Baby Slippers or Booties

I have had fun crocheting lots of little booties lately. I found a lovely pattern by Mamachee on Ravelry.

It is called Galilee Slippers. 

These little beauties can be worked in all colours of the rainbow and in different sizes too. 

I just love colour so have made them in different colours.

Galilee slippers in bright colours

Crochet slippers can have different coloured soles

Slippers can also be worked in plain colours

Premmie booties are tiny with a shell edging

Pixie booties are finished with crocodile stitch

Crocodile stitch is a complicated stitch to learn. Try this You Tube video to help you. It is quite easy once you get the hang of it. 

Join me on Instagram for lots more crochet photos  @tossyv

Other articles you may like are -
How to make a magic circle - a great article to help beginners

Vintage buttons for crochet

Variety in Crochet

Crochet is incredibly varied.

There are few stitches - 

• chain, 
• single crochet, 
• double crochet, 
• half double crochet and 
• treble crochet (all US terms), 

and yet with these, an incredible number of different patterns can be formed. 

From something simple, to something more complex,

Simple double crochet stitch

From a crocheted blanket ...

Hexagonal pattern blanket in crochet

To a three dimensional hat ...

Just what Spiderman needed - a cosy crocheted beanie

To s simple headband with a decorative flower ...

Sweet little Miss pink and white headband with flower

To some toys.

Mr Hoot Owl in Australian Indigenous colours

Why not pick up a ball of yarn and a crochet hook and learn to crochet something you are interested in. 

• The possibilities are endless.

Super Hero Crochet

Super Hero in Crochet

Crochet can take us many places we thought we would never go. 

For me it was 

I had three little boys that love their super-heroes. I decided to make something to keep their little heads warm for the winter. 

Minion Crochet Hat

First, there came the yellow one:

Bob the Minion in his bright yellow hat

I was reliably told that when you look at this Minion, His left eye is green and his right eye is brown. His name is Bob.  Apparently there are more minions floating around too. 

Bob the Minion has a green left eye

Super Hero Spiderman:

Spiderman to the rescue

Spiderman will have nice warm ears

I will have the pattern for this Spiderman beanie available soon. 

Batman:

Batman superhero beanie

Get your mask on straight Batman

Thanks for modelling boys.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Crochet: How to make a magic circle

Crochet Styles and Tension

Crochet: How to make a Magic Circle

The Magic Circle is useful when starting off a circular item, for example a beanie, hat or cloche, or a doily or round shawl. The circle ensures a nice, tight centre. You can control the size of the hole in the centre of this. 

Instructions for Magic Circle

1 Loosely wind yarn over fingers 2 times.

2 Push yarn through circle and make a loop.

3 Using the crochet hook, form loop and make 2 chain.

 

4 Make required number of double crochet into loose circle.

The number of double crochet can change according to your pattern.

5 There are 2 circles of yarn going through the double crochet. Test carefully to find the one that is directly attached to the tail of the yarn. Pull one side of this so that the other circle gets smaller. If you have the wrong side, stop and pull the other side of the same circle. When one circle is tightened, pull the tail of the yarn to tighten the second circle.

6 Slip stitch into 3^rd starting chain.

Other articles you may like:

Crochet styles and tension

Learning Crochet 

View more crochet on Instagram @tossyv

& On Twitter @tossyv

 

Vintage Buttons for Crochet

The Old Button Box

I inherited 'The Button Box' when my Mum passed on.

The old button box

Vintage Buttons

This is a treasure of wonderful buttons dating back beyond 70 years. There are lots of very old shirt buttons, ivory looking, now paper thin. There are buttons from my Dad's RAAF airforce uniform, and buttons from old cardigans that my Mum would have worn, and buttons from the clothes we children wore after they had seen the end of their life. Nothing was thrown away. 

Buttons over 70 years old

 Button Material through the Ages

Old buttons were made of celluloid, bakelite, lucite, vegetable ivory and metal, glass, china, mother of pearl, enamel, wood and casein. 

Oh, the stories they could tell, the bodies they have helped keep warm, the places they have been. 

I recycle these beautiful buttons to finish off the little crocheted jumpers, jackets and beanies that I make for toddlers. 

All about vintage buttons 

Broken Buttons

Buttons are tough, and they last a long time. It is rare to see broken buttons. When I was going through the button box the other day, I washed some and sorted them into new groups. There were only four broken ones out of a couple of hundred buttons. 

What stories they could tell. What beauty in these old buttons. 

 Well used vintage buttons at the end of their life

Crocheted Items Decorated with Vintage Buttons

Vintage pearl button on multi-coloured crochet girl's beanie

Vintage buttons on crocheted beanie

Vintage pearl button at the centre of a crocheted flower

Multi-coloured toddler's cardigan with various vintage buttons
 

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv  
 
Another article you may like:

Crocheted Beanies

Crochet in Art

 I Love Crochet

I Love Photographing Things I Love  

I Love Digital Artwork 

Put these things all together and what do you get? 

Art made with crochet, photography and digital manipulation

Crochet swatches to measure tension

I started  off making some swatches to work out the gauge or tension of my work. If you crochet a square with 20 stitches and 10 rows, the finished size of this will depend on

1. the thickness of your yarn
2. the thickness of your crochet hook
3. if you crochet loosely or tightly 
4. the weather - whether it is hot or cold
5. the type of yarn you are using - whether it is smooth or textured

I took a few photos and the next one caught my eye a couple of weeks later. 

