Tag Archives | free crochet

How to Measure Gauge; What is it? Why should I care?

Tool for measuring gauge on knit and crochet

Tool to Measure Gauge on crochet and knit items

Learn to Measure Gauge

In this post you will learn how to measure gauge. Have you ever wondered what gauge was and why you should care? I get a lot of people that say they never make a gauge swatch and that they really don’t understand gauge. If you have been fortunate enough to create garments that fit without making a gauge swatch let me say that one day your luck may run out. What probably happened is that you were working very close to the gauge indicated on the pattern. Lucky you!

Gauge refers to the number of stitches and rows a knitter or crocheter makes per inch using a certain yarn and needles or hook. Since not everyone crochet or knits with the same tension (this affects gauge), it is a very good idea to make a gauge swatch before beginning a new project. There are items that you can crochet or knit in which gauge isn’t critical. However if you are working on certain items like garments it is important to be able to match the gauge that is specified in the pattern instructions. This will ensure that your item/garment is the same size as the size the designer intended when designing the item and that the amount of yarn required (as specified in pattern) is sufficient to complete your project.

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Wow, am I embarrassed

By Yolanda on September 15, 2015 in Business, Giveaways / Contests 46

Wow, am I embarrassed. You know life is full of those oops moments. Happens to me more often than I would like to admit. Well last week I had one of those moments. This is what happened…. As some of you know I like to give away a little something to those people who are members of my blog each month. Last week I wanted to say thank you to all my blog members for being so great and supportive of this blog. (Even though I am not as consistent as I should be..darn life gets in the way). I decided to give away a free pattern to my blog members.

I chose one of my favorites the Criss Cross puff stitch cowl. My patterns are mostly on my Ravelry store (some here also). I went and prepared what Ravelry calls a promotion. I went and selected my pattern and chose the coupon code which I shared with blog members thru an email. I thought everything was set up correctly and hit that send button on my email list. Well.. the coupon code wasn’t working correctly. I contacted Ravelry and they quickly set up a direct link to enable members to download the pattern… problem was.. it was the wrong pattern. Totally my fault not theirs. I must have gotten confused and given the wrong name.

This reminds me of those TV commercials.. that say “Kinda of like you, isn’t you.” So here are the two cowls that caused the confusion.

When I re-send out the email it gave away the cowl on the right instead of the orange cowl on the left. I apologize for the mistake. The free pattern giveaways are for blog members only. I had asked members in my email to please NOT share the pattern codes with others. I also stated to please be sure to include the code (so you can check it’s working), prior to checking out as I would NOT be issuing refunds for people who did not check out correctly. Well, someone did share the pattern code with another person. Shame on you. That person (non-member) completed the check out process.. even though the code wasn’t working. They were charged the $5.50 for the pattern. This really enraged them (they send me an angry email calling me all kinds of bad names.. oh, they called my mother some pretty bad stuff too) and so they opened a complaint and request for a refund from paypal. They also went and put a complaint on my Ravelry store. They told Paypal I was ripping people off and must be stopped. Really? This person wasn’t even a member.. so I could argue that they were the one trying to rip off me and my members. Oh, well.. the issue has been resolved. In the future I am pleading with all members please DO NOT share the codes. This person offered to give me the name of the person who gave them the code if I would refund them the $5.50… yup, threw their friend right under the bus for $5.50. Disappointing.

I want to correct the mistake for members who received the wrong pattern. So tomorrow I will be sending out another email to members only to give them the direct link or the orange cowl since this was the intended pattern giveaway for September. You should have already been able to download the diagonal cowl on the left which I also really like. If you are not a member you can join at any time. It’s free, just put in your first name and email address. I need your email address to send you notifications and links for free patterns, special promotions available only to blog members and previews of coming projects.

Back to the topic of crochet. I love making cowls now for the fall season. Remember you can use any color or brand yarn (medium weight) you like. These work up pretty fast and make great Christmas gifts and sell very well at craft fairs.

That’s all.. carry on folks!

