I tried out a new mini Christmas stocking pattern. The Alpine Christmas stocking pattern features 4 different sizes you can crochet. The jumbo stocking is about 22 inches long and the sizes go down to the mini stocking which is about 6 inches long. The mini size is perfect for the Warmth for Warriors stockings that I crochet each year.
Here is the first little stocking I crocheted using the mini stocking directions.
This stocking is a bit wonky as the red yarn was very thin and the white yarn was much thicker but it still turned out to be a cute stocking. Plus I learned and got better with the Alpine stitch as I worked through this stocking.
Once I figured out the specialized stitch, I moved on to another stocking and used yarn that was of equal thickness. This green mini stocking turned out much better looking and I think I have crocheted the Alpine stitch pattern more actually now. I also crocheted the toe in the same color as the main stocking which I thought looked better. Check out the photo below and let me know what you think?
Here are a few potholder towel combo ideas. First is a Fall themed potholder from the Dollar Store that I added a towel to the bottom of the potholder.
The towel is folded in half and I used a needle and thread to run a baste stitch through the center for gathering. I then gathered the center of the towel to match the bottom of the potholder.
Below is a photo of the front with it pinned in several areas. You can either machine stitch the towel to the potholder or hand stitch it in place. For this project, I hand stitched the towel to the bottom edge of the potholder. I was able to hide my stitches using brown thread and pulling up under the red trim edge of the potholder. I secured the towel tightly by doing many stitches and making sure it wasn’t going to pull loose. See photos below for more details and you can click on them to supersize the photos.
There has been a renewed interest in an old pattern of mine so I thought I’d crochet a few of the jar opener helpers to revisit the pattern. I haven’t crocheted any of these jar helpers in years.
These jar helpers are the handiest things to have and so easy to make yourself. They really do help you get a good grip on a jar lid so you can open it easily. I use shelf liner and you can make a lot of them from just one roll. Then just under a half ounce of yarn and you have the materials to make a jar opener helper. Plus you can color match the jar helper edging to match a dishcloth or potholder to crochet a pretty matching set.
The free crochet pattern for the jar helper is found here.
I have an option now for my original crocheted helmet hat pattern. This option allows for a seamless crocheted hat so you don’t have the noticeable seam down one side.
Seamless hat option:
Start with a magic circle or you can chain 3 to create a ring to crochet into. You don’t join or work any chain 2 to begin each round. You simply crochet into the next stitch of each round without turning or joining.
Round 1 – 6 DC in magic circle (6) (corrections made 1-30-2024)
Round 2 – 2 SC in each stitch (12)
Round 3 – 2 DC in each stitch (24)
Round 4 – Now starting with original hat pattern, work round 3,
I picked up a few of the Halloween kitchen towels at Dollar Tree to add towel toppers to them. These themed towels are a fun and quick project that I am using for a upcoming fundraiser.
The towel topper is added to the towel by simply folding it in half and crocheting along the top edge. No cutting or sewing is needed. The first row is challenging but using a fine point steel crochet hook really helps. Once that first row is complete, the rest of the pattern works up very quickly. The free crochet pattern is found
A few years ago I posted a free basic cabled hat pattern for adults. Its a quick and easy pattern to crochet. I decided I needed a child’s size hat for an upcoming gift. So I downsized that original crochet pattern and created two different sizes. One for a baby (1+ years old) and another for more of a toddler’s size (2-3+ years old).
The free pattern is below and you can always go up or down a hook size to adjust for a different child’s head size as needed. Enjoy and happy crocheting!
Child’s Simple Cabled Hat Pattern
H (5 mm) crochet hook = 1 year old baby (16” cir by 7.5” long) for baby hat
or 18” cir by 8” long for child size 2-3 year old
Yarn – 2 ounces worsted weight (medium) 4-ply (100-110 yards) baby; 2.4 ounces (120-130 yards) child
Note: Ch 2 at beg of each round counts as DC.
Ch 56 for baby hat or Ch 60 for child size. Join to make a ring and making sure your chain is not twisted.
(You will be working in the round and not turning your work as you crochet this hat.)
Rnd 1
Ch 1, Sc into the 2nd bump loop in the back of the chain to create a smooth edge.
This is done by working Sc in back bump of each chain across. Join with sl st to beg ch-1. (56 Sc for baby or 60 Sc for child size)
Here is a project where you use a store-bought potholder and add a crocheted towel to it. I’ve seen other similar projects that you sew a towel to the potholder to create the combo but not crocheted.
The hard part is crocheting the base row across the middle of the potholder. You want to fold the potholder in half and mark the center with a pencil mark. Then you crochet across the marked line in single crochet (SC) stitches evenly. I used a steel #9 crochet hook to poke the holes and pull the yarn through the holes. This process is hard and takes patience. You need to push and wiggle through the potholder to make the holes and then draw the yarn up to complete the SC stitch.
Once you have the base row complete, crocheting the remainder of kitchen towel is super easy.
Here are more photos of the potholder with both sides showing.
Click below to see more photos and for the full free pattern directions.
I have been busy crocheting a recycled tote bag for a future charity fundraiser. This bag was crocheted using the free ultimate grocery bag pattern.
The pattern creates a 13 inches long reusable tote bag. I used around 50 plastic retail sacks to crochet the bag. The green handles were plarn I made from lightweight grocery bags that I recycled. Here is a closeup photo below to show the crocheted green handles.
Here is an old hat pattern with a new twist. This hat features a crab stitch trim for the final row of edging. Thus a new hat style with a twist!
I used my free BLO hat pattern to crochet the complete hat following the original crochet pattern. Then for one additional row of trim, I crocheted a final row of crab stitches. Crab stitch is just reverse single crochet stitches worked from left to right which creates a twisted look to the project.
The finished size of this hat is
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