Mini crochets for mini princesses

I made these crocheted beret and pig ears for my niece – Kalai

and the scarf is for the expecting mommy Peps, with a matching hat for her incoming princess:

Beret for Kalai

Beret for Kalai

This is a small version of the ribbed hexagonal beret (pattern available at the store) I just added a few more rows to allow insertion of an adjustable ribbon. Just in case this will not fit my niece’s head. 😀

Pig ears

Pig Ears for my chubby niece.

Matching scarf & hat  for queen peach and princess peach

Matching scarf & hat for queen peach and princess peach

I made peach a peach scarf 😀

hehe.. 😀

Tita Nelia

This is tita nelia, my fiance’s mother. Once she asked me to make her a bolero and I made a version of bongga bolero – biggie sized. Tita nelia, actually loved what i made for her. This is the first big bolero I made. I used a lace-weight yarn using 1.40mm hook size. It took me so long to finish this, just in time for her return to the country.

blue crocheted bolero

blue crocheted bolero

Blue Crocheted Bolero

Blue Crocheted Bolero

 

Scarves – did and have to do

Someone asked me for a scarf, and was specifically asked for this scarf to be made of wool. Yes wool. I will be having some wool supplies come November, just in time for the winter season.

I remember that i was able to make a scarf last year. Then, I promised myself i will never do another scarf again. It was tedious. But i was making it for a friend.

Here it was – I named it : LTIS (Longer Than I am Scarf)

I had to take a picture of this because I might never see it again. sigh…

Comfort Shrug

This is my first shrug and my first long sleeved crocheted garment. It was quite comfy and i love wearing it when me and my barkada goes out. It just became a bit bigger to me when my friends started trying this on… :) My shoulders are really low and I’m quite small and since crocheted garments are meant to stretch when forced to it became a bit loose :) Still it fits so right on my arms that i do not care much if it falls off my shoulder now :)

Ah, this shrug has been almost two years old and the color hasn’t faded yet. Even if it experienced multiple machine washings. No fall out stitches whatsoever :)

If you want to order a shrug of the same kind, kindly leave a comment below

Crocheting as I go

Sometimes when i crochet. I just crochet as I go. Meaning, I do not intend to do anything at all. I just want to crochet.

For the past weeks, I just want to come out with a desirable pattern. So I try to combine a few stitches here and there. Pulling strings out again if I dislike the outcome or just cutting off the yarn and starting again.
Finally i decided to come up with a striped pattern. I have a cardigan that is striped s and i liked it. So i have to improvise another. I came up with this:
Its a combination of chain, treble and single stitches. The good thing about combining treble and single crochet (sc) in a solid stripe is that it provides a compact look but still maintains the stretchy characteristic of crocheted materials. It is the sc that holds the treble stitches in place. The chain stitches are there to provide the desired ‘crochet-lace’ effect. I expect this crocheted garment to have so many holes.
I stitched 200 chains as a foundation. It covers the entire length of my arm. I was meaning to crochet another long-sleeved cardigan. But when I had crocheted up to the fourth stripe, i reconsidered. The vertical stripes make me look thinner. and mike said that the pattern does not look good on a sleeve.
I shifted the crocheted piece 90 degrees and tried to wrap it around my body The ends did not meet. So if it’s not gonna be a long-sleeved cardigan, it should be a bolero. And with the body already completed, i went crocheting what should be the ‘sleeves’ of the bolero.
After finishing one side, i thought that i’d rather have this as a blouse. So after finishing the sleeves, i connected the two ends. And crocheted more rows on the other side of the garment. It ended up like this. And there’s a missing wide space up front. Deciding to make the neckline loose I patched the space with two right triangles.
It should look okay right? As having wide neckline meant to emphasize the chest area. And theoretically it looks good on most girls wearing a tube underneath. With hopes high, i continued crocheting until the garment covered the entire length of my torso. I fitted it. And it did not look okay. Well.
What’s to emphasize when there’s nothing at all?
Hating it, I put the whole thing in my closet after pulling out the stitches on the neckline. This is the third project i was putting aside. And it’s not a good sign. Especially that I stopped crocheting for months. And when i decided to crochet again, nothing came out good.
Next morning, saturday. I had nothing to do and the wasted top’s still in my head. I decided to get it back and reconsider. If a wide neckline is not good for me, there’s no way to go but to close the space. I have so many buttons and mylein says i look good on buttoned shirts. and so i crocheted overlapping squares on the space. But because it was a morning filled with frustrations over wasted crochet and also with empty stomach, the squares overlap too much that i could tie them together.
Mylein saw it and said that it looks good enough. And maybe i could crochet the ends a bit longer to make the ribbon fall more naturally. And that’s what i did. It turned out okay and i liked it. I wore it the next day when Mike and I went out.

