Santa Sack Hat free pattern

New free pattern alert! This Santa Sack Hat has a comfortably loose, slouchy fit and no side seams on the crown for a smooth appearance.

I admired Penny’s cute double-tailed Santa hat that she wears in a Christmas episode of the popular American sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” This hat isn’t an exact replica, but its dual pompoms do provide a touch of whimsy.



I have a large head, 22.5 inches, so to achieve a loose fit, I worked a foundation chain with 88 stitches. To make different sizes, simply work a foundation chain until it’s a length that fits loosely around your intended wearer’s head. The foundation chain needs to have an even number of stitches, so if your foundation has an odd number, either add one or remove one to make an even number of stitches.

Hat is worked from the bottom up.

Fandom Headband commission

My friend Pam messaged me to ask if I knew of a pattern for a headband similar to the ones made by crochet artist Sydne Elam of Simply Squid on Etsy. Pam said she had looked but couldn't find one made with stripes that go around the head the long way instead of up and down, and she also wanted a layered flower on the headband like the Simply Squid ones have. (The flower part was not going to be difficult, as I already had bookmarked a favorite layered flower pattern designed by Melissa of Action Hero.)

I searched around but had the same difficulty Pam had in not being able to find a nice headband pattern online that looked similar to what Pam showed me, and Simply Squid only sells the finished headbands in her shop (no headband patterns for sale there).

It didn't take long for me to realize that I would need to write up my own pattern for a striped headband for Pam and then write a blog post about how oddly difficult it was to find a pattern for this particular type of item!

As I set out to design a pattern for Pam, my first question was whether she wanted the headband to button in the back the way the Simply Squid ones do, and she said yes. Then I crocheted a prototype, sans flower, with some green, white, and black yarn scraps out of my stash so she could see what I came up with. (When I made the prototype I didn't know what colors Pam wanted for the headband she had in mind.)

My prototype photos show how the green headband fits on a 21-inch wig form head:

Pam said my prototype looked like it would be perfect (with a flower added, of course!). For the colors she wanted brown, orange and white -- Cleveland Browns colors. She said her sister's family goes to all the Browns' home games, and it is really cold up there during football season.

It took me a couple of days to find time to work up the headband again in Cleveland Browns colors, but eventually this is what I came up with:

I didn't have good lighting for this photo, so the main color looks more black than brown, but it really is brown. I set out an assortment of buttons to see if Pam liked any of them for the button closure, but she ended up deciding to sew on a button herself.  I think Pam also was going to add a decorative football type of button to the center of the flower, similar to what Simply Squid adds to the headbands in her Etsy shop.

Alien mask balaclava costume prop

I made this super fun Alien Mask pattern by Cirsium Crochet for my grandniece Jill, because she loves aliens.

 

But then I reconsidered giving it to her because Jill has two little sisters who might get scared if they see their big sis wearing this mask.

Thus I ended up cannibalizing this project to use the Red Hears Super Saver yarn in the Spring Green colorway for something else. 😂 Maybe I can make it again for Jill later, after her sisters get a bit older.

1-2-3 Flip-brim Beanie free pattern

Two new free patterns released in two days! Wow!

Like a lot of us, I get busy with day-to-day things as well as just simply spending my time actually WORKING on yarncraft projects rather than blogging about them, so it can sometimes be months between my posts. Sigh. But sorry, there are only so many hours in a day. I'm sure you've been there, too, and can understand.

Today I am releasing this pattern for a 1-2-3 Flip-brim Beanie because in the USA, October has become the single biggest month for cancer-awareness causes in the form of the Pink October breast cancer movement.



Cancer (not specifically breast cancer) has profoundly touched my life and the lives of so many people who are close to me, and because of this, I feel moved to make and donate attractive caps each year to support the patients battling this terrible disease at a nearby cancer treatment center.

I offer this pattern for free, forever, in honor of Pink October and all the men and women who have battled and survived or lost the fight to any form of cancer.

If you download this pattern, please consider making and donating at least one of these hats to the patients at your local cancer center. Thank you so much.

The “1-2-3” portion of the name for this beanie comes from the texture that is achieved by working in repeating rounds of sc, hdc, and dc.

These instructions yield a simple but sophisticated cap with about a 20-22 inch circumference, depending on your yarn and tension, which should comfortably fit the head of an average adult - and particularly adults who have lost their hair to the cruel ravages of chemotherapy. The fit is intentionally a bit oversized (although not slouchy per se) for comfortable ease. The brim flips upward as you work the brim instructions and will remain in place on its own.

If you are making this hat to give to a chemo patient, choose a soft, hypoallergenic fiber by following the guidelines provided by Halos of Hope.

Simple Vertical Stripe Placemat free pattern

Just published on Ravelry: my new free crochet pattern for a Simple Vertical Stripe Placemat.



This super-easy project works up in just a few hours. I hope you will go check it out!

I made this one with Lily Sugar ’n Cream in Country Side Ombre, which gives the fabric almost an argyle plaid effect that I really like.

