A crochet granny square ‘Elmer’ sweater

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Mominthegarden

Hello! Well, Mother Nature has decided to keep us chilled a bit longer with another cold snap. The timing is perfect for me, as I just finished crocheting what I am calling an ‘Elmer’ sweater. Elmer is a colorful elephant from a children’s story, by David McKee, who teaches that being yourself is the best way to be. I made an Elmer blanket for my daughter a few years ago (you can see it here). The difference this time is that I added black while connecting all of the colorful squares, and Elmer the elephant doesn’t have that. I’ve been told by friends that this gives it a stained glass look. 🙂

Making this sweater was a huge challenge for me because I did not have a pattern, and I have not made many sweaters. All I had was an idea in my head. It was definitely a learning process, but in the end I was happy with how it came out. I made tiny granny squares, just two rows each. It took me about two months to make, and required way more squares than I’d originally thought! But I loved working with all of the different colors (29 Caron Simply Soft colors in all). A few years ago I switched to Amour Crochet Hooks by Clover. They have made a huge difference with comfort.

The colors should be random, but I did try – really hard – to make sure they were spaced out. This picture is of the back after I took apart my first block of sewing them together. I realized I needed more rows in both directions, so it was easier to unravel the joined up squares and start again. I had a tough time deciding which color to fill in that space with!

This image shows the original block, mentioned above and that was too small, on the right. On the left is the draft of the front of the sweater – including the ‘v’ neck, but without the ‘half squares’. I ended up going with 10 squares across and 8 squares down. The half squares took some fiddling with to get the stitches right – I needed to have 10 stitches on each side. I eventually figured it out! 🙂

in the process of putting together a patchwork granny square crochet sweater

My patience were very low with this project as my excitement was very high! Also, since I wasn’t sure what would have to be re-done or re-worked, I kind of rushed through parts to see if they would work. This picture shows the front, back and one sleeve pinned together to see if the sizing worked (it did!).

neckline of finished crochet granny square crochet sweater

I knew I wanted a ‘v’ neck, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. I decided that I would keep the border for all three edges (neck, sleeves and bottom) a simple three layers of black. It just felt right.

So many colors!

Dana with finished crochet granny square crochet sweater

Ta-da! That was a fun project. I’m glad I did it, despite not being sure if I could figure it out. And it is a very warm sweater! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

In Peace,
Dana

A heartfelt blanket :-)

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Mominthegarden

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

Hi there! How are you? I hope you are safe and well, and able to do things that bring you joy. Today’s post isn’t about gardening, but about my second hobby: crocheting! I really enjoy having projects to focus on. As it turns out, at the start of our ‘stay at home’ orders due to Covid-19 here in Ireland, I was asked to make a blanket for a sweet little girl who liked pink and purple. This was a perfect distraction for me, and a project which I really enjoyed!

The c2c blanket is made ‘corner to corner’

I like crocheting and creating with my hands. I have to say that I like a bit of a challenge, too, and to learn new stitches or patterns. So I went searching for something new to catch my eye for this blanket. I was very lucky to come across a lovely heart blanket from Motorave_slc on Instagram (she’s also on Etsy: Motorave_slc). I sent Jessica a message on Instagram and she kindly sent me the diagram of the blanket, which is the basis for the pattern. This was a lovely act of kindness on Jessica’s part, which I’m so thankful for!

the back of the c2c half way through

This blanket pattern is called ‘corner to corner’ (written c2c). Unlike traditional blankets which are made row by row from bottom to top, this blanket is made from bottom right corner to top left corner. The main stitch used throughout is a double crochet (American terminology) done in groups of 3, along with chain stitches – all very easy. Once you get the hang of the pattern, it is fun to make! The interesting part was having all of the colors attached to the blanket as you create it, which at some points in the blanket was tricky to work around!

The pattern had two upside down hearts

I started off watching a video tutorial by The Crochet Crowd. Over the course of nearly an hour, they covered every aspect of making a c2c blanket as well as creating and reading a c2c pattern. After all of that I was finally ready to begin!

