Ah, lavender, isn’t it just one of those flowers that instantly brings you joy and calmness? This little lavender bloom crochet pattern might not bring you straight to the lavender fields but it will definitely bring you joy and calmness. Maybe give it a spritz with some lavender spray before attaching it to a card or gift and I’m sure your recipient will love it!
Materials:
Scheepjes Catona, 100% Mercerized Cotton (#2, Sport Weight)
Colour 515, Emerald (A)
Colour 282, Ultra Violet (B)
Size 2.75mm (C) hook
Scissors
Tapestry Needle
Hemp or twine, for finishing
Instructions:
With colour A, chain 20.
Sc in the back bump of the second chain from hook and all the way to the end, ch 2 and ss to the first sc. Fasten off.
With colour B, join yarn about 10 stitches down from the ch 2 space. (Ch 4, ss to the same st, skip 1, ss in next st) all the way around until you are across from the first petal. Fasten off.
Weave in all ends. Make two more.
Assembly:
Gather the stems of your three lavender blooms together and tie a small bow around them with hemp or twine. Now use it to embellish a card, or to send to a friend!
Whenever a person starts their journey with knitting and crochet, the first project people recommend is usually a dishcloth. Dishcloths? Wash cloth? BORING, right? Wrong!
Both dish and wash cloths are the perfect project for newbies and intermediate knitters and crocheters; they are the perfect projects for learning new stitches on a small scale, they take very little yarn, and they are super fast to work up! Plus, they make wonderful gifts or add ons to gifts for friends and family. Whip up a few of these wash cloths, tie them up with a pretty bow, toss in a handmade or locally-made soap and voila! Perfect gift.
These Farmhouse Wash Cloths are beautifully textured and easy to make. I used Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton which is a braided, mercerized cotton that lends itself to beautiful stitch definition and it comes in a variety of colours. Honestly, I’ve used many different cottons for any kind of cloth and I love how this yarn works up.
Notes: While gauge is not important, you do want to make sure your wash cloths works up into a square. If you find that by the time you reach the end of the pattern repeats and you haven’t made a square, you might have to add on more repeats. If you add on more, keep in mind you’ll have to add more sc to the border.
Pattern:
Chain 31.
Hdc in 2nd chain from hook and across, ch 1, turn. (30 hdc)
(Sc, dc) across, ch 1, turn. (15 sc, 15 dc)
Repeat round 2.
– 5. Hdc across, ch 1, turn (30 hdc)
Repeat rounds 2 – 5 five times ending on round 4. Do not fasten off.
Border:
Sc across the top, placing 3 sc in the first corner. Sc 22 evenly down the first side, placing 3 sc in the next corner. Sc across the bottom, placing 3 sc in the next corner. Sc 22 evenly up the next side, placing 2 sc in the last corner. Attach with a slip stitch to the first sc. Do not turn.
Ss into the next stitch. Ch 3 (counts as 1dc + ch1), dc in the same stitch. *Skip one, (dc, ch1, dc) in next* repeat from * around, ss into the 2nd chain to join. Fasten off and weave in ends.
With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I knew I wanted to make a little something special to throw into my kids’ lunchboxes that would surprise them. Seeing as the holiday is very close I didn’t have time to create anything extravagant so these little shamrock appliques fit the bill perfectly!
As I was crocheting, I wondered whether or not they were called shamrocks or clovers and upon further searching, I found the following:
Traditionally, shamrocks have been used as a symbol of Ireland. A clover must have three leaves to be considered a shamrock. If the clover has more or less, then it is not a shamrock. Hence, all shamrocks are clovers, but not all clovers are shamrocks.
Did you know that? Just a bit of St. Patrick’s Day trivia for you.
These little shamrocks are perfect for a cute add into your child’s lunchbox, or maybe add a pin to the back so they can wear it to school! You could also easily whip up a bunch of them and make an adorable garland. They work up super fast and are great for a little bit of festivity on a special day.
I came up with two different ways of creating these shamrocks – the first one is a smaller version that uses chains to start, and the second is bigger and uses a magic circle to begin. Both are fast and fun to work up. Enjoy!
Lucky Shamrock Crochet Pattern
Materials:
A small amount of worsted weight yarn in any shade of green – I used Bernat Super Value in Lush for both samples. 5.00 (H) hook Scissors Darning needle
Notes:
Both patterns are worked in rounds with no turning.
Feel free to use any weight of yarn, just be sure to use the correct hook for the weight.
Shamrock #1 (Small)
Chain 4, join to make a ring.
Ch 1, 6 sc into ring, join to first sc. (6 sc)
Ch 1, sc in same, (ch 2, skip 1, sc in next) x3, join to first sc. (4 sc, 3 ch-2 spaces)
(Ss into ch-2 space, ch 1, sc, hdc, dc, ss into same ch-2 space, dc, hdc, sc) x3, join to same sc as in step 2.
