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Tag: free crochet pattern

Snowball Scarf

madisons_makings

It’s 2021 ya’ll!

We made it officially out of the year 2020 and so far, these first few weeks doesn’t look like we are completely clear of 2020 yet. But we still have a whole year to change that!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year’s! Ours ended up being very different looking than the past few years, but what’s important is we got to spend Christmas and the holidays with everyone even if it took a couple weeks to do that. Our Christmas decorations are down, the house looks horrifyingly bare and I have so much anticipation and excitement for this year! I have so many pattern ideas flowing through my brain and to be honest, this one was not on my radar AT ALL.

I still have so much Red Heart Hygge yarn left over from the babies’ blankets I made last summer that I’ve been trying to use up. (I’m still hard core trying to use up all the yarn I have lying around and not make routine trips to get yarn unless absolutely necessary. So far so good!) And around Christmas time I just got this picture in my head of a huge, cozy and long scarf. I just couldn’t get the picture out of my head. I knew I would need a project to work on at the Christmas festivities so I brought home a skein of Hygge and just went to town on that idea. A few days later, you got the Snowball Scarf!

This pattern is literally so unbelievably easy and even with the huge size (I mean it ended up being 91 inches long!!), it works up soo fast! While sitting with my family just talking and crocheting, my grandpa said, “Madison, you’ve gotten like a foot of that done already!” It works up so fast! Which is exactly what I wanted! I wanted a pattern, like my goal for all my patterns, that a beginner can look at and start making and be proud of what all they’ve accomplished.

Another cool feature about this scarf is because of the length, it can be worn in many different ways. Here are the three ways that I like to wear it:

This scarf uses Red Heart Hygge yarn just like the Sophie Headband and uses the same stitch pattern as the Victorious Infinity Scarf. If it’s not obvious yet, I’m pretty obsessed with the treble crochet v stitch and Hygge yarn. (I promise I have projects in the works that do not use those two things.) As I mentioned, it works up incredibly fast all thanks to the treble crochet stitches height.

Maybe you guys were the same way, but some of my first projects I ever crocheted was double crochet, back and forth a bunch of times to make scarves with fringe on the ends. I mean I made soo many of those and I recently found some in an old tote I have. Let’s just say, those look ROUGH. My skills have greatly increased since then. But I think from making those so much, I thought that those kind of scarves aren’t popular or useful anymore because of the big hit infinity scarves and cowls have become. Yet once I started this one I knew it was going to be one of my favorite patterns. Because I think it’s nice to take something you made so often as a beginner crocheter and kind of upscale it now to show yourself just how far you’ve come over the years. What a perfect New Year task to do. It isn’t just about “New Year, New Me” but it’s about “New Year, Look How Far I’ve Come.”

I hope this pattern brings you that same sense of accomplishment that it gave me. I am proud to give you guys this pattern and I hope you are proud to make this scarf and share with others what you’ve made!

What you will need to make this pattern:

  • About 440 yards (a little more than 2 skeins) of Red Heart Hygge Yarn
  • 6.5 mm hook
  • Scissors
  • Yarn needle
  • Pom Pom maker (optional)

Some abbreviations you will see in this pattern:

  • Ch = Chain
  • St = Stitch
  • Sts = Stitches
  • Hdc = Half Double Crochet
  • Tr = Treble Crochet
  • * * = Repeat instructions inside the asterisk across the row until otherwise noted

Gauge:

  • Gauge isn’t a necessity in this pattern, it all depends on how you want the look of the scarf to be and how long you want it.
  • My finished dimensions are 91” long (including the poms) and 9” wide.
  • Depending on your gauge and the size you make your scarf, the amount of yarn used will vary.

Notes:

  • This pattern uses a treble crochet v stitch.
  • The ch 2 at the beginning of the hdc rows DOES count as a stitch.
  • The ch 4 at the beginning of the tr rows DOES count as a stitch.
  • If needed, feel free to do a foundation hdc for the first row if your tension is tight on the ch and first row.
  • If you would like this pattern to be narrower or wider, simply chain an odd number of stitches to get started.
  • If you would like this pattern to be longer or shorter, just don’t do as many tr v st rows.
  • Each row’s stitch count will be in parenthesis at the end of the round’s instructions.

