Happy 4th!!

Happy Birthday, America!

Hope you all are doing fun and exciting things to celebrate.  Me, I will be studying.  With beer.  (I have to remind myself it's a holiday somehow, right?)  3 more days of class and one final exam until MY summer vacation starts... so much stitching and pattern writing to do, and I can't freakin wait!!!

In the mean time... this is what I'm wearing today.  I liked the crochet edging from the LBD DIY so much, I find myself adding it to just about anything!    Here I added it to some men's underpants I bought at Target.  Cheap and comfy, I'll be a happy beer drinking studier today!

Happy holiday, all!  Happy stitching!

Fringe Your Clothing DIY

OK!  Time to slip this free DIY in before summer school starts!  It's been a while!

I'm loving the fringe trend right now!  Here is a cool way to add fringe to some clothes you have lying around that might need a little pick me up.

You will need:
-Cotton yarn (Worsted weight or thinner, but cotton drapes the best)
-Crochet hook that matches the gauge of your yarn
-A piece of clothing that needs a lil something
-Needle and thread

Chain a multiple of 5 plus one that fits the length of the garment you are adding the fringe to.  (Remember, the chain length gets a bit longer, once there are stitches in it.)

1sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn.

Ch. 1, 1sc in each sc across.  Turn.

Make one more sc row.

*Chain 9, skip the next 4 sc stitches.  Make 1 sc in the 5th sc.  Repeat from * across.  Turn.

Chain 15. 1 sc in ch-9 space of previous row.  *Chain 9, 1 sc in ch-9 space of previous row.  Repeat from * across.

Repeat the previous row 3 more times.

Cut, bind off, weave in loose ends.

Cut 10 inch pieces of yarn.  Take two strands and a time, fold them in half, and loop them through the chain 9 spaces in the last row.

Sew the sc rows onto the piece of clothing you are dressing up with a needle and thread.  If you are really feeling awesome, you could use your sewing machine.

Also, I just had a great customer share how to use a "sharp crochet hook"...  WHAT?  It's pretty cool!  I haven't tried it yet, but if you have a piece of clothing you don't mind experimenting on...  go for it!

The Diamond Dress

I made this dress months ago, and finally got the pattern and all its sizes on papers.  I love this dress, and everyone at Renegade did too!  (I traded this yellow one for a different dress right off my back at the fair!)

It's pretty simple to make!  A great first dress project and the sleeves are not too complicated either!

Available on Etsy, Craftsy, and Ravelry!  And email me with any questions!

Happy Stitching!

The Chevron Mini Clutch

I really needed something at the French Nest Market (and for Renegade)  that was crocheted, looked good with my outfit, and would let me keep change close by.  So I made this!  It is a mini version of the Chevron clutch you might have already made... but this one is the perfect size for cash, a phone, writing utensils, crochet hooks, etc...  You can even attach it to your belt for nights out when you don't want to be carrying a ton.  Perfect little clutch to try your hand at color changing for the first time as well!

Pattern available on Etsy, Ravelry, and Craftsy!

Happy stitching!

Amanda's Dress

Hey all!  I'm thinking about this dress pattern a lot... why?  2 reasons.

1. Amanda (my little sister)  will be home from Boston in 6 days.  And lots of turkey and pie eating will take place... and I will be so happy.

AND 2.  The pattern for the dress I made her will soon be featured on the Annie's website.  WOOH!  Had to take some new photos of it for the site (sadly without Amanda modeling).  Here are a few of those photos.

If you haven't tried this pattern out yet... it is DEFINITELY one of my absolute favorites.  I get so many compliments on it each time I wear it and it is not as hard as it looks to make!  Happy Stitching, friends!

The Net Necklace DIY

This is a fun necklace that can be easily dressed up or down.  Here is what you will need.
-Sparkle Yarn
-A smaller hook - maybe an E or so.
-Some good scissors
-A piece of cardboard about 3 inches long
-Tapestry Needle

Make the beginning piece that goes around your neck by chaining 150.  Cut and bind off.
Row 1:
Join the yarn again 50 stitches into the 150 chains.
*Chain 20, and skip 9 ch stitches of the original 150 ch.  Join into the long chain with a sc.
Repeat from * 4 more times so that there are 5 big loops coming down from the 150 ch piece.
Turn and leave the remaining 50 ch unworked.
Row 2:
Sl st in the first 10 of the last ch 20 of the previous row.
Sc in the next sl st.
*Ch 20 and sc in the center of the next ch-20 space.
Repeat from * 3 more times so that there are 4 big loops coming down from the first 5 loops of previous row.
Turn.
Row 3:
As Row 2.  This time repeating from * 2 more times so that there are 3 big loops coming down from the 4 loops of previous row.
Row 4:
As Row 2.  This time repeating from * 1 more time so that there are 2 big loops coming down from the 3 loops of previous row.
Row 5:
As Row 2.  Making one final ch 20 loop to make the bottom triangle of the net.
Cut and bind off.  Weave in all loose ends.

