Category Archives: My crochet

Summer Vest take two

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in My crochet

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Remember the summer vest I crocheted with the vintage circa 1960 Sirdar pattern? Remember how I said the waist shaping went out in stead of in and that I hoped the yarn would soften and drape better so that it would be more flattering around the tummy area? Well. It didn’t happen.

I know myself and I know I won’t wear the vest again. There’s no point in letting good Rowan Siena go to waste so I frogged it.

I went from this –

to this –
  

20120612-121945.jpg

and finally to this, in one afternoon.

20120612-122006.jpg

In hindsight I probably should have made four or five smaller balls of yarn in stead of this huge ball. Got a bit carried away with the unravelling and winding…. Now I’m stuck with a massive ball of yarn that I have to carry around for crocheting in the train. Oops.

My replacement summer vest looks very similar to the vintage pattern summer vest. The biggest change is the waist shaping which goes in (yeah!) and the crochet stitch for the main body. The pattern I chose is Fleur, from the Rowan Holiday Crochet pattern book. (The same book that Belle is from.)

For Fleur I had to learn a new crochet stitch, which I love. It’s called the Hot Cross Bun stitch. I couldn’t find a reference to it anywhere in Google, so I think it may be a stitch thought up by the desigher, Marie Wallin, specifically for this pattern.

In the photo below, the hot cross bun stitch is the one in the unfinished row. Just below is a row of dtr3tog. I’d like to think of the dtr3tog as the buns and the X stitches as the cross on top of the bun.

20120612-134225.jpg

(The stitches are not very defined in this photo, but I was so excited I just had to take a photo to show you. As the crochet grows I will take photos again.)

The stitch is based on (UK) double trebles so it works up very quickly. It’s also much easier than it looks. Basically it’s two half a double trebles seperated by a chain that cross each other in the middle. It really is so much fun doing. Only drawback is that I’m constantly craving hot cross buns! Hahahaha

Before I end off this post, I just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely comments and more Versatile Blogger Awards nominations on the Dusky Ta-daaah post. You guys are the best and I treasure every comment and nomination.

 

Dusky in Corfu

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in My crochet, Ta-daah!

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

,

Ta-daaaaah! My Dusky top is finished! As I promised myself, I started working on it on the first day of my holiday in Corfu, and I managed to finish it, and wear it, on the last day. So happy!!!!

Here are some photos showing how Dusky grew into the lovely top that it is.

The pattern for the body is really easy to do, but it looks very fancy and intricate.

Close-up of me and my Obey Crochet temporary tattoo on the beach. I love it! Felt like such a rebel with my tat 🙂

And here it is. The finished top. I’m wearing it with a flesh coloured camisole, but it can be worn over any coloured t-shirt (long and short sleeved) or camisole. It’s a very wearable, versatile top.

Case and point of versatility: the same Dusky over a black camisole with black trousers for work. See what I mean?!

20120606-083720.jpg

So now you probably want the nitty gritty:

  • The pattern is available for free here. To access it you’ll have to join Row@n Members area and download the pattern from the May 2012 newsletter.
  • I made a modification to the pattern in that I didn’t do it as a tunic, but rather my standard length of just above the hips. It was a joy modifying the length, as the top is crocheted top down so I just had to stop when it reached the length I wanted. I love top down construction!
  • The yarn is Drops Paris in shade no. 60. I used 8 balls.
  • The pattern suggests a 5mm hook. I had to use a 6mm to get the gauge for the yoke right, and then used 5mm for the lacey body.

All in all, I can highly recommend this pattern and the Drops Paris to hook it with.

I’m definitely taking a crochet project with me on holiday again. Now that I’m sitting at my desk, wearing Dusky, I’m reminded of my fabulous week in Corfu and I will be every time I wear it.

No more postcards or fridge magnets for me as momentos of holidays – I hook on holiday!

Vintage pattern Summer Vest Ta-daaaah

27 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in My crochet, My ramblings, Ta-daah!

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

,

It’s done! The Summer Vest from this vintage pattern circa 1960 is done!

I know I said I would take this project with me to Corfu to work on there, but once I had made the gauge swatch, I just couldn’t stop. One dc led to another and before I knew it I was wearing it!

