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

Free Crochet Pattern--Tetris Blanket

So this isn't so much a pattern, as a color guide. I got side tracked and haven't finished my Tetris blanket--HEY A BIRD!--but I thought I'd share this simple lay out. You can totally redesign your own on some fun apps and programs like StitchSketch.

If you are not sure how to make a granny square, search YouTube, some of the best tutorials are on there, such as anything by "Crochet with Mikey/The Crochet Crowd"

I suggest making the squares of 2 simple rounds each, roughly 4 inches. Go bigger if you want a large afghan, smaller if you want a baby blanket or smaller throw.

Enjoy!
~~Amy

Free Pattern--Looks Knit Crochet Kindle Cover

Full disclosure...I fell in love with Mamachee's Can't Knit Cowl pattern. It was just beautiful and genius way to use crochet to appear knit. Please go check out her Ravelry store, linked above, she's a very talented pattern writer! Her pattern is the inspiration for this pattern.

This pattern has NOT been tested, if you find any errors, have suggestions, or what not please leave a comment or drop me a line over at Ravelry.

Materials:
Acrylic worsted weight yarn. I used Vanna's choice.
G Hook

Gauge:
I don't do gauge. I know, cardinal sin. I'm just too lazy. This cover is based on a Kindle Touch. Finished cover measures 5 1/4 inches x 7 1/4 inches. Adjust for your kindle. Go up a hook size for a less tight stitch, use a lighter weight yarn for a looser stitch. Experiment as how you see fit!

Stitches:
hdc: half double crochet
slst: slipstitch


Notes:
After Round 2, you work in a spiral, in one continuous round. Majority of this pattern is written in 3rd LOOP of the hdc stitch. Please see photos below.

Round 1: Ch 23, hdc in 3rd chain from hook. hdc across, slst in beginning chain and slst in next chain (the base of starting slipknot.

Round 2: Ch 2, hdc in same st, and working on opposite side of the foundation row, hdc across and slst in last chain. In other words, you are crocheting on the opposite side of the starting chain. This makes the base for your cover.

Round 3-27: DO NOT join, hdc in 3rd loop of next stitch. (SEE PHOTO)

Continue on in this fashion, around and round. The first few rounded curves can be a little tricky. Continue on, even if it looks a little wonky, it will start to look like a tube. You don't have to keep strict count, you can easily count your rows by counting the "knit" rows. If you choose to change colors, continue on for however many rows of one color you want. I used six rounds of gray before switching to blue.

I did 6 rows of gray, 6 of blue, 6 of gray, 6 of blue. Try to change colors in the same spot, on the "back" of the cover, so the color change isn't too noticeable.

When you reach the 26th row (or whatever row is as tall as you want for your kindle), you'll be attaching the elastic for the closure. An elastic hair band works great!

Row 26: hdc until you are about in the middle of the BACK of the cover. Crochet OVER the elastic ponytail for 3-4 stitches. (see photo)

Continue around for one last row of hdc in the 3rd loop until you reach the 'start' point on the back. Slst into the last stitch.

Sew on a button on the FRONT of the kindle cover to hook the elastic on. Where you put your button will vary. I put mine in the 2nd row of the top blue section. I didn't want the elastic to pull too tight, as my son is very rough on things and this one is for him.

Alternative closures:
Instead of an elastic hairband, chain a long chain, attach where the elastic was, and use it to wrap around and around the button.

Add a flap of regular hdc, leaving space for a button hole.

Add a snap.

