Summer Flower Pillow and another Free Crochet Pattern

I've been experimenting with my Summer Flower Motif Pattern and came up with a larger version to decorate a pillow with......

The first part of this pattern is identical to my last flower motif, but I added two extra rounds on the end. You can download a PDF of this pattern for free here......

Large Flower Motif Pattern

                          (Copyright Elise Engh 2013:  Please do not distribute this pattern as your own)

Or you can check it out below.....

Materials:                     Any yarn of choice

                                      Any size crochet hook

                                      Darning needle

Abbreviations:          ch = chain

         sl st = slip stitch

                                      sc = single crochet

                                      hdc = half double crochet

                                      dc = double crochet

         st = stitch

         sts = stitches

Round 1: ch 12, sl st into first ch to form a ring.

Round 2: ch 1, work 18 sc into ring, sl st in first sc to join.

Round 3:  ch1, sc in same st as last sl st, *ch 3, skip next sc, sc in next sc, repeat from * around 8 more times, ending in ch 3, sl st in first sc.  (9 loops for petals)

Round 4: sl st into next ch 3 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal.  *(sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 3 space, repeat from * around 7 times (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired), join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 5:  *ch 6, skip next 4 sts, sc in next st (space between petals).  Repeat from * around 8 more times.   (9 petal loops)

Round 6:  sl st in next ch 6 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal.  * (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 6 space.  Repeat from * around 7 times,  (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired) join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 7:  *Ch 8, skip next 6 sts, sc in next st (space between petals).  Repeat from * around 8 more times.  (9 petal loops)

Round 8:  Sl st into next ch 8 space, ch 1, work (2sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into same space for petal.  *(2 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into next ch 8 space.  Repeat from * around 7 times.  Join with sl st in first sc.  (9 petals)

Round 9:  *Ch 10, skip next 10 sts, sc in next st (space between petals), repeat from * around 8 more times.  (9 petal loops)

Round 10:  Sl st into next ch 10 space, ch 1, work (2sc, 2hdc, 8dc, 2hdc, 2sc) into same space for petal.  *(2sc, 2hdc, 8dc, 2hdc, 2sc) into next ch 10 space.  Repeat from * around 7 times.  Join with st st in first sc. (9 petals)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Crochet Flower Embroidery Hoops

I've discovered another use for crochet flowers...

This is such a girly way to decorate and I love it!  I have one room in the house that I can make as girly as I want and that is my art room, so that's where these crochet flower embroidery hoops will stay :)

Check out the tutorial to get started with making your own:

Materials:
Embroidery Hoops
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brush
Fabric- enough to cover your embroidery hoops
Hot Glue Gun with Hot Glue Sticks
Crochet Flowers -I made my flowers from the patterns below:
Seven Petal Crochet Flower
Crochet Sea Pennies
Mini Crochet Flowers
Seven Petal Daisy
9 Petal Summer Flower Motif

Step 1:  Paint the outsides of the outer rings of the embroidery hoops with acrylic craft paint and let dry.

Step 2:  Cut out fabric to fit the embroidery hoops.  Cut the fabric large enough to fit inside the hoops and fold over the undersides.

Step 3:  Place the fabric on the inner hoop and place the outer hoop on top, screwing it tight to hold.  Then hot glue the edges to the inner hoop underneath.

Step 4:  Arrange crochet flowers on the front of the hoops and hot glue them in place. Pretty Simple!

Seven Petal Daisy Tutorial

Once you get into making crochet flowers, it's kind of hard to stop.  They're so cute and quick to make! Right now I'm loving these daisies.  They're a little more three dimensional than your typical crochet flowers.  

Here's a tutorial for you so you can get started making your own crochet daisies:

Seven Petal Daisy

Materials:

Any weight yarn

Any size crochet hook

Yarn needle

Ch 2, sl st in 2nd chain from hook to form a ring.

Round 1:  Ch 1, 6 sc in ring, sl st into ch1 to join (7sc).

Round 2:  Ch 4, 1 sc into 2nd chain from hook, 1 dc in next ch, 1 hdc into last ch, sl st into next sc of round 1.

Repeat 6 more times to make 7 petals total.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Want to print this pattern?  You can print a PDF of this pattern HERE.

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9 Petal Summer Flower Motif: Free Pattern

Ready for a new free crochet pattern?  Here's a fun one I came up with for summer!

9 Petal Summer Flower Motif

(Copyright Elise Engh 2013:  Please do not distribute this pattern as your own)

Materials:                 Any yarn of choice

                                   Any size crochet hook

                                   Darning needle

Abbreviations:        ch = chain

                                   sl st = slip stitch

                                   sc = single crochet

                                   hdc = half double crochet

                                   dc = double crochet

                                   st = stitch

                                   sts = stitches

Round 1: ch 12, sl st into first ch to form a ring.

Round 2: ch 1, work 18 sc into ring, sl st in first sc to join.

