Knitting & Crocheting

Few things bring more joy to a child than snuggling with their special doll. We have created a basic doll pattern in 6 sizes: 12", 10", 8", 5", 4", and 3", enough to create a whole family or village. THIS IS OUR BASIC KNIT DOLL PATTERN. Over time we will be using this basic pattern to make many different dolls. When we do, we will refer you back to this pattern, and share alterations, embellishments, and perhaps a story or two :) 

Instructions for the Basic Knit Doll Pattern can be found HERE or with our FREE Patterns. Enjoy!

Special Note: As I posted yesterday, we just lost our dog, Scully. I've been working on these patterns with a heavy heart and often a clouded brain. PLEASE let me know if you find ANYTHING that is wrong or doesn't make sense. Thanks. 

As a child, it never failed, when you returned to school after any break or vacation, your teacher was sure to say, "I would like you to write an essay titled, "What I did on my vacation". This was usually followed by a collective groan, except for Margo. Margo was the class know-it-all who actually enjoyed homework. As a matter of fact, when you asked Margo what she did do on her vacation, her list usually included writing an essay on what she did on her vacation. She liked to get a jump on things. For the rest of us, this task was tedious enough to ALMOST make us wish we hadn't gone on vacation in the first place!

So, here I am, back from vacation, feeling like I should be writing on essay on What I Did on Spring Break. Well, lucky for me, no one is grading this, and although it will take me a few days to get back into my normal routine, I'm actually excited to share my adventures... at least my crafting adventures. So, here goes...

For some time now, Michelle and I have been talking about creating an all purpose doll pattern. Just a basic pattern in multiple sizes, that can be adorned in various ways to meet our needs. I spent the week pouring through my old patterns and books, visiting many websites, and unraveling many unsatisfying attempts. Finally, I put together an easy, very versatile pattern, that can be used in many ways, and can be made in many sizes. (The largest size is still on my needles, so it is not pictured!)

We begin with the basic doll:

You can add a little hair:

You can add gnome hats:

You can even make them removable clothing:

Over the next few months, we will start with the basic doll pattern, and share many variations. We will be making clothing, adding faces to some, and all sorts of fun hairdos. We will even be turning them into some animals! Tomorrow I will share the basic pattern that can be used to make:

Daddy - 12"
Mommy - 10"
Child - 8"
Toddler - 5"
Baby - 4"
Dolly - 3" 

So, there you have it... my crafty doings over break! Hope everyone had a lovely week, missed you all, and it's nice to be back! 
 

The directions for the Flower Fairies pictured below can be found HERE.

I hate to waste anything when I'm crafting. You never know, right? So, I have bits and pieces of this and that in jars, in baskets, tucked in cubbies, and hanging from the ceiling. It is amazing how many times I hit these "should throw away" stashes!

Well, the other day I made my April (Easter) Rip and Tear Napkins.

This is what was left over.

On the next sunny day (5 days of rain in the forecast), we will go outside and drape the pieces of string in tree and bush branches, and throw them hither and yon in our green belt. Birds and field mice will use them to help make their spring nests comfy-cozy. (You're welcome little friends!)

But, I have a special plan for the fabric scraps that were ripped away from the napkins. I will be making a couple new Spring Crocheted Rag Rugs for the gnome house. (They can also be used as lovely spring coasters!) I made a basic circle. I've included the directions below. If you would like to "see" the basics on how to crochet a circle, check out our Bean Bag and Coaster Directions.

Spring Crocheted Rag Rug for the Gnomes (or Coasters)

Materials:
scrap fabric strips (ripped to about 3/8") 

Note: To have one continuous strip of fabric to crochet with, simply overlap the end of one piece with the start of a new piece. Sew them together. You do not need to be neat... it's a rag rug :)

Directions:

1] Chain 6.

2] Slip stitch through 1st chain to form a ring.

3] First Round: Chain stitch 3. This is called your “turning chain” and will be counted as your 1st stitch. Next, crocheting through the hole in the center of the ring, double crochet 9 times. Slip stitch in the top (the third chain) of the turning chain. You will now have 10 stitches (including the turning chain).

4] Second Round: Chain stitch 3. Double crochet into the base of your “turning chain”. You will be increasing 10 stitches this round. In the remaining 9 stitches from the first round, double crochet twice in each stitch. Slip stitch in the top chain of the turning chain. You will now have 20 stitches.

