Pin Loom Corn — Page 13

Behind the Scenes: Lil’ Snapper

April 10, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Behind the Scenes: Lil’ Snapper

My in-laws recently had a baby, and to celebrate, I decided to crochet something to match the theme of the baby’s room. The overall theme was turtles, so I set out to make a sweet little turtle photo prop. After looking at the various turtle patterns available, I wanted to make something as lifelike as possible.

I drew various shell patterns and debated about the shape of the shell segments. I finally decided that hexagons and pentagons would be the easiest. Still, I wanted a pattern that would show intricate texture found on shells. That’s when I decided to try the spike stitch. After several prototypes, I settled on the pattern used in this Lil’ Snapper set.

Originally I designed the pattern in green and brown, thinking that was the color of the baby’s room. Nope, it was blue and brown! I furiously set to work redoing all the work I had done before. Turns out blue and brown make for an adorable turtle as well! That got me to thinking, there are girl turtles too, so I played with a pink version as well.

Turtle Family

The set originally included the blanket, hat and diaper cover. Those were published in Love of Crochet. I was doing some research on rattles for another project when I realized that the hexagon shape would work for a little turtle rattle. A plastic Easter egg filled with popcorn seeds was the perfect size for the little hexagon. I also thought the little cape photo prop could be turned into a little stuffed animal, and thus the Turtle Family was born. I even debated about turning it into a purse, but that has yet to be done.

Turtle Blanket, shell, diaper cover and hat pattern available on Etsy.

Turtle Complete Set pattern available on Etsy.

Filed Under: Animals, Behind the Scenes · Tagged With: behind the scenes, turtle

Twins Face Off – Landscapes Yarn Sneak Peek

April 7, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Twins Face Off – Lion Brand Landscapes Yarn – Sneak Peek

Last week we announced that we are having another design challenge. You can read about the announcement of the Lion Brand sponsored Twins Face Off with Landscapes yarn on our previous post.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we’re working on:

Wow, these are two very different looking projects!

The category we’ve chosen is bags. Could be a handbag, purse, backpack, etc.

Next week we will reveal both completed projects and ask you to vote for which one you like better. We will also be giving away 3 skeins of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn and two copies of the patterns. See you next week!

Handbags Pattern available on Etsy.

Filed Under: Twins Face Off Design Challenge · Tagged With: design challenge, landscapes, lion brand, sneak peek, Twins Face Off

Newborn Turtle Outfit Crochet Pattern

April 6, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Newborn Turtle Outfit Crochet Pattern – Lil Snapper

You’ll get lots of oooh and aaahs with this adorable little turtle newborn outfit. It’s a fun photo prop and fabulous baby shower gift!

This newborn pattern set includes:

Baby Blanket
Cape
Diaper Cover
Hat

The baby blanket and hat are practical items that baby can be uses for months/years. The cape and diaper cover are sweet little photo props to capture a moment in time. We’re not sure which is cuter…the tail on the diaper cover or the decorative shell pattern that uses the spike stitch.

Lil Snapper Crochet Pattern Available in the Store

The Lil Snapper crochet pattern is available in the Store.

Lil Snapper set on Etsy.

Lil Snapper plus rattles and stuffed animal on Etsy.

This newborn turtle set first appeared in Love of Crochet magazine Fall 2014. We have the rights back to this pattern and it’s now available in our shop.

Learn more and see more photos of the Lil Snapper.

Filed Under: Accessories, Afghan, Age & Gender, Animals, Baby, Hat, Patterns for Sale · Tagged With: baby blanket, cape, diaper cover, hat, newborn, turtle

Behind the Scenes: Granny Heart Clutch

April 3, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Would you rather keep your hooks and supplies in a plastic sandwich baggie, or in a crocheted granny heart clutch?

For the longest time I used a zippered plastic bag. It was actually quite convenient. It could be rolled up and put in my crochet bag or sit beside me as I worked. But I had to use the gallon size bag and it seemed slightly bulky.

