Boho Crochet Hexi Cardigan

This is a hexi cardigan designed using a modified version of the stitch pattern from the Lazy Diamond Boho Pocket Shawl by Crystal White-Van Cleemput.

Toggles and twisted fringe added

I started out using a six-sided hexagon instead of a four-sided square, but other than that, the stitch sequence is identical to the pattern in the original design. I think this design lends itself well to the hexi cardi style, and I'm looking forward to being able to wear this because it's cozy and looks super cute in this Red Heart Super Saver Ombre yarn in the Anthracite colorway. 

Hexagon

The magic of the hexi cardi is what happens to the shape when you fold the hexagon in half: You instantly have the shape of half of a cardigan with a sleeve and half of the body.

Folded in half, plus extension rows on body edges

It's easy to crochet a hexi cardi shaped in a way that best fits your unique body. Begin by crocheting the two hexagons until they have enough rounds for the sleeves to easily fit around the widest part of your arms. If you still need additional rows to make the body of the cardi fit around your torso, you can add those rows later on the just center-back and center-front edges.

I suggest that you fold each hexagon in half and mark the edges that you intend to join across the top of the sleeve, then join those edges together before moving on to add any extra rows to the center-back and center-front edges. Sewing the sleeves closed first helps to make it easier to see which edges you should be adding to for extra width around the body.

Each hexagon is one-half of the cardigan, and the hexagons are joined at the center-back to create the cardigan.

Assembled, with extra length rows before adding pockets

If you want your cardigan to be longer, I suggest adding more rows to the bottom edge after joining the two halves together for a more polished finish. If you want to add pockets to your cardigan (and who doesn't love having pockets?!?!), wait to add those until you have finished adding any length to the bottom edge, to help ensure that you are able to position the pockets where they are most comfortable for you.

With pockets added

After completing those steps, you can then choose whether to add cuffs to the ends of the sleeves and/or whether to add a placket to the front edges. These cardigans can be worn without any fasteners, so you might not need to add a placket at all if you choose not to use buttons or a zipper on the front of your cardi.

I also added twisted fringe along the bottom edge using my handy Maple Quad End Fringe Twister from Etsy seller theknitstore. 

I debated whether I wanted to leave the front of my cardi open, but after my husband found a set of nice toggle closures (similar to these), I decided they would be a nice finishing touch.

I will be entering this project in our local fair this year.

Ginkgo Night Moves scarf

This free pattern is Night Moves, a lovely shawl or scarf designed by PurpleIguana. For my project, I followed Fiber Spider's video tutorial and patern mods. His mods begin when we reach the first decreasing row. 

I also greatly appreciate PurpleIguana's notes about yarn usage that she included on her Ravelry project page. 

The shape of these crochet shells reminds me of ginkgo leaves. 

Fiber Spider project inspo photo

I had a partial cake of the Red Heart It's a Wrap Rainbow in the Foggy colorway that had 134 grams  out of the original 150 grams. (I also had two other full-size cakes on hand.) I wanted to try to use all of the partial cake for this scarf, so, based on the notes on PurpleIguana's project page (linked above), I calculated that I needed to crochet my scarf until it weighed about 89 grams before starting the decrease rows described in Fiber Spider's mods.

I was working from the white end of the cake to the gray end of the cake. On my first attempt, I started the decreases a bit early and ended up with still having quite a bit of the gray left, so I placed a marker to indicate where I started decreasing and then ripped back to that point. Then I crocheted another four-row repeat section using the original (increasing) stitch sequence before starting the decreasing rows again.

As you can see in my photo, the plies of this yarn are not spun at all, which can sometimes make it a bit fiddly to work with. But, overall, it is a lovely yarn that feels soft and light.

Plies not spun

On that second attempt, I ended up running out of the gray a few rows before the end of the scarf, so I stole a few grams of the gray end of one of my other cakes to complete this project. 😂 Hey, it's my yarn stash; I can do what I want with it. 😹

Before blocking

I soaked the scarf in a washtub with a splash of Woolite and a few drops of peppermint essential oil mixed in, with the hope that some of the fragrance will remain in the fiber after it's dried. I would have liked to have used lavender essential oil for the fragrance, but I only had peppermint on hand, so I used what I had. But now I'm thinking that I need to add a vial of the lavender to my collection soon (ha!!). This project turned out so well that I'm intending to enter it in the fair this fall, and I would like the fiber to have some lingering fragrance, if possible, to please the judges. 🤞

After rinsing and gently squeezing the scarf, I rolled it inside a fluffy bath towel and pressed out the remaining excess water. Then I pinned it to the blocking boards, gently pulling out the bottom sawtooth points and opening up the lace. As you can see in the photos, the blocking makes the scarf several inches taller than it was before blocking. But it would be lovely either way, with or without blocking.

Blocking

Dimensions after blocking: 80 inches by 14 inches. I will be entering this project in our local fair this year.

A new blanket for Wendy

I started making this blanket without a recipient in mind just because I had the yarn on hand and felt like using it because it is a very pretty colorway. (Originally I bought this yarn for a different project but then lost interest in that one.) And the Red Heart Ombre yarns lend themselves nicely to the Which Way Filet blanket pattern by Fiber Spider.

As the blanket was coming together I started to think that it might be a nice one for Wendy, since she's now a teenager and had outgrown the more "baby style" blanket I previously made her. This blanket pattern, with the limitless potential and endless possibilities suggested by its winding paths, is perfect for a brilliant teen like Wendy. 

My only worry was that I didn't know whether turquoise was a color that Wendy liked. But then I got to sit beside Wendy at dinner early in December, and I don't know how we got on the subject, but I was able to ask her what her favorite color was, and I was THRILLED when she said TURQUOISE!! Woo-hoo!! So now I know that she's going to love this new blanket.

I made her older sister a more grown-up-looking blanket last Christmas, and now it's Wendy's turn to get a new, grown-up-style blanket to last her for many years to come. Finished it just in the nick of time to give it to her for Christmas this year.

True Blue Swingy Shawlivest

I love the look of ombre/gradient yarns, so I wanted to try using one to make another Swingy Shawlivest, since I practically live in these vests all winter - they are so comfortable. 

Here's a link to my Ravelry project page. Vest total yarn weight: 1,000 grams. Estimated actual yardage totals the length of about 3.5 skeins, but I needed portions from another two skeins to match the stripes in the armhole section, so at least 6 skeins are needed to complete the project with this yarn.