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Category: Baby Patterns

Christmas Crochet Projects 2020

madisons_makings

Hello friends! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy during this pandemic. With Christmas just about a week away, I hope you are finishing up all your last minute projects; whether it be crocheted Christmas gifts that you’re trying to finish up on time, decorating, baking, wrapping or dare I say shopping still. This year has been a little crazy to say the least. I think we all needed this wonderful holiday season and the warm, inviting feeling that only the Christmas season can bring.

I know this year I struggled to get in the mood for Christmas. Usually my nickname around Christmas time is Buddy the Elf. Yet this year I felt more like an elf from the South Pole. I wanted to enjoy the holiday and go all out, yet this year it required a little extra motivation in some aspects.

Luckily, this year being our first Christmas married, Corey helped me get lots of the shopping and decorating under control much earlier than I usually have it done. That was a huge blessing and has provided me with the chance to work on all these Christmas projects that I will be sharing with you in this post.

I only had one big order for Dishtowel Pals this year which has opened up my time to try a handful of fun projects this season. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I have a new niece and nephew that are just six days apart. Now that I have started making baby projects, I never want to stop. They are so much fun to make! So obviously they each needed a crocheted Christmas item for the season. Once those were finished, I was able to start on a fun project for myself that I’m very excited to wear for the holiday. And I even found my new favorite Christmas decor project that I will be making lots of to sell at craft shows next year (fingers crossed we will in fact be able to have more of those next year.)

So without further ado, let’s just jump right into these projects and get a dose of Christmas spirit for the day.

The first project I finished was the Mrs. Claus’ Santa Hat and Skirt outfit designed by Thoughts, Knots & Stitches LLC. My mother-in-law found a picture of this outfit and shared it with me for me to make for my niece, Alyessia. The moment I saw it I absolutely fell in love with it. After a quick Etsy search (I love Etsy SO much), I came across this pattern. This pattern was literally so much fun to work up! I have made adult Santa hats before but this one takes the cake for being my favorite. I just LOVE the bow!

This pattern uses very basic stitches that allows any crocheter to be able to tackle this project. Not only that, Thoughts, Knots & Stitches’ pattern is so straight forward and detail oriented. There are multiple picture tutorials along with very descriptive notes on how to do every part of this pattern. It came in multiple different sizes which makes it very cost effective, because you buy one pattern and can use it to make multiple different sizes of this cute little outfit. I mean in this one pattern she has instructions on how to make them for newborns all the way up to 24 months! You could make them for your little girl two years in a row, at least! I recently saw on her Instagram account that the toddler size of this outfit is now available as well!

If you want to find this pattern to create your own adorable Mrs. Claus’ Santa Hat and Skirt along with other awesome patterns that she has designed, you can find her on Instagram here. Go to her page and follow her so you can stay up to date on all her patterns. I can’t wait to keep making more of her awesome designs. But until then, I can’t wait to see pictures of Alyessia in this outfit.

The second Christmas project I completed was the Reindeer Hat for my nephew, Connor. Since I was making a Christmas project for Alyessia, I had to make one for Connor too. After asking my sister-in-law what type of hats or outfits she would like little Connor to have, she said she needed a Christmas hat for him. I looked up some ideas for baby hats on Etsy and came across some super cute reindeer hats that were different than just a normal Santa hat. That’s when I came across the Reindeer Hat with a Reindeer Doll pattern by Jocelyn Sass from Too Cute Crochet. Her lineup of endlessly cute baby hats and projects were so fun to look through on her Etsy shop.

This hat uses a single crochet stitch which I don’t think I’ve ever used for a beanie but I loved it! It gives it a whole different texture than other beanies I’ve made. Her pattern comes in multiple different sizes and has very easy to follow instructions. Like she mentions in the pattern to measure head size of the recipient, I had to add a few extra rows for it to fit him perfectly. But the sizing guide matched so close to his head size. I was impressed! That’s my fear of crocheting hats and it always makes me hesitant to make them because I’m so scared of it not fitting. But it fit him great! I also had to add a few extra stitches to the antlers to make them a smidge longer because I wanted them to be fairly tall considering I added the few extra rows for length on the beanie.

