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Category: Pattern Tests

Stitch and Hound’s Ivy Pullover

madisons_makings

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to test the Ivy Pullover for Stitch and Hound. It has become one of my favorite pattern tests and projects in general thus far in this crochet journey. I have always been a fan of Sarah’s patterns and she is my favorite designer to test for. I feel like every pattern I test for her, I learn and accomplish some sort of new skill.

This is my first ever completed sweater. I have started one and am halfway done with it but never completely finished it yet. It’s on my to do list, I promise. When I first saw that this pattern used a thin yarn, I about said never mind, I don’t think I’ll be able to complete this pattern on time. But I knew I needed to do this to prove to myself that I can start and finish lengthier projects.

Sarah had recently suggested the show Gilmore Girls and since I never had watched it before, I decided I would start binging it on Netflix. That just so happened to be at the same time I started binge crocheting to bust this project out. Which brings me to an awesome part about this sweater. Once you start this pattern, it’s literally just the same four rows over and over again. It’s easy to get in the flow of the pattern quickly.

And while we are speaking about rows, look how beautiful the stitch detail is on this sweater!

She uses basic, beginner friendly stitches in such a way that compliments each other so nicely. The thin yarn makes it look like it’s so intricate and difficult, but in reality, it’s very easy. The thin yarn with this stitch design also gives it such a light, flowy feel. That’s one thing I usually don’t like about sweaters, store bought or handmade, is that the stitches and yarn are so bulky, I feel like it adds ten pounds onto me. But this yarn gives it such a nice, fitted feeling. I just love it!

The bottom, collar and sleeves also have a cute little shell look to them that gives it a nice, finished look. It is such a nice addition to this sweater because it doesn’t take away the attention to the detail in the sweater. It just adds a nice little addition that compliments it so well.

With all this beautiful detail and the thin yarn, it can seem like a slow process. However, the treble crochet stitch helps speed it up (which is why that is one of my favorite stitches). But also once I got started with it, I knew I just had to finish it because I could not WAIT to put it on! Once you start seeing the texture of what it’s going to become, it just makes it all the more exciting to work on. Not to mention how soft it is too.

Basically you create panels and then sew them together. So if you are like me, having smaller goals to complete to make one big goal makes it a lot easier for me to stick with something. I think that is another reason why this is my first sweater that I’ve completed. And if you hear the word sewing and get nervous that you haven’t done much with sewing, don’t sweat it! Sarah has so many helpful pictures and tips on sewing it all together. It was such an easy process!

I cannot stress enough that you will NOT regret making this sweater! It is going to be such a welcomed addition to your closet and you will not want to take it off.

If you want to make your own, check out Sarah’s blog for the free pattern here or save it to your Pinterest board by clicking here. But if you want an ad free, printable version of the pattern, check it out on her Ravelry page here. Coming from a fellow designer, it helps us so much when you purchase a copy of our patterns. It allows us to keep creating more awesome patterns for you to make.

While you are at it, check out all her other patterns on those platforms. She has so many awesome patterns that range from clothing, to fun kid’s accessories and even things for your home. You will find so many projects to add to your crochet to do lists!

Let her know if you made one of these by using the hashtag #ivypullover and #stitchandhoundcrochet and tag her in it on Instagram using @stitchandhound. And let me know in the comments here if you made one so I can be watching out on her hashtags for your finished products!

I can’t wait for more awesome patterns to test for Sarah, but until then, happy crocheting everyone!

Stitch and Hound’s Half Moon Tote Bag

madisons_makings

First and foremost, I want to introduce everyone to Sarah Truesdell, the person behind Stitch and Hound. She has become such a good friend and a very big reason why I am where I am in the world of crochet. We met during a pattern testing for another designer and from there, I became a pattern tester for her patterns. Her patterns are all fantastic! She has inspired me and pushed me to try things I never thought I would ever be able to do. Each of her patterns are so easy to reproduce and with the tasks that I had never done before, she would always help me and encourage me to keep going. I cannot give enough thanks for her help. She’s even the one who encouraged me to start writing my own blog!

