Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy
Hello and welcome to My First Wednesday WIP, where I show you 1 of the (many many) projects I have on the go.
I have heard rumours that there are people out there that finish off a project before starting another one. That is not me. At a guess, I have approximately 8 long-term projects going at the moment.
Today’s project has been a labour of love. I had a request for a Minecraft a blanket from my then 6yr old son, And with my newly found skills at C2C figured I could easily do a graphgan. Over a year later this baby still isn’t finished, though it is close.
I had to go looking through my Instagram posts to see when I started it, and my First post about on May 8th last year.
I think I was going to give it to him for his Birthday in October, that never happened. I get distracted too easily. Though I have been warned by him that it had better be ready for his birthday this year!
As simple as this graph looks, the multiple small colour changes did my head in. Lesson learnt, even if I do have to sew in a million ends, next time (if there is a next time) I will use bobbins to contain the mess.
Almost finished
In the meantime, it is sitting in a basket in the living room reminding me to finish it every time I go in there. Think I need to choose a TV show to binge and just sit down and do it. Soon, I promise.
I would love to hear what other projects people are currently working on. Let me know in the comments
If you are after an easy to make and wear unisex project, the simple ribbed cowl is for you.
This last winter has been a shocker here in Sydney, with some really cold days, and especially cold mornings in which Ben (my other half) has to leave for work early in the morning on his motorbike.
I do not envy him those cold mornings, but I figured I could make him something to help. I have crocheted things for pretty much everyone else in my family, but not my other half, as what do you make the man who has everything?
Ben is a metal head from way back, and his wardrobe consists mostly of old faded black tour shirts, dark denim and more black, so no bright colours was a given. Plus I had to make sure that is was designed so as not to cause him trouble when riding down a dark and windy highway, hence the simple ribbed cowl was born.
The Patons Inca yarn is lovely and soft and so easy to work with, and being a wool blend I knew it would be lovely and warm. The cowl is constructed in joined rounds and I crocheted into the back loops only to give it some texture.
Simple Ribbed Cowl
Simple Ribbed Cowl
Simple Ribbed Cowl
Simple Ribbed Cowl Pattern
Finished Size
63cm x 20 cm
Materials
Chunky Yarn – I used 2 balls of Patons Inca (50% Pure new wool, 30% acrylic, 20% alpaca, 50g and 58m) in colour 7019, but any chunky yarn will do.
7mm Hook
Scissors
Yarn needle
Gauge
Gauge was not super critical for this project, just measure your first row of HDC before joining, if it’s around 63cm long, then you are good to go.
Skills
Foundation Half Double Crochet
Chain
Half Double Crochet
Slip Stitch
Working in the Back Loop only
Abbreviations Used
fhdc – foundation half double crochet
ch – Chain
hdc – Half Double Crochet
ss- Slip Stitch
Pattern Notes If you are not sure on how to do a foundation HDC, you can find many tutorials on youtube, or you can just start with a ch and HDC into the chain.
Make sure to leave a good long tail of yarn at the beginning to assist in sewing fhdc round together
Instructions
Row 1: fhdc 70 or
chain 72 then hdc into 3rd chain from the hook and all remaining chains (70)
Join with a ss to the first HDC to form a circle, being careful not to twist your work.
Join with ss to first HDC, without twisting the row
Note: all hdc stitches from now on are done in Back Loops only
Rows 2-12: Ch1 (does not count as a stitch) hdc in Back Loop Only of the first stitch and every stitch around, join with ss to 1st hdc (70)
HDC in back loops only
Row 13: Ch1 (does not count as a stitch) hdc in Back Loop Only of first stitch and every stitch around, join with ss to 1st hdc (70)
Fasten off
Sew in your ends, and your simple ribbed cowl is complete.
After i finished the first one, i decided to experiment with different yarns and made the cowl in Moda Vera Fayette, which is a colour changing yarn. It is not a chunky yarn, more of a variable 8ply, but I still used the 7mm hook to make it nice and drapey. I love how this one turned out too.
Rainbow simple ribbed cowl
Rainbow simple ribbed cowl
I hope you love making this as much as I did, and please share your pictures if you do, would love to see them!
