Showing posts with label hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hat. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Bunny ears crochet pattern

I had the opportunity to make a fuzzy bunny hat for a photographer recently. I found some really great bulky fuzzy yarn (Yarn Bee Cameo) - it's soft, it has fluff and fuzz - it's great except...it's super bulky (6)...I love sport weight yarn and often use it (with a size larger hook) when worsted weight is called for. It's light and lacy. But bulky and then some? Yes, it works up faster but it's just so big! No problem though, I'll have to find a pattern that calls for bulky yarn. um... yeah... so...


Well, a beanie hat isn't hard to make. I loosely followed Red Heart's Bunny Hat pattern for the beanie - I love the dc row amid the primarily sc rows. Granted, the pattern was written for a worsted weight (4) so I had to make modifications - I switched to my largest hook (M) and cut down on number of rows. but even then the ears didn't really work - they were too stiff with the bulky yarn.

I went looking for another pattern. I couldn't really find one that would work with bulky yarn or gave me the look I was going for so I made up my own!

Inner ear (crochet 2)
with sport or worsted weight yarn (I did white with the pink hat and cream with the tan hat) and a I hook, leave a longer tail and ch 21.
R1: sc in the second ch from hook, sc 18; in the last ch, 5sc. working on the other side of the ch, sc 19 to the end, do not join, ch1 turn (43)
R2: sc in the same sc as the ch1, sc 18, 2sc in each of the 5 turning stitches, sc 19, ch1 turn (48)
R3: sc in the same sc as the ch1, sc 7, hdc 3, dc 10, hdc, 2sc, sc-ch-sc, 2sc, hdc, dc 10, hdc 3, sc 9, ch1 turn (52 including sc-ch-sc)
R4: slst in the first stitch, slst 5, sc 19, in the ch1 space, sc-ch-sc, ,sc 19, slst 6, bind off leaving long tail (53 inclusing sc-ch-sc).
using the longer starting tail, sew up any gap made by crocheting on both sides of the ch.

Fuzzy Outer Ear (crochet 2)
using the super bulky yarn and the M hook, ch 13.
R1: sc in the second ch from the hook, sc 10, sc 5 in the last ch, working on the other side of the ch, sc 11, ch1 turn (27)
R2: sc in the same stitch as the ch 1, sc 10, 2sc in each of the 5 turning stitches, sc 11, ch1 turn (32)
R3: sc in the same stitch as the ch 1, sc 10, hdc, dc, 2dc, dc, 2dc, dc-ch1-dc, 2dc, dc, 2dc, dc, hdc, sc 10, ch turn (38 including dc-ch-dc) do not bind off
weave in the starting tail

*here come the tricky part - joining the inner and outer ears together. You'll notice that they aren't the same size and don't have the same number of finishing stitches and that the M hook will not fit in the I hook space. I switch to a J hook. I use 3 removable stitch markers (safety pins) to hold them together temporarily. The first one is placed in the ch space at the turn for both inner and outer ear. The other 2 attach to the top of the ear for both parts of the ears. As the next row is worked, there's a bit of "easing in" that goes on - the stitches with stitch markers are the only ones that have to match up.
R4: holding both part of the ear together, insert the hook with the fuzzy working yarn still looped under the first slst of the inner ear and thru the same stitch as the ch1 of the outer ear, draw a loop through both pieces and make a sc. Do the same for the rest of the slst and the sc on the inner ear (24 st) to the next stitch marker - some of the outer ear stitches will have 2 stitches in each stitch but not all of them (this is the easing in part). In the ch spaces, sc-ch-sc. sc in each of the inner ear sc attaching it to the outer ear - remember, some of the outer ear stitches will hold 2 of the sc - use your best judgement. bind off leaving a long tail.

tuck the starting tail of the inner ear between the layers and use the long tail of the inner ear to sew the top closed with a whip stitch, I knot it and weave in ends. Using long tail of the fuzzy yarn, sew the ears on the hat where and how you like them. Weave in the ends of the fuzzy yarn, put hat on a baby - adorable!

Hopping Down The Bunny Trail fuzzy bunny hat at hamburke.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Another Easy Crochet Pattern Share - snowman coffee cup coozy

I do a lot of socializing at Starbucks and I meet a lot of people by simply crocheting in public. It's an amazingly simple marketing/networking strategy. Here's an easy-peasy pattern that I use to draw attention to myself!






I like to use a J hook but you can adapt this to any hook you like to use.
I used 2 strands of yarn for most of the coozy (Knit Picks Cotlin DK for the scarf and hat, Knit Picks Shine Sport for the face). I really think that 2 strands, no matter the weight, makes it look better.
scraps of black and orange - both of these happened to be Shine Worsted.

ch - chain
sc - single crochet
sc3tog - single crochet together
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet
slst - slip stitch
sk - skip

I like to use a no-chain single crochet foundation row b/c it leaves such a pretty edge. Here's a video tutorial which I totally think is necessary if you've never done a foundation row before.

