances...

Gauge, sizing and My Little Pony

The first patterns I have written were for my little Pony Hats.
 
My girl is crazy about My little Pony. She asked me to make her a Pinkie Pie or Rarity hat. This was last year. I have been crocheting since August 2012, so I was new to the whole designing and writing part of crocheting. I had made hats following other designers patterns, but never made one all by myself.

But I wanted to try, to see if I could do it. I started out with the basic hat pattern. There are a lot of different ways to make a basic beanie/ear flap hat. I have tried a couple. I am a loose crocheter and not all patterns suit my style of crochet. So I designed my own basic beanie / ear flap pattern. It has changed over the year, evolved. But my basic hat pattern as it is now, is giving me the right size every time, using the specified yarn. I love to work with Drops, especially Nepal or Alaska. If I use a different yarn, I have to go up or down a size in the pattern to achieve the correct size for the project. It's very important to make a swatch, before you choose what size hat you're making.

Gauge is a pain. Every one has their own way of crocheting and their own favorite yarn to work. To write a pattern to give every one the perfect size is impossible. Therefore you have to work with gauge. I didn't do it in the beginning. I found it really hard and frustrating at times. I always used a pattern as a guide, not as a step by step building plan. I tweak it so it works for me. But now, my patterns are getting more known, I have to succumb to the pressures of gauge hahaha

Free pattern - Puff Stitch Beret Hat and Pretty Arm Warmers

So it's time again for a free pattern.

As my time is still consumed with working on the Starry Starry Night Hat, finishing custom orders and I have a new Rainbow Hat in my head (which is going to be awesome!). I have been thinking about retiring some of my patterns from my shops.

So I chose my Puff Stitch Beret Hat to be a free pattern this time.

It's a lovely hat, easy to make and will keep your head nice and warm!

Included are some nice warm Arm Warmers, for arm measurement 7" to 9".

The bow was made with a free pattern from BobWilson123. They make great video tutorials for youtube to teach crochet. Check them out here!

Chocolate WHAT in a mug?

So you have as a woman one of those moments in a month. Your husband is out with his friend, the kids are sleeping in their beds (or my bed, will find out when I go to bed), the new episode of Grey's Anatomy is waiting for you on the telly, bra off, cup of tea and blanket on the sofa.

And all that is missing is some chocolate... argh

Hmmm lovely chocolate, hmmm yummie chocolate.. hmmm no chocolate in the house.. snif snif

What to do??? And the more you think about it, the more you want it. I do have a box of quick and easy Brownie mix in the cupboard, but I don't eat all of that on my own. And it would be nice to make some with the kids this weekend. I make (if I may say so) delicious chocolate cakes and cupcakes, but again.. a bit too much just for me!

Starry Starry Night...

Pfffff Halloween is hurting my fingers haha I received loads of custom orders for Halloween from all over the world. I have made a couple of Minion Hats and Snail Hats. So I was busy and the one thing I don't like is repeating a pattern over and over again. I have decided that I will do the orders I still have, but I'm not taking any more orders for hats. As I don't have any time left for my designing, pattern writing and other projects. I still have an art project for my living room waiting for me. My down stairs Bathroom is screaming for a toilet roll/magazine/other stuff holder. I have the idea in my head, but need time to explore it.

In between making all these hats the Star Stitch kept screaming in my head to make a hat. But the Star Stitch is mainly used in scarfs, blankets, etc straight projects and not round ones.

I think I started this project at least 8 times to find the perfect increasing Star Stitch.

Winter Outfit for my girl

It's getting chilly! Call me crazy, but I'm in winter mode already! Yesterday we had our first hot coco movie afternoon with Harry Potter, YAY!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE WARM WEATHER! But Winter has it's charms. I'm nuts about Christmas, the cozy nights on the sofa with a hot cup of tea and a biscuit, the snow and ice... aaaah love it! What I hate is the cold rain and the freezing wind.

I made a winter outfit for my girl. She got new boots, Timberlands (bargain on eBay!!). But the boots close at the top with Velcro and it bothered her walking. So I thought a boot cuff will solve that problem. I had made her the Chevron hat and she absolutely loves it. So I made her matching boot cuffs, nothing fancy, straight on HDC's all around. I put a flower on it and some fork pompoms. It looked cute! (Free pattern at the bottom of this post)

But my lovely daughter wanted mittens to go with it as well. So I made her mittens.

