Crochet When I first started designing top down crochet sweater patterns, I had no idea how to get my numbers and measurements to add up It took a lot of scribbling and swearing to get it to work for the first few designs. I now get a lot of people asking me how to do exactly the same thing so I thought it might be helpful to share some of my approach.
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Christmas Crochet I always find the men in my family the hardest to buy gifts for, which is probably why I enjoy making them! Below is a a summary of my favourite crochet patterns which I have gifted to (and designed for) men.
This round-up includes patterns from my own catalogue, my top picks from around the web and some garment patterns for those crocheters with a bit more time!
I hope this gives you some inspiration and ideas for gift making for those impossible to buy for people!
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Crochet A question which comes up a lot in My Crochet Wardrobe Facebook group is “How can I adjust crochet sweater patterns to fit better?”. It seems that ‘fit’ is one of the biggest bug bears when it comes to crocheting clothes.
I generally add notes within my crochet clothing and accessory patterns giving advice on how to adjust that specific item to fit. When writing these notes on my most recent top down sweater (the Cheeky Rainbows Pattern), I got to thinking that a lot of the adjustments could be applied to to almost any top down garment pattern. That is what this post aims to address.
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Crochet When I began to design my Snowfall crochet sock pattern, it became obvious very quickly that I had a lot to learn about sock construction.
Just like when I started designing sweaters, I went down a rabbit hole researching all the different options available when it comes to how to actually construct a sock!
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Christmas Crochet I love giving handmade gifts at Christmas and for Birthday’s but the reality is that I don’t always get around to it. At this time of year, that last minute sinking feeling where you meant to get someone a gift and forgot is more common than most of us would care to admit.
Then there’s the situation where you know you want to crochet a present for someone but don’t have much time.
Well this post gives you 8 ideas for modern crochet gifts you can whip up in an evening (or less!)! And I’m talking about presents that people will actually use. I’m big on things being used, not sitting in a draw!
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Crochet The short answer is that term “Corner to Corner” (c2c) crochet is used interchangeably to describe both a stitch pattern and a design technique! This article will explain what both versions of the term mean.
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Creative Living I don’t normally write a separate blog post to go with new crochet pattern releases these days, but the November My Crochet Wardrobe pattern of the month release is a little different from the norm (It’s all available free right here for a start!), so I thought I would take a moment to explain why.
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Christmas Crochet This year, more than ever, I have focused on the reuse, recycle repurpose mantra. Inspired by my year of not buying new clothes, I look at what I already have and see how it may be used in a new way.
This simple Christmas stocking project is a great way to get festive without more consumption. It’s a fun project to get all the family involved with and create something that will be used and cherished for years to come.
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Craft Tutorials I’ve been seeing lots of beautiful twisted / turban style headbands around recently (you know that thing when you realise you’re accidentally starring at someone because of their accessories… sorry… that’s me!!!) so I did a quick search to see if there was a simple crochet pattern for one but I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I turned to cut and sew patterns and decided to translate the fabric turban headband versions into a crochet pattern.
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Crochet Like many crocheters, one of the first things I ever made to gift was a hat. The owl hats from Repeat Crafter Me to be precise. Only I got the sizing all wrong because back then I didn’t understand that the most common yarn in the US is worsted whereas here, in the UK Double knit seems to be more popular.
It was a valuable early lesson and the beginning of my curiosity about what I now understand to be gauge.
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Christmas Crochet When Marie Segares of Underground Crafter invited my to join her Christmas in July Make Along, I knew immediately it would give me a chance to have a bit of out of season fun! So when I saw there was a pet category, I knew that here was my chance to go a little off piste and make something for my sister’s adorable dog, Ando.
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Crochet I love working with bobbles, puffs, popcorns and clusters. In short, anything that adds texture is right up my street. But over my years as a maker and a designer, I have seen these names used so interchangeably and always wondered if there was a ‘right’ answer. So much so that when I set about writing up a bobble stitch tutorial, I ended up going down a rabbit hole trying to find the definitive difference and writing this post instead! (Don’t worry, I included a link to my bobble stitch tutorial too!)
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Craft Tutorials The Crochet Loop Stitch is a fun way to add texture to your crochet and craft projects. It looks fantastic in a range of garments, accessories and home decor and you can either leave to loops looped or trim them to achieve a different effect.
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Crochet I’ve had my eye on the herringbone crochet stitch for a year or two now and finally I get to bring you a tutorial so you can fall in love with it too!
The first time I saw it, I knew it would make a beautiful fabric for homewears and garments. The tweedy fabric is so elegant and it has a beautiful drape to boot! I’ve used this stitch in both the Slow Living Skirt and the Light Fandango Sweater Patterns… I just adore it!
Read on for the written instructions, step by step photo guide and video tutorial.
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Creative Living Ever wanted to design your own crochet sweater or dress but don’t have a clue where to start? Well this post is that place!
This is an extended version of the crochet design 101 post which first appeared in CrochetZine in June 2019, this post will take you through the key steps you need to follow when designing crochet garments.
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