dressy towel-topper tutorial

I made one of these dressy towel-toppers last Christmas just by 'winging it' you could say.  No pattern.  Just stitch after stitch.  A little bit of ripping out.  A little bit of head-scratching and I had a dressy towel-topper, but still no pattern.

Well, some of you asked if I could possibly do a pattern for this.  

Oh, golly.  Me & numbers?  Me & strategy?  Not such a good thing.

But here you go (and any mistakes [there may be many] let me know!)

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What you need:

size G hook

worsted weight yarn

kitchen towel ( I bought mine at Target)

sewing thread

sewing needle

button

Each round ends with a slip stitch to close.

Ch 3 at beginning of each round counts as 1st dc

Begin by chaining 28.  Slipstitch to close ring.

Rnd. 1--- Ch 1, work 1 sc in each sc around -- 28 sc. 

Rnd 2--- Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) 1 dc in same stitch, 1 dc in next sc 

*2 dc in next sc, 1 dc in next sc* repeat * around.  -- 42 dc

Rnd 3---  Ch 3, 1 dc in the next 2 dc, ch 3 

*1 dc in the next 3 dc, ch 3*

repeat * around -- 14 sets of 3dc.  Fasten off.

Rnd 4--- Join new color in ch 3 space, Ch 3, dc2tog, ch 3, dc3tog 

* dc3tog, ch 3, dc3tog* in each 3 chain space

repeat * around

You will have 14 -- dc3tog, ch 3, dc3tog clusters.  Fasten off.

NOTE! This round includes many pics

Rnd 5---Join new color in any ch 3 space.  Ch 3, 1dc, ch 2, 2dc in ch 3 space

*2dc, ch 2, 2dc in next ch 3 space in the next ch 3 space

1 dc between the 3rd dc and 1st dc of next cluster (see pic)

Now you have to pinch your piece together to form the sleeves of the dress.  You will have 4 groups of  2dc, ch 2, 2dc that you will be pinching in your left hand.  Yarn over and slip your hook under both layers of 'sleeve'...

 ...to complete the next dc in that same space as the first dc.*  

Sound confusing?  It might! -- but if you look at it like it's an actual sleeve that you are trying to form --- it looks easier than what you might think.  I hope the next 3 pics can help you see what I am trying to describe.

Rnd 5 continues -- repeat from * 3 more times.

Rnd 6--- Slip stitch to first ch 2 space.  Ch 3, 1 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in chain 2 space

*2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in each ch 2 space, 1 dc in each dc* that forms the underarm of sleeve (see pic)

Repeat from * to end

Rnd 7--- repeat rnd 6

Rnd 8--- Join new color.  Ch 4 (counts as 1st tr), 5 tr in ch 2 space

*6 tr in each ch 2 space

2 tr in each dc in underarm of sleeve*  Repeat from* to end

Add a hanger:

On the top edge, I added the hanger by sc into 5 stitches of the collar.  

And then just a simple back and forth of sc and ch 1 (turning ch) until you reach the desired length of you hanger.

Optional: I added a blue sc border to the bottom edge.  You may or may not do this --- it's your choice.

I hand-sewed a button to attach to hanger to the front part of the dress.

I'm not sure if there is method to attaching this to a towel, but I do know that I don't like it when the towel is cut in half.  So I used the entire towel and just hand-sewed a gathering stitch right along the center of the towel to create a rouching effect.

I then folded the towel in half and gathered the towel until it was the width as the bottom edge of the towel-topper...

...and hand-sewed the crocheted top to the towel.

And there you have your dressy towel-topper!

daisy chatelaine

Yes. Daisies. One of my favorite flowers and when you place that vibrant blue sky in the background with these many tall hats of of soft, white petals...well, it's truly colors straight from heaven.

I have gotten emails requesting a tutorial for a crocheted chatelaine. Hmmm. What to do? So grabbing bits of crochet thread and a scrap of fabric, I put together this

Daisy Chatelaine.