A view of the side hearts and the border

As usual, I used my favorite yarn which is Caron Simply Soft, in soft pink, orchid, lavender, blackberry and fuchsia. I just love the colors and I thought they all went so well with the soft pink background. The size ended up being 44 inches x 35 inches – not too big and not too small. It just goes to show that it is always worth having lots of stock of different colors in the house, because you never know when you’ll be in lock-down and unable to buy more yarn! 😉

A view of the side hearts and the border

The border changes with every additional color added

Once I finished the main blanket, I then had to pick a border. I decided on a stitch that is very similar to the border I used on my last blanket (my poppy blanket). I just like that style: a simple single crochet stitch with a spike stitch.

I thought the hearts were just perfect!

I will admit to being one of the slowest crocheters ever! I just don’t go fast. And if I’m crocheting, I’m crocheting, and I’m not multi-tasking. That’s just how I do it. So this blanket took me a month to complete. I really enjoyed watching how it came together with each heart. The center part with the name was tricky. That’s all I’ll say about that!

a closeup of the corner border

A full view of the blanket

I was very happy with the finished blanket! I will definitely use the corner to corner pattern again. I’m not sure what my next project is…but I have a few ideas!

Take care and stay safe!

In Peace,
Dana

My daughter holding up the blanket for me to photograph

Being creative is good for the soul

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Mominthegarden

Starting with a simple ‘Robin’s egg blue’ base for the blanket

Creating with my hands is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it be crocheting, making wreaths, or whatever, I enjoy crafts that finish with a lovely ‘something’.

A close up of the waistcoat stitch (doesn’t look like crochet to me)

Crocheting is so much more than just granny squares (although there’s nothing wrong with a good granny square!). I made a number of items over the past few years as gifts and I felt the time was right to make something for myself.

close up of the border (variation of the spike stitch)

We’d completely ‘done up’ our family room last year: pulled up the rug, installed an electric fireplace, bought a new couch, curtains, and light fixture, and painted the room. It was a long time in the making and last year everything finally came together. We all love it, especially the couch. It is like getting into a big family bed. 🙂

The main blanket finished but not yet embellished with poppies, held by my lovely daughter. There are orange California poppies in the background of the picture, along with red poppies which are not as easily seen here.

We went a bit bold with the paint in the family room – it is Adonis blue. Happy to say that we really like it. And we went bold again in pairing it with red curtains. So I wanted a blanket that would bring those colors together. Not only that, I wanted to embellish it with poppies, to tie in with the curtains. That was January 2019.

It was a painstaking process figuring out the poppy pattern!

The pistil (in black) and stamen (in bone) give extra texture to the flower.

Some things just take time, and deciding which pattern to use for the main blanket was no exception. I finally decided on a pattern that doesn’t really look like crochet. It is called the waistcoat stitch. I used a tutorial from Crafternoon Treats.

The completed poppy flower looks different depending on whether the petals are laid flat or scrunched up (my preference).

The border is where I worked in the colors of the curtains, using a variation of the spike stitch. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn, in harvest red, bone, black, off white for the border and the main blanket is in Robin’s egg blue. It is a ‘throw’ size, and if you sit nice and close to each other, it will cover two people for watching tv. (4′ x 5.5′)

Playing around with the flowers to figure out where to place them.

I ran out of the blue about half way through, but I had a trip to the States coming up, so I restocked (phew!). I finally finished the main blanket in June.

Completed blanket with poppies (winter sunlight distorts the coloring).

Finding a pattern that I liked for the poppies was a whole other challenge! Finally, I found one that had the stamen and pistil, with the bonus of texture for the pistil, and four individual petals. I really like it. I found it on crochet-ideas.com. The video is in Italian, but with subtitles, so although tricky, it was manageable.

Our family room transformed!

