Friday, October 30, 2009

Smoky MountainsVacation





We spent the last week in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park area. Fall is such a gorgeous time of year to visit there.

The first two pictures were taken along the Gatlinburg bypass road, and the other two were taken in the park.

The second picture from the bottom, (the road through the trees) represents one of my favorite scenes. The road through the trees seems so peaceful, and I love the idea of not knowing what's beyond the bend.

The last picture is the view from a picnic area (Metcalf Bottoms) where we ate lunch one day. Even though it was cold and rainy here in Michigan it was 75 degrees and sunny in Tennessee that day.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Crocheted Lattice Clothes Hanger Cover





Covered hangers keep your clothes from sliding onto the floor. This is easy to customize to any plastic hanger.

WW yarn
Size G hook
Plastic clothes hanger
Yarn needle


Stitches used:

SS - slip stitch
Ch – chain
Dc – Double crochet


The beginning ch 2 represents a DC. All rounds are joined with a ss to the 2nd ch of the beginning ch.

I chain loosely, so I use a ch 2 to represent a DC in this pattern. If you wish, you can use a ch 3 to represent the beginning DC of each round. You will have to add a chain at the beginning of every round and join each round to the third chain of the beginning chain.


This pattern is a lattice design worked in rounds. Each round has 8 DC in it, and they are separated by spaces made of varying numbers of chains in order to make the cover fit around the hanger.

To begin each new round after round 2, ss to the next ch space.

Keep trying the cover on the hanger you are making it for and add chains as needed for the cover to fit. The fit should be snug.
It took 13 rows to cover the hanger I used. I have two different brands of plastic hangers, but they are almost exactly the same size.


PATTERN
This pattern covers half the hanger, so you will need to make 2.

Ch 4, join into ring with SS.

Round 1:
Ch2, Dc into ring, Ch 1, + 2 DC into ring, ch 1 +, repeat x 2 from + to +. You should have 8 DC and 4 ch 1 spaces.

Round 2:
Ss to space between first 2 dc, ch 3, + Dc into next space, ch 1 +, repeat from + to + around, join

Round 3 and 4:
Ss to ch 1 space, ch 3, +dc into next ch 1 sp, ch 1+, repeat from + to + around, join.

Round 5 to 7:
Work same as rounds 3 and 4, but increase every other chain space to 2 chains.
You will have 8 dc’s with 8 spaces, 4 will be ch 2 spaces, 4 will be ch 1 spaces.

Rounds 8 to 10:
Work same as round 5, except increase every chain space between the dc’s to 2 chains.
You will still have 8 DC’s and you will have 8 ch 2 spaces.

Rounds 11-12:

Work same as previous rounds, but increase every other ch space to 3 chains.

Round 13:
Work same as previous rows, but increase each ch space to 3 chains.

If this is too small for your hanger, just continue in pattern, adding chains to the spaces as needed for your hanger. Keep trying it on the hanger as you make the cover.

Make another half the same and fit them over the clothes hanger. Sew together down the middle. I sewed all the Dc’s together. I just wove the yarn through the chains to get to the next pair of DC’s.
Alternatively, you could tie the two halves together on both sides of the hanger, at the top and bottom with yarn or ribbon. This would make it easier to remove the cover at a later time if you wanted to.

Pattern is untested, except by myself. Please let me know if something is unclear, or you find a mistake.
You may sell one or two items made from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern or publish it anywhere else. Please link to the pattern if you post a picture elsewhere.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Shell Baby Booties


Shell Baby Booties

Size: sole is about 4 inches long

WW yarn

H hook

Ribbon (optional)

Stitches used:

Ch – chain

Ss – slip stitch

Hdc – Half double crochet

Dc – Double crochet

Sc – single crochet

Pattern:

Beginning chain counts as a stitch.

