Cowl!

So, I've fallen in love with cowls a little bit. I have this big brown one I got in winter, and it's so fantastic it almost makes me with it was winter again. Almost...
Anyway, I've never made one, and I wanted to find a colour that would be suitable to my personal style, and I decided on this nice rusty one from Lion Brand. It also gave me the chance to use my nice, big crochet hook, which I've fallen in love with since making the boot cuffs. What could be better?
I was able to work it up in a few hours (spread out over two days), and it's super cute. I decided not to twist this one in the work-up, so I could twist it on my own depending on my mood!
Also, I decided to work this in the round to eliminate any visible seams. I think it looks nicer that way.

Materials:
Crochet Hook US N15/10.00mm
Half Skein Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Rust
Yarn needle

Directions:
Chain 60 (or more; you decide).
Join round using slip stitch, taking care not to twist (or twist if you want. I don't care).
Round 1: Single crochet in each stitch. Join round with slip stitch.
Round 2: Half double crochet in each stitch. Join with slip stitch. For tutorial on HDC, look here.
Round 3: Double crochet in each stitch. Join with slip stitch.
Round 4: Repeat Round 3.
Round 5: Repeat Round 2.
Round 6: Repeat Round 1.
Round 7: Repeat Round 2.

Continue this pattern for the desired length. Keep in mind that the double crochet round is repeat twice in a sequence, but the single crochet round is used only once.
When finished, tie off, weave in ends, and enjoy!

Notes:
This pattern was inspired by Amanda's cowl at Parent Pretty. Check out her site here.
You can change how this item comes out by varying a ton of factors. Change the hook size to give tighter or looser stitches. Change the weight of the yarn, or the length and width. The possibilities are there -- work with your personal style and wardrobe to design the perfect cowl!

If you have any comments or questions about this pattern, feel free to leave them below. Don't forget to follow this blog for the latest in crafting fun!

Craft Storage Boxes

                           

 

If you're anything like me, you have amassed some knitting and crocheting supplies without a place to keep them! I don't have a pouch or anything to keep my stuff in, so I devised a way to keep all of my supplies -- little handmade boxes! They're a little time consuming to make, but really nice once they get done.
I made one each for my knitting needles, my crochet hooks and double pointed needles, and my miscellaneous stuff, like my cable needle, stitch holder, and stitch markers.

Materials:
Plastic canvas -- two sheets
Sewing needle with large eye (a yarn needle will not fit in the holes of the canvas)
Scrap yarn

Directions:
This is mostly up to you. Size your plastic canvas pieces according to the size of your needles. Since my size 9 needles are really tall, I needed something to hold them without tipping, but not so tall as to hide the smaller eights and sixes. Sew a design into the plastic canvas first, and then fill in the background colour. Sew pieces together and outline the top of the box in yarn as well.
If you choose to make a lidded box, like my miscellaneous box, cut the bottom of the frame first, then the face of the lid with one box extra all around. This will give you an extra lip to sealed the box properly.

Notes:
My boxes are fairly small, so I didn't feel like I had adequate room to make an intricate design on the box sides. If your boxes are larger, or you're just feeling adventurous, plan your design carefully before executing.
Have fun with this project! It takes a long while to get everything sewn up, so mix up colours and designs, or make a neatly coordinated set, like mine.

If you have any questions or comments about this craft, leave them below! Don't forget to follow this blog and stay up to date on the fun projects happening at the StegoCraftasaurus!

Olive Green Boot Cuffs

Boot cuffs are just fantastic, aren't they? Since I've got fat... well, everything, but calves are what's relavent here. Since the calves are big, I can't wear high-shaft boots, but luckily, I found some about a year ago that go up my legs a bit.
The key to making these is to measure how high up your boot goes, then find that height on your leg, and measure the circumference of that spot. For example:
My boots go up eight inches. At eight inches up my leg (starting from the heel of the foot), the circumference of my calf is 15 inches. Therefore, I know to make my cuffs 15 inches.

Materials:
Size USN15/10.00mm crochet hook
Olive green yarn from Lions Brand, Vanna's Choice
Needle for sewing buttons
Two buttons of contrasting colour (I used bright orange)

Directions:
Make 2
Chain 40. Join in a loop with slip stitch, taking care that the chain is not twisted.
Round 1: Chain 2. Double crochet in every stitch, joining with a slip stitch.
Repeat until cuff is of suitable length (mine measure 5 inches and required 12 rounds).
To create decorative edging: Chain 2. *(Single crochet, chain 2, single crochet) in same space. Slip stitch in next stitch.* Repeat * sequence until the round is complete and join with a slip stitch.
Sew buttons.