It took some time figuring out how I wanted the poppies to look on the blanket. They couldn’t be symmetrical – anyone who’s grown poppies will know that they grow all over the place, and never where you plan them! I also didn’t want to cover the blanket in them, as I quite like the blue and wanted to be able to see it. So they are in a bit of a cascade from one corner to the opposite corner. Voilà!

Blue Blanket with poppies + Dana in Family room

Me with my blanket 🙂

I am absolutely delighted with it, and thankfully the family like it too. I’m glad I took my time with it to find the right patterns. And I think it fits in perfectly in our family room.

Good things come to those who wait…

In Peace,
Dana

So many butterflies … of the crochet variety!

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Mominthegarden

crochet butterfly blanket (with our apple tree and cherry tree in the background)

This sounds a bit of a cliché, but creating a special, unique and personal gift is something that I love to do. There is a young special person in our lives, and I wanted to make her a gift which she would know was made just for her. Although the “perfect” idea did not come to me easily, and I did a lot of searching on-line, I think in the end that I found exactly what I was looking for. 🙂

This is my crochet “butterfly blanket”! The butterflies are crocheted and are part of the blanket (not appliqué). But I discovered that although the butterflies were so cute when I made them, the wings were curling up and then they just looked like bunches of yarn. Perhaps if I blocked them they would stay in place, but instead of doing that, I decided they would look nice embellished with sequins and beads.

the details

Yes, sequins and beads … on every. single. butterfly. … and there are fifty-five butterflies! I have to admit though, that I really enjoyed this part. I mixed and matched colors and somehow it all came together in a fun way.

more details

As for the colors, lavender, light pink and light blue are the favorite colors of our special little person. Those colors were the main focus of the blanket, with yellow and raspberry thrown in to add that splash of color. I used my favorite yarn, which is Caron simply soft. They have an amazing range of colors!

my daughter was kind enough to model the full view of the blanket for me

I have to admit that although I used a pattern to create the butterflies, there is no “overall” pattern. (You can see the free on-line MyPicot butterfly pattern here.) If I were to make this one again, I would definitely do more “before we start” planning. The complete randomness of the butterflies is O.K. by me, but for my daughter who is mathematically minded, it is very unsettling!

a relaxed look

Borders of blankets can be tricky. I played around with this aspect of the blanket, too. I used the “bangles” pattern from Nicky Epstein’s “Crocheting on the edge” book. The blanket took on completely different looks with each round of color that I added! But when I completed the blue round, I felt it looked complete. Phew! I finished it the day before our special someone’s First Holy Communion!

our little special someone is all smiles with her special blanket!

Thankfully, she smiled when she opened her gift. (double phew!!)

That’s three blankets in over eight months (I’m a slow crocheter), so now it is time for me to take a tiny break – at least from making blankets!

You will now find me in the garden on a more regular basis 🙂

In peace,
Dana

An “Elmer” blanket – because to be yourself is the best way to be!

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Mominthegarden

One of our favorite children’s books!

Isn’t it wonderful how children’s story books are able to teach life lessons in such a fun way? A favorite book of my family is Elmer by David McKee. The copyright is 1968, and the story still holds its worth today. It is the tale of a patchwork colored elephant who doesn’t like being different than all of the other elephants. He tries to change by acting and looking like everyone else, but he learns along the way that everyone loves him for who he is, and that it is always best to be yourself. Such a simple, touching story.

19 of the 21 colors used in the blanket (navy and cream are missing)

I wanted to make a special blanket for my daughter’s 18th birthday, for her to take to college next year. We had been looking at lots of different styles together, but once we had the idea for an Elmer blanket, that was it, the decision was made. I took out our copy of the book and kept it nearby, for nostalgic reasons. It surprises me how even still, every stage of parenthood is such a gift. I could write so many things to describe how wonderful my daughter is, and how much we love her. I won’t do that, though! 🙂 I will simply share that she is someone who has always been comfortable being herself.

having fun with granny squares

So this is the story of my creating our own Elmer blanket. I was lucky to have LOADS of colors to use (21 different colors, actually). I have no idea where I had all of that yarn stashed (read: hidden)! I’ve learned from previous projects that it is best to use the same type of yarn throughout a project. My yarn of choice here was Caron Simply Soft.

