Clara's Potions & Notions Pouch

I am so super excited!!!! April finally got the kit I sent her for the HSKS10 swap! I had so much fun putting that kit together! (You can see her gush about it over here, at her Potter-esque blog.) I absolutely love to give things to people, most especially when I know they get some happiness out of it. :) But since one of the smaller items in her kit was a "pattern" of my own design, and the second time I've made a pouch like it, I figured it was high time I posted how I made it! (If for no other reason, then it can appease my OCD tendencies in having a pattern to link to on my Rav project page! LOL) So here's how I did it (with UK terms in parentheses)!

Clara's Potions & Notions Pouch

Size H (5.00mm) hook, worsted (aran) weight yarn

Note: This pouch is worked back and forth, not in the round, and is then seamed together.

chain 32

Row 1: hdc (htr) in 3rd chain from hook and across (30 hdc [htr]), ch 2, turn.
Rows 2-12: hdc (htr) across (30 stitches), ch 2, turn
Row 13: *hdc (htr), ch 1, sk next stitch* across, ending with a hdc (htr) in top of the previous row's ch 2; ch 2, turn
Row 14: hdc (htr) in each hdc (htr) and ch stitch across (for a little more of a "frill" look, you can put 2 hdc/htr into each stitch instead, as I did with the pouch pictured above, totaling 62 sts across on row 14)

DO NOT FINISH OFF

Fold the panel in half, making the width of the pouch 15 stitches, and sl st down the side and across the bottom (foundation chain row) to seam it into a pouch. Finish off and weave in ends, turn right side out, and add a ch-50 drawstring or ribbon of your choice, weaving it into the "holes" at the top of the pouch.

For the pouch pictured above, I also added a sc (dc) trim in a contrasting color after the seaming, totaling 60 stitches around the top.






The other pouch I previously made was done the same, except I only made it 28 stitches wide, instead of 30, and it is 10 rows high (and without the "frill") as opposed to 14 and is "wearing" a ch-45 drawstring, making it a little smaller than the green pouch.

I don't mind if you sell projects resulting in use of this pattern, but please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well!



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Baby-palooza!

Wow! I recently finished a Tiramisu Baby Blanket (complete with matching booties, mitts and a hat) for my sister-in-law to give as a gift to one of her pregnant professors. (She really only asked me to make a blanket, but I got a little carried away...LOL) And now a good friend from high school is now pregnant! I am so very excited! I've had an itch to make baby items (beyond what I'm donating to Stitches from the Heart...I like the personal feel of giving it to someone I actually know, every now and again), and she's giving me the perfect opportunity! I already went to Knit Picks and ordered yarn for Baby Cissell's things (even though she's not even due until November! LOL), but am a bit on-the-fence about what pattern to go with...I guess it's a good thing I've got some time! I was so excited, however, that I had to make something right off, and what better to make than a hat? It's super quick and easy and is very instant gratification! :) I got to try out a pattern from a friend (CelticMommy's Rib-Wrapped Baby Hat) while I was at it, and use some of the leftover yarn from the previous baby set I so recently finished!

Maybe it was just the fiber content, or maybe the hook size and yarn weight combination, but I wasn't all to pleased with the gaping holes or how little the fpdc's stood out from the rest of the hat. So I tried again with heavier yarn (that was 100% acrylic, as opposed to the 75% cotton/25% acrylic blend in the first hat), and played around a little with some color variation.

Yep, this pattern is good stuff. :) I'll definitely be making more of them!!!

YAY for the Leaky Cauldron!!!

I am so super excited!!!! I'm Leaky's featured crafter of the month!!!!!!!! I'm so honored and ridiculously giddy about the whole thing....

How insanely cool is that?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! It makes me want to drop all my current WIPs and do some more Potter crafting! Hahahahaha! (As if I don't do enough of that to begin with...) I wish I could have shown my two most recent Potter crafting endeavors, though...but I can't because they're for a current running swap, and I don't want Miss Clara to see anything yet! I guess that just means I'll have to brag about it here after she's gotten her kit. ;) In the meantime, I'll just have to do my best to keep on keepin' on with my current WIPs, swap-related and preemie items alike...I'm working on getting a whole box of preemie items for HSKS' S.P.E.W.! But right now....it's actually bed time. It's been a long past few weeks. (We took a weekend trip to Tuscany, a day trip to Verona and A just turned 5!!! I've been busy with birthday presents and the party and cleaning up the wrapping paper that's everywhere....) So I guess I should try to get some sleep!!!

