Holiday Knitting & Crocheting Part 3

Part 3 of Holiday Knitting & Crocheting is all about the noggins and hands!  I so enjoy these sorts of projects.  Not too much money or time.  Perfect for all ages and you can get as creative as you like. 

 

My Prada Inspired Knitted Headband is a great place to start if you are new to cables!  They are so simple yet, so effective for the WOW factor.  You can easily make some for the little people in your life and get several out of one skein of Lion Brand Jiffy or any bulky weight (5) yarn.  If you are using your stash, that's 135 yards (124 meters).

I designed these knitted Christmas Hats Collection for a custom client and love them.  Store bought buttons and ribbons make them extra special.  Pom pom toppers are classic.  The ribbon on that last hat reads "naughty or nice"....which makes me giggle!  These would be cute in any color combination, like Easter colors, team colors or even neutrals.  You get all the patterns for the hats you see in sizes newborn to toddler!  I used easy to find worsted weight (4) yarn, Caron Simply Soft.

My Knitted Arm Warmers is another, very versatile project.  Men, women and teens like these.  Perfect for the beginner who likes flat knitting.  I also provide instructions for knitting in the round for those who hate seaming up!  No thumb holes and variegated yarn does all the work here so no color changing!

I also have kits available in my Etsy shop, in three colorways, which comes with the yarn, printed pattern in a page protector, tote bag and coupon for your next order!

Many of you might have this free knitting pattern....Sockhead on Ravelry.  One skein of any sock yarn gets you this perfect hat for men, women and teens.  The ribbed cuff makes it easily fit any size noggin!  I love this easy pattern and it's a great take-along project.

Mittens is (are?) another great project for stash busting.  This free knitting pattern is from Susan B. Anderson. I do so love using variegated yarn for many of my projects as the effect is beautiful!  Find the pattern on Ravelry here.

This pattern, from Patons, is on Ravelry as well.  It looks like the mittens and the arm warmer is separate.  How cozy do these look?  Light colored yarn really shows of the detail.

I adore the colors Natalia used here and the design is lovely.  I found this knitting pattern on Ravelry as well.  Comes in and ebook with lots of other great designs.

If crocheting is your thing, these ribbed beauties by Mary Jane Hall are for you!  She has loads of beautiful things in her Ravelry shop.

I have this pattern by Hand Knitted Things on Craftsy.  Julia has truly, lovely things.  She is in Scotland and as I am half Scottish myself, I have a warm spot for her.  I adore the little Croft Houses in her shop!  The headband is knit first then you pick up stitches along its side for the hat part.  I love the oversized top of the hat....not head hugging and not too fitted either.

How cute are these animal headbands by Sweet Potato 3 on Craftsy?  No crocheting of the top of the hat, just a headband with the sweetness of a little critter....brilliant!

There you have it!  Next week, sweaters!

You can find all my pattern stores at the top of the page or find my

Etsy store here

Craftsy store here

Ravelry store here

Yarn tip:

Here are some head measurements for you

Holiday Knitting and Crocheting Part Two

As promised, Part Two of Holiday Knitting and Crocheting is all about blankets!  If you are here in the USA, kids are back in school, garden clean up begins, jeans, scarves and shawls come out of hiding and yarny blankets fill our laps!  

This is my most popular blanket pattern by far....Crocheted Reversible Blanket.  Super easy for the beginner and beyond, in any size and in any yarn weight.  The addition of fabric makes it extra special and I have new fabrics in my Etsy shop to help.

For little boys....

to Aneela Hoey, to

Cath Kidston inspired.

Something for the more advanced crocheter, the Uptown Stroller Blanket.  Two skeins of worsted weight yarn makes this family heirloom!  It's rather on the tiny side, but directions are given to make it larger.

Try it in more than one color to match the gender or nursery.

If you are a knitter, the Knitting Chevrons in Technicolor Blanket is an easy, two row repeat using worsted weight yarn in seventeen colors.  I have three knitting patterns and four crochet patterns in the Technicolor Series.  You can easily get up to 4 blankets out of all that yarn.  If you are a newbie knitter and ready to move on from scarves, this is for you!

This entrelac blanket is from Mary Maxim and absolutely stunning!  It comes as a kit in different colorways if pastel rainbows is not to your liking.  The color changing yarn does all the work here!  The pattern calls for an i-cord edge, however, I crocheted four rows in single crochet. I knit this using US size 7 circular needles.  You will knit back and forth, as you do on straight needles.  Circs are used to accommodate the weight of the blanket.

 I found this one on Ravelry by Louise Marina.  I adore the sweet border.

I could not find a pattern for this one, but you can use your scrap yarn, make scarves and stitch them together.  I love this effect.

What are you working on for your holiday, yarny goodness?

Find all my pattern stores at the top of this page or

Etsy here

Craftsy here

Ravelry here

Next week, head and hands!

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

Here are some blanket sizes for you!

Holiday Knitting and Crocheting Part 1

It's that time of year!  Holiday knitting and crocheting for the ones we love.  Hand made, yarny goodness for all.  I don't know about you, but curling up in a favorite chair, a hot cup of tea by my side, hooking or clacking away is pure heaven!  I never tire of bringing a hand knit or crocheted gift to life.  

Even though I make my living as a pattern designer, I enjoy other designers patterns as well.  More on that in a moment.

Please indulge me to first direct you to my designs.  These are my most popular patterns for neckwear.  The above photo is perfect for the beginner with spectacular results!  Chunky Twist Scarf.  You only need 162 yards of super bulky weight (6) yarn.  I always crochet tons of these under the tree for women, teens, men and women.  You could easily adjust it for a child size.

I've made so many of these Triangle Scarves in all kinds or yarn weights from crochet thread to super bulky!  A picot edge with beads makes it extra special.  In cotton, it's perfect for Spring and Summer.  I always take one to the movie theatre as they are usually freezing!  In sock yarn, it's just the thing for fall and winter. Long run yarn is stunning and worsted weight yarn makes a very generous size.

This is a TON of scarf at 16 feet long!  Super easy for the beginner.

Super bulky (6) yarn in many shades or...

just one is super chic!  Crochet a Mile Long Scarf for your bestie!  

Now, on to other designers...

the Crocodile Stitch Scarf by Bonita Patterns is one of my favorites for gift giving and craft fairs.  Crochet this in your long run yarn to show off the stitch at its finest.  

You can read my post about it here.

Make it shorter and more affordable.  Read the post and see more photos here.

I love all one color too, but keep it in a lighter shade to show off all your hard work.  Read more of this blog post here.

The Hitchhiker by Martina is also a fav of mine.  I must have knit a dozen of these and I always add charms to each point.  Find the yarn info in this blog post.  Sock yarn to...

worsted weight, you can't go wrong!  Here's this blog post.

Just add your charms with a tiny crochet hook as you knit along or sew them on at the end.  There's a photo in the Yarn Tip section below.  Here's the yarn info for this one.

The knit Lacy Baktus by Terhi is another.  You have to click through Rav to her Flickr page and write down the instructions, but it's worth it.  My story about this one is here.

I've made a number of these Lollipop Shawls as well.  Really easy and the color changing yarn keeps it interesting.  All the yarn information is in the post.

So, there you have it.  A number of easy projects to crochet or knit in time for holiday gifting.  Next week, blankets!  I hope you can join me.

Find all my pattern shops at the top of this page or

Etsy here

Craftsy here

Ravelry here

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

Here's a tip from Knitting Daily on how to add beads with a crochet hook.