the pattern is that there isn’t a pattern

The crochet squares are five rounds, which is somewhat large, but a very simple pattern. The center of the square is comprised of a pattern of 4 double crochet to 3 chain stitches, with each round after that increasing by 4, the final row having 20 double crochet to 3 chain stitches. There are 150 squares, which comfortably covers a single bed. I crocheted them together using a technique that doesn’t show the stitches on the front. I’d never done this before, so the Little Tin Bird’s tutorial was quite helpful.

The ears and tail are “free moving”!

I used gray as the first border color to connect it to our elephant story. Although Elmer would have been patchwork, I crocheted two gray elephants for two corners, again to connect it to our story. The elephant pattern was fantastically easy, as written by Repeat Crafter Me. The purple border is because my daughter’s favorite color is purple.

a look at the blanket pre-fringe border

The final piece of the blanket is the ball fringe. I wanted this blanket to be extra special so I went through many, many crochet books, and online sites, looking for the perfect finish.

creating and stuffing the balls

a bit of an operation going on…

I wasn’t sure about the “balls”, and the first one I made was too big. But with a little tweaking, I figured out a size my daughter would be happy with. We also decided not to have them at the top/bottom as they might get in the way with sleeping! There are 80 balls, 40 on each length of the blanket. The ball fringe pattern can be found in Nicky Epstein’s “Crocheting on the Edge” book.

my favorite view of the fringe

What an amazing experience it was making this blanket. I loved working with all of those gorgeous colors! The balls were new to me, and fun and easy to make. Best of all, my daughter loved it start to finish (I consulted with her all along the way). It was truly a labor of love!

Emer with her Elmer blanket (and her sister kindly helping to hold it up!)

my daughter is happy with her new blanket

Sweet dreams

We could all use a reminder of Elmer’s lesson now and again – it is always best to be yourself!

that is me, being my (crazy) self!

In peace,

Dana

Creative Challenge Baby Blanket

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Mominthegarden

When it comes to knitting, sewing, and crocheting, my husband’s family are super talented. We benefitted from that when our babies were born all those years ago, as we didn’t just receive beautiful blankets, but lovely sweaters, too.

Both my husband and son’s aran jumpers were hand made by my husband’s Aunt (October 2004 Manlius, New York)

I did very little crocheting during those years. Funny, I don’t really remember having any free time when the kids were young??? 🙂 But over the past few years I’ve managed to pick up my crochet needle again. The thing is, like everything in life, you can’t just do the same thing over and over again. You have to either do things differently, or add a challenge lest boredom sets in!

Check the measurements on the packaging to save yourself the time and stress of measuring out (what should be) perfect squares 😉

This baby blanket project was for a very special baby. Words can’t even describe how welcomed and loved this baby was, even before meeting any of the family! So I wanted to try something new to make this gift extra-special. I decided on making a quilt on one side of the blanket while keeping my traditional crochet on the other side. The main item I wanted for this blanket, though, was the smooth binding that my kids loved to rub along their faces! “How hard could it be to incorporate those three things?” thought she to herself, quite innocently…

a view of the quilted side of the blanket sitting on what was actually my own rocking chair as a child

Well, I have to say that I learned a lot of new things with this project. I won’t give you all of the details, but the first thing was that you need to check the sizing of material when you buy it in cute little packages! The quilting material was huge and I had to cut it into small squares. 🙂

the material is lovely and soft (albeit rather funny prints!)

I also learned to make sure that I have enough material on *both sides* of the blanket when joining. On my first attempt to sew the crochet side to the quilt side I wasn’t able to keep them aligned. I can tell you that only for my husband’s patience and his help taking the binding off, the project just might have been completely changed! {Thank you husband!}

the back of the crochet squares looked kinda neat

This is the part that strains my fingers the most: joining all of the squares together!