Round 3:  ch1, sc in same st as last sl st, *ch 3, skip next sc, sc in next sc, repeat from * around 8 times, ending in ch 3, sl st in first sc.  (9 loops for petals)

Round 4: sl st into next ch 3 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal.  *(sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 3 space, repeat from * around 7 times (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired), join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 5:  *ch 6, skip next 4 sts, sc in next st (space between petals).  Repeat from * around 8 times.   (9 petal loops)

Round 6:  sl st in next ch 6 space, ch 1, work (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in same space for petal.  * (sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, sc) in next ch 6 space.  Repeat from * around 7 times,  (work in new color of yarn before the join, if desired) join with sl st in first sc. (9 petals)

Round 7:  *Ch 8, skip next 6 sts, sc in next st (space between petals).  Repeat from * around 8 times.  (9 petal loops)

Round 8:  sl st into next ch 8 space, ch 1, work (2sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into same space for petal.  *(2 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc) into next ch 8 space.  Repeat from * around 7 times.  Join with sl st in first sc.  (9 petals)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

These flowers whip up pretty fast and are great stash buster projects.  I've made five of them now and am trying to decide if I want to make a purse with them or just stick them on a pillow.  What would you use them for?

You can Download the Printable PDF HERE too, so you can get busy making your own!  Happy Crocheting!

Crochet Collar

A while ago I tried something new with crochet... I made a collar!   It was much more simple than I thought it would be.  You can find the pattern HERE for free.

I'm not sure I'll actually wear this, even though I think it's pretty.  I like the vintage look, but I just don't know if it's me.   Maybe I need an elegant sweater to go with it.  But then again, how often do I wear anything elegant? ... haha!  Most days I live in t-shirts and comfy pants. Yep, I like to be comfortable, especially when I'm just hanging out at home :)

The Bag of Flowers

Don't you just love spring?  Birds sing, green things grow, and flowers start popping up everywhere..... even on thrifted canvas bags :)

Ok, so this bag make-over didn't just happen on it's own.  It took a little work.

I started with an ugly 75-cent canvas bag from the thrift store and my horde of crochet flowers (I made all these flowers years ago. I had no idea what to do with them all... they were just fun to make)!

I hot glued the flowers (you can find a great pattern here) and a couple sea pennies on.  So much easier than sewing them all on!

Now I have a cute bag to take to the library or the beach!

Baby Girl Crochet Headbands

Hi there!  First of all, I have to say thanks for the awesome comments on yesterday's post... they put a smile on my face and made me laugh!  It was so fun to discover that we have some random things in common.  And it's kind of nice to know that I'm not the only one that locks myself out of my house... haha!

Now onto these: 

I made some crochet headbands for a friend who's expecting a baby girl....

making these seriously made me wish I had a little girl of my own to make these for!  Then I would have someone to try them on and model them for me.   I have no idea if they fit right, but luckily this pattern allows for a lot of stretch.

I found the free pattern for the headbands HERE  and the pattern for the flowers are HERE.  I use that flower pattern for just about everything!  It's a good one :)

Thrifted Yarn Washcloths

Does anyone else buy yarn from the thrift store?  I know you take your chances doing that... you don't know what kind of yarn you have or where it's been, but you can always wash it!  Sometimes you even get lucky and get a bunch of yarn for an awesome deal... like this green yarn.  I got it in a bag with 4 or 5 other skeins of yarn for 75 cents!

I've now turned said green yarn ( I think it's cotton) into washcloths.  They aren't perfect, but the sure are handy!

Crochet Sunglasses Case

I'm one of those people that need new sunglasses pretty much every year.  They inevitably get scratched or smashed somehow.  I never bothered to buy or make a case for them till now.....

I scoured the web for a good crochet sunglasses case pattern and I found a winner HERE at Dly's Hooks and Yarns.  Check it out!

I had to do a little adjusting from her pattern.  My first try was way too big so I adjusted the pattern to only chaining 8 at the beginning instead of 12.  This made it smaller and  really quick to make, but the stitches are still too loose for my liking.  In the future I plan to use a smaller hook to make a tighter weave to protect my glasses even better.

I also switched up the colors to make it more fun and added one of my mini-crochet flowers to the front.

Colorful crochet things just make me smile :)

Sea Penny Bracelet Tutorial

Oh yes.... I've made something else with my little crochet sea pennies... dainty bracelets!

After trying to crochet them together in some manner and utterly failing, I settled on hot gluing them to some felt.  Ha! So simple! I wish I would have thought of that first!  I'll save you the pain...just follow my little tutorial here:

Materials:
crochet sea pennies- make enough to cover all around your wrist.  (I made mine out of a fine shiny yarn, so they look more delicate.)You can find my tutorial for them here.
felt
sew on snaps
hot glue gun

Step 1:  Measure the circumference of your wrist.  Add 1/2 to 3/4 inches to that length, depending on how tight you want your bracelet to be.  Cut a piece of felt in these dimensions:  1/2 wide x Length your wrist circumference + 1/2 to 3/4 inch.  My wrist is about 6 inches around so I cut my felt 1/2 inch wide and 6 3/4 inch long.  The width can vary here depending on how thick you want your bracelet to be and how large your crochet sea pennies are.


Step 2:  Hot glue or sew snaps onto each end, making sure to get them on the right sides so they will close nicely around your wrist.

Step 3:  Arrange the sea pennies in desired order/pattern and hot glue them to the felt strip.  Make sure to overlap the sea pennies a bit, unless you want gaps showing between them while wearing the bracelet.

Strap your bracelet on and wear it proudly cuz, hey, it's not every day you wear crochet bracelet!