Notes: I completed this project very quickly; it took about half a day of on and off work, so faster individuals can probably finish this project in less than an hour.
The colour possibilities are endless! Experiment with colours that will go best with your boots, leggings, and outfits.
You can adjust the width and length of your cuffs based on your size and preference. Be sure to have some form of measure available, and try them on occasionally to see if they're the desired dimensions.
Get creative! Use multiple buttons, other design motifs, or multiple colours to make your cuffs as unique as you are!

If you have any questions or comments about this pattern, feel free to leave them below.
Don't forget to follow this blog to get all the latest crafty updates!

Little Crocheted Cthulhu!

Oh my goodness this is the cutest thing I've ever made! A little crocheted Cthulhu to be my little buddy.
This is also the hardest task I've undertaken. It took three days of intermittent work. I found the pattern for this little guy here, at Rural Rebellion. I had to make some small adjustments to the pattern, because some of the numbering is wrong. It should be apparent if you attempt it, and simple math will help you correct it. I also made the body one row longer.
One last thing I did was to sew the wings and arms on BEFORE attaching the head and body. Keeping that in mind, if you follow my method, don't stuff the body until all parts have been sewn on.
This is my first amigurumi plush toy, and I'm so happy with how it came out.
Now I torture my ratties by chasing them around the room with the Lovecraftian menace himself (kidding...)!
If you have any questions about the adjustments I made or any comments about my cute new friend, leave them below!

Fingerless Gloves with Cables

So, I've been into this glove making thing for a while now. Additionally, I have this cable needle, and never really learned how to use it, so I taught myself how to make cables. They're a bit difficult to see with these photos, but I didn't really have any help with them...
I incorporated a couple of design motifs into this pair; I used cables of two different sizes in the same row, as well as some basic ribbing.
That said, I really like these. They're perfectly snug on my hands and wrists, they go down below coat cuff level, so I can stuff them for the really cold days, and they allow me full finger dexterity.
I should note that this yarn naturally has the three colours -- light blue, light brown, and dark brown, and I was given the yarn as a gift, so I don't know where I got it.
Again, since these are gloves, I did not gauge this.

Materials:
Less than one skein worsted weight yarn
Knitting needles, size 9, 5.50mm
Cable needle
Yarn needle, for weaving ends and sewing seams.

Abbreviations:
4CBF: Slip two stitches to cable needle and hold to front of the work. Knit the next two stitches, then next the two from the cable needle.

Directions: Make two
Cast on 34 stitches
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Row 3: k1,p1; (k1,p1,k4) five times; k1,p1
Row 4: k1,p1; (k1,p1,p4) five times; k1,p1; k1,p1
Row 5: Repeat Row 3
Row 6: Repeat Row 4
Row 7: k1,p1; (k1,p1; 4CBF) five times; k1,p1
Row 8: Repeat Row 4
Row 9: Repeat Row 3
Row 10: Repeat Row 4

For longer cables, knit to Row 10, return to Row 3, and continue in this way. For shorter cables, knit to Row 8, and return to Row 3 (That is, the longer cables have two extra rows of stitching involved).
My patterning went as follows:  After first cable, stitch two short cables, followed by one long cable, followed by 2 short, and so on in this way until I felt it was long enough. At this point, I began the end cuff:
Row right after last cable: Repeat Row 4
Repeat Row 3
Repeat Row 4
Repeat Row 3
Purl
Knit
Bind off

When binding off, leave a long enough tail to sew the edges together twice (that is, once up the glove and once down the glove, for extra strength). Be sure to leave a two-inch hole for the thumb in each glove. Weave in loose ends.

Notes:
Be sure to test to be sure the glove will be wide enough by measuring against the target hands and arms.
Be sure to figure out how many cables you want in each glove, so you can plan accordingly.
You can make longer cuffs for your gloves if you wish, just extend the stockinette stitching to the desired length.
I recommend sewing the gloves on the target hand, if possible. It will ensure that the thumb-holes are in the right place for both gloves.

If you have any questions or comments about this pattern, feel free to leave them below!

Extra Large Gloves, or the Gigantor Gloves

  If these look massive on me, it's because they are. They were made for someone with much larger hands than mine, i.e. my younger brother, Carlos. Turns out, they were a little big on him, so he uses them as wristlets now... oh well, lesson learned.

