Simple Sachet Aromatherapy Set

An easy set to crochet with cotton yarn for bedside aromatherapy. I often have nasal congestion when I first lie down at bedtime, which can make it difficult to breathe, and thus to relax and fall asleep. I've found that using eucalyptus or peppermint essential oils can help make it easier for me to breathe, so I came up with the idea to crochet this aromatherapy sachet and stand set to place on my bedside table. (Actually, I use a CPAP machine at night, which I keep in a drawer of my nightstand, so I place this sachet a few inches away from the air intake of my machine, so the fragrance can reach it easily, and it works well.) You can somewhat control how strong the scent is by placing the sachet closer or farther away from you.

I will do my best to describe the process I used to create this, but please keep in mind that it's entirely possible that my descriptions and instructions might not make sense to you. I'm including photos of the finished items not only to show you what the finished product looks like, but also to help you visualize the steps you'll be doing along the way if you want to try to re-create my design. If my instructions don't make sense to you, please feel free to use my idea as a jumping-off point for your own creation that you make in whatever way that makes the best sense to you. Using just the sachet round by itself without the stand works just fine, too.

Materials: Cotton yarn, worsted weight (I used Lily Sugar n Cream in white), 5mm crochet hook, scissors, yarn needle 

For aromatherapy disc (worked in rounds, make 2):

Setup: Ch 4. Sl in 1st ch to join in a circle.

Round 1: DC 12 in circle. Join with sl in top of 1st st. (12 DC)

Round 2: 2 DC in each st. Join with a sl in top of 1st st. (24 DC)

Finish off and weave in ends but leave a long tail on one of the discs for sewing the two discs together.

Hold the two discs together with wrong sides facing and use a whip stitch or running stitch to sew the two discs together using the long tail. Finish off and weave in tail.

For base (worked flat, make 2):

Setup: FSC 12. Ch 1; turn.

Row 1: SC in each st across. Ch 1; turn. (12 SC)

Rows 2-5: Repeat row 1. (12 SC)

Finish by SCing evenly around all 4 sides, placing 2 or 3 SCs in each corner. Join with a sl to 1st SC. (Mine has about 40 SC all the way around.)

Finish off and weave in ends but leave a long tail on one of the bases for sewing the two bases together.

Before sewing the two base pieces together, work "stand" on the right side of one base.

For stand:

We are going to use a surface crochet technique to build a "stand" on the top of one of the base pieces; the stand will be where you can place the aromatherapy disc during use.

Stand foundation row: Place a slipknot on hook. Working into the spaces between stitches on the base piece, and staying about 3 stitches in from the edges, work surface SCs in the shape of the outline of a rectangle, placing 2 SCs in each corner. My sample ended up with 25 surface SCs in this foundation row. Join with a sl in the 1st SC. Now we will continue to SC rows on top of the foundation row in joined rounds to build the "sides" of the stand.

Rows 2-4: Ch 1. SC in the top of each SC from the previous row. Join with a sl in 1st SC. (About 25 SC in each round, depending on how many SCs you have in your foundation row.) Finish off and weave in the ends from the stand.

Now we will sew the two base pieces together. Hold the two bases together with wrong sides facing and use a whip stitch or running stitch to sew the two bases together using the long tail. Finish off and weave in tail.

Wild-n-crazy Catnip Balls

This super-quick and easy project makes a fairly large cat toy with a diameter of about 3.5 inches. 

This is a great way to use up small yarn scraps. Grab all the wild colors you have on hand and let your creativity flow! Your kitties will thank you. My samples used about 25 yards each. 

Toy is not washable due to the embedded catnip sachet. Store catnip balls in an airtight plastic bag when not in use to help prolong the catnip scent. Gently squeeze toy periodically to help release fresh scent from the catnip. 

Knit 44 rows on a 22-needle circular knitting machine, such as the Addi Pro. 

Cinch each end and fold as to make a double layer beanie. Tie ends together at top of "hat" to secure. 

Make a sachet with a heaping teaspoon of dried catnip knotted inside the toe of a knee-high nylon stocking. Encase the catnip sachet inside a bunch of fiberfill and stuff it into the open end of the knitted ball. 

Pick up stitches around the open end of the knitted ball and pull to cinch the end closed. Knot to secure, then hide any loose yarn ends in center of ball. Now it's playtime for the kittehz! My grandkitties Marshmallow, Sushi, and Princess are gonna love these. Here's a short video of Princess playing with her new ball. 😍

Crochet candy corn owl beanie free pattern

Just in time for looking cute on crisp autumn days, this is a messy-bun version of Sarah Zimmerman's Candy Corn Hat, free pattern on Sarah's blog Repeat Crafter Me at this link. 

I didn't have any yellow worsted or aran weight yarn in my stash, so I used some yellow Fixler Brothers Quick Knit sport weight held double, and it turned out just fine. You can read the details about the other yarns I used at my Ravelry project page.

The pattern didn't say what size of safety eyes to use for the owl's pupils, so I used 25mm (1 inch) black buttons instead, from a set I found on Amazon at this link.

My favorite resource for buying safety eyes is 6060 on Etsy, but in the case of this hat project, it was easier for me to use buttons.

Knitting my T-shirt

I bought a funny T-shirt on Amazon that all you knitters out there can probably appreciate.

But after wearing it a few times, I decided that I wanted to try knitting the instructions printed on the shirt to see what it would look like. 

I studied the instructions and decided that the design was worked over multiples of 4 plus 3. So I cast on 35 stitches for my sample and started knitting.

Here's how it knits up. To me it looks like a reversible faux ribbing created by the twisted slip stitches. This stitch sequence could make a very nice scarf. Fun!

Crochet two-color i-cord

Here's a nifty technique I just saw for crocheting a two-color i-cord. It's super fast and easy and looks really cool, too. 

@theknottyboss Two color i-cord - hook by @lovestitchesall #crochetersoftiktok #crochettiktok #crochetstitch #crochethack #crochettutorial #yarntok #yarnlovers #crocheting #crochethook #handmade #amigurumi #crochetdesigner🧶 #hooking #crochetaddiction #crochettip ♬ Stefania (Kalush Orchestra) - KALUSH