Wobbly Baby Blanket and Hat | Tw-In Stitches

I hope you are enjoying the Wobbly patterns!  Today, I'd like to share a baby blanket and hat I made using the Wobbly Squares blanket pattern and the Full Wobbly hat pattern.

The blanket was made using the Wobbly Squares {without changing colors} blanket pattern.  I used an I hook and Caron One Pound yarn in Lilac.  You can find the pattern here. To make this blanket, I followed the pattern and crocheted a total of 27 rows.

The border is very simple:
Border Row 1: SC in each chain 1 space, *chain 1, SC in next.* Repeat from * to * around, crocheting a SC, chain 2, SC in each of the corner spaces. Slip stitch into first SC to finish. Slip stitch into next chain 1 space.
Border Row 2: Chain 1, SC in the same space.  *Chain 4. Skip (one SC, chain 1, one SC) and SC in the next chain 1 space.* Repeat from * to *, In each corner, SC, chain 2, SC.  Slip stitch to first SC to finish. Slip stitch into next chain 4 space.
Border Row 3: In each chain 4 space, 2 HDC, 1 DC, 2 HDC. Skip all SC from previous round.  In each corner, crochet 3 HDC.  Slip stitch to first HDC to finish. Fasten off and weave in ends.

The hat was made using the remaining yarn and the Full Wobbly Hat pattern. You can find the pattern for teens and adults here.

To make the hat for newborn size, follow the instructions for the first 4 rows. Do not increase after row 4.  For rows 5-9, follow the instructions for row 6 (no increases).  For row 10, SC in each chain 1 space, then chain 1 around.

The flower is inspired by one of my favorite flower patterns ever.  You can find it on Cre8tion Crochet. I did make two changes. First, instead of single crochets to make the base, I used half double crochets.  That is why it is so flat.  Second, instead of finishing each round with a slip stitch, I simply started the next row by crocheting into the first stitch.  It creates a nice spiral effect.

I'm working on another baby blanket using cotton yarn in a great hot pink, pink, and lime green variegated pattern.  It's awesome!

I hope you enjoy these patterns!

I've been teaching for 21 years! Free Pattern Celebration - OFFER HAS ENDED!

Today is my 21st first day of school as a teacher!  That seems so crazy to me. I swear I just graduated from college.  :)

To celebrate 21 years of teaching, I am offering you a free pattern!  I have exactly one paid pattern in my Ravelry store and it is yours for free until Friday at 11:59 pm PST. OFFER HAS ENDED!

Meet the Toasty Warm Ponytail Hat! Made with bulky yarn, this crocheted hat is made so that you can wear your ponytail high or low. Dress it up by adding flowers or fun buttons.

To get the Toasty Warm Ponytail Hat, simply
1) Visit the pattern page on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/toasty-warm-ponytail-hat
2) Click on Add to Cart
3) Enter this coupon code: 21FIRST (case sensitive!)
4) Checkout!

Please feel free to share the link to this page, but please do not share coupon code on its own.

Thanks for celebrating with me!

The Fully Wobbly - Free Hat Pattern | Tw-In Stitches

Wobbly V-Stitch Hat Version 1: The Full Wobbly   

I am totally excited to share with you the first of two wobbly v-stitch hats: The Full Wobbly!  The Full Wobbly is comprised of v-stitches from the very beginning.  The fun part about the wobbly patterns, remember, is that the v-stitches are made using the dc2tog stitch (the double crochet 2 together).  This method has been addicting to me and I love using it as often as I can!

Click here to add this pattern to your Ravelry queue.

Let's get started!

Supplies

2 or more colors of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (I used 3: White, Turqua, and Spring Green)
I hook ( 5.5 mm)
tapestry needle

Special Stitches:

Dc2tog: Begin a dc in on space and pull up yarn through two loops only (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and insert hook through next chain 1 space. Yarn over, pull up through two loops (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and pull through all three loops.