And by then I figured, if I would make her a little skirt, she could wear the whole outfit with some nice knitted white leggings and a lovely top in the winter.

Last week, Next week

Kevin the Minion

This is going to be a quick post! I'm so busy with everything and every one, I must remember to slow down! So less talk, loads of pics!

So I updated the Kevin the Minion hat pattern to include 9 sizes! Loooooads of work, but I think it was a good thing!

Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree

I made this beautiful little tree last spring. I didn't intend to make this tree, I wanted an apple tree! I saw this cute pattern of an apple on the blog of  PlanetJune. I was in love, they were so cute. So I made a bunch of apples, with different kind of yarn. The smallest one, I made with embroidery yarn and it was so cute! So I had this idea of an apple tree in my window full of little red apples.

I was thinking of using real branches. But it just didn't look right, so my branches turned into my Spring Tree.

I went online in search of a tree pattern. I saw loads of beautiful, funny trees. But nothing really what I had in mind. So I took out my crochet needle, brown fingering yarn and started to crochet. I really didn't know what was coming out in the end, I just pictured the tree in my head and just added row after row. Thank god, I typed along with what I was doing, this is something I sometimes forget and regret big time!

When I finished the tree and the first branches, I was thrilled. This was it! So I added some branches and weaved in the ends. But it was a bare tree. How am I going to do the leaves? Online you see a

Autumn has started...

saying sadly goodbye to summer as today was day full of rain and wind.

But I was not ready yet to say goodbye, so I made this beautiful Sunflower

Puff Stitch Beret and Arm Warmers Plus Size

In addition to my Pop Corn Stitch hat, I wanted to try out the Puff Stitch. I think it really turned out nice!

I added some arm warmers to the pattern. I don't have slim arms and most patterns I found were not the right fit for me. If I added more rows then the hand part would be too wide. So I worked it out for myself.

My Aquarium Garden

I've been given these 3 glass aquariums a few weeks ago. The woman wanted to get rid of them and I wanted to have some fish for the kids. So I had 2 aquariums standing in the shed, not sure what to do with them.

So I got this brilliant idea from Pinterest, off course, and I wanted to create a mini garden in my kitchen window. That was my project for today. I went to the garden shop, bought loads of mini plants and succulents and a big bag (25kg) of stones. I also bought some tiny little knickknacks, a little birdcage and a tinytiny Buddha.

Popcorn Stitch Slouch Hat... finished!

Yay! Next to my smurf hat, I finished my Popcorn Stitch Slouch Hat! And I love it!!!

I have written about it before. I started this project as a hat for myself. I got a new haircut, short on one side and long on the other side, I just absolutely love it! But all my hats from last winter don’t have the Oh La La factor now with my new haircut, so I needed something else! I was always curious in how to work a stitch like the popcorn stitch or the bobble stitch in a hat. It took me awhile to figure out how to get a nice circular shape instead of a haxagon or a what-a-gon. I think I had to start over at least 12 times, before I had a nice shape.

There is probably an easier way, but hey.. I’m stubborn.. I wanted to figure it out myself! And I learned a lot!

The pattern includes 4 sizes A baby beanie and a toddler beanie, I don’t like the look of slouch hats on babies and young children. And a Child/Teen and Adult size.

The Smurfs are here!

You see the little buggers everywhere! And my little girl loves all that is tiny and cute and funny, so she adores the smurfs.

So a new cool hot thing is out and it fits right into my hat making range! I just couldn't let it go. I wanted to know if I could make it. The white hat is tricky, it's not just a pointy hat that slouches to the front. It's easy enough to draw something like that, but to actually make it??? pfffff.... it took me a few tries before I had the perfect slouch. I'm really happy with it!

In the beginning... the evolvement of me..

I thought myself a year ago how to crochet. I used Youtube. I used the US terms for crochet to teach myself. Started with really simple patterns and just hooked all day. My first pattern I tried was an Angry Bird Hat pattern from Crochetgeek. 

My boy loved it and I was really pleased with myself! Made a few more hats, worked out a standard hat pattern that worked for me, added ear flaps, started to experiment with different stitches, etc. My work evolved. So I'm happily working away, designing new hats, experimenting with shapes, figuring out what has the best results. But now that my patterns are getting attention from other crocheters and the fact that I'm Dutch, I get a lot of requests to translate my patterns in Dutch. I was a bit reluctant, and for a good reason!

