Dinosaur Baby Cardigan + Booties

The baby madness continues!

Pattern: Pan Pan Crafts (though the site now seems unavailable, very disappointing!)

Spines: made up as I went along!

Yarn: leftover Stylecraft Special DK

Buttons: from my stash.

Booties pattern: Hopeful Honey (though without the spike stitch)

Icarus Baby Booties

So these baby booties (which I suspect have come out a bit bigger than the newborn size I intended!) started off as Dinosaur Booties, using this free pattern. Then I came to the spines, and not only was I not feeling them, I couldn't help but feel the colours were more dragon than dinosaur. As soon as I mentioned to my husband the possibility of adding wings, he introduced me to the story of Icarus, and so these booties were born! I think I adapted the wings from this Toothless pattern, and the wool I used was leftover Jazz Tones from my Purple Granny Square Blanket.

"I'm on a roll, I'm feeling Icarus, I might have flown too high..."

Switchfoot - Light and Heavy

Bear Baby Cardigan

I have a confession to make. The reason I have been so very quiet on the blog this year, is that my husband and I have a baby on the way! Long term followers know that our first baby was stillborn in 2016. In spring this year we underwent IVF, and in May I developed hyperemesis gravidarum. I only really stopped vomiting last month, so it has been a heck of a year! Our little one is now due in the next few weeks, so I'm trying to get some blog posts up before they arrive!

I crocheted this hoody using leftover yarn from my Tunisian Crochet Blanket, James C. Brett's Supreme Soft and Gentle Baby DK in shade SNG10, and added some wooden buttons from my stash. The pattern I used seems to have disappeared from the internet since I used it, but it was Pan Pan Craft's Simple Crochet Striped Hooded Top. I obviously added ears and a little fluffy tail! I can't comment on the fit of the pattern, but it's certainly cute!

Purple Granny Square Blanket

So a few years ago, I bought a large amount of this marbled purple wool (brand Jazz Tones) from a charity shop, with the intention of making myself a cardigan. Well, I changed my mind several times, and instead decided to make a hooded poncho. Only, as you may have seen on Instagram, I wasn't really feeling it! A quick rearrangement of a few squares, and we have what you see here. A large square blanket, accompanied by a matching doll blanket!

They are both made primarily with Jazz Tones, with a few oddments from my stash thrown in as highlights - but all machine washable! The large blanket measures approx 118cm square, whilst the small blanket measures approx 48cm square. You can see some of the lush colour variations below...

Summer Morning Shawl in Neutral Tones

Sometimes, during the summer, I just want to grab a light shawl that I can throw over whatever dress I am wearing. The problem is, all my shawls are quite bold colour schemes, and I really wanted something more neutral.

I was drawn to Rico Design Creative Cotton Degrade in shade Ecru, as it faded from brown to cream, and the Summer Morning shawl pattern for it's simplicity. (Note: I didn't work the final picot edge.) It's a nice easy repetitive pattern, although I never enjoy how long the rows get as shawls progress!

I finished and blocked the shawl, wrapped it round me, and my husband and I agreed - it just wasn't me. It wasn't colourful enough, as insane as that sounds for what was meant to be a neutral shawl! Anyway, I was wandering through Abakhan and found some DMC Coloris thread in shade 4523, Vent du Nord, and the browns in the thread fitted with my shawl so well, whilst the blue and purple in the thread added a touch of colour. I worked this into the shawl as surface crochet in 4 stripes, and I'm pleased with the hint of colour it adds to what is still essentially a neutral shawl!

Crochet Rattle Bear

I wanted to make a small crochet toy for my new baby nephew, and I happened to find this adorable free pattern for a Rattle Bear! I don't normally make rattles, but I had some bells hanging around in my stash so I thought why not throw one in! This was quick and easy to hook up, with just bits from my stash. It's a cute bear and feels nice to hold, so I'd recommend it :) I added a tag made with my Cricut - of course!

Our Generation Doll Mermaid Tail Blankets

When I was making Our Generation doll clothes last year, I found a pattern for doll-size mermaid tail blankets and knew I had to make one each for my niece's OG dolls.