Pattern:

Ch 25

Row 1:  Hdc in 3rd ch from the hook, ch 4, turn (24)

Row 2:  Tr in next st from the ch 4, sk st, *2 tr in the next st, sk st, 2 tr in next st,* repeat across, ch 4, turn (24)

Row 3:  Tr in between space of previous rows last two tr sts, *2 tr in space between the next group of tr from previous round, sk st, 2 tr in space between the next group of tr from previous round,* repeat across, ch 4, turn (24)

Row 4-71:  Repeat row 3 (24)

Row 72:  Tr in between space of previous rows last two tr sts, *2 tr in space between the next group of tr from previous round, sk st, 2 tr in space between the next group of tr from previous round,* repeat across, ch 2, turn (24)

Row 73:  Hdc in each st across (24)

Tie off and weave in all ends.

Next you will make two large pom poms out of the remaining yarn. You can also use a pom pom maker if you have one and if that is your preferred way to make them. (You can even put a faux fur pom at each end of the scarf if you prefer that.) Personally, it’s easier for me to make pom poms with my hands. I have huge hands though, so if you have smaller hands it might be more difficult to make a large pom pom. But for these pom poms, I ended up wrapping the yarn around my hand about 100 times to make it super big and fluffy.

When making the pom pom, leave the ends really long. Take your yarn needle and thread one of the pom pom’s tails in the needle. Weaving in and out of the first row’s hdc sts, start from one end to the other end of the first row. Take the other pom pom tail and repeat the process, starting from the opposite direction and working all the way across.

Tie the two tails of the pom pom together after you finish weaving them all the way through from both directions. Ensure it is centered on the end of the scarf before securing. Trim the tail ends to essentially add it to the pom pom.

Repeat this for the other end and then you are all done! You’ve officially made the Snowball Scarf.

I hope this scarf keeps you warm for years to come and I hope you loved every minute of making it. I would love to see all of your Snowball Scarves so please tag me on Instagram when you do make it and use the hashtag #SnowballScarf. If you would like to pin this free pattern on your Pinterest board, you can click here. And if you would like a paid copy of this pattern, you can purchase that on Etsy here. Buying the paid copy will help me to continue to bring you patterns regularly. Like always, if you have any questions about this pattern, or any of my patterns, feel free to message me on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Happy crocheting friends!!

Feel free to make as many of these as you would like and feel free to sell them. I just ask that you please acknowledge Madison’s Makings when you do. Please do not steal or copy this pattern and/or my pictures and credit them as your own work. Thank you!

Dish Towel Pal

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Hello everyone! It’s been a hot minute! A lot has gone on the past few months. First of all, I now have a niece and a nephew! They were born just six days apart! I am in absolute love with them both. Corey and I live a little over an hour away from them, so we have been going home home almost every weekend to get our fill of baby snuggles every chance we can get.

Another big thing lately is I was able to pattern test for my friend Stitch and Hound again and made the most beautiful sweater ever! Once she releases the pattern I will be writing a blog post all about that awesome project. I cannot wait to share that with you all. Sarah knocked it out of the park with this design (like she always does).

Also, I had a craft show this past weekend! I have been prepping on it ever since I finished the pattern test sweater. I’m so glad I was able to do this show. Most shows have been canceled this year because of Covid. Luckily, this one was outside and we had the most perfect weather for it. I set a goal for myself and I exceeded that goal which I am so excited about.

I have a few days off this week and decided I wanted to put a quick little project out there on the blog until I am able to get my new scarf pattern out and until I can post about the sweater. So that is how you are getting this Dish Towel Pal pattern! This project is one of the most stereotypical crochet projects out there I think. I am pretty sure everyone and their brother’s grandmothers and great grandmothers have made it through the years. For so long I had wanted to try making them but never got around to it. Luckily, a coworker of mine asked me to make him some of these to give to his family as gifts as all of their dishtowels were all worn out. I had always known the pattern itself appeared to be easy, but it was the part of getting the yarn through the towel that intimidated me. A quick YouTube search brought me to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdj6n6pWmoY. As you watch this, you can see she uses an awl tool to poke through the fabric. She made it look so easy and I highly doubted it would work that well until I got the tool and it worked like a CHARM. From that point, I looked at my friend’s old towels and made some changes to the original pattern that his grandmother used to make it my own. Since then I have made a bunch of these towels and have another big order for them come Christmas time (which is very fast approaching!)