A Owl Bean Bag Deb Blanket

After making a few heart granny squares for the Granny’s Tree of Love afghan for the Owl Set (pictured above), I decided to try to make a little clutch. I decided to make a bright and colorful one first. Lion Brand’s Vanna’s Choice has many lovely colors and made a delightful clutch. I lined it so I could keep my hooks and supplies in it.

Owl Bean Bag pattern on Etsy.

Owl Crochet Set pattern on Etsy.

Granny’s Tree of Love Blanket Photo Tutorial pattern on Etsy.

This clutch appeared in Love of Crochet magazine. The editor suggest monochromatic colors and this grey and black version was created (pictured below in Knit Picks Shine).

Perfect purse for crochet hooks

I put a couple of magnetic clasps on it to keep my items safe inside. It has quickly become one of my favorite projects. It is beautiful and practical.

Learn more about the Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch.

Heart Granny Clutch pattern on Etsy.

Filed Under: Adult, Age & Gender, Bags, Behind the Scenes, Crochet, Great as Gifts, Yarnovator · Tagged With: behind the scenes, clutch, granny square

Tips and Tricks: Color

April 1, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Color Tips

One of the simplest and easiest ways to adjust a knit or crochet pattern is to change the color. There are several things to keep in mind before changing the color.

Flame Beanies

Substitute Yarn. Use the colors suggested by the designer. If the exact yarn is not available, be sure to substitute with the same weight yarn. If the pattern calls for a light weight yarn (3), try to find another light weight yarn. Substituting with a medium could significantly change the size of the finished project. In the case of beanies pictured above, if the yarn used is larger / heavier than suggested, the hats may end up too big. If gauge is not important, feel free to substitute with any weight and adjust the crochet hook accordingly.

Flame Beanies pattern on Etsy.

Turtle Family

Fit a Theme. You might want to change colors to fit a theme. Sometimes you want to change the color to a person’s favorite color or you want to match the colors of a person’s room, like a nursery. Notice where the darker colors are used. If you like the original pattern, try to keep the darker colors where the darker colors are used. Keep in mind, some patterns will look fabulous in a different order as well. The turtles pictured above show the same pattern with various color schemes. I went for traditional, then attempted to make one similar to the blue and white porcelain of the 14^th century.

Turtle Rattles and Blanket pattern on Etsy.

Houndstooth Shrug

Notice Stitch Patterns. Some patterns don’t look good in all color schemes. Sometimes a solid color will look better than a variegated color and vice versa. Sometimes the designer chose odd colors but the pattern is beautiful. Look at the stitch work itself and decide if it’s something you like. Houndstooth is often done in black and white, but it would look equally stunning in various colors. I did see a project in lavender and grey. Because the colors were so close, the houndstooth pattern was almost invisible. The stitch work is great, but more contrasting colors would be better.

Houndstooth Shrug pattern on Etsy.

Owl Bean Bag Set

Go Whimsical. Realism has its place, but sometimes fun and fanciful color schemes can work just as well.

Owl Bean Bag pattern on Etsy.

Owl Complete Set pattern on Etsy.

Granny’s Tree of Love Blanket photo tutorial on Etsy.

Go Tonal. Working in tones can make for striking projects. Work from light to dark or dark to light, or vary the tones for more stunning transitions.

Heart Centered Granny Clutch pattern on Etsy.

Hiking Buddy

Notice the sheen of the yarn. Some yarn has a matte look while others are shiny. This can impact the appearance of the final project as well. Would a doll look better shiny or dull? Perhaps the doll would look better in matte colors while the dress is shiny. This hiking buddy pictured above was done in shiny Caron Simply Soft.

Hiking Buddy purse pattern on Etsy.

Frog it! Sometimes one color doesn’t look as good as we’d like. It might be worth ripping out and trying another color.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks, Yarnovator · Tagged With: color, tips and tricks, yarn

Twins Face Off – Lion Brand Yarn Design Challenge

March 31, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Twins Face Off – April 2015 Design Challenge Sponsored by Lion Brand

We had such a great time with our first Twins Face Off Design Challenge that we’re bringing you another. Will Deborah be able to design another top pick and defend her title or will Dana design the crowd favorite and become the new champion?