5] Third Round: Chain stitch 3. Double crochet into the base of your “turning chain”. You will be increasing 10 stitches this round. In the next stitch double crochet once, in the next stitch double crochet twice. Continue this pattern double crocheting twice every other stitch. Slip stitch in the top chain of the turning chain. You will now have 30 stitches.

6] Fourth Round: Double crochet into the base of your “turning chain”. You will be increasing 10 stitches this round. In the next two stitches double crochet once, in the third stitch double crochet twice. Continue the pattern double crocheting twice every third stitch. Slip stitch in the top chain of the turning chain. You will now have 40 stitches. Slip stitch in the top chain of the turning chain and pull the strip through.
 
7] Using a yarn needle, weave the beginning and ending fabric tails into the rug. Clip close to the rug.

If you would like to continue making the rug slightly larger, you can add 1 or 2 more rows, continuing in the pattern established above, increasing 10 stitches each round.

Britta was awaken by the lovely sound of birds singing in the forest trees. When she opened her eyes, however, she realized she was much closer to the forest than she had been when she went to sleep the night before. It seemed that at some time during the night, the bed that she shared with Axel, was removed from their home and carried far into The Thicket. Leprechauns! Britta thought of waking Axel, then took a deep breath, smelling the intoxicating fragrance of the mossy ground and the pine trees, and she snuggled back under the warm covers, snickered quietly and whispered, "No harm done" before falling back into a gentle sleep.

Directions for making the bed, mattress and pillow can be found HERE.

Knitting Instructions for Spring Bedspread

Materials:
size 3 knitting needles
sock yarn (You might like... Regia Kaffe Fassett Sock Yarn - Exotic Clay)

Note: for this pattern you you need multiples of 4 stitches plus 2

1] Loosely cast on 42 stitches.

2] Repeat the 4 rows of the pattern until piece measures 7".

Pattern:
Row 1: K2, *P2, K2 (repeat from * to end of row)
Row 2: P2, *K2, P2 (repeat from * to end of row)
Row 3: Knit row
Row 4: Purl row

3] Loosely cast off. Weave in ends.

I finally finished Part 4 of the hairpin lace tutorial. If you would like to try this technique, I hope you find this tutorial helpful. Although there are tons of pics and instructions, I tried to break each individual step down. In a perfect world, I would be able to have everyone over for a cup of tea, cozy up on the couch, and show them how to do this very easy technique in 15 minutes. But, alas, that is just a cyber dream! So, since I can't do that, I'm hoping the detailed instructions will answer all questions and make the learning process easy.

This tutorial is strictly instruction on how to make hairpin lace. There are no projects listed. If you Google hairpin lace projects you will find many. You will also find different ways of joining the loops, and even ways to make them into circles, instead of strips. You can also use them for making lace. There are so many fun and interesting ways you can use hairpin lace.

The Afghan I'm Making:
The only things I've ever made with hairpin lace are afghans. I put 348 loops on each strip, and I'm making mine 30 strips wide. This is going to be a BIG afghan... I'm thinking about 84" x 60" without the fringe. But I wanted one that could fit across the laps of everyone sitting on our big leather couch! I find I get 2 strips from skein of 4.5 oz (128g), 268 yds (245 m) worsted with enough left over to make fringe. I am only using 2 colors: sage (S) and a variegated (V) in sage, off white and tan. I'm make the following pattern:

4S-2V-3S-2V-3S-2V-3S-2V-3S-2V-4S 

I will share pics and notes when I'm done making mine, but chances are it won't be in the next few weeks. I seem to drag my feet on those large projects, even though hairpin lace goes fast. I takes about 1 1/2 hours to crochet a strip, and 15 minutes to join 2 together.

I'm thinking how pretty this would be to make for baby dolls, using naturally dyed yarns in soft, muted colors... or for the bottom of Pixie and Fairy's bed... we are going to be redecorating their room soon... Michelle's thinking, bright tropical colors... what fun it would be to work with those yarns... but I digress.

So... with a very quiet drum roll, are the 4 parts of the tutorial. Have fun!

Part 1 - The Loom

Part 2 - Crocheting the Strips

Part 3 - Joining the Strips

Part 4 - Finishing the Project

Although we normally do not share links to other sites on the blog, we mainly reserve that for Facebook, if you know of a cool hairpin lace project out there, feel free to link to it in this comments section!