My Winter Solace Yarns

The ‘ber’ months are coming. And it’s already cold outside. The weather’s sometimes a bit tricky.I find it bothersome to wear long sleeves or sweater because, even though it’s raining, the sun would still show up sometime in the afternoon or if I am inside crowded places like MRT or passenger jeepneys, a cardigan may still be too hot to wear. But once i stepped out I could feel the cold breeze around my shoulders. It’d be nice to make another bolero. Just the right size to cover the bare shoulders. Something I could easily take off once the sun shows up or before entering a crowded train.

On my newly arrived yarns there’s a very cool shade of turquoise. The shade will remind you of the coming season.

ICT Variegated Turquoise

ICT Variegated Turquoise

The yarn is 100% mercerized cotton. It’s a locally produced yarn from Indonesia. One ball is 100 gram. Just enough for a small-sized bolero. Hook-size to use would be 2.00 to 2.10 mm. The threads kinda thick. Thicker than the locally available monaco thread. If you wishes to buy a similar yarn, this multiply user has this on her for sale list. Or you could buy from craftandme.com

It’s a good thing too, that I have this soft plush yarn from Pasig.

Soft Plush Yarn - Color Blue Green

Soft Plush Yarn – Color Blue Green

I don’t actually know what’s the official name of this yarn (as all the yarns i bought there :) ) But looking at the Berocco’s yarn list, their Soft Plush Yarn comes closest to the one I have.

If these two yarns are actually of the same kind, it’d be 100% Nylon. Hook size to use can be 3.0mm to 4.0 mm. I have a medium size ball (weight is unknown).

Berroco Plushâ„¢  100% Nylon

Berroco Plushâ„¢ 100% Nylon

Funny, coz i never found any use of the soft plush yarn from Pasig. Since it’s too thick to be made into any comfy clothing. Especially here in Philippines, even if it’s cold it’s not practical to crochet anything from this yarn.

Apparently these two yarns are great for each other. The colors are almost homogeneous and the textures are complementary. The plush yarn is soft to touch while (as all mercerized cotton threads are) the ICT is a bit rough and hard.

I am gonna use the cotton yarn for the body of the bolero and the plush yarn for the borders. Just to add accent.

Incidentally these two yarns are freebie for purchasing 2 kilograms of yarns from each store. Wow.. Great deal :)

Over a cup of coffee

Ahh.. when I have so many things I still have to do and the deadline is just around the corner, I cannot survive without a cup of coffee..

Crocheting over a cup of coffee

Crocheting over a cup of coffee

And a crochet hook to make me happy.

Brown Shrug in diamond motif

Brown Shrug in diamond motif

Back of Shrug

Back of Shrug

I am thinking of writing down the instructions to make this shrug :)

If you want to order a shrug of the same kind, kindly leave a comment below

Mixed Media : Beads, Yarn, Buttons and Fabric

This crocheted blouse is a mixture of textures – soft, hard and rough.

This project is somehow memorable since this is the first time I heard about pineapple stitch. That’s why i named it  PiÑa Collada.

I played with the idea of including fabric into crocheted and it turned out good. I made it for my bestfriend.

PiÑa Collada

PiÑa Collada

I used a native fabric from Ilocos. The fabric is actually handwoven.

And to make it more casual, i crocheted a bolero to go with it:

PÑa Collada with bolero

PiÑa Collada with bolero

If you want to order a blouse of the same kind, kindly leave a comment below