Category: Textile projects

I’ve seen quite a few examples of patchwork cushions and blankets on various blogs and websites. They’re a great way of using up your leftover stash, are quick and easy to make and are even a small enough project to take on the daily commute!

I wanted to make a cushion as a Christmas present, using a pattern of multiple squares in natural/period colours. I bought a selection of six Sirdar Snuggly DK yarns in blues, greens, pink and stone. Having looked at a couple of projects for inspiration, I made up my own pattern and crocheted a total of 49 squares (7 x 7).

I used a simple DC stitch in the stone colour to join the squares together. The visible seam forms part of the overall aesthetic.

For the back of the cushion I used the stone colour and rows of treble stitch, which grew really quickly. I made two rectangle pieces that I overlapped and fixed with buttons.

The finished cushion measures 18″.

I recently bought a copy of the Natural Knits for babies and toddlers magazine. It was a real inspiration as not only were the patterns adorable and contemporary, but each item was finished off with handmade buttons – perfect combo!

One of the first patterns was for a snuggly baby cocoon that is perfect for keeping a baby warm in it’s pram. All of the patterns use natural, organic wools, which although they are luxurious are a little on the pricey side, and I wanted to use up some of my stash. I also fancied crocheting the cocoon and the pattern was knitted, so I set off on a little detour…

I’ve never been a big fan of ‘blue for a boy and pink for a girl’ and opted for Sirdar snuggly baby wools in a bright fresh green, multi blue stripes and a natural white.

I made a simple pattern using alternate dc and treble stitches along each row. Making two rectangles, the front piece is about 2cm narrower than the back to allow for the button band. After stitching the pieces together and sewing up the hood I finished the piece off with nine polymer clay buttons in contrasting colours.

This is the finished item!

 

A while ago I stumbled across this crochet ripple tutorial on the Attic24 blog and thought I would like to give it a try. On one of my visits to Hobbycraft I saw these yarns and thought they would work really well together and would be perfect for the project.

The yarns are all DK weight and are varied blends of wool, nylon, acrylic and cotton. The multi-coloured yarn is Sirdar Crofter DK in ‘Seagrass’, the lime and cream are Sirdar Country Style and the blue/green is Sirdar Click.

The pattern was very easy to follow, you just need to focus on setting up the first row correctly and thereafter remember to count your stitches!

I really like the way the stripes are ‘softened’ by the multi-coloured yarn.

I finished off the edge with a couple of rows of DCs and I might still add a little pico edge. This is the finished piece…just in time for the heatwave lol.

I came across a pattern for a really cute crochet Easter bunny and couldn’t resist making one.

The body was super-quick to make and I thought I would have it done in no time. Wrong. The ears were sooo fiddly to make, that it took me about six attempts to get something that resembled ears. In the end I only loosely followed the pattern and that seemed to work for me.

For the bunny’s tail the pattern suggested making a little pom pom.  However, I found the pom pom came apart really easily (it probably just needed to be tied tighter) and as it’s for a child I wanted something really secure.

As an alternative I used the pattern for the nose, which I made slightly bigger, I then put a running stitch along the edge and pulled it up to form a ball. After adding a little stuffing I stitched it onto the back of the rabbit.

I recently bought some Hoopla yarn from a local craft show. This eco yarn is created from the edges of cotton and jersey fabric that would otherwise be thrown away. The yarn is very chunky and can be knitted using a 10mm needle or crocheted using a 9mm or 10mm hook.

Having pondered on what to make for while I decided to have a go at crocheting a small bag.

Initially I thought the colour of the yarn looked a little ‘flat’ on its own, so I mixed it with a turquoise DK wool to add a bit of texture to the look. Using a DC stitch, I crocheted two oblong panels for the front and back of the bag and then crocheted a thin oblong that I wrapped around the sides and base to give the bag some added depth.

I stitched the bag together using Hoopla yarn and a blanket stitch on the right side and then crocheted a row of DC’s around the top edge.

The next step was to make the handles. I measured the width of the bag to work out where the handles should be positioned. I started by making a row of chain that measured the length of the handles. For the next row I made DC’s ‘under’ the chain (I added a couple more DC’s than chain stitches here to give a neat, strong edge) then I finished with a row of DC’s into each DC. To join the handles I made a slip stitch at the end of each row into the bag as I went along.

After sewing in the loose ends inside the bag I wanted to line it with some contrasting cotton fabric. I made a paper template for the front, side and base and cut out my fabric leaving a 1cm seam. After machining the pieces together I put the fabric inside the bag, folded a hem along the top edge and hand-stitched the fabric to the bag using a simple running stitch.

For the finishing touches I added a loop and a button that I made from polymer clay (more on this later!) and a couple of flowers.