Here I am striking the same pose as the classy lady on the left. Check out the beads and I even have wind in my hair. Hahaha

20120526-175315.jpg

Initially I wanted to make the vest with the flowers but I  changed my mind. Typical. I like wearing beads and necklaces, so I’d rather jazz up the Vest with jewellery than be stuck with the flowers. After doing my modification (again, typical) of the bottom edge, flowers would have been a bit much.

The pattern asks for a ribbing which I didn’t feel like doing. Ribbings is a bit too old-fashioned for me, so in stead I started with the main pattern immediately and when it was all done, I added the neck & armhole edging pattern at the bottom, plus one row of the main pattern.

20120526-175333.jpg

The strange thing about the pattern is its shaping. In stead of shaping in at the waist, it goes out at the waist. I did as the pattern said, so I included that shaping but it’s not the most flattering. Hubby and I actually call the vest the “Pull In Your Tummy Vest” because it looks like I have a bit of a belly.

The body also retains its shape very well. When I stand up after sitting down for a while, the yarn “remembers” the folds so it looks like I’ve got sausage tied round my waist. I’m hoping this will change as the cotton softens and drapes more. I REALLY hope so.

Here are the Summer Vest (a.k.a Pull In Your Tummy Vest) facts:

  • No ribbing and a modified bottom edge – see above.
  • I used a 3mm crochet hook and just under 6 balls of Rowan Sienna in Grasshopper  for size L.
  • I started the gauge swatches on 13 May, and finished the Vest on 26 May.

20120526-175351.jpg

20120526-175404.jpg

All in all, I like the vest. The colour is my favourite thing about it. I’m looking forward to wearing it with summery skirts in Corfu next week. Keep an eye on the crocheTime Facebook page for photos.

I do think however that I like the idea of using a vintage pattern, more than I like the finished item. It’s such a nice thought that the last time someone followed this pattern there were no such things as Ravelry, blogs or Facebook to tell others about it. Now this Vest is retro and vintage, then it was just “the latest pattern by Sirdar”.

Wednesday I’ll start working on Dusky, “the latest pattern from Rowan” (which 40 years from now will be retro and vintage. There’s a thought!)

I’ve done the gauge swatches but this time I stopped myself from going any further. Dusky is done in a 6mm hook with Worsted weight yarn and just like the Vest it also doesn’t have sleeves, so it’s going to be a very quick project.

I’m not going to allow my crochet addiction to get out of hand again: Dusky’s foundation chain will be crocheted in the presence of olives, houmous and feta. THe plan is to start my holiday with a bag of yarn, and end it with a new crochet top. How cool would that be?

My Belle Ta-daaaah!

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in My crochet, Ta-daah!

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Do you know the song “Michelle” by the Beatles? I think it was written for my Belle!

I’m really loving My Belle!

The extra 3cm at the bottom has made a huge difference. (Now that I look at the photo I see that the camisole I wear underneath has scrunched up a bit over the trousers, so please ignore that.) By the way, you have to wear something underneath as the holes are quite open – unless of course you’re going for the *sexy hooker* look (I can just imagine the amount of disappointed Google searchers when they see this blog in the result page for their * * search. Hahahaha). 

But I digress.

The Rowan Belle pattern was an utter pleasure to follow – so much that I even made a video singing its praises. At times I did however think I made a mistake with the yarn, Drops Cotton Viscose.

It is very splitty, there’s no denying that.  It’s the Rayon threads that seem to fluff up and snag but it’s exactly that thread that gives it its luxurious sheen (being the “viscose” in Cotton Viscose). The Rayon also helps to keep the shape beautifully.  Seeing the completed top has converted me: I will use Cotton Viscose again. Splitting yarn can be forgiven. Suck it up, cause it’s worth it in the end!

So to sum up My Belle, here are the facts.

I made a couple of changes (see yesterday’s post).

I used a 3mm and a 4mm crochet hook (see this post)

I used 9.5 balls of Drops Cotton Viscose in shade no. 29

It took me less than a month to crochet – I started on 14 April and completed it on 14 May. In that time I took a week off to make Lynn’s Retro Looks cushion, so it was about three weeks.