Anyway, if you need to make Gigantor Gloves, here's how I did it:

Materials: Some amount of yarn. I say some because I used less than one skein.
                  Size 8 knitting needles, or desired size
                  Yarn needle

Note: I didn't gauge this. I don't think that it's that big of a deal for gloves, since they'll end up fitted to the person you want to give them to, anyway. Just try to knit the same gauge for both gloves!

Directions: Cast on 50 stitches (this can be more or less depending on the size of your Gigantor Gloves, but keep it an even number).
                   St st for 8 rows
                   K2, P2 ribbing for 32 rows
                   St st 4 rows
                   Cast off, sew seams, leaving about two inches open for the thumb.
                   Weave in ends.


So this is a pretty simple knit, using very basic techniques. I swear I'm getting better...
As I said, I made these a little too big for my brother. Although his hands are definitely huge, they aren't 50-stitches-huge. To be fair, he and I live ten hours apart, and I don't know his hand size off the top of my head... It worked out in the end, though...
My next project will surely be sized correctly.

Beret!

Yesterday, I got a big old US size 15/10.00mm crochet needle, and I was so excited that I set to work right away crocheting a hat. Since I'm not terribly skilled yet, I had some bumps along the way and had to restart at one point, because my hat was curling into a tight little bowl at just four rounds in. Yikes! Once I set about it again, it really worked out. 

As soon as I finished it, I grabbed my boyfriend and we took the photos. Yes, I look tired. Yes, this was taken in my bathroom. Yes, I'm not the best model ever. Yes, I'm in comfortable clothes that don't really suit the hat. But this isn't about fashion! It's about creativity (and a little bit of insanity!)

Now then, I'll tell you how I made it:

Materials:   US size 15/10.00mm crochet hook

                    US size 6/4.25mm crochet hook

                    Yarn needle

                    About 1/2 skein of yarn (I had some leftover from a previous project -- that's how little this uses!)

                    Some contrasting buttons (Yellow in my case)

Abbreviations Glossary: 

sc: single crochet

dc: double crochet

ss: slip stich

dc dec: double crochet decrease

v-stitch: double crochet in stitch, chain one, double crochet in same stitch. This will create a "V" shape (photo below).

Now then. I completed this in about seven to eight hours of crocheting time, over two days, with a ton of distractions. those who are better and faster than me can probably do it in half the time.

One really nice thing about the huge needle is that you can make really nice, big holes without much effort. The key is to crochet loosely, so that it all flows nicely.

To start, chain five, and use a slip stitch to join the round. 

Round 1: Chain 3, dc, v-stitch four times around the ring (You should have five distinct "V's" or holes), ss to join.

Round 2: Chain 3, dc in same hole, v-stitch in each of the remaining four holes of previous round (You should end up with nine "V's"), ss to join round.

Round 3-16: Chain 3, dc in same hole, v-stitch in every other hole (that is, skip the "V's" from the previous round and make a v-stitch in the "spacer" holes), ss to join rounds.

Round 17&18: Use dc dec across entire round, using ss to join rounds.

Round 19-26: Switch to smaller needle, sc across entire round, ss to join rounds. 

Tie off and hide ends.

Sew buttons.

And that's it. It's pretty simple. A few notes:

• I wanted this quite slouchy, so I carried on for a while before I started decreasing. You can adjust your rows up and down according to slouchiness desired. The best method to determine when you're finished with the main part of the hat is just to place it over your head, where you'd like it to sit. Once you're satisfied with the length, start to decrease.
• I only needed two rows of decreasing to get the hat to my size, but you may need more or less. Test the hat after each row to determine if it's reached your ideal size or not.
• Because the dc dec creates rather large stitches with such a big needle, I used multiple sc stitches across the first row, using the smaller needle. You can adjust this to your own preference.
• I wanted a nice wide brim to sit on my head so I could embellish it, but you don't have to use one; in fact, I found it was a suitable length for non-embellishment at about 4-5 rounds of sc.
• Make sure you work loosely! If it starts to really curl up within just a few rows, you may need to start over. That sort of cupping is nice on a beanie, but you want a nice level start for a beret!

This is what your holes should look like. Keep in mind that this photo was taken down the length of the hat, so check your work similarly.

I'm super excited about this hat. It will be really nice to wear with some of the grays and blues in my wardrobe, especially when the warmer weather hits!

If you have any comments or questions about this pattern, feel free to ask me!