Saturday, March 30, 2013

Lotus hat free pattern

I love the gorgeous texture of this pattern. It's the Lotus Hat by UptownPurl.


It requires a bit of skill for you to know how to knit while following a chart -- but that process isn’t too difficult if you take it slowly at first and use a stitch/row counter.


If you aren’t familiar with chart knitting, it may require some practice, so I would rate this pattern's difficulty at medium. (It may not be suitable for beginning knitters, although none of the stitches are difficult to work.) In spite of how the stitches appear to cross, there is no cabling involved here.


I hadn’t previously used the yo technique for lace knitting, but this tutorial by theshizknit was the best one I found to explain it. (Totally easy, by the way!)

I made this pattern with the one extra repeat of the chart to give the hat a bit of slouch. And although I made the blue one to donate, I loved the design so much that I had to make another one for myself in gray.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Hexagon dishcloth free pattern Tunisian crochet

This was my very first attempt to do the Tunisian crochet technique after finding a 5mm Tunisian hook tucked away among the many sets of needles in my mother’s old knitting bag.

I don’t recall ever having seen her use this long afghan hook, although my memory is full of scenes watching her use standard hooks to create large, beautiful afghans for her home and to give as gifts.

Nevertheless, I wanted to try out this newly discovered hook, and a dishcloth seemed like a useful item to make as a learning piece (that was also of a manageable scale to finish quickly and avoid possible discouragement!).

This Tunisian Short Row Dishcloth pattern by Khebhin Gibbons is easy to follow and a great project for beginning Tunisian crocheters like me.


Because I am notorious for not following directions (something about my stubborn streak), instead of whip-stitching the edges together after making the final wedge in the hexagon as instructed, I simply slip-stitched the final edge to the beginning edge.


This brought the unbroken working yarn back to the outside of the hexagon, where I then switched to a standard I hook and added a ruffle made of four rows of a graduated picot trim for a lacy effect.


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Swirly spiral hat free pattern

This is a relatively easy, quick-to-make pattern that produces an elegant-looking hat that’s perfect to donate to patients going through chemotherapy: Divine Hat by Sarah Arnold. I made this one in just a few hours and plan to make many more to donate. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your patterns for free! Hat projects usually make great stash-busters as well.

I love the swirl effect and deep texture.