Regular Wobbly V-Stitch is made by a series of 2 dc2togs: Begin a dc2tog in a chain 1 space and complete the dc2tog in the next chain 1 space. Chain 1. Begin the next dc2tog in the SAME chain 1 space and complete it in the next.

Increase Wobbly V-Stitch: To increase, we will crochet a chain 1, dc, chain 1 between Wobbly V-Stitches.  So: Begin a dc2tog in a chain 1 space and complete it in the next chain 1 space. In the same space, chain 1, DC, chain 1, begin your next dc2tog and complete it in the next chain 1 space.  The Increase Wobbly V-Stitch looks like a W.

Gauge:

7 dc2tog and 6 rows = 4 inches x 4 inches

Pattern (Teen and Adult size):

Row 1 (Color 1): Start with a Magic Circle.  Chain 4 (counts as 1 DC and 1 chain). *Dc2tog, chain 1* six times in the magic circle. DC and join to the third chain of the beginning chain 4.  You will have seven chain 1 spaces. Fasten off.

Row 2 (Color 2): In this round we are going to crochet an Increase Wobbly V-stitch in each chain 1 space.  Remember that because we are doing the wobbly v-stitches, half of the v will begin in a chain 1 space and end in the next. 

With new color, begin a standing dc2tog in a chain 1 space, complete in the next space. In this same space, chain 1, dc, chain 1, start the next dc2tog. Complete the dc2tog in the next space. Chain 1, dc, chain 1, start the next dc2tog in the same space. Repeat around. Complete the last dc2tog in the same chain 1 space as the standing dc2tog.  Chain 1 and join to the top of the first dc2tog. Fasten off. (7 Increase Wobbly V-Stitches will appear to be 14 V-Stitches = 14 chain 1 spaces)

Row 3 (Color 3): In this round, we will alternate increase Wobbly V-Stitch in one chain 1 space and regular wobbly v-stitch in the next. 

With a new color, begin a standing dc2tog in the left chain 1 space of any of the Increase Wobbly V-Stitches.  It is important to the way we will be increasing that you start here.  Since the increase looks like a W, you will start in the left opening of the W.  Complete your dc2tog in the next space.  *In the same space, chain 1, dc, chain 1, start the next dc2tog. Complete the dc2tog in the next space. Chain 1, begin the next dc2tog in the same space, complete in the next chain 1 space.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (You should have alternating increases and regular wobbly Vs in each chain 1 space around.) Chain 1 and join to the top of the first dc2tog. Fasten off.

The standing dc2tog goes in the left chain 1 space of an increase wobbly.

Row 4 (Color 1): In this round we will follow this pattern: Increase wobbly, regular wobbly, regular wobbly. 

With a new color, begin a standing dc2tog in the left chain 1 space of any Increase Wobbly from row 3 and complete in the next space.   *In the same space, chain 1, dc, chain 1, start the next dc2tog. Complete the dc2tog in the next space. Chain 1, begin the next dc2tog in the same space, complete in the next chain 1 space. Chain 1, begin the next dc2tog in the same space, complete in the next chain 1 space.* Repeat from * to * around.  Chain 1, and join to the top of the first dc2tog. 

Take a minute and measure the diameter of your circle.  For an adult hat, you want your diameter to be 6.5 to 7 inches.  For a child's hat, you want your diameter to be 5-6 inches.  If  you need to increase more, for each new increase row, you will do the following:

Increase, regular, regular, regular
Increase, regular, regular, regular, regular
Increase, regular, regular, regular, regular, regular

Do you see it?  One more regular wobble V for each row.  This is just like any circle you crochet.  You increase the number of regular stitches as the circle gets bigger and bigger.

My hat, for an adult, needs one more row of increases.

Row 5 (Color 2): Again, remember to begin a standing dc2tog in the left chain 1 space of any Increase Wobbly from row 4.  Then, continuing the pattern of increase, regular, regular, regular around.  Chain 1 and join to the top of the first dc2tog.

When you have reached the diameter you want, you will stop increasing.  For the purpose of this pattern, I am going to call this Row 6, but it is really which ever row you are on.