One pattern in particular that I wanted to share with everyone, is her Half Moon Tote bag made entirely out of grocery bags. Yes, you read that right. One hundred percent out of old grocery bags. A couple years ago, I had the idea to make something out of grocery bags but was never able to successfully transform the bags into something that I could easily crochet with. When Sarah first told me about this pattern, I knew I had to try it. I don’t know about you guys, but I had a box filled with grocery bags and also a cupboard filled with them too. They were eagerly anticipating a project just like this.

Since my wedding was quickly imploding on itself at that time because of COVID, I desperately needed a project to keep my mind busy and that did just the trick. I started chopping up all those plastic bags I had stashed away and starting making my plarn AKA plastic yarn. Sarah was able to show me in about two pictures what I had struggled with a few years prior. She even has a post explaining how to make it here: https://stitchandhound.com/how-to-make-plastic-yarn/.

That process was honestly the longest part of this pattern. It takes about seventy plastic grocery bags to make this bag. I ended up using two colors of grocery bags so once I finished cutting up all the bags, I rolled them into two different balls of plarn. I had a grey plarn ball and a blue plarn ball. (You can tell I frequent Giant Eagle and Wal*Mart.) This task becomes very mindless and is great to do while you are relaxing and watching TV. Once those were complete, I got out my hook and started bringing this plarn bag to life.

One of my favorite things about Sarah’s patterns is how easy they are to read, follow and complete. A few hours later I had the bag portion done. It consists of two half moon shaped panels. For my bag, I made these panels, the body portion of the bag, grey and I made the strap portion blue. The layout of the bag is to have the strap wrap around the whole bag; it essentially is the bag’s width. I loved using the two different colors for this reason. It gave it a very unique look and I loved having that option of using both colors!

Peep my Hook Nook interchangeable hook! I’m telling ya, they will become your favorite hooks! 🙂

After finishing the strap, the construction of it was very easy. You just lined up the panels with the strap portion and whip stitch them together. All while still using plarn to sew them together. As a finishing touch, I added a little tab made out of the blue plarn and sewed the bottom of it to the back panel. Then I used an old water bottle lid, had my (now) hubby poke a couple holes in the top, and sewed that onto the front panel of the bag. I have a terrible habit of my bags spilling out all over the place and I wanted to be able to close it somewhat for when I take this to the beach with me. It worked out better than I anticipated with the bottle cap!

And there you have it! The Half Moon Tote bag was so much fun to make! This has to be one of my favorite and most talked about patterns that I have ever tested. Just the fact it is made one hundred percent out of old products just lying around your house makes it unique and fun. Like always, Sarah knocked this pattern out of the park!

If you want to make one of these yourselves and make use of some of your old grocery bags, because let’s be honest, you can only use so many bags each week before you go back to the store and get a whole other shipment of them, I highly, highly suggest it! Like I’ve mentioned, Sarah’s pattern has so many informative pictures and helpful tips on creating this bag. Here’s the link to the free pattern on her blog: https://stitchandhound.com/plarn-half-moon-tote/. While you are there, check out all her other patterns on her website. Like my other personal favorite that I use everyday, the Wayfarer Woven Tote Bag: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wayfarer-woven-tote-bag.

Talking about grocery bags, I am accumulating more and more of them like always. They are filling up my cupboard again. Until I make another Half Moon Tote bag, I crocheted a grocery bag holder to hold some of my excess grocery bags in. Remember those cloth bags with the cinched top and bottom that you pulled a grocery bag from the bottom when you needed one? Well I decided to create one of those using basic crochet stitches and yarn that is just lying around. I like to call it the Buoy Bag! Check back on my blog next week for a free pattern to help you get to peak grocery bag storage organization!

Until then, happy crocheting!