XOXO,

Yolanda

Crochet motif Tutorial – Sea Foam / Ocean Waves

By Yolanda on June 19, 2015 in Crochet Projects, Crochet Stitches and Crochet Motifs 4

Crochet Sea Foam Pattern

Crochet Motif of a Sea Foam Stitch/Ocean Waves

I decided to share this Crochet Motif of the Sea Foam Stitch (also known as Ocean Waves) today. I’m always on the look out for new motif’s I can use for various projects. Since it’s summer now and the weather has warmed up I wanted to a summertime baby blanket. I will be using cotton yarn. Although it’s still summer there are times you still need a blanket to cover up a sleeping baby. I didn’t want to make something too heavy. I went thru all my previous projects to look for something that would fit the bill. I really liked this one. Some books call it Sea foam and some call it ocean waves.

Here is a sample (2 pattern repeat) of the sea foam motif. I made one of these blankets a few years ago. You can use any size hook and type of yarn. Just make sure the hook is appropriate for the yarn weight. Since this will be a baby blanket I used a weight 3 cotton yarn and a G hook. You can use whatever hook and yarn you prefer. I used 2 colors and changed color on row 6 of pattern. You can use as many colors as you like or stay with one solid color. Using multiple colors is a good way to use up your yarn stash.

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Flower Friday – Layer flower

By Yolanda on June 5, 2015 in Uncategorized 5

Hello everyone, so sorry I’ve been MIA for the last week. I was just finishing up on a major project and it consumed most of my time.

Today I want to share another flower with you. It is super easy to make. You can make 2 or 3 layers or even just one. I just lay them on top of each other and use them to embellish other items such as the flip flops in the photo above. Summer will be here soon and it’s time to dress up those flip flops. I hope you enjoy this project.

Flower: Use different size hooks for different sizes . I used a size G hook. The small flower in the center is worked separately and then sewn onto the 2 layer flower.

To begin: 2-layer flower G Hook (Medium weight yarn)

Chain 5, sl st into 1st ch
Round 2: ch 4, (3 ch counts as 1dc), *sc into circle, ch 3*, rep from * to * 3 more times, ch 3, sc into 1st ch
Round 3: * sl st into the ch-3 space (to work petals inside these spaces), ch 3, 8 dc into ch-3 sp, ch 3, sc into same ch-3 space * repeat until you have completed all 5 petals, sc into 1st st. (If you like the way this looks you can fasten off after this layer and you’re done).
Push petals to the front.
Ch 4: *ch 5, sc into next sc,* rep until you have worked all 5 petals. You will be creating ch-5 loops behind the first row of petals.
Ch 5: (change colors – optional) ch 4, [11 tbc in next ch-5 sp, ch 4, sc into same ch-5 sp], sl st into next ch-5 sp,* rep from * to * in each petal, ch 4, sl st into 1st st

Top Layer is made separately and sold on top :

Small 5 petal flower: G hook

Ch 4, sl st into 1st ch to form circle
Round 2: *ch 3, 2dc (into circle) sc into circle* rep from * to * until you have worked 5 petals, sc, fasten off.

You can sew this small flower on top of your other 2 layer flower.

If you prefer watching a video tutorial here is the link: flower

To see how I added them to the flowers check out this video: embellish flip flops

Enjoy!

Flower Friday – #Crochet Flower #3

By Yolanda on May 8, 2015 in Uncategorized 6

Flower Friday is here! Here is #Crochet Flower #3 – The All Occasion Flower.

Here is a quick and easy flower for all occasions. You can use any colors, type of yarn and hook size. I have also done a YouTube video tutorial if you are a visual learners. This is one of my earlier videos. Thankfully now I have a better camera with better sound.

To begin: chain 4, sl st into first ch

Rnd 1: ch 1 (counts as sc), 11 sc into circle, sl st into 1st st

Rnd 2: *chain 6, skip next ch, sc into next ch*, rep from * to * to end of end

Rnd 3: *sl st into ch-6 sp, working inside of ch-6 space; ch 2, 6 dc, ch 4, dc into top of last dc (picot made), 6dc, ch 1, sl st into sc* , rep from * to * until you have finished all 6 petals. Fasten off and weave in tails.

Are you a visual learner? Perhaps you would prefer to watch my free YouTube Video Tutorial. Click on the video below to view. Happy Crocheting!

Lots of Love,

Yolanda

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Tag Archives | free crochet

Learn to Measure Gauge

Crochet Motif of a Sea Foam Stitch/Ocean Waves