Lion Brand Yarn is sponsoring the April challenge with a beautiful self striping yarn.

We will each have 3 skeins of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn in Boardwalk. This is a soft roving style yarn made in 100% acrylic. Each skein has 147 yards / 100 grams. The colors in this are vibrant, cheerful and fun and unlike anything we’ve worked with before!

Next week we will announce what cateogry of item we will crochet (could be a garmnet, accessory or toy, etc.) and we’ll share a sneak peek at what we’re working on. The week following that we will ask you to vote on the two designs. We will also be running a giveaway:

1st place to win 3 skeins of yarn and the 2 patterns;
2nd place to win the two patterns.

A big thank you to Lion Brand Yarn for sponsoring the April Twins Face Off. Visit their website to see Crochet Patterns and Knitting Patterns using Landscapes yarn.

Filed Under: Twins Face Off Design Challenge · Tagged With: design challenge, lion brand, Twins Face Off

Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch

March 30, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch

Crochet a heart centered granny square clutch for your crochet hooks and accessories!

This adorable little bag first appeared in Love of Crochet summer issue Crochet More 2014. We have the rights back to this pattern and have added this design to our shop.

For the magazine, Deborah crocheted the Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch in Knit Picks Shine yarn in greys and black. The prototype was crocheted in bright colors using Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice yarn (see photos in the shop). The is a quick and easy weekend project and would be a great stash buster.

Deborah uses this to store all her crochet tools. She added magnetic snaps to keep the front flap securely in place. It’s keeps her crochet hooks and tools securely inside and the little hands of her toddler out. The clutch is also small and portable for when Deborah wants to work on her crochet projects on the go.

Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch – Available in the Store

The crochet pattern includes lots of photos, written instructions, checkboxes to mark your progress and more.

Granny Heart Clutch purse pattern on Etsy.

Learn more about the Heart Centered Granny Square Clutch and see color photos in the shop.

Filed Under: Accessories, Bags, Patterns for Sale · Tagged With: clutch, granny square, heart, purse

Behind the Scenes: Houndstooth Shrug

March 27, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Behind the Scenes: Houndstooth Shrug

The Houndstooth Shrug won by a landslide in the Twins Face Off Shrug design challenge. But it wasn’t always stunningly beautiful. It went through a couple of redsigns on it’s way to greatness.

“Shrugly” was how Deborah’s husband described the shrug at one point. Yep, combine the word shrug with ugly and you get one shrugly garment.

I think Deborah lost 50 pounds by getting rid of the hood!

Deborah and I talked on the phone throughout the design process and at one point I encouraged her to google images for Cruella Deville (cartoon character in 101 Dalmations). She liked the idea of splitting black and white on the outfit.

Deborah also mentioned that the collar was a happy accident. “I originally designing the collar so that it would join and buttoned in the center front,” she explaiend. “But, when I folded the collar back it created a stunning lapel”. The back of the collar looks great folded flat (as pictured above) or up (pictured right).

Kudos to Deborah for working and reworking her design until she got it just right. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

She held strong to her convictions to create a beautiful garment and her hard worked paid off.

You can see more pictures of the Houndstooth Shrug in the shop.

Houndstooth Shrug available on Etsy.

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Scarves, Cowls & Shrugs · Tagged With: behind the scenes, houndstooth, shrug

Published in Love of Crochet Spring 2015

March 26, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Published in Love of Crochet Magazine Spring 2015

I caught the bug…the itch to crochet some pet rocks that look like insects and flowers! Even if there’s snow outside, it can be Spring inside with these cute Garden Buddies.

These cheerful little guys are a great way to bring the outdoors in. I love to have them sitting at my desk as paper weights. They are also cute sitting in potted indoor plants.