Now make the tassels.  Do this by holding the cardboard up to the end of one of the ch-20 spaces.  Wrap yarn around the cardboard and ch piece 5 times and cut.  Cut the strands along the bottom of the cardboard.  Cut a second long piece of yarn and wrap it around the top of the strands folded in half to bind them so they don't fall off.  Using the tapestry needle, knot this strand in the back.  (For more details on how to make the tassel check out the Tassel Necklace tutorial!)

AND BOOM!  You're done with a pretty cool necklace!  YAY!

Crochet Shoes DIY

OK... today I want to try attaching some crochet to really cute shoes...

You will need:
- Cheap shoes from goodwill that you won't mind trashing if you get carried away with Mod Podge.
-  Mod Podge Craft Glue
- Crochet thread (size 3- the thicker kind) in a couple colors
- A small crochet hook like a C

Some skills you're going  to need to count on:
-Increasing single crochet (like putting 2 stitches into one)
-Decreasing single crochet (like single crochet 2 together)
-Color changing skills

I can't count on what kind of shoes you're going to be doing this on, or the size... so this is going to require some design work on your part (you can do it!!!)!

Identify the main shape of the shoe.  Use your increasing and decreasing skills to make the piece fit right on the shoe like a slip cover.

If you are feeling especially design savvy, work your color changing skills in there to make a cool design.

When you are happy with the crochet pieces, take your mod podge and cover the shoe and crochet piece both.  Glue that crochet piece on.  A little glue might come through the stitches as you press the piece on and that's OK.  Let it dry for a day or two and then they are ready to wear!

I used these two images as inspiration for my shoes.

 Image from Fashion Me Now

 Vintage Anna Sui

Fall Preview

I've been completely hooked on bags this summer (can you tell?).  Last summer it was dresses and tanks...  to be completely truthful... I can't wait for fall.  Fall weather is just so much more crochet friendly.  I've been working on something I'm quite excited about... still in the perfecting stages.  Here's a preview of a little something long sleeved, backless, with diamond cutouts.  Perfect for fall.  Wearing it here over my favorite maxi dress...  pattern coming soon.  Hoorah!

Crochet Pocket DIY

Have you seen all those awesome cut-off shorts with the cool patterns all over one side?  I love them!  Now here's a chance to make your own!

You will need:
-Some jean shorts (try getting them at a thrift store!)
-Some yarn or crochet thread in a few colors.  I wanted a more delicate look so opted for thicker crochet thread, but you can use some regulation yarn for this too.
-Crochet hook that matches your yarn gauge (for crochet thread I'm using a C)
-Needle and thread
-AND... if you want to create your own pattern different from mine, some graph paper could come in handy.

Required skills:
-Color changing (tutorial found HERE!)
-Decreasing (best to use single crochet 2 together)

So here's what you do...
Chain a multiple of 12 plus 1 if you are using my pattern.  If you made your own with graph paper, chain a multiple of whatever your pattern requires plus 1, so that it fits across the bottom of your shorts.

Now take your color changing skills into account keeping track of right and wrong sides to make this pattern. 

Start with this one:

Then repeat this one two times:

Keep repeating these alternating between the two patterns.  When you reach the opening for the pocket, start making the decreasing stitches.  For my pocket, I made 2 sc2tog stitches on the pocket end of each row.

When the piece fills the short pretty well, make a single crochet border around the whole piece to give it a finished edge.  Take your needle and thread and sew the piece onto your shorts.

And TA DA!  You've got some really super cool shorts!

Crochet in Paris

On the way home from Italy last summer, we had an 18 hour layover in Paris... a good portion of which was spent trying to get a bit of sleep on some rock hard chairs in the train station... we were not successful.

I'm currently trying to decide if I should blow my savings account to go to Paris for my birthday in a few months and have a longer, less sleep deprived adventure.  Thoughts?

I have a crochet scarf I love so much.  I wore it my one day in Paris.  Enjoy Paris photos that follow!

Crochet in Sorrento

This time last year I was moving, finishing up Craft Lake City, and getting ready to go to Italy.

I really really really wish I was getting ready to go to Italy again... especially Sorrento.  That little Italian seaside town might as well be heaven... that's how loveable it is.  (There's even a yarn store there!!!)

Last year I made a version of The Crochet Tee with crochet thread to wear on my trip.  Enjoy Italy photos that follow!