Row 6 (no increases): With a new color, begin a standing dc2tog in any chain 1 space. and complete it in the next chain 1 space.  *Chain 1, begin the next dc2tog in the same space and complete in the next chain 1 space.* Repeat from * to * around. Your final dc2tog should end in the same space as the first dc2tog.  Chain 1 and join to the top of the first dc2tog.  Fasten off.

Row 7 - 13: With alternating colors, repeat row 6.

Make sure to measure your hat to make certain it is long enough.  An adult sized hat should be about 9 inches from crown to ear.  Add more rows if necessary.

Finish: You can use any border you like.  For this one, I am using what I call a faux picot crossover stitch.  I love this stitch and I use it for almost all of my blankets!  It looks much more challenging that it actually is!

Faux Picot Crossover Border:

With a new color, make a standing single crochet in any chain 1 space.  Chain 2.  Working from front to back, insert your hook into the unworked chain 1 space to the right of the space you began.  Yarn over and pull through the stitch to the front.  Yarn over and pull through both loops.  *Move to the next unworked chain 1 space to the left.  SC in that space.  Chain 2. Insert your hook back into the previous space. Yarn over and pull through the stitch to the front.  Yarn over and pull through both loops.* Repeat from * to * around. You will end by beginning your last faux picot crossover in the first chain 1 space (it will have on stitch in it). Complete the crossover and slip stitch  into the first sc. Fasten off.

Weave in all ends carefully.


Note: I made a ridiculous number of hats to make sure this pattern worked out nicely.  However, if you find that your hat is too big or too loose, you can start your first round by doing the following:
Row 1 (Color 1): Start with a Magic Circle.  Chain 4 (counts as 1 DC and 1 chain). *Dc2tog, chain 1* five times in the magic circle. DC and join to the third chain of the beginning chain 4.  You will have SIX chain 1 spaces. Fasten off. Continue with the pattern as it reads.  You will have multiples of 6 in each row instead of multiples of 7 as my pattern calls for. 

I'm seriously in love with this pattern and I hope you are as well! Enjoy!

Want to make a blanket that goes with this hat?

Wobbly Rectangles Blanket: http://www.twinstitches.com/2015/01/wobbly-rectangles-blanket-free-pattern.html

Wobbly Squares Blanket: http://www.twinstitches.com/2015/01/wobbly-squares-blanket-free-pattern-tw.html

Making removable flowers for your hats and cowls

You know what's frustrating?  Making a flower for a hat and loving it enough to sew it onto the hat only to wish you could replace it later.  I have a lovely black hat that I sewed a turquoise flower onto and I love it, but the other day, I really wanted the flower to be pink. Really wanted it to be pink.  Short of making an entirely new hat or cutting the turquoise flower off, I really did not have an alternative.

Many designers have come up with different ways to make flowers removable.  Some attach flowers to alligator clips and clip them on.  This idea could work, except I don't like the way the alligator clip makes the flower sit on the hat.  I also worry that the flower could fall off too easily.  Not to mention how do you wash it?  By hand? Other designers have created flowers with a hole in the center of the flower that allows them to slip a button through it.  They attach the button to the hat and then flowers can be slipped on over the button.  I've browsed through many of those patterns, but never found one that allowed for the flexibility of the type of flower.

I set out to see if I could make the button idea work.  I like really big flowers, so I tried several different types and designs to see what would happen.  I think I made 6 or 7 flowers, none of which sat right when I completed them.  The hole I needed to leave for the giant button just was strange and I had to use a color that would work with every flower I might want to attach.  That's harder than you think.  Frustrated, I set the whole thing aside.

And then, one day, while I was sitting in traffic, I had an epiphany. I was going about this all the wrong way.  To truly make this work, I needed the flowers to be able to attach themselves to any crocheted hat.  The alligator clip would not work and a button through the middle would not work, but what if I combined the two ideas? What if I crocheted a short band on the back of the flower and attached a small button?  The band could go through the hat and attach to the button on the back of the flower.