These patterns are available in Love of Crochet Magazine Spring 2015 issue now in craft stores and newsstands. Yarn is Handicrafter Crochet Thread 5 by Bernat.

Welcome Spring!

Garden Pals pattern available on Etsy.

Filed Under: Cozy, Flowers, Home, Home Decor, Publications · Tagged With: bee, butterfly caterpillar, cozy, daisy, garden buddies, ladybug, pet rocks, rock, rose, spring

Review: Red Heart Soft and Boutique Sashay Sequins

March 25, 2015 by Yarnitect (Dana) ·

Review: Red Heart Soft Yarn and Red Heart Boutique Sashay Sequins

We used two different yarns from Red Heart for the Twins Face Off Shrug
Design Challenge this month. We thought we’d share with you our thoughts on both Soft and Boutique Sashay Sequins.

Review: Red Heart Soft Yarn

We loved working with Red Heart Soft…we’ll just say that right off the bat. It deserves it’s name because it really is soft. It glides through your fingers and across the hook so smooth you’d think it was silk. Coarser yarn can chafe the tension finger, but this soft yarn does not irritate the skin. It also has really nice drape which is surprising for a worsted weight yarn. That makes it great for garments like scarves and sweaters, or in this case, shrugs. Not only is it gentle on the tension finger, as a finished project, it also feels soft and smooth.

Red Heart Soft also has a shiny sheen. That makes the finish item vibrant. The color is stronger and richer as a result.

This yarn can split a bit when working with it. Not too much, but enough to comment on it. If you run into this problem, you might want to try using an inline hook like Susan Bates which will minimize the snagging.

Red Heart Soft Yarn is delightful to work with. We don’t use it as often as we’d like because the color selection is limited. As of today, there isn’t a yellow in the mix. You don’t notice how often you use yellow until it’s not available! The colors that are available, however, are rich and vibrant. We love them all!

Red Heart Soft Pros:

Soft and comfortable to work with
Beautiful drape
Nice shiney sheen making colors vibrant

Red Heart Soft Cons:

Splits a little bit
Limited color selection

Review: Red Heart Boutique Sashay Sequins

Though lace and ruffles aren’t our usual style, we have to give two thumbs up to Red Heart Boutique Sashay Sequins for being a great yarn to work with. Working with lace does take a little extra time because you have to open it up and spread out the lace to find your next loop. Once we slowed down and realized this wasn’t a timed contest, we were able to enjoy the process of working with the lace. The Boutique Sashay Sequins opens easy and stays open so you can find the loops you want to work with. It really was a delight to incorporate into our shrugs.

Of course, the Boutique Sashay Sequins is probably most notable for it’s drape. It makes a beautiful ruffle. The lace part of the yarn is very holey, which allows for the crocheter to skip holes to create a more curly ruffle. Likewise, you can create more or less of a ruffle by crocheting more or less rounds with the lace. We like that the fabric gives us some control over how big the ruffles will be.

We crocheted the Sashay right into the project with the Red Heart Soft yarn. Imagine doing a single or double crochet with the Soft yarn. To incorporate the Sashay, we simply inserted the hook into the Sashay before inserting the hook in the next stitch of the project. Finish the single or double crochet with the Soft yarn and the Sashay is locked in.

The only thing we didn’t like about working with Boutique Sashay Sequins was so minimal it’s hardly worth mentioning. But for those who are curious, we did find it a little annoying that the yarn twists a bit as it comes off the skein. So you’ll have to stop and rotate the skein to get rid of the twist. But really, that’s to be expected on this type of yarn. See, we shouldn’t have even mentioned it!

Red Heart Boutique Sashay Sequins Pros:

Makes beautiful ruffles
Easy to open
Lots of options for making small or large ruffles
It has sequins…always fun in a yarn!

Red Heart Boutique Sashay Sequins Cons:

Twists as it comes off the skein

So, as you may have noticed, the pros totally outweight the cons! We enjoyed working with both yarns and know you will too.

Filed Under: Review · Tagged With: boutique sashay sequins, red heart, review, soft