I found this lovely wool, James C. Brett's Marble, and just knew it would look a bit like shimmery mermaid scales! The lighter tail is in shade MT45, and the darker tail is in MT41. Because it is double knitting wool and the pattern uses bulky, I had to adapt both the number of stitches and the number of rows. I used a 10mm hook with 2 strands of DK, and each mermaid tail took less than one ball of wool.

The back has a slight opening to help fit the doll in, and they're quite forgiving in terms of fitting other dolls and even teddies inside them! They make up quite quickly too, so I'm really pleased with them.

Crochet Giraffe

This year, my husband and I are participating in a Secret Santa over on Imgur. If you don't know it, it's a social image sharing website whose mascot is a giraffe with a monocle and top hat. Unsurprisingly, he looks rather like the one I've crocheted here! I made this one to go to our Secret Santa recipient...

This giraffe was made using double knitting wool and a 2mm hook, following the Yoga Giraffe pattern on Ravelry. Although, I stitched the markings directly to the body rather than crocheting discs, I added some extra details, and winged a top hat!

I also added a monocle using a disk of acetate and some gold thread. He has a couple of extra stitches in front of his eye which the monocle rests on to stay in place.

He has a fully wired skeleton, which means he can bend. A lot.

And the top hat is removable to show off his beautiful ossicones (that's the fancy word for a giraffe's horns). When I first started this giraffe, I was thinking about a whole army of them. But this pattern is so tiny and fiddly, I may need some time to forget it's difficulties before I return to it!

Tunisian Crochet Blanket + Edward's Menagerie Sheep

A good few years ago I bookmarked a pattern for a reversible Tunisian Crochet baby blanket. I eventually bought some lovely neutral wool earlier this year, only to discover that as a complete noob to Tunisian crochet, the pattern was well beyond my ability! Instead, I dug out some instructions for basic Tunisian crochet, and set about leaning a new skill. The result is this wonderfully squidgy drapey blanket, which is being put safely away in hopes of a future baby. I finished the edge with basic single crochet, and added a final row with a blanket stitch effect, as I thought it tied in nicely with the Tunisian crochet stitch.

I used James C. Brett's Supreme Soft and Gentle Baby DK in shades SNG9 and SNG10. Despite it being so soft and lovely, I found that if I worked with it for too long my hands would become sore and itchy, I think this is because of the 30% polyamide in the yarn mix, so sadly I won't be buying it again.

Also earlier this year, I treated myself to a copy of Edward's Menagerie! It's such a beautiful book - my husband joined me in looking through it and kept pointing out who I should make next! I wanted a teddy to go with the blanket, and given the colours of the wool, the sheep stood out to me. The "wool" look was pretty fiddly, but otherwise came together really nicely. I think we'll end up with our own menagerie!

Crochet Butterfly Snuggy

I've made quite a few snuggies over the years (you can check them out here), but this time I wanted to mix things up a bit! I began with this crochet star pattern, but made six points rather than the stated five. (It doesn't sit flat, but it works find when folded into wings.) I then used basic amigurumi techniques to create a body for the butterfly, that I thought would be a good size for little fingers. I (securely!) added some antennae and eyes, before folding the star in half and stitching the body to it. It's not like a traditional snuggy, but I think it still fulfils everything you want from one? I'd love to hear your thoughts! (Colours are all from my stash.)

Crochet Poppy - Remembrance Sunday

I've been meaning to crochet myself a poppy for years, and after a bit of fiddling I found a pattern I liked. The black wool is a generic DK, the red is Stylecraft DK Lipstick, and the green is Wendy Four Ply Courtelle, all from my stash. The flower is made using the "Remembering You" pattern, as seen on the top row. The leaf is made using the first half of this Bleeding Hearts Leaf pattern. I stitched a safety pin on the back and it's good to go!

Lizard Shawl

So I was in my local Abakhan earlier this year looking for some specific wool for a project I wanted to start. Bored of waiting in the car, my husband came in for a mooch around - it's amazing what seven years of marriage can do! My husband saw some wool on sale, showed it to me, and said these colours would look great on you. Well, I took that as an invitation to buy them!

The wool was Sirdar Divine DK, and there were two balls. On closer inspection it turned out they were actually different shades, but so similar that they work together in the shawl. You can see one shade (064) has an emphasis on dark blue with a silver sparkle, whilst the other shade (062) has dark green with a gold sparkle. You really have to look to see it though.