The directions were so easy to follow and read. She uses a lot of pictures explaining everything you need to know to make this reindeer come to life. I’m so happy with the finished product and so is my sister-in-law. This hat is sure to keep little Connor warm all winter long. This pattern also comes with a little reindeer doll that I’m sure to make at some point, just ran out of time before Christmas with all the other projects I have going on. If you’d like to make your own reindeer hat or doll, check out her pattern here.

The next thing I crossed off my Christmas crochet to do list was these amazing Christmas trees that I ran across on Instagram from MJs off the hook designs. It’s called the Bobble Tree Sweater pattern. I always am on the lookout for things that work up quick, that are easy to make a lot of and can be used as decorations. Some of the things I’ve sold the most of have been little pumpkins at my craft shows over the years. As soon as I saw these I knew this would be my “pumpkin” project for Christmas time. I bought the pattern and got to work. Another awesome part about these is that it’s a great stash busting project of any size six yarn you might have lying around. The colors you can make of these are endless!

I’ll be honest, working in the round can sometimes intimidate me. But this is not one of those patterns. Once you start working on it, you get in such a routine with this pattern and it becomes so much fun to work on. I even found a YouTube video for the pattern that she made for any visual learners out there who have trouble reading patterns. This is a great beginner project for learning how to work in the round. Not to mention it uses very beginner stitches and the one special stitch in the pattern she gives very detailed notes about it in the written form and on the video.

All around this is an awesome pattern. I wish I could have come across it earlier in the year so that I could have busted out a big tree farm of them to sell at my craft show. But that just means I can start now for next years shows! That is that the world is back to normal by then.

If you would like to make some festiveness for your house, check out the pattern on her blog here. She explains in her post about how she uses cones made out of foam to help the trees hold their shape. I was only able to find one of those in stock because I went to the store just a few weeks before Christmas. But I’m excited to be able to snag some more cones after Christmas to make them sturdy to be on display at my craft shows. However, for just around my house, they stand up very well without it.

Last but not least, since I do love the Christmas season, I had to make something for myself. I found A Crafty Concept’s pattern for the Crochet Christmas Light Headband and instantly became obsessed with it. I am a radiation therapist for my day job. I give cancer patients their daily radiation treatments and get them set up for their treatments. In the past, we have been able to wear festive headbands for holidays and all I could think about when making this headband is how much this would make my patients smile so much on Christmas Eve when I wear this.

This pattern was so much fun to make! It is such an awesome stash buster because I literally went through all my yarn stash and grabbed any color of regular acrylic yarn I could find that I thought would look good as a lightbulb. Not to mention I am not able to get to my polyfill (long story short: Corey and I hit a deer in my car, my car is in the shop for weeks now, my polyfill is in the back of my car from a trunk or treat we did in October, thus I can’t get to my polyfill), so I grabbed a fluffy type yarn that I really don’t like working with. I chopped that yarn into a bunch of little pieces and used that to stuff my light bulbs. It worked like a champ and I almost got rid of that annoying skein that’s been lying around for years!

Just like the Christmas tree pattern, this pattern comes with a YouTube tutorial explaining everything you would need to know to make this pattern. Also, the written pattern on her blog had so many “pro tips” that made it even easier to make. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and I don’t think I’m ever going to take it off my head. I even thought about using this light bulb pattern and making some garland out of it for future Christmases. Keep stash busting my acrylic yarn lying around and keep making more and more fun, festive Christmas decor in the process!

If you would like to make your own Crochet Christmas Light Headband, you can find the pattern and everything you need to know here. Trust me on this, you will not be disappointed! I can’t wait to wear this to work and Christmas parties and Christmas craft shows next year and for many years to come.