How crochet hooks and knitting needles are measured for size

This might be something that is blatantly obvious to everyone else but me, but recently I found myself wondering exactly HOW are crochet hooks and knitting needles measured for size?

Hooks and needles are usually presented with their sizes given in millimeters (for example, a 5.5 mm crochet hook or a set of 7 mm knitting needles). But do those millimeters represent the hook's/needle's CIRCUMFERENCE or DIAMETER???

This issue actually came up when I was working the Harmony Shawl free pattern while camping. I didn't pack all my yarncrafting supplies for the trip, but I had a white plastic 6.5 mm K hook on hand. The pattern actually recommends an 8 mm L hook to create a fabric with a relatively large gauge, however, so I improvised by working each stitch way up on the handle of my K hook, at the point where the handle flattens out and gets wider (see photo below).

Working stitch up on the flattened hilt of a K hook to achieve a larger gauge.

But because I was camping without all of my supplies, I had no way to measure just how big of a stitch I was approximating by working them up on the hilt of my K hook. And then I realized that even if I'd had a measuring tape on hand, I actually didn't know whether the hook's size represented its circumference or its diameter. D'oh!

After we returned home, I searched the Internet for information about how crochet hooks and knitting needles are measured. This Wikipedia article had some interesting information, but it didn't fully answer my question because its statement "Hooks come in various sizes (measured in millimetres or fractions of an inch), according to the thickness of the needle" didn't clarify what it meant by "thickness of the needle." One could still interpret that as either the circumference OR the diameter! ARGH!

So, finally, I pulled out my measuring tape and an I hook (5.5 mm size) and tested the measurements out for myself. As best as I could tell, its circumference measured at 19 mm! That's obviously WAY more millimeters than 5.5!

Next I measured the hook's diameter, and as you can see in the photo below, it's fairly close to 5.5 millimeters.

So, at last, I have my answer for how hooks and needles get their size rating, and in the process, I learned something new. Now I won't have to take those size markings for granted anymore!

And if you've ever wondered the same thing about hook and needle sizes, I hope this post helped you as well. Happy yarncrafting!

P.S. And in case you're wondering what crochet hook size I actually was approximating by working up on the hilt of my K hook, according to the diameter sizing rule, as far as I can tell, that spot on the hook measures at about 10 mm, which is the equivalent of a size N hook.

Princess Morgan Frilly Jumper free pattern

After seeing some cute, fun knit dress designs for little girls that utilize ruffled scarf yarn in the skirt, I wanted to knit a jumper for my grand niece, Morgan. However, since none of the dress designs I had seen were quite what I had in mind to make for her, I started working freehand, from the bottom hem of the skirt upward.

The skirt and the bodice part of the jumper were totally straightforward, so I had no trouble improvising them. But I knew I was going to be in trouble when it came to making armholes and a yoke because I had never done anything like that before from the bottom up. So I started scouring through Ravelry patterns in the hope that I would find a bottom-up little girls top pattern with a yoke design that would be close enough in garment size, needle size, and yarn weight that I could use its yoke to finish the jumper I was working on.

The yoke of Kristy Demoe’s gorgeous Arrowhead Lace Topper fit the bill EXACTLY. After finishing my prototype for the Princess Morgan Frilly Jumper pattern, I approached Kristy to ask her permission to use her work as part of this free pattern, and she agreed. Therefore, to complete this dress pattern, you will need to also download a copy of Kristy’s free pattern at the link above.

Princess Morgan Frilly Jumper knits up quickly in aran or worsted weight yarn on circular needles and is easy enough for an advanced beginner. This pattern is free because it is ONLY being released in little girls’ size 4.

The skirt is a simple garter stitch in the round. Ruffles are added on alternating rows by holding the main and scarf yarns together. The bodice is a very stretchy twisted rib. And it is all elegantly topped off by Kristy’s Arrowhead Lace yoke. Instructions for an optional button-on flower are included.

Dress sample shown in the photos is made with Red Heart With Love Candy Pink 100% acrylic yarn and Rozetti Yarns Marina Multi Valentine 100% acrylic ruffle scarf yarn.

Approximate finished dimensions: Dress circumference: 24 inches. Hem to neck length: about 21 inches.

Update: I got some photos today of Princess Morgan wearing her dress, and it just barely fits her but I think she looks beautiful! Mom reports that getting Morgan’s head through the neck opening was pretty tight, so I will definitely have to make the next one larger.

Lunch with friends

Today we had lunch with Tony, Annie, and Rose. It was great to spend some time together!

Shawlcowl Pullover pattern is free for a limited time

I released my Shawlcowl Pullover pattern on Ravelry on April 10, and the pattern has been receiving lots of yarn love from Ravelry users. The Shawlcowl Pullover is designed to mimic the trendy look of wearing a shawl as a scarf combined with the comfortable ease of wearing a pullover cowl.



If you use this link, you can download a free copy of the pattern through midnight PDT on May 1. On May 2, the price becomes $3.00 USD, so head over to Ravelry and grab your free copy while you still can using coupon code "spring."