Round 1:

Ch 3, 7 HDC in 3rd ch from hook, join to top of beginning ch. (8 HDC)

Round 2:

Ch 2, Hdc in same st, 2HDC in each st around, join to top of beginning ch. (16 HDC)

Rounds 3 to 6:

Ch 2, Hdc in each st around. (16 Hdc)

Start working back and forth in rows. 4 stitches in the round will be left unworked.

Row 7:

Ch 2, Hdc in the next 11 stitches. (12 Hdc)

Row 8 and 9:

Ch 2, turn, Hdc in each st around (12 Hdc)

Row 10:

Ch2, turn, Hdc in next st, HDC 2 together 4 times, Hdc in last 2 stitches (8 HDC)

Now you will again work in rounds.

Round 11:

ch 1, turn.

You will be working along the ends of the rows just completed.

Make 6 sc evenly spaced across the ends of rows 7 to 10.

Sc in the 4 stitches left unworked from round 6, then make 6 more sc evenly spaced along the other ends of rows 7 to 10.

Join with a ss to the first sc on the other side. You will have a bootie shape with a slit in the heel. (16 sc)

Round 12:

Ch 2, HDC in each st around Join with SS to top of beginning ch 2. (16 HDC)

Round 13:

(eyelet row)

Ch 3, skip a stitch, + Hdc in next st, ch 1, Skip a stitch + repeat from + to + around , join with SS to top of beginning ch (8 ch 1 spaces)

Round 14:

SS to a ch 1 space, ch 3, 2 dc in same space, make a 3 dc in each of the other ch 1 spaces, join with ss to top of beginning ch 3.

Fasten off, leaving a tail long enough to weave down to the slit in the heel and sew it up.

Weave in ends. Thread a length of ribbon through the eyelets, or make a crocheted chain to use for a tie.

These booties can be made smaller by omitting a round, or larger by adding a round or row. They can be made taller by adding a row of sc or another shell row at the end.


Pattern is untested, except by myself. Please let me know if something is unclear, or you find a mistake.
You may sell one or two items made from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern or publish it anywhere else. Please link to the pattern if you post a picture elsewhere.


Shell Baby Hat


Shell Baby Hat

Size 3 to 6 months

Materials:

WW Yarn

Size G hook








Stitches Used:

Ch - chain

Ss - slip stitch

Hdc - half double crochet

Dc - double crochet

Shell – 3 dc in same space

Beginning ch of each round counts as a stitch.

Join each round with a ss in top of the beginning chain.

Round 1:

Ch 4, 11 Dc in 4th ch from hook, join with ss to top of beginning ch. (12 DC)

Round 2:

Ch 3, Dc in same st , 2 dC on each st around., join with ss to top of beginning ch 3 (24 DC)

Round 3:

Ch 3, + 2 Dc in next st, DC in next st + repeat from + to+ , 1 more Dc in same st as beginning ch 3, join with ss to top of beginning ch 3. (36 DC)

Round 4:

Ch 3 and Dc in each st around, join with SS in top of beginning ch 3. (36 DC)

Round 5:

(this row still increases the diameter of the hat.)

SS to next st, ch 3, 2 more DC in same st, + skip a stitch, 3 DC in next st +, repeat from + to + around, join with SS in top of beginning ch 3. (18 shells, each with 3 DC)

Round 6 to 12

SS to the center st of the next 3 DC group, do 3 DC in center stitch of each shell around.

Round 13:

Ch 2, HDC in next st and in each st around.

Fasten off.


Notes: You can easily make this hat bigger by adding some extra stitches in row 4.

Remember that row 5 increases the number of stitches again by 1/3, so don't add too many stitches. You need an even number of stitches in row 4 to make the pattern work.

You could also make the hat larger just by using a larger hook.

Add extra rows of shells to make hat taller.

If you want a turned up cuff add a few more rows of Hdc at the end.



Pattern is untested, except by myself. Please let me know if something is unclear, or you find a mistake.
You may sell one or two items made from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern or publish it anywhere else. Please link to the pattern if you post a picture elsewhere.