After the mess of needing to take the binding off, I needed a new plan. So I added more squares to the quilt and adjusted the size of the crochet blanket. Attaching just the binding to the quilt with the sewing machine was so much easier now! Then I hand sewed the crochet portion onto the blanket. I have to say that I really enjoyed the hand sewing, which I would not have guessed beforehand.

sewing the binding on to the quilted side of the blanket

hand sewing the crochet side onto the quilted side

One day I’d like to improve my sewing skills. For now though, it’ll just be baby steps with projects like this one.

I can’t miss an opportunity to take a picture of a baby blanket on our family antique potty-chair

As for the teeny tiny little granny squares, I thought they were so cute to make! The colors are really fun and cheerful. I used Mango, Sunshine, Robins Egg, Limelight, Soft Pink, and Off-White. The Caron Simply Soft yarn is one of my favorites to work with as it really is so soft and is a really nice weight.

I usually stock up on Caron Simply Soft yarn when I go home to the States 🙂

I love having things from my childhood, like this rocking chair

I really enjoyed making this blanket and trying something new. There were a few things about it along the way that I just wasn’t sure about, but thankfully as time went on it all worked out and I love it! And I think our sweet little one likes it too.

A happy little girl!

Here’s to a new year and new challenges!

In peace,
Dana

A Crochet Flower Blanket for Someone Special

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Mominthegarden

first we start with some flowers…

Happy New Year! Well, almost Happy New Year. My forte has never been to have perfectly timed posts, something that perhaps I should work on. Thankfully, this isn’t earth shattering stuff, and a light hearted post about a crocheted blanket can really be a “perfect” read any time at all.

The caption under the first photo above (“first we start with some flowers…”) is in fact, incorrect. The first photo and caption should be of Pinterest.com. THAT is where it all begins. Lots of time scrolling through endless photos, searching for that one look that not only captures my attention, but seems reasonable enough for me to attempt to make it.

Not surprising to myself, my finished product looks nothing like the blanket for which it is based on (pin above). I have a knack for that… I also had to make small adjustments due to the fact that my yarn was heavier than what she used. But I must give credit to the very talented woman who made this pattern, and who’s blanket is simply beautiful. Here is the link to where I found it:

http://atime4allseasons.blogspot.ie/2015/04/rebekahs-flower-afghan.html?spref=pi

I like to learn something new with all of my projects. With this one I learned a few things. First I learned about not mixing different brands of yarn. Yeah, I know, I’m sure everyone knows that already. But due to lack of ‘stash’, and the colors I wanted to use, some of my flowers are made of Caron Simply Soft yarn, while the majority of the blanket is made of Redheart Supersaver yarn. I think to the untrained eye, this isn’t a problem. But to anyone who works with yarn it is blaringly obvious. I also learned that it is most ideal to have all of your yarn purchased before you begin a project AND that you actually know what the project is going to look like when finished (again, before you begin).

starting out small at my desk

I’ve discovered that my creativity is unpredictable and rather unreliable. I couldn’t visualize the blanket at the start, so I just had to go with it and see where it brought me (not a great strategy for planning ahead!).

still early days

This project evolved from a small throw to a rather large throw. The colors also changed as I went along. It really was crazy, because I didn’t know what pattern of colors I was aiming for: rows of colors, random colors, diagonal colors. I’m not sure how to describe the pattern I chose in the end: an arrow? It fit the bill as something different…

two new colors were added two months into the project!

