Try Out A Pattern From Crocheting Clothes Kids Love!

I just noticed that my Hopscotch Legwarmers pattern from Crocheting Clothes Kids Love, is available on the Craft Foxes Website. Our publisher, Creative Publishing International, graciously gave them permission to post this pattern. So, if you would like to try out a pattern from the book, this is a fun one! They are shaped just right to fold over nicely and and the ribbed effect of the stitching helps them to fit a range of sizes. They are easy to make larger or smaller because they are crocheted lengthwise from top to bottom. The pom poms are my favorite finishing touch. If you have never made multi-colored pom poms, you must try it, they are thrilling to make! The yarn I used for these leg warmers, Cascade Yarn's "Pacific", is so perfect for this project. It is soft and has a little sheen to it that makes gorgeous pom poms. If you make these leg warmers, we would absolutely love to see photos of your projects on Ravelry. What colors would you choose to make them in???

Vote for the Sunny Day Skirt!

I had some exciting news this morning! My Sunny Day skirt from Crocheting Clothes Kids Love, has been nominated for a Flamie in the Skirts category! The voting is now open on the Crochet Awards Website. Go and vote now for all of your favorites in each of the apparel categories!

There is just something about wearing the color yellow that makes you feel cheerful and optimistic.  I designed this skirt with that feeling in mind. When I ordered the yarn for the skirt, I wasn't sure what it would look like. It was one of those projects that really started with the yarn and then developed from there. 

The next thing I decided on was the shape. I loved the idea of an a-line wrap skirt. Easy to wear and forgiving if you are in between sizes. I love lacy crocheted skirts, but often the problem with many lacy skirts is that you need to wear something underneath, and it can be difficult to find a suitable undergarment. This skirt was designed to have the lacy side panel in front, but the full front panel is not see through. So you get the best of both worlds, a somewhat lacy skirt that can be worn on its own.

By making the front in 2 colors, it created the perfect canvas for crocheted appliqués. It was a little nod to the work I used do as an embroidery designer. You could even take it a step further and use the pale yellow to make more flowers and dots to be stitched to the darker yellow part of the skirt, or make the flowers and dots in all different colors.

This skirt has many interesting small details such as the decorative edging on the top edge of the skirt, the belt loops at the back to keep the tie in place, and the filet mesh edging, complete with surface crochet detail, that carries the look of the side front panel all the way around the skirt. The icing on the cake is the embroidery embellishment on the buttons and dot appliqués. If Appliqués aren't for you, I think the full front panel done in multi-colored stripes would look wonderful as well.

It is fun to have a special occasion to tell you a little more about the Sunny Day Skirt, one of my favorite patterns from the book!

Sunny Day Skirt as seen in Crocheting Clothes Kids Love

Front View

Close-up to show button and bow 

Close-up to show appliqué details

Close-up to show belt loop and decorative top edging

Close up to show surface crochet detail on the bottom edging

Back View

The Golden Prim Wristers!

Remember in my last post about making the Prim Wristers from "Crocheting Clothes Kids Love",  I mentioned that my daughter wanted a pair of gold gloves. I had a skein of beautiful "Moonlight" yarn by Nako in my stash, and luckily these mitts take less than a skein to work up! The real bonus of using a pattern again, is that you are familiar with it, and you can work it up faster. I was able to make these in my free time in one day, so it was a great surprise for my daughter to have new gloves to wear to school the next morning!

She calls them her "golden gloves" and loves to switch off wearing these with the first purple variegated pair I made her. 

Now I am in search of the perfect pink/ coral yarn, to make a pair for her to match the ones her American Girl doll Isabelle has.

I also mentioned in my last post about the wristers, that they also look good inside out. I took a photo of her wearing the left one inside out and the one on the right is the actual right side out so you can see what they look like both ways. I love a reversible stitch pattern! Which side do you like best?

Making the Prim Wristers from Crocheting Clothes Kids Love

Since our book, Crocheting Clothes Kids Love came out, my daughter has been asking me to make her the Prim Wristers, designed by my co-author, Ellen Gormley. I was between projects last week, so I decided to surprised her with a pair! I had just enough Classic Elite Liberty Print Wool leftover from the Caravan Scarf to make them. I had to engineer the yarn a bit by cutting out a few gold and pink sections as I worked, to make the writers both be essentially purple. I was able to crochet the first one while waiting at school, and the other in the evening of the same day. The second wrister went much faster of course, since I was more familiar with the pattern. So satisfying to crochet!  They took less than a skein of yarn, and I was able to finish them in the spare time I had in the day!

My daughter has hardly taken them off, since I gave them to her! The stitch pattern is very interesting and is a good exercise in making post stitches. I also like how it looks on the back side, especially in variegated yarn. I think they could easily be reversible for a different look. If I can get her to take them off long enough, I will add a photo to this post of the back side of the stitch pattern.