As most of these last few projects have been, this is also another great stash buster project. It requires very little yarn and works up so quick. It makes the perfect gift and also a great project for beginners because of the basic stitches and easy decrease method. This pattern varies some from the normal layout of a pattern. There is a lot of pictures throughout this post to help make it as simple as possible and to explain it step by step as much as I can. I hope it helps!

What you will need to make this pattern:

  • Dish towel
  • 5.0 mm hook
  • A small amount of size 4 cotton yarn
  • Awl
  • Yarn needle
  • Slightly smaller needle (to fit through the button holes)
  • One 3/4 inch button
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape
  • Marker

Some abbreviations you will see in this pattern:

  • Ch = Chain
  • St = Stitch
  • Sts = Stitches
  • Sk = Skip
  • Sc = Single Crochet
  • Dc = Double Crochet
  • * * = Repeat instructions inside the asterisk across the row until otherwise noted

Notes:

  • The chain three at the beginning of each row does count as a stitch.
  • Each row’s stitch count will be in parenthesis at the end of each row.
  • This is a beginner friendly pattern.
  • Row 7 has some variance with the pattern, see the picture of it at the bottom.

Pattern:

First things first, you need to lay out your dish towel flat and fold it so the front (side of the towel to be viewed) is turned over so that you are facing the back side of the towel. Take the top part of the towel and fold it in half so you can now see the front side of the towel. From here, take a measuring tape and measure the top of the towel (at the folded part). My towel measured about 15.5 inches. I divided 15.5 by 62 and that equals .25 inches. That’s how many holes you are going to poke through the towel.

With the measuring tape still lying flat at the top of the towel, take your marker and dot every .25 inch spot about a half inch below the top of the fold. After you have all the dots marked out on the towel, now you will start making the holes and your first row.

This is where the awl will become your best friend. At your first dot on the right side of the towel, poke the awl through the towel. Make sure you push the awl all the way through the towel because doing so will make the hole bigger allowing your crochet hook to fit better. (Since we are mentioning crochet hooks, I usually prefer tapered hooks for 99% of my crochet projects. However, for this project, I have found that the inline hooks work better because it allows the yarn to get tucked into the hook more which helps it not get caught on the other side of the towel as much when pulling it through the hole in the towel.) Now that you have your first hole made, put the crochet hook through the towel. On the back side of the towel, pick up the yarn and pull the yarn through the hole of the towel, yarn over and pull up a loop. You have now completed your first sc!

Another tip I discovered after learning the hard way, only do one hole and one stitch at a time. If you try to go through and poke all the holes first, the holes will close up some and will get the front and back hole jumbled up in the meantime. It takes a little extra time but I promise it will be ten times smoother to do one hole and one stitch at a time.

Your hook may fall out of the stitch you just made while you are poking the next hole but that is perfectly alright. Just keep going all the way across the towel until all of your dots that you marked in are replaced with holes and a single crochet stitch.

Once you are all the way across, your first row of sc will be complete. You should have 61 sc stitches. Just ch 1 and turn your work.

Row 2: Sc in each st across, ch 3, turn (61)

Row 3: Dc in first st, sk 1, *dc, sk 1,* repeat across until 2 sts remain, dc one in each of the last 2 sts, ch 1, turn (32)

After row 3, it will start to pucker some. That is okay because we are starting a pretty quick decrease.

Row 4: Sc in each st across, ch 3, turn (32)

Row 5: *Dc, sk st, dc,* repeat across, ch 1, turn (17)

Row 6: Sc in each st across, ch 3, turn (17)

End of row 6.

Row 7: Sk first st, *dc, sk st, dc,* repeat across, ch 1, turn (9)

Unlike the last decrease rows, where you have crocheted in the first st like you normally would, for row 7 you need to sk the first st.