I started the blanket in October. I have a day-job, so I worked on the blanket every spare moment. My family really helped out too, pinch-hitting for me by doing all of my typical house-jobs. It took three months, and everyone was happy when I finished it!

taking over the family room on a white table cover

working on the border while in the car

I love flowers. All of the different colors of flowers in the blanket reminded me of our visit to Monet’s garden. The green within the squares are like leaves (in my head!), and I decided to join them with green to brighten it up, versus joining with cream which would have been a more conservative option. {Thanks goes to my daughter for helping with that decision.}

still a work-in-progress here, but with the sunny day I wanted to capture how it was coming along

only joined together horizontally

It was absolutely a labor of love. I so enjoyed making it and it was being made for a very special someone. She is someone who is always doing for others, and yet is somehow in the background and never seeking attention. It really is the little things that people do which make them so appreciated and loved.

almost there... border not quite finished

almost there … and a view of my laundry drying outside and on the other side of the blanket is my very messy compost heap 🙂

a close-up before the border is completely finished (graciously being held up by my daughter)

the pinks

I enjoyed making the border, too. The entire blanket is lined in green. I think if I were to be critical, I would say that I should have made a more substantial cream border before moving on to the pinks. Time was not on my side at this stage (it was a Christmas gift), and my hands were in a permanent cramped state, so I really couldn’t undo it once I’d moved on.

the final border, which apart from the lack of cream color, turned out quite nice

I went back to a blanket I made a couple of years ago for the final round with the trefoil motif:

while I copied this lovely pin for the first three rows of the border:

See, you can get lots of great ideas from Pinterest!

our final ‘ta-dah!’ with the frosty garden as a back-drop

The blanket is an awkward size, making it difficult to photograph the entire thing. Natural lighting is always best to capture the colors, so on the first sunny day I ran outside and took as many pictures as possible. I know the white beneath the blanket (a table cover) looks unattractive, but everything was wet & frosty not to mention not the cleanest so there wasn’t much I could do.

a frosty sunny day

close-up

the blues!

all scrunched up

I’m happy to say that the recipient likes it (phew!).

folds up neat and tidy (isn’t big and bulky)

Kitty sitting on our hutch

And that is a wrap. 2016 is nearly finished. I hope that your 2017 will be everything that you want it to be and so much more.

Thanks for stopping by, for reading, and for your lovely comments.

In peace,
Dana

My “show someone special how special they are” Blanket

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Mominthegarden

It all starts with an idea … and circles

This is not the blogpost which I had promised months ago. You remember, don’t you? Monet’s garden! Yes, I promised, and I am looking forward to sharing my millions of flower pictures with you, just not today.

lots of colours

Today’s post is about reaching out to a special someone in your life, and letting them know how special they are to you. I bet you just thought of at least 3 people! I am pretty sure that most people don’t even know how special they are to others.

lots and lots of tiny pieces make up the whole... just like in life :-)

lots and lots of tiny pieces make up the whole… just like in our relationships 🙂

I am also pretty sure that every one of us is special to at least one someone. Those words of encouragement, or no words at all while you listened, or the errand you ran because you could; all of those things add up. The little things really are what matter most.

it takes time, patience and persistence… I sense a theme here

If we could just make the world a little nicer one smile at a time. (and oh, by the way, THANK YOU to the gentleman who helped me put air in my tires at the gas station last night! Your act of kindness was so appreciated!)

there are good days when we get loads done, and then there are other days when we just have to accept whatever we get done

there are good days when we get loads done, and then there are other days when we just have to accept what is…

The special someone I made the blanket for, well, I just wanted to show her how much she means to me. She is a real gem. She doesn’t live nearby, and I haven’t figured out how to mail a hug just yet. So I thought that with a blanket, it would be like me giving her a hug when she used it! (Yes, I know … that is just me.)

putting them all together

{ For my crocheting friends: The yarn is “Simply Soft” by Caron. This is the third blanket I’ve made using the Simply Soft yarn, because I absolutely love it. The pattern for the modified Sunshine Granny Square I found on-line for free here (http://nittybits.blogspot.ie/2013/01/sunburst-granny-square-blanket-tutorial.html), while I just figured out the joining process. I tried the join-as-you-go method first, but found it to be too messy for my liking, so I joined them at the end in a fairly traditional manner. It is always great to learn something new!}

There are 11 different colour combinations.

It was a new pattern to me. I especially love what I see as butterflies in the corners where the squares are connected! Do you see them? 🙂

It is just big enough to keep you cozy while sitting and reading a book or watching tv (10 squares by 12 squares)

This is the back of it! I think the rows where they are stitched together look neat here, too!