I am planning to make her a sparkly gold pair, the next time I am between projects!

Talking About the Festival Hairband Stand

I took a lot of inspiration from my now 8 year old daughter, when I was designing projects for Crocheting Clothes Kids Love.  I designed this hairband stand because my daughter has a wonderful collection of hairbands, and tossing them in a drawer often damages them. I thought, why not display them in a beautiful way? They can become part of a girls room decor, and be accessible.

The main component you need for the stand is an oatmeal container. I use a lot of oats in my house because I grind oats in my food processor to make flour. My daughter loves it when I make carrot cake, and it is more nutritious with the addition of oat flour. Here is the recipe, in case you are interested. It gets my daughter (and many of her friends at school) to eat carrots, walnuts, and oats. Which makes me love the recipe even more. For the school version, I leave off the frosting because  want it to be a part of a healthy lunch. After you have made delicious things with the oats, you can upcycle the container into the Festival Hairband Stand! 

For the book's photoshoot, I put together a selection of hairbands that I embellished.  I wanted bands that would add interest to the stand without competing with it. I thought it might be interesting to tell you about the bands that were featured on it.

This band was a plain straw band. I had some pretty white lace in my stash. I dyed it with camomile tea, then stitched it to the band with invisible nylon thread.

I covered this band with paper and then decoupaged it with paper pieces I cut from a Spode china catalog, so it would look like a mosaic.

 For this band, I used one of the yarns that I used in the hairband stand and wrapped it around the band, then glued the ends to keep the wraps in place.

 I also wrapped this band with the yarn from the hairband stand, then wrapped it again in two directions to get the x's on top.

This was some handmade lace I bought at a street market in London several years ago. I was saving it for just the right project! I covered a satin band that I had made when I was working as an embroidery designer. You can see some of the embroidery peeking through the lace.

In addition to the oatmeal container, you will need lightweight quilt batting and 1 whole skein of Berroco Weekend "Swimming Hole" 205 yd [189 m], 50 (46m) yds of "Clothesline", and 72 yds (66m) of "Curry".

I was going to buy bands for the photoshoot, but embellishing the ones I already had, made them unique and upcycled as is the underlying theme of the project. 

A little Update...What I'm Doing These Days

So thrilling to be browsing the crochet shelves of Barnes and Noble and discover your book on the shelf! It was the perfect end to my 2014 USA trip:-) Now I am settled back home in Kuwait, busy getting the Arabic version of our eWoodstory Nouveau Necklace kits  and Mini Masterpiece Pendants ready to launch here. I am also working on a prototype for our next kit. Stay tuned for more details!

Counting Down to the Knit and Crochet Show!

I can't believe I will be at the Knit and Crochet show 39 days! It will be the first time I will be attending one of these conferences, and the idea of meeting so many wonderful people in the industry in person, is very exciting! 

I am looking forward to doing a book signing with my co-author, Ellen Gormley on Saturday, July 26th at 1:30pm in the Elegant Ewe's booth. We will be signing Crocheting Clothes Kids Love, immediately following a signing by the amazing Margaret Hubert, who was my mentor before I became a professional member of the CGOA. We are planning to have sample garments and accessories from the book on display during the signing as well, so you will really be able to see what is in the book!  If any of you are going to be at the conference, please stop by and say hello. I would love to meet you!

Book Review and Interview in Kuwait Moms Guide!

Now that Crocheting Clothes Kids Love is available in Kuwait, Jamie Etheridge of Kuwait Moms Guide, recently did a review of the book as well as an interview with me. Kuwait Moms Guide Newsletter is an invaluable resource for Moms in Kuwait, and it also has useful general information for Moms anywhere. Jamie is a fantastic mom, and she really puts her heart into everything she does. I am so thrilled that she featured the book in her newsletter! You can read the both the review and interview on her website.

First Projects from Crocheting Clothes Kids Love!

Now that Crocheting Clothes Kids Love has been out for a little while, projects made from patterns in the book are starting to appear on Ravelry and Instagram. It is wonderful when crocheters post their photos! I was excited to see the Pretty Popcorn Vest worn by a little older girl, and styled differently to the one in the book. Lara Thornberry has made the vest and the Chelsea Capelet, which she lengthened to be more of a sweater vest, for her adorable daughter. She did a beautiful job on these and her daughter is such a lovely model!

Pretty Popcorn Vest

Chelsea Capelet as a Sweater Vest

Suad Murad, was inspired to make the entire trio of hairbands from the book! The Bow Band, Polka Dot Band, and Daisy Band, which are so well done! It is interesting to see the projects made up in different colors as well.

I am looking forward to seeing more and more photos posted, as people complete projects from the book. Seeing that people are using the book and making beautiful things, is the most rewarding part of writing it!

My Interview on Creative Mojo!

