Yarning « The C Side

Sale at my Ravelry store. Buy 2 get the third pattern free. Use coupon code JUSTBECAUSE. Hurry up because the offer is valid until May 31st only.

A finished Object: Knit Wrap Dress

I finished the dress I was working on all week. It is a little wrap dress for a little girl and while I am in love with the idea, it is not perfect so I am going to modify the things that are bothering me and start again.

But not today. I cast on a pair of socks.

It has been a while.
I charted a pattern.
Sadly, although it looked pretty, my gauge was off and it wasn’t working for me.

I started over, with a new pattern, but I didn’t like it, so I made some changes and I am starting again for the third time.
Hope that third time is a charm.

Have you noticed my new needles?

Crochet Cuties: Tape Measure Cuties and a Sale

I absolutely love my measuring tape. It is one of those really important tools that if you make stuff you are going to need all the time. If I didn’t think mine was so pretty I would have definitely made a cute cover for it like the ones below.


Ups-a-Daisy measuring tape cover	Erin’s Rose Measuring Tape Cover

I am also having a sale at my Ravelry store. Buy 2 get the third pattern free. Use coupon code JUSTBECAUSE. Hurry up because the offer is valid until May 31st only.

Rainbow Drops {Free Pattern}

I had this idea. I have a lot of those. Ideas I mean. They just pop into my head at the most inconvenient times ever. This particular idea materialized while I was knitting the Tella Sundress, which was not a good time for ideas to come up. This idea had to do with white yarn and rainbow yarn. Oh, and bobbles.

But I am a good girl (or I like to pretend I am) and dutifully finished the dress and took out my yarn and looked it. Bobbles, rainbow yarn and a white canvas. What would you do?

I made a little clutch.

I am in love with it. Not the actual thing and not crocheting it. I just love the texture and the little bursts of color changing all the time. I lined it and added a zipper but I don’t really want to use it. I don’t think I even want it. I just wanted to see those rainbow bobbles. I wanted to watch them form.

Do you want to make one?
You really should.
I mean every crocheter should do this at least once in a lifetime.
Yeah you know you want to, so here is how.

Materials

2 balls of sport weight yarn one in a solid color and one in a varriegated color (rainbows on white are awesome as you can see)

3mm hook

tapestry needle

scissors

zipper and fabric for lining (optional)

Glossary

SC Single Crochet

HDC Half Double Crochet

SCINC 2 Single crochet stitches in same stitch

RB Rainbow Bobble *yarn over, insert your hook in the stitch, yarn over and draw up a loop, yarn over once more and draw it through the first 2 loops on your hook* repeat 4 times

* .. * Stitches between asterisks should be repeated

[ ... ] number between square brackets indicates number of stitches

The Base

The base is a basic oval done in single crochet while turning after every round.

Start with the solid color and chain 31.

Round 1 : Turn the chain and work 30 SC in the back ridge of the chains. Slip stitch into first chain to
form the first round [60 stitches]
Round 2: SC in the next 30 stitches. 3 SC in turning chain. SC in the next 30 stitches. 3 SC in Slip
stitch. Slip stitch into first SC, turn and chain 1 [66sc]
Round 3: SCINC in next 3 stitches . SC in the next 30 stitches. SCINC in next three stitches. SC in the
next 30 stitches. Slip stitch into first SC, turn and chain 1 [72sc]
Round 4: SC in the next 30 stitches. *SCINC, SC* (3 times) in the next 6 stitches. SC in the next 30
stitches. *SCINC, SC* (3 times) in the next 6 stitches. Slip stitch into first SC, turn and chain 1 [78sc]
Round 5: *SCINC, 2 SC* (3 times) in next 9 stitches . SC in the next 30 stitches. *SCINC, 2 SC* (3
times) in next 9 stitches. SC in the next 30 stitches. Slip stitch into first SC, turn and chain 1 [84sc]
Round 6: SC in the next 30 stitches. *SCINC, 3 SC* (3 times) in the next 12 stitches. SC in the next 30
stitches. *SCINC, 3 SC* (3 times) in the next 12 stitches. Slip stitch into first SC, turn and chain 1
[90sc]

Sides

The first and third rounds are worked with the right side facing, while the bobble rounds are worked with the wrong side facing. The yarn is carried from one bobble to the next. All HDC stitches are made using the first color and only the bobbles are made with the second color.

Round 1: HDC in each stitch all around, slip stitch into first HDC to join the round, turn.

Round 2: CH 1, *HDC in the next 5 stitches, RB in next stitch using second color*, slip stitch into first HDC to join the round, turn.

Round 3: HDC in each stitch all around, slip stitch into first HDC to join the round, turn.

Round 4: CH 1, HDC in the next 2 stitches, *RB in next stitch using second color, HDC in next 5 stitches * , RB in next stitch using second color, HDC in next 3 stitches, slip stitch into first HDC to join the round, turn.

Keep the second color in the front and the first color in the back when working on the bobbles.

Don’t worry about the loop from the main yarn becoming loose you will tighten it later.

Once you are done with the bobble, push the yarn back to the front, and take the main color from underneath it.

Tug the main yarn slightly to tighten the loop.

See how simple it is?

That is it.

Keep the yarn tension even so the fabric doesn’t pucker.