This is the back of it! I like the different look of the back, with the ridges from where they are crocheted together.

a very simple edging

I think hugs are pretty good, too, if you don’t know how to crochet. 🙂

Go on, show that special someone you care!

blanket on our kiddie rocking chair (before I put the border on it)

In Peace,
Dana

A Crochet ‘Fairy Doll’ Handbag

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Mominthegarden

Fairy Colours of ‘passion’, pink, and green

Did you ever make something and just could not believe how well it came out? 🙂 I *love it* when that happens! My little God-daughter’s sixth birthday was coming up and I wasn’t sure what to get her. Then I learned she was having a fairy themed party because she’s taken a liking to fairies…

Tassie Design ‘Fairy & Elf Collections’

I had this lovely little fairy doll that I decided would be perfect to give her. The fairy has bendable arms and legs. I found a website for the company that sells them: http://fromtheretohereimports.com/?page_id=6 The fairy dolls are actually designed and made by a family business in Thailand. It is an interesting story, but I’m getting a bit off-topic!

handbag before the center buttons were sewn on…

But wouldn’t it be nice to have a ‘fairy doll’ handbag to carry the fairy doll? Such is the way my brain works, and thus the idea was formed. The doll inspired the colours for the handbag; that and the fact that I had the yarn to hand so I was happy to use those colours! I have to say that the Caron ‘Simply Soft’ yarn is fantastic. I have done a few different projects with it now, and every one is that bit nicer because of the softness of the yarn.

fairy with a view

The ‘passion’ colour is definitely my favourite. The soft pink did a nice job of breaking up the sameness of the two main colours. The lime green yarn is not the Caron brand. In fact, it was some scrap yarn I bought to only make flower petals with. But I loved the way it really brightened up the passion colour!

very simple crochet stitches… two contrasting colour buttons

Those two buttons were in my button collection, just waiting for a neat little project like this!

hand sewn, as if that isn’t obvious…

So… my least favourite thing to do is sew. That is probably because I am not very good at it. This small task of creating a lining should have been a very quick and easy job on a sewing machine. But I don’t have a sewing machine, and borrowing one was going to take longer than just getting to work and sewing it myself. I’ll chalk it up to being ‘good experience’! (But next time I think I’ll make the effort to borrow one!)

finished lining

I was really surprised with how it came out. It even fit! 🙂

sewing in the lining

I spent many, many hours on pinterest looking for pattern ideas for the handbag. I could lose so many hours on Pinterest, it is not even funny. I love getting new ideas there!

Simple stitches to create a basic, yet sweet, pattern

I designed the handbag myself, based on a couple of different styles I found. I challenged myself a bit with the top flap. It would have been easier to just leave the top open. But sure, then all of the little princess’ things would fall out! 😉

finished.

It all just fell into place. (read: I figured it out as I went along!)

Fairy handbag

The handle is called a ‘granny strap’ and involved learning “foundation single crochet”. But it is really easy to find instructions on-line and videos, too! It was worth learning as I really like the look that it gives.

sparkly side button on the ‘granny strap’

I was quite happy with the finished project. I had used my 11 year old daughter to roughly gauge how long to make the strap. I think it worked out O.K. based on how cute it looks on the little princess.

Little princess with her Fairy Purse & Fairy

Little princess with her Fairy Handbag & Fairy

Go on, try making something new! You just might end up making something beautiful and having fun, too!

With crocheting needle,
Dana

The websites I used for inspiration:

http://koalakidsfashion.blogspot.ie/2012/03/crazy-flowers-purse-crochet-pattern.html

https://www.etsy.com/listing/85170392/crochet-pattern-purse-garden-scene?ref=shop_home_feat_2

http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2011/1/granny-straps.aspx

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Tag Archives: Caron Simply Soft yarn

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A Crochet ‘Fairy Doll’ Handbag