I just finished translating my first pattern in Dutch, the arm warmers Lacey Butterfly. And to be honest, the Dutch sounds/reads/works awful! It has so many more words to describe stitches. It's just not pretty... I like my rows neat and clear, but in Dutch it's a mess. Or maybe it's my crochetDutch that is a mess. I don't know?? I normally don't work Dutch patterns, because I have no clue what they mean (I should try it now, because I learned a few CrochetDutch words).

So you can get the Dutch version of Arm Warmers Lacey Butterfly here.

Please, Dutch Crocheters, let me know what you think of it. I would love comments and feedback. 

xoxoxo

Patricia

Fishy fishy...

Instead of doing a bit of work today, I went to the shop and got stuff for our aquarium. Yes we are now the proud owner of a tank with water and 2 plants. We can't put any fish in there for at least 2 weeks, this is for the bacteria and the water to settle(???). I have no clue, but I'm willing to listen to the people who know about this stuff. So my day was spent, boiling the little stones for ground cover, to get rid of harmful bacteria.

The kids ran in the house expecting to see fishies. I didn't know how to explain it, so I just told them the fishies weren't born yet. And in 2 weeks time we're able to pick them up.

It's not really a good picture, but you get the idea.

I was working on a hat for myself and I was almost done, but not happy with it. So I started drawing, calculating and banging my head on the table repeatedly, but I think I have the answer now. I want a pop corn stitch beret. But with berets, the problem is in the circle. How do you get the round curve of the beret? It will always be with corners (in my case 6 corners) where the increases are. And there are numerous ways to do it I guess, but I wanted to solve the problem myself. So I think I have it now... working on Row 4, so it can go anywhere still. But so far it looks good!

With the hat, I want make a scarf, arm warmers, mittens and boot cuffs (or maybe legwarmers). But the thing is, I don't have that yarn any more and I bought it last year. So no way in h*ll am I going to get that same color back again. So I will make the hat in this color and the set in a different color! Here's a preview:

If you have a way of making the perfect circle and you would like to share it, please leave me a comment! I'll bet you I'm doing it the hard way and there is a really simple answer to this!

Update: This hat is driving me nuts!!!!

xoxoxo Patricia

Hat Season Kick off! SALE! Yay! SALE!!!!

To kick off Crochet Hat Season, I'm offering 50 - 75 % discount on selected Hat Patterns on Etsy and Ravelry!

Visit my shops and get those heads covered for winter!

Working on...

to write down the pattern for this little hat in all sizes:

It's a cute hat, with a bit of a bonnet taste to it.
Not sure if I'll repeat the owl. Maybe stick with the tree branches or switch to something else like little daisies? or other flowers?

It will be a double hat, so very cozy and warm for winter. And I'll probably make a set, with arm warmers, mittens, a scarf and a little bag to put it all in for school.

Wheels are still turning in my head. I'll get the base done first and then we'll see..

I'll update as I go along!

Minion Mania!

As mentioned before, my kids fell in love with the Minions after watching Despicable Me 2.
And to be honest, I did as well, they are just too cute and I want a couple of them running around the house! Life would be so much easier, wouldn't it?

So I made a little Minion. The kids were fighting over it... so I made another one, Minion 2.0. But then I had to make another one, a bigger one.. Minion XL

So I have 3 Minions flying around the house!

So here's the pattern. You can download a printer friendlier version here!

Minion amigurumi 

Supplies:

Hook Needle 2.5mm

Coton, I used Phildar Coton 3, in colors Yellow, Blue, Black, White, Silver Grey

Yarn Needle

Stuffing

Body

--------------------------------------------------------

This pattern is for the small Minion at the left.

R1 Magic circle, CH1, 5SC in circle, SLST to first SC, Ch1, SC in same st, 2SC in each ST all around – 12st

R2 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next st, *2SC, SC in next st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 18st

R3 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 2st, *2SC, SC in next 2st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 24st

R4 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 3st, *2SC, SC in next 3st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 30st

R5 Ch1, SC in same st, , SC in next 4st, *2SC, SC in next 4st* repeat from * all around, SLST to first SC – 36st

(If you want to make the body bigger, add on rows with increases until happy, make sure you increase the number of Rounds, the amount of Blue and Yellow st as in R15, lengthen the arms, add rounds on the legs, etc!!!)