Mmm, I thought, I think I can do something with that.

Crochet photograph used to digitally make a new work of art

The program I use to do artwork with my photos is Picmonkey. There is a free version as well as a paid version. I used the free version. Here's the link http://www.picmonkey.com/

My image at the top of this post -'The Crochet Network' - is made with the photo above and digitally manipulated in Picmonkey.  

Do you join your different skills together?
I'd love to see some photos of your work. 

Here is a link to an article about crocheted beanies 
and another about art and using it digitally.  

Enjoy! 

Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv

Crochet Styles and Tension

Hi everyone,

Today I am talking about the different styles of stitches and yarn and how they differ. 

I used a 5mm H/8 crochet hook and an acrylic yarn and pure wool yarn - 100% good Australian wool. . . . .

I have always crocheted into the front (that is, the part facing me), of the stitch. Lately, I have been seeing that a lot of other people  crochet into the both loops of the stitch. I decided to check this all out and see what I really preferred. 

This is the way I have always crocheted - into the front of the loop. It is the highest part of the stitch facing you. This is using acrylic yarn.

Style Number 1 in Acrylic Yarn

Now here is the same yarn and the same hook crocheting into both loops on the hook. 

Style Number 2 in Acrylic Yarn

Notice all the spaces that appear?
Here is a close-up comparison for you. 

 See how each stitch stands up straight in the first and slopes to the side in each row in the second?

Tension

So I measured the number of stitches and rows in a 4" x 4" or 10cm x 10cm area. 

My favourite stitch gave 16 stitches and 7 rows. 

Working into both loops of the stitch, the second photo, gave 13 stitches and 8 rows.

Australian Wool

I tried the same out using 8 ply wool in my favourite stitch, working only into the top part of the loop. It gave me16 1/2 stitches and 7 rows. 

Style Number 1 in Wool

Yes, I have decided that I came to the right conclusion many years ago. I prefer to work into only the front loop of the stitch, NOT both loops. 

I have noticed that working into both loops of the stitch gives a much looser fabric that has little stretch.

Working into the front loop of the fabric gives a closer stitch, and a fabric that has some spring in it. 

In this next photo you can see both loops of the stitch made when you crochet. When I turn my work to crochet the next row, I insert my hook into the top loop only. 

Here you can see the two rows. The green row has been worked from left to right. The tan colour shows the working of the next row. The top bump of the stitch you can see id the one I will work into in the next row.

Happy crocheting. 

You might like to read some of my other articles about crochet.

http://windowlane.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Crochet


Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv

Crocheted Beanies

Beanies are a quick and easy thing to make. They don't take much yarn, you can make them with a plain or a fancy stitch and you can make them any colour you want. Often it is hard to find something to crochet for our loved males. Beanies often fit the bill. 

This beanie can be for men or women. Just add some vintage buttons

 This beanie is a very plain and easy stitch. It is made with all double crochet stitch. This is also called treble stitch. You can vary the colour of the rows to make it bright.

The rainbow beanie

This pattern is a similar design to the men's beanie. I have changed the colour of the rows, added a shell pattern at the base, and added a crochet flower with a vintage pearl button at the centre. 

Beanie with crocheted flower and vintage button for girls or women

Crocheted flower with two rows of petals

Beanies can even have ear flaps to keep the ears warm on those cold days. They add a different feel to the woolly hat. They look especially good on little boys but can also suit girls. 

Beanie with ear flaps

Share you beanie with us. I'm sure the designs are endless. 
Follow me on instagram for more crochet photos @tossyv 

More crochet yarns coming soon. Cheers

Crochet for Babies

Baby Clothing of the 1970s

Shawls

I really like to crochet for babies. When my first child was born, I crochet a large circular white shawl. In those days, shawls were the thing. Then came bunny rugs. This shawl was so special, I wrapped my precious baby up in it and kept her warm. I still have it today. 

Crocheted Dresses

When my son came along, I made a special crocheted white dress for him for his Baptism. In those days, jumpsuits  were only just starting and were certainly not seen as clothing to wear for such a special occasion as a Baptism. He was only a few weeks old, so I'm sure I did not traumatise him by putting him in a dress. 

Jackets or Cardigans for Babies

We all know the difference between a jumper and a cardigan, right? In the mid 20th century, a cardigan for a baby was called a jacket. I don't know why, but that is just the way it was. By the time the baby got to about two years old, it was called a cardigan. I suppose today, we will still call out to a little one as we hurry out to the car, 'Have you got your jacket?'

Here is a little baby jacket. These are lovely crocheted out of 5 ply yarn. When you crochet, the resulting material becomes quite thick, much thicker than if it was knitted. They can get too thick and therefore too hot if made out of 8 ply wool. They come up beautifully with lacy designs.

A lacy design of crochet for a baby jacket

A short-sleeved jacket for a precious baby girl

A plainer design of crochet is often used for boy babies

Baby cardigans or jackets can be made in plainer designs for little boys. 

Colour

You can also introduce colour. Pastel shades are a good choice for little ones. Colour has a strong influence on our psyche. You may notice that little ones will soon show a preference for their favourite colour. In our society, pink is generally accepted for girls and blue for boys.

A baby girl's jacket in progress

Baby booties in bright colours

I do love bright colours and sometimes just have to give myself a dose of colour. I really enjoy using brightly coloured yarn, but tend to keep this for children at least one-year-old. 

More crochet yarns next time. Cheers