Row 8: Sc in each st across, ch 3, turn (9)

Here is a close up picture of the decrease portion before tapering it off to the continuous 9 sts per row for the rest of the pattern.

Row 9: Dc in each st across, ch 1, turn (9)

Row 10: Sc in each st across, ch 3, turn (9)

Rows 11-24: Repeat rows 9 and 10 (9)

Row 24 should be a single crochet row. Tie off and weave in all ends.

The next step of this pattern is to sew the button on. Turn the towel so that the front of your project is facing you. At row 8, place the button in the center of the row. After threading the smaller needle with yarn, bring it up through one of the holes in the button. I like to try to go through the yarn threads of one of the sc stitches so that it has more to hold on to. Work the needle back down through another button hole, still trying to go through the threads of the yarn strand underneath the button. Go back up and down through the button holes until you feel the button is secure. Turn your work over and tie a knot between the beginning and end of the yarn used to sew the button on. Weave in those ends.

And there you have it! You have completed the Dish Towel Pal! It is such a simple project, no wonder all our grandma’s and great grandma’s made these all the time! They would be so proud of us for carrying on their tradition.

My favorite part about this pattern versus many of the other dish towel topper patterns is that you can make the loop as tight or loose around your oven or dishwasher handle as you want. The dc rows act as built in button holes. There is no need to make a certain button hole which essentially locks you into one length of the loop.

I hope you all enjoy this pattern! It makes a great holiday or housewarming gift because most people have had these at some point during their lives. But as the towels become worn out over the years, they throw them away and more than likely they probably don’t know anyone that crochets to have them make them more of these. It’s a gift that nobody thinks they want until they see them. I know I will have plenty of these on my hook before Christmas is here.

I would absolutely love to see your finished products! Please tag me @madisonsmakings and use the hashtag #DishTowelPal on Instagram. Also, if you would like to pin this pattern on Pinterest, click here. And if you would like to purchase the pattern on Etsy, that can be found here. Each purchase of one of my patterns helps support Madison’s Makings to keep new patterns coming. As always, if you have any questions about this pattern at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to me either by email or on Instagram. I would be happy to help you bring this pattern to life.

I’ll be back very soon with a new scarf pattern, just in time for Christmas orders. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this beautiful fall season.

Happy crocheting!

Feel free to make as many of these as you would like and feel free to sell them. I just ask that you please acknowledge Madison’s Makings when you do. Please do not steal or copy this pattern and/or my pictures and credit them as your own work. Thank you!

Buoy Bag – Grocery Bag Holder

madisons_makings

I’m not sure if this was all 90’s moms or just mine, but does anyone else remember those cloth grocery bag holders that used to hang somewhere in your kitchen? The one that had a cinched top and bottom so you could stuff a bunch of grocery bags in the top and pull one out at the bottom whenever you needed one? My mom’s broke a long, longg time ago but my mother-in-law still has hers and I loved how convenient it is to grab a grocery bag at their house whenever we need one. I decided there was nothing stopping me from making my own since I have no idea where I could buy one anymore.

So that’s why I created the Buoy Bag! Clearly the name came from the way it hangs on the side of our cabinets like a buoy hangs off a boat. But I got so sick of taking up a whole cabinet that is filled with soo many grocery bags and each morning digging around to try to get just one to put my lunch in it.

The pattern is so fast and quick to make. This now being my second original pattern, you probably have noticed a pattern that I am trying to use up some of my cotton yarn that I have lying around. I used cotton for it, but there’s no reason why you can’t use any type of acrylic yarn. I’m sure I will be making a bunch of these with acrylic yarn to so I can have more color choices and to help bust down some of my yarn stash.

What you will need to make this pattern:

  • 5.0 mm hook
  • About 95 yards of weight 4 yarn
  • Yarn needle
  • Scissors

Some abbreviations you will see in this pattern:

  • Ch = Chain
  • St = Stitch
  • Hdc = Half Double Crochet
  • Tr = Treble Crochet
  • * * = Repeat instructions inside the asterisk across the row until otherwise noted
  • Sl st = Slip Stitch

Gauge:

  • Due to the “lacey” appearance of this pattern, gauge is difficult to calculate and will not make too much of a difference in this pattern.
  • Finished dimensions: 14.0 inches tall and 7.5 inches wide at the widest, most center portion of the bag.

