Preschooler Boy Crochet Hat, My New Pattern

It’s only July, but I’m already crocheting things for autumn.

This is the hat I made for my youngest son, who is three. Actually, this hat has a nice stretchable texture and it fits my older son, who is five, as well. So the size is 3 to 5 years old.

The final hat measures about 20 inches in circumference and 7.5 inches in height. 

This is not an easy project! You must be very comfortable working with front post and back post double crochets. I found that it’s quite tricky to work 2 back/front post double crochets into 1 back/front post double crochet. But it is possible!

The yarn that I used for this hat was Bernat Softee Baby (100% acrylic) in grey color. I used up about half the skein, somewhere around 170 yards. This yarn was perfect for this project. The hat is soft to touch and stretchable.

The little model in the photos is my son Niko. He didn’t quite get it why mommy wanted him to wear a hat and a jacket in summer heat. But once I mentioned a popsicle as a reward, he was happy to smile at the camera. Isn’t he a charmer?

I really enjoyed working on this project, and I love how it turned out. I have a few more autumn/winter projects in mind – a similar beanie for my older son, and maybe some slouchy hats for both of them. I also have a beautiful baby alpaca wool yarn in my stash, which would be perfect for a new scarf or cowl for myself. 

The pattern for this hat is available in my Etsy and Craftsy shops. 

I'm linking this post to
Link Your Stuff @ Annamarie's Haakblog

Lilac Baby Blanket, my new pattern

Hello crafty friends! Here is my new baby blanket, which I finished just a couple of days ago.

The yarn that I used is my favorite Snuggly Wuggly Big by Loops and Threads. I usually buy it from my local Michael’s store, where it’s sold for 9.99. But I installed Michael’s Weekly Ad app on my phone, and now I almost always have a 40% off coupon on hand. That’s a pretty good deal!

 

The pattern of this blanket is very simple and easy to remember, and it looks the same on both sides. This is the kind of project where after the first couple of rows you just repeat the same instructions over and over and don’t need to worry about counting the stitches.

I have a few baby blankets that I was going to donate, but after reading the baby blanket charity guidelines, I realized the designs of my blankets are too open/lacy. But this one should be a good fit. I still don’t know what I will do with the lacy ones. Perhaps I’ll unravel them and make new ones using some tighter stitches.

The pattern for this blanket is availbe in my Etsy and Craftsy shops. 

Summer Doily

Summer is in its prime here in California. I have a lot of yellow-and-red gladioluses blooming in my garden. They are like soldiers standing tall and enduring the hot weather. I like their cheerful and warm colors. And butterflies and hummingbirds are frequent guests in my garden these days. 

All this inspired me to put on hold the autumn hat for my son that I was working on and make something summer-like.

The free pattern (symbol chart) was from Anabelia Craft Design blog. I discovered this blog a couple of months ago, and I really love it. There are so many wonderful projects and free patterns there.

I hope your summer (or winter if you are in the Southern hemisphere) is going well, and you too are enjoying whatever the nature has to offer!

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

I wanted to let you know that I no longer update Lacy Crochet Facebook and Twitter accounts. To be honest I still don't quite understand the rationale behind all these social media channels and how exactly they are supposed to work. For example, I noticed that a very small percentage of my FB followers actually get to see my posts. Then what's the point of posting updates? 

I'm trying to cut down the overall time I spend on the Internet, so leaving Facebook and Twitter seems like a good start.  

I'm linking this post to
Link and Share Wednesday @ Oombawka Deseigns 

Create It Thursday @ Lamberts Lately

Craft Schooling Sunday @ Crative Jewish Mom

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home,
The Homemaking Party @ Hope in Every Season

4th of July Crochet Stars

I made a few crochet stars for the 4^th of July!

Originally, I planned to make a whole bunch of them for a bunting to hang over my mantelpiece. When I finished three stars I decided to see what they are going to look like. Quite nice!

Moreover, I think three would be enough. Perhaps next year I’ll make a few more.

I pulled out my red-white-and-blue doily that I made last year (the pattern is here), and it too found a place on the mantel.

I think the stars on one side and the doily on the other would be sufficient. I might add a couple of more decorations to the middle, but not crochet ones. Everything should be in moderation!

The pattern is very simple and only has four rounds. I used 1.25 mm hook and size 10 cotton thread (except for the red, which is an acrylic thread as I didn't have red cotton on hand).

Ch 5, join in ring with sl st.

Round 1: ch 6, *dc, ch 3* four times; join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-6.

Round 2: sl st in next ch-3 space, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in same ch-3 space, *(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch-3 space* four times; join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-3.

Round 3: sl st in next dc, ch 3, dc in next dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch-3 space, dc in next 2 dc, skip 2 dc, *dc in next 2 dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch-3 space, dc in next 2 dc, skip 2 dc* four times; join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-3.

Round 4: sl st in next dc, ch 3, dc in next 3 dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch-3 space, dc in next 4 dc, skip 2 dc, *dc in next 4 dc, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch-3 space, dc in next 4 dc, skip 2 dc* four times; join with sl st to 3^rd ch of beg ch-3.

Fasten off.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Kathryn Vercillo, a crochet blogger from San Francisco and author of the book Crochet Saved My Life, asked me to help her spread the word about a crochet health survey that has been launched recently. To read the press release or take the survey, please visit Crochet Concupiscence.

I'm linking this post to
Link and Share Wednesday @ Oombawka Deseigns 

Create It Thursday @ Lamberts Lately

Link Your Stuff @ Annamarie's Haakblog

Craft Schooling Sunday @ Crative Jewish Mom

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home,
The Homemaking Party @ Hope in Every Season