Free Crochet Pattern: Converse Slipper Socks

I saw these floating around the interwebs and could NOT find a proper pattern in English. So I found a pattern in Finnish and I decided to wing it based on pictures, my feet and basic stitches. This is NOT a finalized pattern, it is being tested and honestly it's a variable pattern....much will depend on your foot size, yarn type, crochet tension, etc.
You can see the original pattern that inspired these here: http://muntekema.blogspot.com/2012/01/ohje-virkatut-tennaritossut.html
I could not get it to translate properly, so this is my best interpretation.

You can download the pattern via Ravelry. 

Please feel free to let me know any errata, suggestions, tips, etc! This pattern is meant to be more of a guide and it is understood you have a basic knowledge of crochet terms, patterns, and techniques.

View via Scribd or through this link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/194431129/Chucks-Pattern

  Chucks Pattern

Women's Size 6-9 or view via: http://www.scribd.com/doc/194431374/Chucks-Pattern-Womens-6-9

  Chucks Pattern Womens 6-9

Enjoy! I'd love to see your creations!!
~~Amy

Free Crochet Pattern: Ribbed Coffee Sleeve

Coffee Sleeve
Amy Dutsch


Materials:
G Hook
Worsted Weight Wool (or preferred yarn. I prefer wool for its ability to hold in heat.)

Terms:
Ch: chain
DC: double crochet
SS: slip stitch
ST: stitch
FPDC: front post double crochet
BPDC: back post double crochet


Round One: Chain 34
DC in 3rd ch from hook
DC across
Join with SS to form a circle. This connects the "top" of your double crochet stitches. To connect the "bottom" to make your first row sturdier, use the tail to connect the chain stitches and weave in ends.) **See Alternate Method of starting at bottom of pattern**
Round Two: Ch 2 (does NOT count as st here or throughout)
*FPDC in next 2 sts. BPDC in next 2 sts.*
Repeat from * around, making a pattern of fpdc, fpdc, bpdc, bpdc around. SS with starting ch.
Repeat Round Two until sleeve is 10 rows or so, or desired length.
Finish and weave in ends.


**ALTERNATE STARTING INSTRUCTIONS**
Ch 34
Join with ss to form a circle.
DC in the round all the way around. Proceed with Round Two of the pattern.

**TIPS AND TRICKS**
You may need to adjust your chain count based on cup sizes, how tightly you crochet, or size of the yarn. Just use an even number for your chain count.

For information on how to do the FPDC and BPDC please visit:
http://www.crochetcabana.com/html/technique_fpbp.html

Crochet Kindle Cover--Free Tutorial

Hey all! This is my FIRST EVER crochet pattern! So, please, be kind! And PLEASE, PLEASE feel free to leave any comments, suggestions, corrections, etc! I will be doing this again with a different yarn to make sure it doesn't make a tremendous difference. Keep in mind, I've only been hooking since the summer.. :)

Basically the stitch is from Coats and Clark pattern found HERE. If you can do this stitch, you can alter this anyway you need for your E-Reader, Tablet, etc.

I chose to line this with some scrap felt because even though it was a gift for a friend who rarely takes her Kindle away from home, this stitch does leave little 'holes' in it, and I thought the felt would be an extra touch of protection. The stitch itself is quite fluffy so that helps a lot. Again, the lining is optional.

This is intended for the original keyboard style Kindle, I do not know the dimensions of the other kindles, nooks, etc. But you can easily adjust the pattern for your item.

This pattern is free, and please feel free to share (and correct if it's wrong.) And by golly if you can make some money selling these bad boys are a derivative there of, go for it. A link back would be nice yarn karma for you though :)

Let's Get Hookin!!

Yarn: Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand. Any Worsted Weight should do fine.
Hook: US Size H
Gauge: I admit, I never look at, read, or care about gauge. I'm crazy like that. My Kindle was my gauge. According to the original pattern I based this on:
GAUGE: In pattern, 5 puff sts = 5”; 9 rows = 4”. CHECK YOUR
GAUGE. Use any size hook to obtain the gauge.

*Special Stitch Notes:
Puff Stitch: Puff: Work (sc, 2 dc) in same st.

Chain 17. (this is based on MY original Kindle. If you have a larger or smaller device, you should do a few rows and hold it up to your device to check gauge.)

ROW ONE: 2dc in the 2nd ch from hook.
*skip next 2 ch, puff stitch in next ch;* repeat from *across to the last 3 ch, sk 2 ch, sc in last ch, turn.

ROW TWO: ch 1, 2 dc in 1st st. *skip 2 dc, puff st in next sc.* Repeat from * across, skip last 2 dc, sc in turning ch, turn.

Repeat row two until you reach Row 36 OR your desired height.

You are making one solid piece of 'fabric' that you will fold up and 'around' the kindle, allowing for a flap. For my Kindle, yarn, hook, and crochet style, I did a total of 36 ROWS. Please check this against your kindle, you may need to add or take away a few rows.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

At this point you can decide if you want your side seams showing, or on the inside. I wanted mine in the inside.

Lay your piece flat down and make a 'pocket' for the Kindle by folding the bottom up to about Row 14 or 15. You can adjust this for your preference, you are merely deciding how far down you want your flap to go. By "folding" on Row 15 or so, that leaves you about 6 rows as your "flap".