Notes:

  • The ch 2 or 4 at the beginning of each round counts as a stitch throughout the pattern.
  • Each round’s stitch count will be in parenthesis at the end of the round’s instructions.
  • This bag can hold at least 20 plastic bags when finished.

Pattern:

Ch 35

Sl st into first ch of first st – do not twist the chain

Round 1: Ch 2, hdc around, sl st into top of ch 2 (35)

Round 2: Ch 4, tr in first st, ch 3, sk next 3 stitches, *tr in next 2 st, ch 3, sk next 3 st,* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (35)

Round 3: Ch 4, tr 2 in the space between the ch 4 and first tr from previous round, ch 3, *tr 3 into the space between the two tr from previous round, ch 3* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (42)

Round 4: Ch 4, tr 1 into space between ch 4 and middle tr from previous round, tr 2 in space between middle and third tr from previous round, ch 4, *tr 2 in space between the first and middle tr group from previous round, tr 2 in space between the middle and last tr in group from previous round, ch 4,* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (56)

Round 5: Ch 4, tr 2 in space between second and third tr from previous round’s tr group, tr 1 in space between third and fourth tc from previous round’s tr group, ch 4, *tr 1 in space between first and second tr from previous round’s tr group, tr 2 in space between second and third tr from previous round’s tr group, tr 1 in space between third and fourth tr from previous round’s tr group, ch 4* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (56)

Round 6-12: Repeat round 5 (56)

Round 13: Ch 4, tr in space between second and third tr from previous round’s tr group, tr in space between third and fourth tr from previous round’s tr group, ch 3, *tr in space between first and second tr from previous round’s tr group, tr in space between second and third tr from previous rounds tr group, tr in space between third and fourth tr, ch 3,* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (42)

Round 14: Ch 4, tr in between second and third tr from previous round’s tr group, *ch 3, tr in space between first and second tr from previous round’s tr group, tr between second and third tr from previous round tr group,* repeat across, sl st into top of ch 4 (35)

Round 15: Ch 2, hdc in each stitch around, sl st into top of ch 2 (35)

Ch 15 and sl st the last ch into the last st of the previous round to make a loop.

Tie off and weave in all ends.

Make 2 separate chains of 55 stitches each.

Tie off and sew in ends of each strand.

To assemble the bag:

  • Weave the ch strands in and out of the hdc st posts in rounds 1 and 15.
  • Tighten each end to the desired width.
    • I tighten the top one pretty tight and leave the bottom one about half way open to be able to pull the bags out of the bottom easier.
  • Try to aim it so that both ends of the chains will be centered and even in the front of the bag, making it easier to tie off.
Sl st the last of the 15 ch into the last st of previous round to make a loop.
Weave in and out of rows 1 and 15’s hdc posts to add a “cinch” effect, ending and beginning in the front of the bag.
Picture of the bag’s stitch pattern.
The Buoy Bag finished and laying out flat.

That’s it! Not too bad, huh? Now you can clear out some cabinet space and stash those (way too many) grocery bags that you have in something that is more functional. As mentioned in the notes, this bag held 20 grocery bags for me. If you want it to hold more, you could always add more rounds in the middle.

I hope you enjoyed this pattern! If you would like to make one sometime, please pin it on your Pinterest board. Click here to open up the pin on Pinterest. If you make one, please tag me in your pictures of it on Instagram so I can see how you put your own spin on it. Also, feel free to use the hashtag #BuoyBag when you do post about it.

I have some more pattern ideas in mind, so always check back to see my latest creations. If you have a question about this pattern, please feel free to message me on Instagram or email me at [email protected].

Happy crocheting!

Feel free to make as many of these as you would like and feel free to sell them. I just ask that you please acknowledge Madison’s Makings when you do. Please do not steal or copy this pattern and/or my pictures and credit them as your own work. Thank you!