Excited, I started working.  I made some basic flowers and on the back, I made the bands, keeping them short so that the flower would be snug against the hat. I attached a small button and grabbed one of my hats.  And then this happened:

My first flower with the new attachment!

(Why am I not wearing earrings?  Noted for next time!)

Do you see how pretty it looks?  Here are some other views:

The flower is slipped through the crossed DCs!  I practiced moving it around and it fit perfectly every time.

Here is what the flower looks like from behind:

Small flap with button on the back of the flower.

Here is another one I made!

I know.  The flower is ginormous!

To date, I've made 10 of these flowers with different patterns.  I just love them and I love how quickly they work up.  I could keep making them for the foreseeable future!

Would you like to try to make one yourself?  Stay tuned for the pattern coming soon!

Hats with Baby's First Yarn by Lion Brand

The other day, I was buying yarn for some cowls I am making and I ran across a new yarn.

Lion Brand Baby's First Yarn

Lion Brand Baby's First yarn comes in 8 colors, all baby colors, but it is a really wonderful yarn.  A size 5 bulky weight yarn, it feels like someone took t-shirts and made yarn out of them.  So lovely.

I have a coworker who is having a baby girl in March and another coworker who is having a baby boy that same month.  I bought some pink (fairy tale) and some blue (splish splash) and started looking for patterns.  Alas, no one has thought to design patterns specifically using this yarn.  So, I winged it.

The first hat I made is probably more of a 6-9 month size than a newborn size.

K Hook (join each row)
Row 1: Magic Circle and make 8 HDC.
Row 2: Chain 1, then 2 HDC in each stitch around (16 HDC)
Row 3: Chain 1, then 2 HDC, 1 HDC repeat around (24 HDC)
Row 4: Chain 1, then 2 HDC, 1 HDC, 1 HDC, repeat around (32 HDC)
Row 5: Chain 1, then 2 HDC, 1 HDC, 1 HDC, 1 HDC repeat around (40 HDC)
Row 6-11: Chain 1, then 1 HDC in each stitch around (40 HDC)
Row 12: Chain 1, skip 1 stitch, in the next stitch 5 HDC, skip 1 stitch, slip stitch in the next, repeat around (10 scallops around)

I was amazed to find that I still had yarn left, so I made a second hat.  This one I wanted to make sure would  fit a newborn.

K Hook (join each row)
Row 1: Magic Circle and make 8 SC. (8 SC)
Row 2: Chain 2,  then 2 DC in each stitch around (16 DC)

Row 3: Chain 2,  then 2 DC, 1 DC repeat around (24 DC)
Row 4: Chain 2,  then 2 DC, 1 DC, 1 DC, repeat around (32 DC)
Row 5-7: Chain 2,  then 1 DC in each stitch around (32 DC)
Row 8-10: Chain 1, then 1 SC in each stitch around (32 SC)

I still had yarn left, so I decided to make some embellishments. The heart is the one I used for my Heart Necklace pattern.  The flower is a new pattern I created today.

Flower:
Row 1: Magic Circle and make 6 SC, join. (6 SC)
Row 2: Chain 1, 2 HDC, chain 1, slip stitch all in the same stitch. In the next stitch, 2 HDC, chain 1, slip stitch. Repeat around. (makes 6 petals)

What I love most about this yarn, other than how soft it is, is how beautifully it shows the stitches used.  Often yarn hides the texture of the stitches, but this yarn highlights them.  I'll definitely use it again!

Toasty Warm Ponytail Hat

It's my very first pattern for sale!

I designed the Toasty Warm Ponytail Hat for my sister, Kristen, who wanted a beanie she would wear with a ponytail when she went for a run or exercising.  It is worked in one piece and is adjustable.  It uses snuggly bulky weight yarn and is an easy pattern for beginners and more experienced crocheters.

The hat is adjustable and allows for different heights of ponytail.

Looks like a regular beanie in the front and on the sides.

It comes in adult and child sizes.

