Here is a cute teacher gift: crocheted pencil bookmarks. They make up quickly, use just single crochet, and use up yarn scraps, or those cute tiny skeins. I made these in May of 2015 using this pattern from LittleOwlHut on Ravelry.
Important note, as you crochet these curl. To get them flat, steaming them works well. You can also iron them between two thin layers of cotton. If you choose to do blocking (getting them wet and laying flat to dry), pin them down well.
This is a wrap bracelet that I made for my sister in April of 2015. It is made from red leather cord, 4mm garnet and quartz beads, and beading thread. The remarkable thing about it is that it was sitting next to my chair next to the fireplace when the house caught on fire in March of 2015. I had been working on it and it was in a project bag. I needed to give everything a rinse to get rid of the ash, but I was able to complete the bracelet.
I really missed an opportunity to do a morse code message in the beading.
In February 2015 I finished crocheting a driver cover for my Dad, in the shape of a black Labrador head.
The neck is a crocheted rib, the ears are single crochet triangles, and the rest is single crochet in the round with a small hook in the style of amigurumi (although I don’t think I knew that word at the time). The nose is stuffed, but the skull is provided by the head of the golf club.
In February 2015 I finished a crochet project for my Dad that has a basket weave looking texture for a hat and scarf.
The technique uses front post and back post double crochet stitches in sets of three. It is actually an easy texture to achieve, but I recommend not using black yarn while trying to learn to count the stitches and rows. Also, size up any wool hats, as wear causes light felting, which shrinks the hat.
Here is a great throwback for Thursday! I used to make so many of these braided bookmarks. This picture is from December of 2014, and I love the way the red and white book marks have a secondary pattern effect.
I make these with 1/4” flat ribbon and usually braid a long length, then iron the long ribbon before applying more ribbon as a band with some white glue and cutting sections a good bookmark length, usually about 8”. The trick to these is that the ribbon is never folded as I braid. The seven-strand plait stays flat and the bias weave of the ribbon lets it lay in smooth curves.
It is a fun braiding project, and inexpensive. Materials needed are: 1/4” satin ribbon, scissors, white glue, parchment paper (to protect the ribbon while ironing), and an iron.
Critters and Craft 