SS or SC the side to close your pocket on one side, about 30 rows. I did the SC. Fasten off and weave in.
Repeat on the other side to make a pocket for your kindle to slide into. (do not fasten off yet)

I wanted my SC seams to be on the inside, so I then turned it all rightside out. (this stitch looks pretty from both sides).

Since you didn't fasten off, you can now SC along the edge of the flap (OPTIONAL). If not, you can fasten off and weave in here.

OPTIONAL LINING:

I chose to insert a felt lining because this was for a friend, and this puff stitch is beautiful, but does leave little gaps. Should she spill something on the kindle, I wanted that little extra protection. I used felt because A) it was easily available in my home B) it doesn't fray much C) I could hand sew it all and didn't have to drag myself off the sofa.

Cut a piece of felt or similar fabric to fit inside your new crochet cover.

I folded mine and hand sewed a blanket stitch along the long side and bottom. Use any hand stitch you feel comfortable with.

Insert the felt lining directly into your crochet cover. Using a blanket stitch or similar hand stitch, hand sew the lining in the crochet cover. You can sew all the way down the sides and bottom, I did not, I only sewed the 'top' portion around the flap.

Secure the ends of your thread, and you're almost done!

Decide the placement of your button the OUTSIDE of the cover. Thanks to the stretchiness of this yarn and the looseness of this stitch, you have buttonholes inherently in your yarn! Find a good place for the button and hand sew it on! (Tip, when hand sewing shankless buttons, place a pin in between the two holes as you sew the button on. Remove the pin when you're finished sewing the button and you now have a little more 'room' for the button to move, without making it unsecure.)

Weave in any yarn, insert your kindle and go!! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE feel free to leave any corrections, comments, oopsys, "you're totally wrong" comments!! If I did something wrong in the pattern, I really do want to fix it. Like I said above, it is based solely on the scarf pattern by Coats and Clark. I merely adjusted it to fit a kindle. This is a beautiful stitch pattern and can be used in a variety of ways!

Find me on Ravelry!

Happy Hooking!! :)
~~Amy

What I Made.....

Lately...
I've been obsessed with the crochet and knitting as of late. It's going far faster, skill wise, than my sewing ever did. I'm still such a newbie, but I love it!

I've been busy making scarves for gifts (hope none of the recipients read this...if so, well, here ya go! LOL) for my boys teachers. I really like scarves. Simple, repetitive, rows. I do like hooking in the round (hee hee), but that requires a little more concentration than scarves. I can do a scarf and watch tv...awesomeness.

I also put together this little pillow for my newly acquired rocking chair :)

Have you created anything lately? Are you making handmade gifts this year?? Feel free to share!~~
Amy

What I Made...

I am in love with this fabric...finally a fun, manly print!

Check out Captain America and his world saving friends at Badge Reels :)
~~Amy

Best Local Gifts--New Orleans

Thank you nolaParent.com for including Mama's Little Monkeys in your gift list :)

Best Local Gifts Made by Moms
Monday, 06 December 2010
The nolaParent Mompreneur Community is creating, writing, designing, developing, educating, baking, blogging, crafting, drafting, publishing,...

© 2010 - nolaParent.com

My Faves: Just for Mom!

Do you have a favorite handmade Mom?

Would you like to give her a stinkin' awesome gift for Mothers Day?

Now is your chance!

You can win a great Mom Basket made by Mama's Little Monkey's and sponsored by Rockerchic from Mom's Cafe!

This basket is a $50 Value! And includes all the following:

Lilac Scented Oval Soap, approx 3 oz
Fleur De Lis guest size soap, approx 1 oz
"Twisty Towel" Hair Spa Towel, Pink Terry Cloth
Large assortment of Chocolates in "mom" shapes
Alexander Henry Cotton/Green Minky Eye Sleep mask
Notebook
Flower Pink Flower Pen
Cucumber Melon Bath Salts

Heres how to get your basket:

Tell me WHY this mom deserves our handmade basket of goodies!

Here are da rules:
Only one entry per person
Entry must include: Your name, The name and url of the Mom your nominating, and a way to contact you.
Mom nominated MUST be an online seller of handmade goods
Can not nominate Blockhead Radio Hosts
Blockhead Radio Hosts can not nominate Moms
Basket will be mailed directly to the winning entry's nominated mom.

Send all entries to me (rockerchic) at rockerchic4b@aol.com
Please also direct all questions to rockerchic at the same email address.

The deadline for entry is May 8th 2009

Winner will be decided by the best entry by a non-biased judge. The mom who seems to be the most deserving will win the Mother's Day Basket.

The basket winner will be announced on the Mom's Cafe show Wednesday, May 13th 2009 at 9 pm Eastern Time on Blockhead Radio.

The winning entry will be read on air!


Thanks you guys for entering and don't forget to tell all your friends! This is just Mom's Cafes' way of saying thanks to all their great listeners and friends!

CPSIA Blog-In

As parents and concerned citizens I'm sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That's okay though, there's always television. Our children don't need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won't be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. "Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn't been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

www.cpsia-central.ning.com
www.handmadetoyalliance.org
www.nationalbankruptcyday.com