Foundation Row: 29 stitches or 9 inches, being careful not to twist the row and slst join, do not turn
R2: ch1, sc in the same stitch as the slst, sc around, slst join
CHANGE YARN HERE to white for snowman face
R3-6: ch2, hdc in the same stitch as the slst, hdc around, slst join
CHANGE YARN HERE to hat color
R7 and hat: ch2, hdc in the same stitch as the slst, hdc 17, TURN,
ch1, sk next stitch, sc in the next stitch, sc 7, slst in next stitch, TURN,
ch1, sk slst, sc in next stitch, sc7, slst in last stitch, TURN,
ch1, sk slst, sc in next stitch, sc5, slst in last stitch, TURN,
ch1, sk slst, sc in next stitch, sc 2, sc2tog, slst in last stitch, TURN,
ch1, sk slst, sc in next stitch, sc2togslst in last stitch, TURN,
ch1 sk slst, sc2tog, ch1, sc down the side, hdc in the same space as the last stitch before the first turn, continue hdc around the round, slst join
R8: slst around R7, keep going thru the hat portion, not around it, join and bind off.  I do the seamless join with this that I learned from The Lovely Crow - pull the end thru the last slst so there's a loose end on the outside; with a yarn needle, thread the loose end, then go under the first slst in the round and back thru the last slst so you can't find the join.

Scarf end
I only use 1 strand of the scarf color for this so it lays down nicely. Leave a long tail (8 inches or so) at the beginning.
R1: ch4, sc in second chain from hook, sc to end
R2-3: ch2, hdc in same stitch, hdc across
R4: ch1, slst across
use 4 strand for fringe, slst on. I wanted to use 3 section but I only fit 2 on. I also tucked my end into the closest fringe - that's my favorite part of fringe - no weaving in ends!

PomPom
I really don't like making pompoms but...IT'S JUST SO CUTE! Here's a tutorial - I only used 2 fingers for this since it's a mini.

Eyes (make 2)
10 sc in your magic ring (complete with cheesy music, here's Planet June's video tutorial), invisible join and bind off.

Carrot nose
ch4, slst in second chain from the hook, sc in next stitch, hdc in last stitch, bind off.


PUT IT TOGETHER: Use the loose ends at the bottom to finish that edge - I pull it thru the bottom of the last stitch and tie it off like I do a sewing stitch. Weave in the ends including the ones from the bottom. Using long tails, sew on the scarf, eyes and nose. Weave in those ends. Fold down the hat and sew on the pompom through both the tip of the hat and the coozy. Weave in those ends and VOILA! Enjoy your yummy drink (butterbeer anyone?)

nah - this one's better for the Butterbeer!

(This pattern hasn't been tested by others, just by me. If you find a mistake, send me a message or leave a comment)

Also - Introducing PRINCESSES! to my fabric sandwich bag repertoire!


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Photo Organization

I need a photo genie. Earlier this week, I went looking for a baby picture of my son for school only to realize that my photos are (a) a mess and (b) mostly digital and (c) limited by the time I got to child #3. I am excellent at organizing my digital photos. They are organized by year, month and event (YYYY-MM - event). 



It's magical because I can just search by any of those things and making our annual MyPublisher/Kodak/Shutterfly/who-ever-has-the-best-coupon-code photobook is a cinch because I take 3-5 photos per month or special event and drop them into the book editing software, add a little text and SHAZAM! send that to the printer! 


not all coupon codes are created equal and I would highly NOT recommend
canvas bound photo books when you have young children (2004),
even paperback is risky (2005-2010)...
Now, my pre-decent-digital camera photos are stored in a cardboard box, actually 2 cardboard boxes... 



 I forgot to take a before shot - the one on the left is now organized and full of baby books, some large unframed photos, frames without photos, my graduation caps (white was high school, black was college), BS hood and a soccer jersey from my travel team. The one on the right had the frames you see which are family portraits (not hanging b/c we rent this place and where I'd like to hang them is wallpaper), our wedding album, wedding photo proofs, all the photos from the disposable cameras at our wedding (really, Kevin?), 2 photoboxes of photos, more photos in envelopes, professional and school photos and more photos just tossed in there.
one of the boxes of photos - 9x12" full of my photos before I met my husband -
that one on top is my 18th birthday party that I had 4 days before heading to college!

I'm ready for some organization... photo boxes are purchased and labeled by person, family and other people (okay - so it's mostly Really Awesome Photo Greeting Cards).



and now they fit in the larger of the 2 boxes and I can just pull out a box when I need a photo of someone or have a new photo!



Any tips for staying organized? what do I do when I need a box for some other project?

I'll leave you with this adorable hat that I haven't listed yet. Don't forget to visit Hamburke's and become a fan on facebook!


Monday, November 26, 2012

After a successful dinner, time to move on to Vendor Fairs

The only thing that was a bit of a snag was the fact that I don't have a serving platter - oh well! Something to ask for for Christmas!

I signed up for a Vendor Fair on December 8 at the kid's school and I'm considering signing up for the fair the following day at the dance studio that my daughter dances at. I'm so unmotivated to create hair bows this weekend though and my backordered velcro hasn't arrived to finish the sandwich bags so I spent yesterday crocheting up a storm. I finished a sweater and beanie for my cousin (no pictures, please - in case she reads this!) and a new bonnet pattern (sans tucking ends and sewing on ribbon ties) for my table at the PTA Vendor Fair.



Onto Booties! and hopefully, I'll want to make some hair bows!

Okay, I photographed this hat that I made a while ago too - it's off-white (yarn package says cream, I say beige and a customer called it ecru, somewhere in there, it has to match one of the Pantone colors!).