I chose the Lizard Shawl as my pattern, and enjoyed working it up. I'd love it a bit bigger, but it will go nicely over my leather jacket as the weather gets cooler. I just love the colours and the sparkle, and the textural marriage of the yarn with the stitch changes in the pattern - delish!

Our Generation Doll Clothes

As a young girl in the 1990s, I had some lovely dolls, and they in turn had some lovely clothes. I had one doll which came with multiple dresses, and I even made her a wardrobe from a cereal box! I also loved it when my Mum made clothes for my dolls - sometimes we even matched!

So with my eldest niece's 9th Birthday, I decided I'd contribute to her suitcase of doll clothes for her Our Generation Doll. This is a series of 18" dolls, who are pretty popular just now! I began by making her a little crocheted cap using this pattern, some leftover Stylecraft yarn, and embellished with a little felt flower.

I decided to break up the crochet by making this little apron using the template from this pattern (I didn't actually follow the instructions!) I used an old denim skirt for the main body, added some felt patch pockets, and some rainbow ribbon. It fastens with velcro round the neck, but the back ribbons are long enough to tie.

You can also see I made some "Our Generation" tags for the different items of clothing, so my niece knew who they were intended for!

This gorgeous little hat is based on this pattern, but I also added some cute little ears. I actually made a second one of these as it fits some of my teddy bears, and it's just too cute!

And lastly I also crocheted this Spring Vest in some wool I had in my stash. The three little buttons actually function!

Crochet Stegosaurus

Confession: I've never really got "into" dinosaurs. They've always felt scary and not caught my interest. Dragons on the other hand? Love them. Metallic scales, huge wings, breathing fire and jewel encrusted stomachs? Awesome.

Anyway. This dinosaur I do love. He's cute and friendly, and loves roaming through overgrown grass. He has four cute tubby feet and amazing pink spikes. I crocheted him using Stylecraft DK (still leftovers from my rainbow blanket!), following this pattern by The Button Ship. The pattern works in a new way to me, as it requires you to break your yarn and restart in a different place. But I think the finished look is worth it.

Rawr.

Crochet Octopus for a Premature Baby

When I was pregnant last year we were told that if our child survived the likelihood was that they would be premature. It was around this time that I found out about octopi for prem-babies, and decided to make one in case we needed it. As I have mentioned previously, our daughter didn't make it, but I completed this octopus and have wrapped him away, just in case.

If you are donating to a hospital they ask that the octopi are made from cotton. Since this is a personal octopus I used some Stylecraft DK I had in my stash.

The tendrils must be within certain length limits, but are designed to mimic the feel of an umbilical cord when a baby wraps their fingers around it. I suspect any young baby would appreciate an octopus, not just those born prematurely!

I stitched the outline of a heart to the back of the head. The octopus was made with love and it seemed a nice way of adding extra detail. I'm currently wanting to experiment with cross stitch over crochet thanks to the Scheepjes Hygge crochet-a-long (which I wish I could afford to participate in!), but it wasn't to be on this octopus, as the increases and decreases of the curve made it more difficult.

You can find the pattern I used here.

Crochet Fingerless Gloves

There's something about fingerless gloves/wrist warmers that I find incredibly appealing. There are some beautiful patterns out there, and unlike a hat you get to enjoy looking at them as you wear them. There's no shame in having a pair of wrist warmers ready for you in every room of the house and every coat pocket, giving plenty of excuses to own as many pairs as possible! And better than gloves, they don't interfere with whatever it is you're attempting to do.

These particular fingerless gloves were made for a friend who is always cold. I chose this fingerless gloves pattern by crejjtion, and used Rico Baby Classic 4-ply in blue - I only used about 30g of the 50g ball! The pattern itself... In parts it was very easy and methodical to work, but I also threw this project across the bed more than once! The pattern itself is written in a somewhat complex way, having to constantly reference earlier rows, and I found this made it unnecessarily difficult. I also had some issues around the thumb holes, but I worked it out eventually! I'm a UK size 12, and I found these gloves to be a bit tighter than I would have liked, so worth bearing in mind if you have larger wrists!

I presented the gloves tied with ribbon and a printed label. I will say it again and again - it's always worth putting effort in to the packaging of your homemade items!