Would you like to make the ponytail hat?  You can find it in my new Ravelry store!
Or, you can buy it by clicking this button!
 
 
I hope you have fun making it!

Blueberry Muffin Hat

It is spirit week at school. Today is m day. I am a blueberry muffin. Can you tell?

More Halloween Happiness

I don't know why I am so excited about Halloween already, but it has led to some fun hat designs.

I wanted something fun for my boys.  Meet Franken-Lukie

and Daddy-stein

And then, there is the Cat Hat.  It's just a little too big for Gracie.  Just a little.

Just a little.

It was a bit big for Lukie, too.  Not that he minded.

Spider Hat

I'm sorry.  I just couldn't stand the cuteness of this pattern.  I had to own it.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry under Crochet Jolie.  I bought it along with two other patterns and I'm so glad I did.  This little spider is incredibly easy to make and I know I will be able to use her on a ton of things: headbands, scarves, hats.

She makes me happy just looking at her!

Dinosaur Hat for my Big Dinosaur Lucas

Most times I crochet just to see if I can follow a pattern.  Other times, I adapt a pattern for something I already like.  My son, Lucas, loves dinosaurs.  I mean, he LOVES them.  I've been looking at dinosaur beanies for a really long time, but none of them look like something I would be proud to make for him.

Today, I found a pattern with cool spikes and decided to adapt it for my version of a dinosaur hat.  The dinosaur hat pattern was a little too young for Lukie, but I think my changes make this hat perfect for him.

Can you tell he likes it?

Of course, he may have to fight his sister for it.  I guess I could always make one for her, too!

Newsgirl Hat

We have a lot of birthdays coming up around here.  I've been working hard to create projects for people.  One project was this newsgirl hat.  I started it for a very fashionable teenager and fell in love with it.  It was inspired by Polkadot Posh and I adapted it for an adult.  The pattern was free a few months ago and fits newborns through size 4T, but now is for sale here.  If you see this post and would like the edits I made to make this fit an adult, let me know.

Front view.  I love those X stitches

Look carefully.  See those stitches?  Those are X stitches.  They are actually double crochet stitches that are crocheted to cross over one another.  They are really easy and super fun to do.

I used Peaches 'N Cream yarn which is very similar to the Sugar 'N Cream yarn by Lily. It is a very dense yarn and since this hat is crocheted holding 2 strands, this is a very thick hat.  In fact, it is sitting on its side next to me and it is maintaining its shape!  Originally, I did not add any embellishments to the hat, but some friends suggested it needed a little more.  So, I added a band and crocheted 2 buttons to go on either side.

Cap without the band and buttons.

I added a band and crocheted buttons to the brim.

Hats for Alexandria

Gracie and Luke, my twins, are almost 4.  When I try to think back to a time without them, it is difficult to remember a moment when they were not around.  When I try to think to the future, when they are all grown and gone, I simply cannot fathom it. We are lucky that Gracie and Luke are healthy and happy.

One of my twin mom friends wrote to me a few weeks ago about a little girl, just turned 4, who has been rediagnosed with cancer.  Cancer. How is that possible?  How is it possible that a small child should fight for her life against a disease with no mercy? No child, no person, should ever have cancer.  Ever. 

Alexandria is brave.  Recently, after starting a new round of chemotherapy, her hair started to fall out.  Rather than be depressed that she was losing her hair, she asked her mom if she could cut it off instead.  If only, I could look at something that devastating as simply a means to a change. 

Needless to say, I have been touched by Alexandria's story.  I hug Gracie and Luke tighter and pray for her every night.  Kris asked me if I would be willing to sell her some hats for Alexandria.  I don't sell my hats.  I only give them to people I care about deeply.  I told Kris that.  Then, I asked what Alexandria's favorite color is.

Tomorrow, this box will leave via the mail.

It has 12 hats in it.  Most of them have pink somewhere on them.  Pink is Alexandria's favorite color.  My hope is that they fit her and help her feel pretty every day.  I hope even harder that she will someday outgrow these hats and be able to pass them on to someone else.