Don’t those floats look cute too.

Repeat rounds 1 – 4 until the case is the desired height. Work round 1 one more time. You may use the second color and work one more round of SC for a border. Finish off.

Finishing

Weave in ends and make a zippered lining or just add a zipper the quick and dirty way.

Friday’s FO: The Tella Sundress

Oh yeah I finished it.

I am quite pleased with how it turned out and the recipient likes it too .
Now to write a pattern and grade it. Is anyone interested in test knitting, just let me know in the comments.

Trying to get back on …

… is usually the hardest thing. After the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog week and managing to blog 7 days in a row, I felt totally all blogged out. Then I caught a cold. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been idle. I crocheted a bag.

It had been a while since I crocheted anything and it was a lot of fun. I remember when I first started playing with yarn. The finger yarns and smaller hooks scared me. I was slow and not very consistent in my stitching. It felt satisfying making the a medium sized bag with sport weight yarn and a 3mm hook.

And feeling quite inspired, I picked up the leftover yarn from the princess peplums cardi, the bag and the Oatmeal Kina and just made a hat.

It is called the Hexacket Hat. It is a bucket hat with a hexagon

I am writing up the pattern for the hat at the moment. It is taking longer than it should because I am writing it up for any gauge, any yarn, any hook size so you can just pick up what you have and work with it and make it for any size head. Isn’t that cool? Yes of course it is cool for the person doing the crocheting not the person doing the writing and trying to make it easy to decipher.

Oh well.

And then because I am so sick and haven’t been moving so much I started knitting something else.

It has grown considerably. But it is not done yet. Fingering weight yarn, size 3 US needles. Slow and stockinette. Just what I needed. Have you ever noticed how sock yarn/fingering weight yarn is so amazing for children’s clothing? It is light and colorful and a single skein or two max make an awesome piece.

Come back again soon and check it out.

Just Make Another One

I could never make two of the same thing until I started knitting socks. You finish the first sock and then you need to make an exact same one in the same size, pattern and color.

So on Friday after I had made a quick dress, I felt the need to make another one.

Technically it is still a WIP because I am working on some embellishments.

And remember the blue yarn from Wednesday?

It is another Princess Peplums Cardigan but with short sleeves and in fingering weight instead of sport weight. It is blocking right now and I like how it turned out.

But one thing is for sure, sock knitting teaches you discipline or else you are plagued with second sock syndrome.

The yarn is always right

I finally finished knitting this little number which I have decided to call Princess Peplums

I didn’t really plan this. I wanted something lacier and drapier but the yarn would not have it.
I swatched the lace and even figured out all the increases and shaping I needed. I even cast on for it 3 times and each time knit a few inches. But the yarn would not comply.

The yarn always knows best. It knows exactly what it wants to be and in retrospect I think the yarn was right. It is a beautifully saturated cotton sports weight yarn and it knew that it would not do the lace any justice. It would not drape or block the way lace likes.
So I frogged and started a nice simple cardigan with a peplum. I also had no idea peplums were cool, but apparently they. Yes, I am so trendy that I don’t know it.

I am happy with how it turned out.

Now I just need to make a pretty dress to go with it and write a pattern up (and grade it eeeeeek!!!!).

Friday’s FO: Socks

You might remember these socks.

I threw them in the washing and totally forgot they were not superwash.
And the lesson learned is that fingering weight yarn that knits up beautifully into socks but is not superwash is just a recipe for disaster.
On the bright side, I finished a pair of baby socks by turning a perfect pair of 4 year old socks by washing them.

Sploshy Washcloth {Free Pattern}

Before I learned crocheting or knitting I couldn’t understand why someone would want to use pretty hand crocheted or hand knit washcloths or dishcloths. It didn’t make any sense. I could just buy a much cheaper version from the store and I wouldn’t feel sad when they got dirty or fell apart.

That was of course until I crocheted my own and then knit my own.

First of all knitting or crocheting them is a great way for beginners to learn new stitches and improve their skills without worrying about ruining expensive yarn and they are quick to finish and don’t use up a lot of yarn.

I like my dishcloths on the smallish side and I like them textured too. It is also best to use 100% cotton because it is really absorbent and hey that is what washcloths need to do right?

The yarn I used is mystery cotton but I am guessing it is light worsted or DK weight.

Materials

2 stitch markers

Tapestry needles

Size 6 (4mm) needles

A skein of worsted weight ( my 50gm ball made two washcloths and I still had leftover yarn)

Pattern

Cast on 35 stitches

Row 1 – 8 : Knit

Place stitch markers after the 4th stitch and before the last 4 stitches to mark the garter border.
For all rows knit to the first stitch marker and continue with pattern below, and then knit from the second stitch to the end.

Row 9: Knit

Row 10: *K1,P1*, K1

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: *P1, K1*, P1

Repeat rows 9 – 12, 9 more times

Repeat rows 1 – 8 once.

Bind off and weave in any ends.

That’s it.

Of course you could make a cup of coffee and cast on another one.

Beach bag season (well almost)

It is not beach bag season just yet, but it is crocheting beach bag season for me. I was mainly stash busting and decided to make a bag.

But I ran out of yarn so it is shorter than I originally wanted but it is still big enough to fit a towel and the stuff you usually stuff into a beach bag.