I loved this pattern. If I only make this one item from the Rowan Holiday Crochet book, the book has been worth it.

♫Michelle, my belle.
Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,
Très bien ensemble.
I love you, I love you, I love you.♪♪

P.S. I forgot to say: thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post and also on the sneak peak photo this morning on the Facebook page. It means a lot to me that you love My Belle just as much as I do.

My Belle modifications

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in My crochet

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

,

My Belle top is almost finished. I’m so, so, so close! As we speak it’s lying on the living room couch waiting for me to whip stitch the underarm & sides. Then it’s done! Whoo-hoo!

When you saw it last it was in the video and didn’t look like much. My oh my how it has grown!

In the video I talked about making a modification to the width – changing it from 23cm to 20cm. I was spot on. Taking the 3cm off each side has made a huge difference and definitely streamlined the top.

This photo of Belle being blocked, shows you all the changes I’ve made. Please note the 23cm 20cm is specific to size M.  The pattern dimensions are given in red and what I hooked, is given in purple (to match my purple Crocs of course).

Apart form the sides that I changed from 23cm to 20cm, I made two other changes:

  1. I added 3cm to the hem lace panel. To achieve this, my foundation chain was 39 stitches instead of 33 stitches. The panel is only 3cm wider, but that makes a big difference to the overall look. Remember, the hem panel is attached to the body on its side, so the panel had to be made wider, in order to lengthen the top.
  2. The other change (mentioned in the video), was to join my front and back panels 9.5cm from the edge of the central panel, in stead of 5.5cm from the edge of the central panel. My neckline is now wider than the pattern instructions. I’m very happy with my decision to do this, as you have to finish off the neckline with two rows of sc (American) / dc (English), so that decreases the neck opening even more.  Unless you have a very thin neck, I would suggest you also join the front and the back at roughly 9.5cm from the central panel.  You can always use whip stitch to make the neckline smaller if it’s too wide, but you can’t make it any wider once you’ve joined you front and back!

By the way, once again I’m so impressed with  my blocking boards. I’ve seen many other crochets and knitters use these. They really are so handy. It’s EVA foam interlocking mats. As you can see, you can place them to suit the size and shape of your crochet piece. I bought mine on eBay but you can get them at toy shops, like this one.

I’ll be whip stitching at the speed of light tonight so that I can do a Ta-daah post tomorrow.  Uhm, I wonder what I’ll be wearing to work tomorrow…?

A Mastercard Morning

09 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in My crochet, My ramblings, Pattern

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, ,

My Mastercard and I have been doing our bit for the British economy, keeping Royal Mail in business and contributing (quite substantially) to my yarn stash. The purchases haven’t been willy-nilly, random “ooh that’s pretty!” (although they are) purchases though. I have a plan. You see, Garnstudio has a Supersale on until the end of May, so I’m taking advantage of that. I also know exactly what I want to use the yarn for, so I know how much to buy and I know the yarn I choose will work for the pattern. Purposefully expanding my stash. See. A plan. Do you want to see what I bought and what I’ll be using it for? Of course you do!

First up is Doris Chan’s Tall Latte v-neck sweater from her book Everyday Crochet (there’s a link to it on the right of the page).

 
 
I’m not going to make the ribbing-like neck and sleeve edging – I have a better plan which I will tell you about once I start working on Tall Latte. I’m going to use Drops Merino Extra Fine in shade 04 – a medium grey. Yes I know grey is, well, grey, but I have three patterned Boden skirts that will look excellent with a grey top, so the whole outfit won’t be drab & dreary and I’ll get a lot of use out of the grey top.  Merino Extra Fine is one of the Super Sale yarns. In stead of paying £3.10 per ball, I paid £2.75 at The Crochet Chain.
 
Next up is a Garnstudio top called Country Dream. Sooo pretty!
 
 
The suggested yarn is Drops Safran. After the success of Whispers, I’m quite keen to stick to the suggested yarns for Garnstudio patterns, but Drops Safran isn’t on the Garnstudio Supersale list of marked down yarns. Luckily Scandinavian Knitting Design shop is offering it on sale! I bought shade 51 (Petrol) for £1.87 in stead of the usual £2.49! I’m going to modify the top so that it doesn’t hang over my hips, which means I could buy one less ball than suggested by the pattern. Another saving right there!
 