Another reason to grab your copy now is that on May 2, everyone who has added Shawlcowl to their Ravelry library will automatically receive an updated version of the pattern that includes the Shawlcowl 2 variation. Shawlcowl 2 has a different neckline edging and a more open look to the feather-and-fan lace border.

This is my first knitting pattern design, and in the process of creating it, I discovered that developing, then testing, then ripping out and reknitting, then writing, then editing, then shooting photos, then editing some more, then test knitting it again ... was A LOT OF WORK!! Which is why I decided to put a very reasonable price on the finished pattern product.

I have gained a great amount of additional respect for people who develop pattern designs for knitting and crochet. These people WORK HARD at their craft, and they deserve our support. I have always enjoyed finding and sharing free patterns online, and of course I will continue to do that, but I have also paid for a significant portion of the patterns in my personal library. The experience I gained while developing the Shawlcowl Pullover has shown me that indie designers have earned every cent that they charge for their work.

Please respect the copyrights of indie designers!

Working on a new free pullover scarf pattern

I am currently testing new design for a free knit pullover scarf pattern and plan to be releasing it here and on Ravelry within the next week or so.

I'm excited about the design because I have been rather taken with the pullover scarf concept recently. These items are great because they mimic the look of wearing a shawl wrapped around your neck, but with the ease of pullover. My design incorporates a squishy, texture-rich garter stitch front panel with a classic feather-and-fan trim.

The test pieces are looking good, so I believe this will be a piece you will love to knit and love to wear! So stay tuned! Here's a sneak peek at one of the finished test pieces:

Hitchhiker - the full mathy

I received a partial skein of sock-weight two-ply self-striping yarn in blue-green-white in a box of yarn given to me by a friend. And I had no idea what to make with it.

After searching for several years for the perfect pattern to go with this yarn, I found it in the Hitchhiker shawlette designed by Martina Behm (on Ravelry at Maltina).



The 8-row repeat is easy to master to produce a delicious-feeling, ready-to-wear neck wrap, which you can make as short or long as you like.

Sock yarn Hitchhiker project after 15 points completed.

The scarf above ended up at 18.5 points long when the yarn ball ran out, but it's just long enough to wear around one's neck to chase away a chill. I plan to add a small button and loop to fasten it closed and donate it to my local cancer center as a small yarn hug for a patient.

But if your goal is to make a full-size, 42-point Hitchhiker scarf, progress feels like it slows down exponentially after one reaches about the 25th point because by then there are more than 100 stitches on the needle (and still growing).

For an impatient knitter like me, that makes achieving the "full" 42-point version of Hitchhiker rather difficult toward the end. However, if you are able to persevere, the rewards of the finished shawlette are definitely worth it.

Full-size Hitchhiker project after 23 points completed.

A recent yarn blog post by humorist Franklin Habit says: "When a non-knitter asks a question about my knitting, that question is most often, 'How long will it take you to finish that?' or the common variation, 'How long would it take you to make me a (type of knitted thing)?'

"So I explain that a hat may require several evenings, particularly if worked in a complicated technique or a fine yarn. I tell them the average number of stitches in a pair of socks (eight million) or a plain sweater (seven hundred trillion) and that completion of the latter may take months.

"The gasps of astonishment are strong enough to suck the stitch markers right out of a raglan."

After I stopped laughing (because I can especially relate to the "seven hundred trillion" feeling), I started wondering just how many stitches are there in a full-size, 42-point Hitchhiker scarf.

The pattern's array of increases and decreases are standardized, so I figured with the help of a spreadsheet, I could calculate the exact number of stitches in each row of the pattern and then add them all up.

My result? 29,579 stitches!!! (And at a minimum average of 3 seconds per stitch, that works out to at least 25 hours to complete.) So, yeah, knitting (particularly for me) takes some determination.

Corner start vs. straight

I know this is a corner-start afghan design, but I'm wondering if there's one that looks similar but is worked in straight rows. 

Crochet gifts

Shared with me by my friend Terri. Crochet gifts are not cheap!! But if you're seeing this page, then you already knew that... 💜

Harmony Shawl

It took me a few times restarting the Harmony Shawl pattern by Bodhi Sasa before I figured out that it's essentially alternating rows of shell clusters and V-stitches, where the V-stitches are worked between the shells of the previous row, and the shells are worked in the top of the V-stitches of the previous row.

The pattern is well and carefully written, but because every stitch/step is spelled out, it can become a bit cumbersome for the reader to follow. IMO, using abbreviations for the repetitive stitches (V-stitches and shell clusters) would make the overall pattern easier to read. 

But on the other hand, having every stitch/step explicitly spelled out in detail might make this pattern easier for a beginning crocheter to interpret.

I was looking for a short triangular shawlette or scarf design, and this one yields a very pleasing finished product that can be worn in several different ways (for various stylish looks) and cross multiple seasons.

Sigh. I really do like this shawl pattern. But I ended up cannibalizing the Caron Simply Soft Paints yarn in the Oceana colorway to make the 22.5 degrees pattern instead. I intend to come back to the Harmony Shawl, though, because I think it would make a lovely gift for some of my family members.