Ch 4, ss in back bump of 2nd chain from hook and along chain, join to the base and fasten off. Weave in ends and block if desired.
Shamrock #2 (Medium)
Instructions:
Start with a magic circle.
Ch 1, 6 sc into circle, join to first sc. (6 sc)
Ch 1, sc in same, (ch 5, skip 1, sc in next) x3, join to first sc. (4 sc, 3 ch-5 spaces)
(Ss into ch-5 space, ch 1, 2 hdc, dc, tc, sc into skipped sc from previous round, tc, dc, 2 hdc in space) x3, join to same join as round 2.
Ch 5, ss in back bump of 2nd chain from hook and along chain, join at the base and fasten off. Weave in ends and block if desired.
At this point last year, I remember knitting and crocheting was my LIFE. Every spare minute I had was spent working on one of the many, MANY projects I had on the go and nothing else. Knitting actually hit me hard in 2021 and I found myself not able to think of any other hobby at all. In fact, prior to the pandemic hitting in 2020, I had been a huge reader and was reading multiple books every week, not month but week, and then I lost all motivation for that so when I got the urge to knit and crochet ALLTHETHINGS, I grasped onto it and didn’t let go.
The Lost In Time shawl by Johanna Lindahl
In 2021, I started up a bit of a side hustle, Hygge Dreamer, a few months before Christmas. My kids were both in school full time and since I was a stay at home mom, that left a lot of time to do things. However, I’m fairly certain I burnt myself out with making headwraps, snowflakes, dishcloths, and many other beautiful items for people that when the new year hit, I thought I’d take a break. I didn’t think that break would last months.
Recently, I just started picking up my knitting and crochet again and wanted to share what helped me get back to my hooks and needles and creating again. So here are five ways to get you back into creating again, if you’ve found yourself falling slowly into a slump.
1. Reorganize your yarn .
When I started up Hygge Dreamer, I had a LOT going on. I had my desk and two tables set up in my office, with yarn everywhere. I didn’t really know what I had but knew it was somewhere in the piles and bins all around me.
One great thing about a new year is that it makes me want to clean everything in my house and once I had done that, my yarn area looked extremely cluttered and busy. I ended up pulling EVERYTHING off of my shelves, out of my cabinets and drawers and putting it all in piles. Let’s just say that it got really, really bad before it got better.
It was a really great way to see what yarns I had on hand and to remind me of some yarns I had forgotten about. As I put it all away (in a much less chaotic way), I put a few different skeins on my desk that I was in love with. It was kind of like shopping my own stash!
2. Search designs on Ravelry or Pinterest.
I started crocheting way back in 2011 and I don’t believe I even knew what Ravelry was. Or Pinterest, for that matter. All of my projects came from books I got from the library which was way less overwhelming than what’s available now.
While books are still a great way to find patterns, one of my favourite ways to get inspired again is to look at the top patterns on Ravelry. The filters make it easy to narrow down what I might add to my to-make list since there’s no way I’ll get back into the game by knitting a sweater or blanket. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of great patterns for these, but my attention span is small when I’m trying to start back up so anything using a smaller amount of yardage works better than a project that uses up many, many skeins.
Pinterest is also a great way to find inspiration. My favourite kinds of projects to get into when I just want to make something are smaller items like dishcloths or hats or even little stuffed toys for my kids. Put into the Pinterest search bar “Knit toy pattern” and I guarantee you’ll be swarmed with endless possibilities.
Scandinavian Christmas Gnome by Nerissa Muijs
3. Have a look through your current wips.
Did you know that there are people out there who work on one project, finish it, and then move on to the next? I am not one of those people. In fact, when I was cleaning my office, I found numerous – as in, at least a dozen, maybe two dozen – project bags with random projects, some of which I had completely forgotten about.
Now, this can be a good thing or a bad thing; good because it might remind you of a project you had loved once and want to finish (like the beautiful golden fingerless mitts I had started for myself), and bad because you might want to finish it but have no idea a) what sized hook or needles you were using, or b) whereabouts in the pattern you were (like the beautiful teal shawl I was knitting where I left off somewhere in the middle of a lace pattern with HUNDREDS of stitches on my needles).
If the amount of projects you find has you feeling overwhelmed, this is probably a good time to ask yourself a few questions such as:
Can I find out where I was in the pattern or what hook/needle size I was using?
Is this project something I love enough to take the time to figure out the answers to the previous question?
Should I keep the project and continue or frog it and use the yarn for something else?
Sometimes the best thing to do is use the yarn for something else – and maybe when you decide to frog one project, you’ll have inspiration for using the yarn in another.