Well my friends, that’s all the new Christmas projects I’ve been working on the past couple weeks. I hope that you get inspired to start crocheting them all and spreading Christmas cheer with each and every stitch you make. If you are still looking for more last minute Christmas projects, check out the rest of my blogs. I have a quick headband pattern and a quick scarf pattern that you could make within a couple hours.

This year has been a little crazy to say the least, but it’s also been filled with so many blessings. I hope that your holidays are overflowing with love, joy, peace and happiness and I pray the new year finds you with a renewed spirit. Read Luke chapter two in the Bible to be encouraged and filled with peace and joy. Truly He is the only true Joy to be found.

Happy crocheting my friends! I hope you all have a merry Christmas filled with so many blessings.

Photo Taken by Christine Schleif Photography

Baby Galore!

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The last few months have been filled with lots of baby crochet projects! To sum it all up, my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby boy in September and my sister-in-law and her husband are having a baby girl in August and a friend of mine is having a baby boy in a couple weeks. These are the first babies in my family in a very long time, so to say I have had very little experience in the realm of baby projects is an understatement. I went on the search to make something as personalized to each baby as possible without losing all the wonderful soft and cozy features that I believe all baby items should obtain.

The first project I started working on was a cactus themed nursery blanket for my friend’s baby. We went on a Mission’s trip to Arizona last year which inspired her and her husband to have their nursery be a cactus/desert/Arizona theme and so I ran with that. I checked out Nella’s Cottage because I love how personalized her baby blankets are. I started with her granny square blanket and used Caron’s Simply Soft yarn. I love using this yarn for granny square blankets or blankets where there is going to be color change because there is such a huge selection of color options to choose from. Not to mention, this yarn is so soft and works perfectly for blankets. For this blanket specifically I used a combination of Taupe, Grey Heather and Off White for the main stripes portion. For the cactus applique, also from Nella’s Cottage, I used Pistachio and Dark Sage and added a few accent stripes in these green colors on the edge of the blanket. For the flowers on top of the cacti, I used some light blue scraps of yarn I had lying around in the never ending abyss of my yarn collection. (Don’t tell my hubby that I said it’s never ending, because then I won’t be allowed to go back to the yarn store.)

I had never sewn anything like the applique onto a blanket before. It was a little tricky at first, but once you started sewing it on, it became easier and more stable. The one thing to pay attention to is that you are placing your needle in a good “hiding spot.” A few times I would flip the blanket over and realize that I sewed in some of the back most parts of the stitches which exposed the sewing stitches. It’s a quick and easy fix, but just something to be mindful of while making it.

If you would like to try making this blanket, I highly suggest it! The pattern is easy, fun and mindless. Nella’s Cottage has soo many amazing applique patterns and different pictures and styles on her Instagram to inspire a blanket for any and all occasions. You can find all these at http://www.nellascottage.com.

The next project I worked on has been a long time in the making. As soon as I found out my brother and sister-in-law were having a little boy, I wanted to make him something special. My brother is a big Pittsburgh sports fan, especially of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. (If I’m honest, most of my family is, myself included.) I had only made one baby outfit as a pattern tester and that was the extent of my baby clothing experience but I knew I really wanted to try to make him a little hockey outfit. A quick search on Etsy and I discovered Grandmabilt’s shop that is filled with adorable little baby outfits for every sport you could imagine.

Before the world shut down from COVID, I made a quick trip after work to Joann’s to search for black, gold and white yarn that could work for a baby outfit. This was my last outing before Ohio shut down nonessential stores. But I knew that things were going to be closing soon and I had to make this for them. Walking into Joann Fabric’s into the yarn section, I realized I had greatly underestimated how challenging it would be to find black, size three, baby yarn. I had just about given up hope when I turned to walk out the store and saw The Hook Nook’s new yarn line. I have been a fan of her products for awhile but hadn’t had any experience with her new yarn line yet. (I am totally obsessed with her interchangeable hooks!) She has a type of yarn called Small Stuff which miraculously had black, white, and yellow, size three yarn. I gathered up way more than I would ever need, but let’s be honest, COVID made us all hoarders. The official color names of the yarn are Tattoo Ink, Minimalist, and Warm Sunshine.