Last, but not least is a Vintage tank top. I bought the vintage Sirdar pattern from PastPerfect patterns this morning (and got the pdf within two hours!)
 
 
I’ll be making the one on the right with the flowery neckline. Isn’t it pretty?! I love the idea that I’m going to make something that’s proper vintage. Not a modern pattern reworked to look vintage, or vintage inspired, this baby is really truly from a vintage pattern.
 
All the Sirdar yarn they suggest, have been discontinued by now, so I had to find a substitute. Luckily I only need a very small amount of yarn as it’s a sleeveless pattern so I splurged and bought three balls of Rowan Sienna for £4.75 each. It’s not on sale, but at £4.75 a ball I know I’ll never crochet a whole sweater in this yarn, so as I only need three balls I thought what the heck. I bought a lovely green called Grasshopper from MCA Direct.
 
 
As soon as I’ve finished Belle I’ll start with the vintage tank top. I plan on taking it with me on holiday to Corfu at the end of this month. We’ll be there for a week. I can’t think of anything nicer than enjoying the sunshine in a foreign land, crochet hook and Rowan yarn in hand. I may even be able to finish the tank top whilst I’m there! Nevermind blocking, if I manage to finish it in Corfu, I’ll be wearing it in Corfu!
 
Drops Merino Extra Fine: £3.10 £2.75
Drops Safran: £2.49 £1.87
Rowan Sienna: £4.75

Three new crochet projects to get my hook into: Priceless

Constructing the Belle top – a video

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in My crochet, Video

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

,

It’s my YouTube debut today! I’m so excited about Belle and have such a lot to say, a typed blogpost just wouldn’t be able to get the message across, so I did a video!

I put together the video to show you how to construct Belle. (I blogged about the gauge swatches and finding yarn for Belle, here.)

Please be patient with me, as it was the first time I did a video. You might have to turn up the volume a bit. There’s a lot of uhm’s and a bit of eye rolling whilst I try to find my words. The video also ends quite abruptly, but that’s because there’s a ten minute limit on YouTube videos (I actually talked for about 15 minutes, with a proper ending, but hey-ho.)

I hope the video helps you if you are making Belle, alternatively it gives you ideas for making a similar crochet top.

Please note that I’m making size M, so where I refer to 89 dc and 23cm, that’s specific to size M.

Retro Looks granny square cushion

29 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in My crochet, Ta-daah!

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , ,

A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo on the crocheTime facebook page of Page 57 of Mollie Makes Issue 13. It was Ilaria Chiaratti’s granny square cushion. Boy oh boy, how pretty is that cushion?!

I wasn’t the only one that thought so. Lynn Holland of OneIMadeEarlierToday thought so too and asked me to crochet her the cushion. I was delighted and got to work immediately; it’s granny squares after all and I loooooove granny squares.

As you only need scraps of yarn, I was able to raid my Stylecraft Special DK stash. Who knew I had so much yarn? After a long deliberation I whittled it down to 16 colours plus white.

I made 36 3-round grannies, of which the last round is always white. I used Ida’s own join-as-you-go method described here, crocheted a giant white granny square for the back and sewed the front and back together with this method.

Then all I had to do was add the six buttons. Mollie Makes Issue 13 came with this pack of 6 cute buttons.

I used two of the Mollie Makes buttons, then raided my button tin for the other four. I would never dream of using six of the same – mix it up and the more the merrier is what I say.

Here are photos of the end product.  There just is something special about colourful granny squares surrounded by white. So fresh and pretty. I love it!

As the article says:

A simple white backdrop is just the thing to show off bright colours, and it works likea dream for this crochet cushion.

I’m only able to enjoy the Retro Looks cushion for one more day as tomorrow she’s going in the post to Lynn and her new home in Lynn’s studio.  It was such fun making this cushion I may just consider making more to sell in my Etsy shop (once I’ve got rid of the wearable crochet bee in my bonnet that is).