R6 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R7 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R8 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Switch to Black

R9 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R10 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Switch back to Yellow

R11 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R12 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R13 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 34st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

R14 CH1, SC in next st, SC in next 34st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Sow on Eye(s) on R9 and R10, Add Hair, Embroider on Mouth

Start with Blue

R15 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 4st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 10st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 4st, skip last st, SLST to first SC - 36st

Start with Blue

R16 CH1, SC in next 4st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 10st, Switch to Yellow, SC in next 8st, Switch to Blue, SC in next 5st, SLST to first SC - 36st

With Blue

R17 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 4 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 30st

R18 CH1, SC in each st around, SLST to first SC - 30st

R19 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 3 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 24st

         Sow on Arms and Overall Straps and Start stuffing

R20 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 2 st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 18st

Starting with legs, 

Left leg

R21 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, CH3, SLST to first SC - 12st

R22 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next 2st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

R23 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, SLST to first SC - 9st

Switch to Black

R23 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 10st

R24 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC in next 2st, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 12st

R25 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

Start stuffing

R26, CH1, SCDEC all around, SC in last st, SLST to first SCDC - 5st

With Yarn needle fasten off and pull closed.

Right leg

SLST to the last SC of R20

R22 CH1, SCDEC, SC in next 2st along Chain from R21, *SCDEC, SC in next 2st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

R23 CH1, SC in same st, SC in next 8st, SLST to first SC - 9st

Switch to Black

R23 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 10st

R24 CH1, SC in next 4st, 2SC in next 2st, SC in next 4st, SLST to first SC - 12st

R25 CH1, *SCDEC, SC in next st*, repeat all around, SLST to first SCDEC - 9st

Start stuffing

R26, CH1, SCDEC all around, SC in last st, SLST to first SCDC - 5st

With Yarn needle fasten off and pull closed.

Arms

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Make 2

R1 CH7, 

R2 SC in sec CH from hook (work in the loop on the back of the chain), SC in next 5st

R3 CH1, SLST using front loops of both CH R1 and ST R2 until end

R4 CH1, SLST on other side using back loops of both CH R1 and ST R2 until end

R5, CH1, 3SC on top of arm to start beginning of hand, turn

Switch to black

R6, CH1, SC in the same st, SC in next 2st, 

Finger 1: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, move on to next st

Finger 2: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, move on to next st

Finger 2: CH3, SC in sec CH from hook, SC in next, SLST in bottom SC, Fasten off and weave in.

Overall Straps

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CH8, leave long tails for sowing on body on both sides.

Eye(s)

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Start with White

MC, CH1, 5SC in circle, SLST to first SC- 6st (if you want bigger eyes, just add more SC in MC)

R1 Ch1, SC in same st, 2SC in each ST all around – 12st

R2 Ch1, SC in same st, SC in next st, *2SC, SC in next st* repeat from * all around, Fasten 

off to first SC with Invisible Join – 18st

Switch to Silver Grey

R3, SLST to R2 in front loop only. SC in each st around in front loop only, fasten off to first SC with Invisible Join - 18st

R4, SLST to R2 in back loop only. SC in each st around in front loop only, SLST to first SC - 18st

R5, CH1, SC in each st around - 18st

With Black, make 2:

MC, CH1, 5SC in circle, Invisible Join to first SC - 6ST

Sow on the white of the eyes

Hair

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Hair 1: On top of head in one place

With Black

Cut 8 lengths of 10 cm, Take 1 length, fold double and SLST around post in between R1 and R2, repeat with other lengths.

Cut 10 lengths of 15 cm, knot them together in a big knot and with hook needle pull all 10 lengths through the centre of the Magic Circle of Body

With yarn needle and yarn, wind yarn 4 times around all lengths at the base of the hair and pull tight, secure knot, and cut of lengths at desirable height, around 2 cm.

Hair 2: Random hair sticking out

Cut 18 lengths of 10 cm, Take 1 length, fold double and SLST randomly around post in between st, repeat with other lengths, cut of lengths at desirable height, around 2 cm.

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I hope you enjoy it!

xoxoxo Patricia

Lacey Butterfly - Arm Warmers - Free Pattern

Normally my Patterns are big, with loads of things to do. But I was in the mood for something small and easy. Something cool and girly.