The pattern itself was so easy to follow and recreate. It worked up fast and came together so much better than I ever imagined. The part that took the longest was sewing in all the ends of the color changes, but that might have been just all in my head since that’s my least favorite part of crocheting. I made the little jersey first, then the pants and the skates last. When I first looked at the skate’s pattern I thought it was beyond my skill level when I got to the blade part. But as I’ve found out before, just start with the first row and keep tackling the pattern one step at a time and it always works out. That is now one of my favorite parts of the pattern because having the actual blade of the skate made out of yarn was a very nice and realistic touch on the designer’s part.

I couldn’t keep the secret anymore so gave it to my brother and sister-in-law for a Father’s Day/Belated Mother’s Day gift to them. My whole family loved it and now I can’t wait to see my little nephew in it when he arrives.

If you are looking for any type of outfit that is sport’s related, please check out http://www.grandmabilt.com. She has a huge selection of awesome patterns! This will not be my last experience with her patterns because there is just so many adorable ones to choose from. These would be perfect patterns to make for newborn pictures.

The third project I worked on was a blanket for my sister-in-law and her husband’s baby. I knew that I wanted to make my soon to be niece a warm and cozy blanket so I ventured into the wide selection of baby blankets that Daisy Farm Crafts has. I knew that their nursery was going to be a blush pink color along with other neutral colors. I came across the Crochet Hygge Powder Puff Blanket on their website and knew that was the one. I absolutely love Red Heart Hygge yarn. It has to be one of the coziest, softest, squishiest, most beautiful yarn I’ve worked with. While shopping for the yarn, I discovered that Red Heart has made a lot more colors in this type of yarn. When it first came out there was just a handful of colors to choose from, but now, there is about any color you could think of which is great!

The pattern was very easy to follow and turned out great! The Hygge yarn gave the blanket the perfect amount of weight and softness. It also helped the blanket work up quickly with the thicker yarn. The stitches were very easy and basic, making this a great project for beginners. The pattern itself intertwined a couple basic stitches which gave the finished product a very detailed look. I loved it! I plan on using this pattern a lot in the future.

If you are wanting to delve into this squishy, soft blanket, the pattern can be found at https://daisyfarmcrafts.com/crochet-hygge-powder-puff-blanket/. There is also a YouTube video that goes along with this pattern if you are a more visual learner.

Last but certainly not least, I made the Butterscotch Baby Onesie from megmadewithlove for my soon to be niece! When I first saw her post about the pattern getting released, I knew I needed to make it. It also really matched the style of clothing that my sister-in-law and I talked about making for her little one. I had some Baby Bee Sweet Delight yarn, in the color Naked, from Hobby Lobby lying around and decided to put it to use for this special project.

The pattern worked up fast and took form quickly. The instructions for not only the pattern but also the assembly were so easy to follow with helpful pictures to go along with it. I made the newborn size, but the pattern came with sizes all the way through to twelve months. I finished it with some wooden buttons which I thought complimented the off white yarn well. It turned out so much cuter than I expected from only my second baby onesie that I’ve ever made. Like the other projects, it used basic stitches but incorporated them in a way that gave the onesie a very beautiful and finished look.

If you would like to create this beautiful little outfit, check it out on her blog! The pattern can be found at https://megmadewithlove.com/blog-2/2020/3/11/the-butterscotch-onesie-free-crochet-pattern.

This has been enough baby projects to keep me busy for the past couple months, but there is definitely a couple more already on my hooks. I’ll be sharing them as they come on my Instagram for sure and maybe here too. Please check out all the designers that made these wonderful patterns that inspired this post. If you decide to make any of these, please share them with me (and them). I would love to see what all you create!

I hope this inspired you to want to start crocheting something new! Have fun and happy hooking!