Tag: acrylic

Poncho fix

On By CarynIn Craft

To make the poncho that I made from a free blanket wearable, I used inexpensive acrylic yarn to do a blanket stitch around the neckline, then crocheted into the blanket stitch.

Photo description: single crochet into a blanket stitch, video here

I then alternated rows of shell stitches, 3 on the first row, two on the second, and decreased at the V on each side.

Photo description: crochet added to the neckline of a 2 rectangle poncho

I don’t know why one side has more stitches than the other, but I didn’t count, so that is probably the cause of the error. The crochet did help keep the poncho on, but I still hate wearing it. I even tried wearing it sideways with a “V” on each shoulder. That was better, but the corners on my hands were annoying.

Photo description: same poncho, but turned 90 degrees with the V neck on the shoulders

I’m very glad I did this trial with inexpensive materials, and did not put in hours knitting something that I would hate wearing.

1×1 colorwork

On By CarynIn Craft

I have been fascinated with Wool & Pine’s “Seaglass” series of knitwear patterns and have been collecting patterns, but haven’t tried knitting them, until now. A friend gave me a bag of skein ends, which are all the same yarn size, but a variety of colors, which was perfect for the pattern.

Photo description: start of test piece of 1×1 color work laid against photos of cardigans from Wool & Pine

I am currently randomly choosing two colors for each row. The original pattern was in the round, but for the cardigan they have a clever way of knitting and cleaning up the edges. Here is a link to the pattern. My test piece is a good opportunity to test my understanding of their method and play with color to see what I like, and what I don’t. I already know that for me I need to not stack similar color intensity, or have rows with the same hue, even if they have different shades.

Throwback Thursday: crocheted bookmarks

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

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.

Photo description: eleven multicolored pencil shaped crocheted bookmarks

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.

Throwback Thursday: Amigurumi Mushrooms

On By CarynIn Craft

In April of 2015 I was making crocheted mushrooms. They are cute little things, and can be made using yarn scraps.

Photo description: four crocheted mushrooms with a size F (3.75mm) crochet hook

I added some embroidered elements with more scrap yarn. I like the french knots most. The caps of the mushrooms are removable. They stand up better if something small and heavy is placed inside the stem.

Photo description: same four crocheted mushrooms with. The caps removed

These mushrooms use standard amigurumi stitches, basically a single crochet stitch with increases and decreases for shaping and done with a much smaller hook than recommended for the yarn.

More worry worms

On By CarynIn Craft

I found a skein of acrylic yarn with a long color repeat in a recent stash clearing. I love making worry worms from these kinds of yarn because I get one or two or three color worms in all different combinations.

Photo description: crocheted worms of varied colors on the left and the label for the yarn on the right: Bernat Super Value Stripes

The color repeats were more exact than I expected, and I started getting the exact same colored worms, so I pulled out the other end of the skein and mixed and matched different colors together.

Photo description: red and blue crocheted worm in progress that used yarn from both ends of the skein, calico cat as backdrop

I like that these little bobbles bring people genuine amusement.