At the beginning of the month, I was interviewed by the always entertaining Mark Lipinski on his Creative Mojo podcast. I was pretty nervous as it was my first podcast ever, and unfortunately my partner Ellen Gormley had a family emergency and was unable to join me. Mark put me right at ease and I really enjoyed talking with him. In case you missed the podcast when it was live, it has just been made available to listen to at any time. There is a link to download it on his blog, or you can also listen to it on iTunes.   Mark's podcasts are so interesting, if you haven't listened to the Creative Mojo podcast before, treat yourself and listen to more of his podcasts in the archives!

I chatted a little bit with Mark about Kuwait, and I told him about the fabric and trims market we have here. After the podcast, I went to the market and took some pictures so he could see what it is like. I am thrilled that he posted them on his blog (scroll down to see the photos). There are literally hundreds of shops like these in this shopping complex. It is a true treasure trove. If you can't find what you are looking for there, it might not exist! 

A Favorite Finishing Touch...Pom Poms!

I have always loved pom poms! When I was sketching designs for Crocheting Clothes Kids Love, I decided on the pom poms before I even knew what they were to go on! In the end, I chose them as the perfect finishing touch for the Hopscotch Legwarmers. I used "Pacific" by Cascade Yarns to make them, and I found out that this yarn makes the most gorgeous pom poms! Whenever I need to make more for any project in the future, it will be my go-to yarn! The colors are so vibrant, and there is a beautiful softness and sheen to the yarn, which becomes apparent when the yarn strands are separated and fluffed up.

I also love Clover products, and I have their pom pom makers in all sizes. I wasn't sure which one to use for the legwarmers so I made a few samples. Just as in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the First one I made was too large, the second too small, and the third was just right!

The Clover Pom-Pom Maker

The Three Sample Pom Pom Sizes

Ellen Gormley and I encourage all readers of our book to take the patterns and make them their own. That includes taking an element of a pattern and using it in a completely new way. For example, giant pom poms made in the same manner as those in the book, could be used to embellish a solid color version of Ellen's mittens from the book, or even to jazz up a pair of simple shoes, as shown below. Now that I say: "A pair of shoes", I think I would like them on ALL of my shoes!

Berroco Book and Yarn Giveaway!

Berroco generously gave me yarn support for 6 of the projects in the Crocheting Clothes Kids Love Book! They just announced on their blog that they are giving away a copy of the book, AND enough of the lovely Comfort DK yarn to make the Sunny Day Skirt from the book!

If you are a US or Canada resident, you can enter to win. Simply go to their blog post about the giveaway, and leave a comment about why you like to crochet for kids. Enter by 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, March 26th.

National Crochet Month Giveaways!

His and Her's Mittens by Ellen Gormley

The fun continues this month with 2 giveaways related to Crocheting Clothes Kids Love! Yesterday Ellen Gormley posted about a yarn giveaway on her blog- enough yarn to make the adorable His and Her's Mittens from the book! Leave a comment on her post by March 14th.

Today Jocelyn Sass posted a review, which highlights some of her favorite projects and tells you about the informative sections in the book. Jocelyn will be giving away a copy of the book. Leave a comment on her post by March 10th to enter!

Skip to My Lou Slippers Pattern as a Free Download!

I just received a very exciting email! The publisher of Crocheting Clothes Kids Love has decided to offer the pattern for the Skip to My Lou Slippers as a free download (just click on the download link in the Craftside post). 

These slippers are a great project for practicing different crochet skills. Colorwork in the striping on the sides, surface crochet when applying the trim, and crocheting in the round for the toes. The Bow Buckle is a fun embellishment that could also be used on hairbands, garments, or attached to a band to make a bracelet.

Who says pretty shoes are just for parties! She will feel as special as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz in these "Ruby Slippers"! If you make them, I would love to see you post a photo to the ravelry page for the slippers!

A New Use for the Charming Bracelet Pattern!

One of my favorite patterns from "Crocheting Clothes Kids Love", is the Charming Bracelet. Since there are several components to the necklace, there are many ways you can mix and match them. By using yarn instead of thread, you get larger scale chain links and charms which are more adult sized.

I made a necklace for myself, using the Charming Bracelet Pattern and "Gatsby" yarn by Katia. I really love this yarn for crocheting jewelry. I also used this yarn for the Raindrops Necklace and the Circles in the Sand Neckpiece. It has a rich look, smooth texture, and comes in beautiful shades.

For the necklace I used a size D/3 (3.25mm) hook, and made 15 Large Links. The only change to the pattern was in Round 2, where I made the same number of stitches as in Round 1.

For the center pendant I followed the instructions for the Large Charm exactly, except for the color change. I opted to make the charm in one color only. The necklace fastens the same way as the bracelet.

I also love the chain link necklace without the pendant, and I think I will be wearing it a lot!

Although this book was written with kids in mind, there are ways you can use the patterns for adults as well!

The Necklace Without a Pendant is Classic

Close-up of Pendant

Original Charming Bracelet From Crocheting Clothes Kids Love