There are 23 steps, which seems a bit time-consuming, but honestly! it goes rather quickly. And I have also included a diagram for the pattern at the end of this post (because yikes! -- these written directions can seem veeeeeeeerry confusing.....)

(edit: for Sunny who emailed [and others just like me who n.e.e.d. an actual visual demo on how to make this beginning loop] ----> Teresa does her usual excellent job at this here.)

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By not fastening off, you can continue with crocheting the cord to hang your chatelaine. I have seen many patterns for crocheting a cord -- but none as beautiful or versatile as Thata's. Here is her video showing her 'I-cord'.

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Motif diagram

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And my first time at drawing a crochet pattern....so, yes, you must bear with this 'raw' drawing (where you can already easily spot the whited-out areas where I goofed.)

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Okay. I am almost afraid to push the PUBLISH POST button --- just how many errors did I make in the directions??

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Eek. Oh, well. If you find any, you know where to reach me.

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Are you thinking of how many different fabrics you have & how many different crochet thread options are out there?.....

Enjoy the endless possibilities of crocheting your own chatelaine!

hairpin rosette -- and a case of 'just pinch me'

My dear blogirl-friend from Dandelion Quilts and I were just 'talking' about what you do when someone 'famous' comments on your blog. (She had just had a 'famous' blogger comment on hers and she was giddy!)
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So we decided of course, for starters ------> you just pinch yourself with excitement!
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This is my very own case of 'just pinch me'. I was recently contacted by FaveCrafts to do a guest feature/tutorial on their craft website.
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(pinch)
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So I wracked my brain as to what to do?.........
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I got out my hairpin lace frame and decided to make a very simple rosette.
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And with help from my lovely assistant --a.k.a. younger daughter who so patiently held the frame and stood still while I took pics --
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I constructed a hairpin rosette.
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The complete feature/tutorial is here.
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.....and yes, I am still pinching myself.

crocheted peony brooch tutorial

I have had requests for the pattern for the crochet peony brooch I made here.

I used a size G hook and Caron Simply Soft yarn. Of course, you could use any size hook or yarn/thread for this flower.

Begin with a slip knot.

Chain 6.

Join in a ring with a slip stitch.

Round 1: Chain 1 (counts as first sc.) Work 14sc into ring for a total of 15 sc.
Join with slip stitch.





Round 1: Chain 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc into base of 3 chain, 3 dc into each sc.






End with a slip stich in top of 3 chain.






Round 2: Chain 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc into base of chain 3, 3 dc into each dc, ending with a slip stitch into top of chain 3.

(edit: 12/07/09 -- Thank you to a very insightful email -- I see that the original tutorial had a mistake on round 2. The mistake has been corrected and I hope no one else was confused with my directions for this step. And a *huuuuuuuge* thank you to Marion for pointing this out to me!!)

Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc into base of 3rd chain, 3 dc into each dc, end with slip stitch in top of 3ch.






Round 4: Work same as round 3.

Fasten off and weave in end.




To make fabric leaves:
Trace circle onto fabric choice for leaves. I used a jar lid.





Find center of circle by ironing a crease down the middle.





(Does this all seem familiar? Yup. It's just like the petals from the fabric flower tutorial I did here.)
Using a rotary cutter, cut down the center for 2 pieces.

Fold piece in half, right sides together. Sew a seam down straight edge.

Turn right side out.

Hand sew a running stitch on open edge.

Gather tightly. Secure with knot.

Hand sew to backside of crocheted flower.

I have a collection of vintage earrings. Loooooove to collect these, by the way!

By gently pulling apart the back from the front, I can easily use the perforated earring top to sew to the center of my flower.

You could also use a button, beads for the center -- or even leave it plain.

Trace a circle onto felt and sew to cover the backside of flower.

Attach a pinback.

A gorgeous, crocheted flower brooch.

I would love to see yours if you make one!