Arm Warmers.. they are getting really popular now and I think they're fab!

I was also thinking of Aoibhinn in Autumn wearing her t-shirts. If she wears arm warmers, she can wear her favorite t-shirts all year long! So I started looking for a stitch to use. I wanted something nice. I was looking at the broomstick lace stitch. But that just buggered me. Too much and if you don't do it right it looks like a mess.

I've found this pin on Pinterest and loved it. So I tried it out, made some changes and my arm warmer was on the way.

It's from this site and it's in Russian.

I made a pair for myself and my little lady in an evening. It's easypease!

You can download a printable version here.

Supplies:

Yarn. Any yarn would do, just add a multiple of 5 to get to the desired length.

Hook needle. It depends on the yarn which needle to use.

Yarn needle, to weave in ends.

Size:

This is very easy to convert to different size.

The length:
The begin chain has to be a multiple of 5 plus 3 for the first DC.
For a child aged 2-3 you chain 30 plus 3
Child aged 4-6 you chain 40 plus 3
Child aged 6-10 you chain 50 plus 3
Child/teen aged 10-14 you chain 60 plus 3
Teen/adult you chain 70 plus 3
Adult you chain 80 plus 3

The width:
Is changeable by adding rows of DC after R5 and R13
For a child aged 2-3 you add 1 row of DC
Child aged 4-6 you add 2 row of DC
Child aged 6-10 you add 3 row of DC
Child/teen aged 10-14 you add 4 row of DC
Teen/adult you add 5 row of DC
Adult you add 6 row of DC
And the same amount on the other side

The thumb hole
For a child aged 2-3 you add the thumb hole in the DC Row after R5, start with 4DC and CH2.
Child aged 4-6 you add the thumb hole in the DC Row after R5, start with 5DC and CH3.
Child aged 6-10 you add the thumb hole in the second DC Row, R7, start with 6DC and CH3.
Child/teen aged 10-14 you add the thumb hole in the second DC Row, R7, start with 6DC and CH4.
Teen/adult you add the thumb hole in the third DC Row, R8, start with 8DC and CH4.
Adult you add the thumb hole in the third DC Row, R8, start with 8DC and CH4.

This is a guideline, the size of the hook you use and the yarn is also important, for this pattern I used yarn 10wpi and hook 5 for the pink arm warmers and for the blue green arm warmers I used yarn 12wpi and hook 3.5. 

And don't forget to switch sides of the thumb hole  So the second arm warmer has the DC row with thumb hole on the second part of the arm warmer.

I will follow the pattern the teen/adult.





 R1, CH73, in third CH from hook and the next 4CH after that, pull up a loop, (you have 6 loops on your hook now, 5 big loops and your normal loop), insert hook through all loops, YO, pull through first 5 loops and make a SC with your normal loop, 4SC through the same 5loops, *pull up loop in next 5CH, 5SC through the same 5loops*, repeat till the end. Turn. - 70

  

R2, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, CH3 and turn. - 70

R3, *pull up loop in next 5CH from R2, 5SC through the same 5loops*, repeat till the end. Turn. - 70

R4, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, CH3 and turn.

R5, *Dc2together, DC, DC2together* in each CH4Space till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R6 and R7, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R8, DC in next 8st, CH4, skip 4st, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

(Picture is taken following pattern Child aged 2-3, therefore DC in 4st, CH2, Skip 2st, DC in rest)

R9 and R10, DC in each st till end, fasten off after R10. - 42

R11, SLST on the first CH of R1, *CH4, SLST in between DCclusters*, repeat till end, turn. - 70st

R12, *Dc2together, DC, DC2together* in each CH4Space till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

R13 and R17, DC in each st till end, CH3 and turn. - 42

Fold work, good side in, SLST both sides together using outer loops.

Edge topside (finger side) with SC.

Weave in ends.

Tip: The tail of the first Chain is finger side.

For the second arm warmer, switch rows 6 - 10 with rows 13 - 17. And on the thumb row, R15, DC in next 30st, CH4, skip 4st, DC in last 8st.

(Picture is taken following pattern Child aged 2-3, therefore DC in 12st, CH2, Skip 2st, DC in 4st)

Enjoy! Hope you like it!

xoxoxo Patricia