With my love of making t-shirt yarn baskets, I knew I wanted to make Easter baskets this year. So along with some pretty pastel yarn to make them with, I searched for something else to add to them, and while trying to make something else entirely ( a flower I think), came up with this cute little crochet Easter bunny applique.
Crochet Easter Bunny Applique Pattern
These little bunnies would look good on baskets, as bunting, using smaller yarn would look so cute on Easter cards, Easter bonnets and even paper Easter baskets.
If you would like to make your own crochet easter bunny applique please find the pattern below.
Crochet Easter Bunny Applique pattern
What you need t-shirt yarn 7mm crochet hook yarn needle scissors
Stitches Magic Circle Chain (Ch) Single Crochet (SC) Double Crochet (DC) Slip Stitch (SlSt)
Bunny’s Body
Start with a magic circle
Round 1: 6 sc into the ring, pull tight and join to first sc with a SlSt
6 sc in a magic circle – crochet easter bunny applique
Round 2: Ch 1 (doesn’t count as a stitch), 2sc in each stitch (12) join with SlSt to first sc make sure to skip the ch 1 at the beginning of the round.
Easter Bunny Applique – Round 2
Bunny’s Head
3DC into the same stitch
Round 3: Ch 2, 3 dc into the same stitch
Bunny’s Ears
Round 4: Ch 3
Round 4: Ch 3
Round 5: 1sc each in the 2nd and 3rd chains from the hook
Round 5: 1sc each in the 2nd and 3rd chains from the hook
SlSt into the side of the top of that 3rd dc then slip stitch into the bottom side of the same DC
SlSt into the side of the top of that 3rd dc then slip stitch into the bottom side of the same DC
Slip stitch into the next 2 sc of the circle (the ch and 3DC of the head were in the first stitch) Cut yarn and pull through
Slip stitch into the next 2 sc of the circle
Then put your hook from back to front through the next stitch and pull the yarn end through to bring it to the back.
Lastly, sew in your ends and you have 1 bunny.
For added effect, glue on a little pompom for the tail, and you could even give him eyes and whiskers with black thread, or even googly or safety eyes.
I hope this made sense and I hope you have fun making him, now hop to it!
Sorry, couldn’t help the bunny pun. Oh and here is a bunny I made using acrylic DK and a 3.5mm hook, just to show you that it will work with pretty much any yarn you want to use and the appropriate hook to go with it.
If you post any of your bunny’s on social media, please tag me @crochetbycarms, and they will be added to my bunny army.
Notes: In case you hadn’t noticed, yes I am a left-hander and so all my photos will reflect this. If you have any issues with my photos making things harder for you (I know how confusing trying to make sense of things going the wrong way is), please leave me a comment or send me a message and ill flip the photos around just for you.
Welcome to Crochet by Carms, My name is Carmen and this is my newest home on the web. If you knew me before my love of crochet blossomed, you may have seen my previous blog called Paint Powder and Polish, which was dedicated to my love of makeup, nail polish and all beauty products in general. Since having my second child in January ’16, my love affair with beauty has waned, mostly due to lack of time, but also due to a reordering of my priorities. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good lipstick and I would love to paint my nails again when I have a spare moment, but I no longer have the urge to collect all the makeup.
So with a newborn baby and a school-aged child to keep most of my waking hours busy. Between the feeding sessions, and burping, nappy changes, and school runs, I turned to crochet to keep me sane and grounded. It became my sanctuary and my happy place. My first large project was a chevron blanket for the new baby. I started it at 20 weeks pregnant when I found out I was having another boy and finished it when he was about 8 months old. Then I dove into amigurumi as I wanted to make my boys cute things to play with, and it escalated from there. And of course with the love of crochet came a love of yarn and the need to collect it all.
Which brings me to now. I am an intermediate crocheter who loves a good challenge. My makes include blankets, scarves, beanies, booties, amigurumi, and lots more. I am currently subscribed to two crochet subscription boxes, Little box of Crochet and Crochet Crate. And I follow a whole lot of indie yarn dyers on Instagram and drool over their wares.
So, if you are still reading, I thank you. If you want to read more about what I am working on, any yarn I may have bought or what is in the latest gorgeous subscription box, please come back, subscribe, follow, etc and I hope to entertain you further.
Have a fabulous day and stay gorgeous!
Carms xoxo
Oh and if you like you can also find Crochet by Carms on Instagram or Facebook