Ribbed Crochet Preemie Hat

So in browsing the crochet preemie hats on Ravelry, I decided to have a go with this "10 minute" pattern. But for some reason, my hats came out much smaller than hers, and didn't really have and give or stretch to them, so I decided to do one of my own. :) So, without further ado, I give you my Ribbed Crochet Preemie Hat (the pattern is given in US terms, but there is also a UK termed version below it):

(I used Rheatheylia's Divine Hat join method...I love that join!)
To join each round: join with slip stitch around the first front post double crochet of previous round (or beginning ch 2 of the first round), ch 2, then fpdc down into the same front post double crochet you just did the slip stitch to (again, this will be a ch 2 for the beginning round). This pushes the ch 2 behind the fpdc you just made (ignore the ch 2, it doesn’t exist). This isn’t necessary, but it looks better than a standard ch2 and makes the join less obvious.

Sport/baby weight yarn
Size G/4.25mm hook

fpdc = front post double crochet
bpdc = back post double crochet

R1: 11 dc in magic loop, join

R2: ch2, (fpdc in dc, dc in same st) around, join (22 sts)

R3: ch2, (2fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in dc) around, join (33 sts)

R4: ch2, (fpdc in fpdc, dc, fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in bpdc) around, join (44 sts)

R5: ch2, (fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in dc, fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in bpdc) around, join

R6-14: ch2, (fpdc in fpdc, bpdc in bpdc) around, join

R15: reverse sc around, join

Fasten off and weave in ends.

UK termed version:

To join each round: join with slip stitch around the first front post treble crochet of previous round (or beginning ch 2 of the first round), ch 2, then fptr down into the same front post treble crochet you just did the slip stitch to (again, this will be a ch 2 for the beginning round). This pushes the ch 2 behind the fptr you just made (ignore the ch 2, it doesn’t exist). This isn’t necessary, but it looks better than a standard ch2 and makes the join less obvious. The site I found this method at is linked above the US termed version.

Sport/baby weight yarn
Size G/4.25mm hook

fptr = front post treble crochet
bptr = back post treble crochet

R1: 11 tr in magic loop, join

R2: ch2, (fptr in tr, tr in same st) around, join (22 sts)

R3: ch2, (2fptr in fptr, bptr in tr) around, join (33 sts)

R4: ch2, (fptr in fptr, tr, fptr in fptr, bptr in bptr) around, join (44 sts)

R5: ch2, (fptr in fptr, bptr in tr, fptr in fptr, bptr in bptr) around, join

R6-14: ch2, (fptr in fptr, bptr in bptr) around, join

R15: reverse dc around, join

Fasten off and weave in ends.

(The green is done in Caron's Simply Soft and the pink is done in Red Heart's Baby Soft yarn.)

I don't mind if you sell projects resulting in use of this pattern, but please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well!

Back to Preemie hats...

So the first hats I've made were knitted, following this lovely little pattern. It was the one I liked most out of the ones I saw on Ravelry. It was more than just a plain stockinette stitch cap, but still really simple.



But at the same time, to me personally, it didn't look much like a sprial. It didn't "lean" enough. So I made my own modifications and came up with these!



As you can see, it did come out a little bit shorter and wider than the original version, but I really like it! Besides, babies (even preemies!) come in all shapes and sizes, so I'm sure both styles will find heads to cover!




For anyone interested, here is the modified version I used of Bonnie Batten's Spiral Preemie Cap:

Cast on 56 sts, divide onto 3 DPN's. You may want to slip a stitch marker before the first stitch.

Rows 1 - 5:
Work in K2, P2 ribbing around.

Rows 6 - 8:
P1, (K2, P2) around, ending in a P1

Rows 9 - 11:
(P2, K2) around

Rows 12 - 14:
K1, (P2, K2) around, ending in a K1

Rows 15 - 17:
(K2, P2) around

Rows 18 - 20:
P1, (K2, P2) around, ending in a P1

Rows 21 - 23:
(P2, K2) around

Row 24:
K1, (P2tog, K2) around, leaving last st unknit; sl unknit st to beg of next round

Row 25:
(K2tog, P1) around

Row 26:
K2tog around to last st, K1

Row 27:
K2tog

At end of row 27, cut yarn leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle, thread the yarn through the remaining stitches. Turn cap inside out and pull yarn tight. Tie securly. Weave in all ends.

Happy Knitting!!!