Mother Earth Crochet Doll

This is my latest creation. I love her. Her body is stuffed with Rice and the Earth is stuffed with Rice and Lavender. Getting her shaped just right was a bit of a challenge but I did it. I wanted to get more detailed with the eyes but she is only 7 inches tall so that was difficult. Once I put the felt on her though I realized it was the perfect face and I wouldn't want it any other way :D I tried to make her look like a tree, brown on the bottom and green on top. I felt that was appropriate ;) I have been wanting a Goddess statue for a long time now but for some reason I didn't even think to make one. The pattern for sale in my Etsy shop for $5.20. The pattern is 9 pages long with pictures. What do you think?

Earthy Witch Hat

Oh what a summer it has been this year. I hope you all had a wonderful time :)

Here is my newest creation. This year I was considering dressing up as a witch for Halloween. I was looking at what other people came up with for witch hats and I decided I really didn't want to take the classic route. The points are too long and the brim is too wide. I wanted to be able to wear it more than just Halloween. So I decided to make the top and brim shorter. This is what I came up with. I named it Earthy Witch Hat because it reminded me of bark on a tree. I can't wait to wear it hiking :) It will keep the flies away from my head and help protect against the sun :) My dad kinda gave me inspiration for this hat too. When I was little we would go on walks in the woods and he would let me wear his hat. (that is one of the fondest memories I have of him) It was a men's hat but the brim was perfect. Not too big not too small. That is kinda what I wanted to achieve with this.

What do you think?

If you want the pattern it is available for $3 in my Etsy Shop







You can fold up the brim if you like :)





For those of you who don't know how to do cables here is A link to a video someone made that should help :)

Plain Slouch Hat

I decided to make a video. I know a lot of people come to my blog and look at my hats and think that they are too complicated. They really aren't. (well most of them aren't) I have looked online and I haven't found any really good videos on how to crochet a hat (that doesn't mean there aren't any good ones out there, just that I didn't find any in my search that covered everything needed) so I decided to make my own. Most of the ones I found are filmed from the side or from the front. I made a weird rig with coffee cans, duct tape, hangers, and a pen (lol) so I could get the camera to record my perspective. Hopefully this will help beginners. The music in the video is "Ash Koley" My friend Ben introduced me to their music and I immediately loved them. I needed music for the video because I cover so much and there was no way I could talk that fast enough to keep up with the video. If I didn't add music it would be 10 min. of silence. Not very entertaining lol. I really wanted to use their songs so I contacted them and asked permission. Ash replied and told me it was alright. You should check them out. They are really awesome :) Here is a link to the video.
For those of you who already know how to make hats and read a pattern, scroll down. I posted it here. Remember, if you use it please give me credit for the design :)





Plain Slouch Hat © April Folts 2011

Hook size: H

Gauge: 4 inches = 13 stitches and 14 rows

Yarn:
3.5 oz Bernat Mosaic psychedelic 4 ply 100% Acrylic Worsted Weight
a little bit of Red Heart Turqua 4 ply 100% Acrylic Worsted Weight

Abbreviations:

Ss: slip stitch
Sc: single crochet
Dc: double crochet
Fpdc: front post double crochet
Bpdc: back post double crochet
FO: Fasten off

This pattern is worked in the round with a marker. Do not join with a ss unless specified

With Psychedelic yarn form a magic circle
Rnd 1: 8 sc in ring (8)
Rnd 2: *2 sc in each sc* rep from * to * around (16)
Rnd 3: * 1 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (24)
Rnd 4: * 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (32)
Rnd 5: * 3 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (40)
Rnd 6: * 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (48)
Rnd 7: 1 sc in each sc around (48)
Rnd 8: * 5 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (56)
Rnd 9: 1 sc in each sc around (56)
Rnd 10: * 6 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (64)
Rnd 11: 1 sc in each sc around (64)
Rnd 12: * 7 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (72)
Rnd 13: 1 sc in each sc around (72)
Rnd 14: * 8 sc, 2 sc in next sc* rep from * to * around (80)
Rnd 15-34: 1 sc in each sc around (80) (20 rounds)
At the end of rnd 34, switch colors to turqua and join with 1 ss
Rnd 35: 1 sc in each sc around, Join with 1 ss (80)
Rnd 36-40: ch 2, * 1 fpdc, 1 bpdc* rep from * to * around, Join with 1 ss (5 rounds)
FO and hide tails

Shamrock Hat

I really wanted to design a hat with a 4 leaf clover on it. My family is mostly Irish so it feels good to make something in honor of them ;D Mostly I made it for my daughter though. She was really excited about Saint Patrick's Day so I wanted to make something special for her. This is what I came up with. What do you think? I have the pattern for $3 in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Valentine Convertible Hat *Free Pattern*

I really wanted to make something for Valentine's Day. I decided I wanted to make a hat with hearts going all around it. I dug out the graph paper and got to work. I figured I would go with my Convertible hat pattern and just add the hearts. I love hats where you can put your hair through the top. I can't get the hair on my mannequin to go through the top of the hat (It's just a wig). I have been sick so I didn't want to model looking all sickly lol but you can still pull your hair through if you like :) What do you think?











and here is the chart you can use with the Convertible Hat Pattern

Grey Wizard Hat

This was inspired by Gandalf's hat in The Lord of the Rings. Our whole family has an obsession with those movies (and books). My daughter was so excited when I told her I was going to make the hat. Now that the hat is done I think my husband has laid claim to it haha. I had a little trouble with the brim. I'll admit I just got lazy towards the end because the whole thing is single crochet and I just wanted to be done with it lol. I finished it and the brim bugged me so bad I ripped it out and re did it. Now I'm much happier with it ;D LOL lesson learned just do it right the 1st time so you don't end up with double the work later ;)
If you can't see the pictures right click on them and select view image.

If anyone is interested I have the pattern for sale in my Etsy Shop for $3

What do you think?











I also re-designed my blog. What do you think?

Crochet Valentine Rose with Picture Tutorial

I have wanted to crochet a rose for a while now but I just couldn't decide on how I wanted to do it. So I did some searching and I came across this wonderful video on YouTube

This lady made roses out of ribbons. I have now made a ton of ribbon roses and I have tweaked the instructions a little. When I followed the YouTube tutorial I got confused and at the end my flower fell apart. So I made a picture tutorial with my new alterations so hopefully that will clear up confusion. I used ribbon in the tutorial because it is easier to see what is going on.

With an H hook, Ranch Red 100% Acrylic Worsted Weight Red Heart Yarn, I chained 77, turned and sc in each chain across ch 1, then sc in each sc across. Repeat until you have 4 rows. (You should have a long rectangle that resembles a ribbon) Fasten off, and follow the picture tutorial for how to do the rest. It is easier with yarn I think because you can sew any pieces that slip with the same color yarn so it doesn't show up ;D

If you can't see all of the picture, right click on it and select view image. Or right click and save the image so you can enlarge it :D





What do you think?