4. Go shopping!
Okay, okay, this one might be a little tricky since obviously you don’t feel like creating, so why get MORE materials that you’re not going to use, but hear me out. Sometimes just wandering through the yarn store is inspiration enough to get your hands itching to make something; all those beautiful yarns, different kinds of fibres, seeing other people excited about creating – all things that remind you of the reason you love your craft!
Maybe you’ve told yourself that there is absolutely NO WAY you’re going to a yarn store when you have tons of beautiful yarn already at your disposal; in that case, shop your stash! This goes hand in hand when reorganizing your yarn; when you go digging through it you might find a gem of a skein that you forgot you had and find that you just have to make something with it.
Geometric Mandala Hot Pad by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk
5. Lastly, do something else.
We’ve all been there, sitting in the same room as our yarn and projects, feeling them stare us down just wanting to be knit and crocheted, but we just don’t feel it. We pick up our project – our socks, our sweaters, our blankets – and knit or crochet a few stitches and the feeling, that feeling of love and joy, just doesn’t come. If that’s the case, maybe that’s your body and mind telling you to take a longer break. The needles and hooks and yarn will all be there when you’re ready to come back and they will welcome you with open arms. When you’re fresh and rejuvinated from your break and finally feel that urge to create, you’ll want to create EVERYTHING and it will be like you never left the craft.
Sometimes as much as you want to get back to creating, the best thing to do is to just do something else and not force it. Maybe try a different fibre art like macrame, or embroidery, or punch needle. Just don’t give up hope. When I lost my attention span for reading, I didn’t throw away all my books and feel like a failure; instead, I let the months go by and read a tiny bit here and there and now I make sure I read every night. Lately I’ve found myself wanting to read more in my spare time and I embrace that. If you feel the love for a certain craft or hobby, that love never really goes away, sometimes it’s just waiting, hibernating like a bear in the winter ready to burst forth in the spring with new life.
I hope these tips help you as much as they helped me! I might not be pulling out my needles and hooks at every spare minute in my day but I feel myself easing back into my craft again and that’s perfectly okay with me.
Ever since I learned to knit and crochet, I’ve been making ornaments for my Christmas tree. The more I make, the more I fall in love with handmade Christmas ornaments, especially anything clothing-related! You know, socks, hats, mittens, sweaters … I want to dress my tree up in them all!
These little socks, however, are my absolute favourite. I could knit them every day and when I make one, I want to make another, using different kinds of yarns. Tonals, variegated, stripes – any yarn just adds to the cuteness of these.
Not only do these make great ornaments for your tree, but they’re a great add-on to a teacher Christmas gift, or as a decoration to a wrapped gift. Maybe make them a bit bigger and have an advent stocking set; the ideas are endless!
Materials: Fingering weight yarn Size 0 (2mm) Circular Needles Tapestry Needle Yarn or twine for hanging
Pattern:
Leg
1. Cast on 20 stitches using the long tail cast on.
2. Work 3 rounds of k2, p2 (Tip: Work the first of these rounds holding your working yarn and your tail to weave it in as you go.)
3. Work 17 more rounds in stockinette.
Heel Flap
Working with only the first 10 stitches:
4. S1, K1 across.
5. S1, purl across.
Repeat rows 4 & 5 five times, for a total of 10 rows for the heel flap.
Heel Turn
6. K5, ssk, k1, turn.
7. S1, p1, p2tog, p1, turn.
8. S1, k2, ssk, k1, turn.
9. S1, p3, p2tog, p1, turn. (6 stitches)
Gusset
10. Knit across 3 gusset stitches, place marker (this is your new beginning of round), knit across the next 3 stitches and pick up 5 stitches along the heel flap, picking up one extra stitch at the corner. Knit straight across the top of the foot, pick up one extra stitch at the corner and 5 more stitches along the heel flap, k3 ending at the marker. (Tip: Keep the 10 stitches for the top of the foot on one needle and the rest on the opposite needle.) (28 stitches)
For the next steps, the stitches for the top of the foot will be referred to as needle 1 and the rest as needle two.
11. Needle two: K3, k3 through the back loop (these are your picked up stitches), k2tog, k1. Needle one: K across. Needle two: K1, ssk, k3 through the back loop, k3. (26 stitches)
12. All needles: K around.
13. Needle two: K to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1. Needle one: K across. Needle two: K1, ssk, k to marker. (24 stitches)
Repeat rounds 12 and 13 two more times, until you have 20 stitches left, 10 on each needle.
Foot
14. Knit around for 10 more rounds.
Toe
15. K1, ssk, k to last 3 stitches on first needle, k2tog, k1; repeat on second needle.
16. K around.
Repeat rounds 15 and 16 until you have 4 stitches left on each needle.
Finishing
Kitchener stitch together and weave in ends. Add a loop of yarn to the top, or twine, for hanging.