Add two lengths of chained yarn, no button and make a tie.
~~~~~~
That's it! You're done! I love the look of the 3rd loop stitch and it's soft, squishy and very protective for your electronic devices.

This pattern can be adapted for many other things! It would make a super comfy hot water bottle holder, an ice pack holder, a bag to be felted, etc. This stitch is very versatile and super easy.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, corrections!!

Enjoy!!
~~Amy

Hand Stitched Yoda Pillowcase Tutorial

Hi!! I have been meaning to do something like this for some time, and I finally decided to go for it the other day and make a little something special for my little man.

Materials:

Pillowcase (I used a white one, cotton)
Disappearing Ink Marker
Embroidery Floss
Needle and threader (helpful with floss)
Cardboard
Printed Image (in this case, Yoda)
Embroidery Hoop

Slide the cardboard/posterboard under the top layer of the pillowcase so your ink doesn't go through to the bottom layer.

Position the printed image on top of the cardboard, but underneath the fabric, so you can trace your image with the disappearing ink marker.

Pin things down so you can trace without the paper sliding.

Once you've traced out everything you want to trace, you can start stitching. Remember that the ink usually disappears in a few days (check your package instructions), so don't draw more than you can stitch in that time frame.

Now, here's where I fake it....I honestly have no clue about embroidery. I've no idea if there are tricks, methods, plans, etc. I have sewn, crafted and done a lot in recent years, but I've never really embroidered much.

So, put the fabric in the hoop, simple stitches, following the traced line.

It was quite fun to see his little jedi face emerge.

Getting closer....

All in all Yoda's face only took 2 days, I think. I unhooped it in between though, so there wouldn't be a bit crease.

Now remember how you drew his face? Now go print some font you like for the phrase you want. Or if you have pretty hand writing...hand draw the words on. (I do not...)

And start stitching again. and ta-da....DONE!
.

I have a very happy Star Wars obsessed child. I didn't tell him I'd finished it, I just put it on his bed like this. He ran out and said, "Thank you mommy I love my new pillow!!!"

Now his little brother has requested an R2D2 pillow...phew...need to rest my hand and get some crochet done before I start another pillow.

Enjoy!~~Amy

Free Crochet Pattern--Easy Coaster

Here's another freebie for you. Nothing new, fancy or earth shattering, just a little coaster for your coffee :)

COFFEE COASTER
©Amy Dutsch

G Hook
Cotton yarn

Pattern worked in ROUNDS, do not turn.
Terms Used:
ss=slip stitch
st=stitch
sc=single crochet
dc=double crochet


Round One: Ch 3, 11 dc in 1st ch. SS to join. Pull yarn to tighten center.

Round Two: Ch 3, 2dc in each st around. SS to join with starting ch.

Round Three: Repeat Round Two.

(If you want a bigger coaster, repeat round two again)

Round Four: Ch 1. 1 SC in each st around. SS to join with Chain.

 

Round Five: Ch 1. SS in each st around. SS to join with Ch. Finish off and weave in ends.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or corrections!!
~~Amy

Summer Fun--Rad Rainbow Rice

School is literally  just around the corner, but I thought I'd make my boys some rainbow rice I've been seeing all over Pinterest. Not that I'm new to rice therapy bins, sensory boxes, or whatever you want to call them. I used them as a preschool teacher and with my second child as part of his autism therapy.

But I'd never bothered to color it. (So I was lazy, yeah.)
You can find more tutorials on the net but basically, I did this:

Put parchment paper or aluminum foil on cookie sheets and set the oven to 175 degrees.

Take rubbing alcohol or vinegar and put 1-2 tablespoons of it with desired amount of food coloring in a glass jar. (I used mason jars). Pour 1.5-2.5 cups of white uncooked rice in the jar. (how much you add depends on size of your jar). Shake vigorously. This is a great activity for kids, just take care with the jar....dropping the jar could be a not so fun experience.

Add more food coloring if you need. Pour the colored rice on the covered cookie sheet. Spread it around with a spoon to get a thin layer (which will dry faster.) Put the sheet of rice in the over for about 15 minutes to dry. Check it and put it back in for 5-10 minutes if need be until the rice is dry.

Once the rice is dried and cooled, I spooned some of it into smaller mason jars for safe keeping because I know I will vacuum up most of the rice soon.

Repeat this for every color you want.

My fave color:

I put the rest in a plastic tub for the boys to play with. Add in spoons, cups, siphons, animals, trucks, cars, bugs, and more for some fun sensory time! Encourage your child to fill cups, measure, level off, pour, hide animals, and more!

\

~~Enjoy!

Recycled Crayons Tutorial

I thought I would share some tutorials every month or so! This month's tutorial is recycled crayons. Sure they've been done plenty of times, but I thought I'd give it my own spin! :) Special Thanks to AEBABY for suggesting this one!

Gather your materials, here are my suggested ones:

Crayola Crayons. Do not skimp on this. Non Crayola's will smell, not melt well and not work well.

Exacto Knife

Silicone mold

Plastic Soap Mold (optional)

Aluminum Cans (optional)

Aluminum foil

Baking Sheets

• Peel your crayons. If you don't have a small child handy to do this for you, use the exacto knife to cut a slit down the crayon paper. If it is a pain to pull the paper off, cut the slit, then put the crayons in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes. The paper should pop right off then!

• Break the crayons and put them in the mold. If you are using a silicone mold you can just fill your mold with the broken crayons. If you want a multi colored crayon, mix them together. I'll show you how to do solids or layers in a bit!

• Set your oven to approx. 325-350F. Silicone molds can go directly in the oven, but because of their flexibility, you probably want to put the mold ON a baking sheet for stability. This is particularly important if you are doing layers.
• Melt the crayons in the oven, checking them every 5 minutes or so. You want them melted but not TOO hot. Once you see nearly all the crayons are completely melted, your crayons are done!

• Let the crayons cool until completely hard and then, pop them out of the mold!! If you choose to use a metal pan, you would want to spray the pan lightly with cooking spray so the crayons slide out easier. This is one of the reasons I prefer the silicone molds--plus they come in way more fun shapes!!

Viola!!

• Now say you want to do solids or layered crayons, or use a plastic soap mold? No problem! Gather your aluminum cans (like the ones that hold vegetables). Clean, rinse and remove the paper label. Break your crayons and separate the colors in each can.

• The color you melt in your cans will stain the can, so once you put a color in a can, it's staying that color! So save them for future use!
• Put the cans on the baking sheets (you can do this at the same time you do a silicone mold) and heat for the same time, 5 minutes at a time @ 325-350 degrees until the crayons are totally melted.

• Using your OVEN MITTS pour one color into the plastic soap molds at a time. Allow the crayons to cool SLIGHTLY before pouring, but not so long that they start to harden again. Put your soap mold on top of wax paper, aluminum foil, etc just in case the crayons melt the plastic and it leaks. (Which is why you wait until they cool a little.)

• It's okay if it spills just a tad, you can easily 'carve' the extra off your finished crayon once it hardens. Or get every little use out of it and let your little ones color the extra away!
• Once the colors harden just turn the soap mold over and GENTLY tap the crayons out. If you hold the mold too far above your counter/table they'll crack as they fall out and hit the hard surface. 

And there you go! Solid colored car crayons!

• If you want layered crayons, all you need to do is take a deep mold like a silicone mold. Melt the crayons in the cans as above. Pour a layer in your silicone mold. Let each layer harden before you melt and pour another! The hardest part of layered crayons is to pour the colors very carefully into the silicone mold so it does not splash up. If you pour slowly and carefully you will get clean, uniform, layered crayons!

Feel free to leave any questions, comments or share this tutorial!

~~Amy

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