Matching adult-sized crocheted poncho!

Have you dug out your boots and ponchos yet? If not, it’s time! As promised, here is the adult version of the crocheted poncho I made for my niece, Sydney. 

This pattern is pretty much identical to the toddler size, only bigger. :) I found the FREE pattern here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/crochet-pattern-boho-poncho.html

The picture to the right is what the start of each row looks like: A chain of 4 and then 3 double crochets. When you get to the end of the row, you'll crochet 2 more double crochets in that same stitch and slip stitch it to the top of the initial chain 3.

The only thing I did differently was not include the scalloped edging. I wanted it to look exactly like the toddler version so instead of doing the fancy scalloped edging, I completed the poncho by chaining 1 and single crocheting around the entire thing to give it a nice finished look.

Since Steph is pretty skinny and tall, I stuck to the smaller size and only started with the chain of 44. I used the same yarn as the smaller poncho: Lion Brand Homespun in the color Clouds. It is so super soft and delightfully toasty warm. In fact, after finishing this poncho, I decided I needed one of my own. I want to use a different kind of yarn so I can play around with a different texture and color scheme, so I’ll be going shopping soon to find something fun and unique!

In case you missed my post on the child sized poncho, here it is: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4475178157260115808#editor/target=post;postID=1808159726405592478;onPublishedMenu=editor;onClosedMenu=editor;postNum=2;src=postname 

This poncho pattern works up so fast! I had it finished in a little over a day. And, once you get the pattern down, you really don’t have to think about it or count. I repeatedly had Steph try it on to make sure it was the correct size and to determine how long to make it.

Aren’t matching mother-daughter ponchos the best?! Too cute for words! 

Enjoy the free pattern and get busy working on your own poncho!

Crocheted poncho

My adorable niece, Sydney, showing off her poncho. :)

It’s starting to get a little chilly out. Personally, I’m not complaining. I love the crisp cool air that comes with fall. I love the turning of the leaves. I love digging out my sweaters and boots. I love hot cocoa and snuggling under blankets. Can you tell fall is my favorite season? Too bad it’s so short in North Dakota. It usually doesn’t take long before the snow starts falling.

One of the new fashion trends for this fall includes ponchos. I wanted to try my hand at crocheting one and found the cutest pattern! 

Since the pattern is a bit small for me :), I decided to make it for my adorable niece, Sydney. The pattern is for older infants and younger toddlers. I adjusted the pattern slightly to fit her perfectly. 

This is a free pattern on the Lion brand website: https://www.lionbrand.com/crochet-pattern-baby-poncho-4.html

The pattern uses Lion brand Homespun yarn. I loved the beautiful gray and white neutral color called Clouds. 

It will go with anything yet has a slight variation with the two colors blending together. The yarn is super soft and fuzzy and machine washable and dryable – a must for toddlers!

I used a 9mm crochet hook and chained the first ones loosely like it is stated in the pattern.

I got by with only one skein of yarn but didn’t have much left and I only did 11 rounds instead of the 13 that is needed for the 2-3 yr old size. 

The end of Round One.

 My niece is 20 months old so I didn't need the extra couple of rounds for the larger size. If you are doing to do the 2-3 yr size, you will probably need 2 skeins of yarn.

You can start to see the corners forming.

Love the cozy look and
feel of this yarn!

Honestly, this poncho took me two days to finish, and that’s with a lot of other things going on in my busy schedule. With a large crochet hook and lots of double crochets worked into clusters, it works up quite fast.

I was a little worried that the finished product wouldn’t fit over my niece’s head but it fit perfectly. 

Close-up of the double crochet clusters. 

In fact, if I had crocheted it any looser, it would fall off her shoulders. If I had done the smaller infant size, I think I would have crocheted the initial chain a little tighter. 

Almost done with the body part of the poncho. Now would be a good time to start trying it on to see how long you want it.

The poncho part is finished - just the neck part is left!

Finished product!

Have fun jumping in a pile of leaves and sipping your hot cocoa! Stay tuned for a matching adult sized poncho pattern!

Mr. "B" crayon letter

Summer is winding down. Target and Walmart have sales on crayons, notebooks, pencils, and pens. Backpacks are flying off the shelves. Kids are getting anxious and excited to meet their new teachers. It’s that time of year again…. Back to school! 

Many of my friends are teachers or parents (or both!), so this is an exciting time of year for them. Teachers are busy getting their rooms ready for that first day of school. Kids and parents are busy buying all of the school supplies needed to have a successful year.

For one of my friends, Phillip B., this is his first year teaching! He is awesome with kids and will make a great teacher. I wanted to make something he could put up in his classroom. 

I had seen some pictures on Pinterest of some colorful crayon monogram letters. I loved the idea and decided to see if I could find a nice big wooden letter “B” for Phillip’s last name. When I had asked him if he was going to have the kids use his first or last name he said he might just go with “Mr. B!” Perfect!

Materials needed for this project:

Wooden letter
8 boxes of Crayola 24 count crayons
Glue gun with glue sticks
X-acto knife
Picture hangers (I used two pop tops)
Ribbon for hanging

I browsed a couple different craft stores and found a good sized wooden capital letter “B” at Michaels for a couple of dollars. Then, I hit up the local Walmart to buy lots of crayons. Luckily, since they were on sale, each box of Crayola 24 pack was only 50 cents. I wasn’t entirely sure what color combination I was going to go with so I bought 8 packs.

After getting home, I pulled out all the crayons and started organizing them by different color groupings. After playing around with them for a while, I decided on a blue, green, yellow combo. Since there were 3 different blues, 3 different greens, and 3 different yellows, I had 72 crayons to work with for this project. I didn’t end up using all of them, but there were only a few left over.

Now came the layout. Instead of putting them all in a row from dark to light, I wanted a gradual change from one blue to another, from blue to green, etc. So, I went with a few rows of the dark blue, stuck in one crayon of the lighter blue, and then put in one more row of the darker blue before going on to the next shade. This gave it a nicer more streamlined look. Play around with the order of the colors BEFORE you start gluing them down. I laid them on the wooden letter and moved them around until I found the order I liked best.

I wanted some of the crayons to show the word “Crayola” so in order to do that, they needed to face left. I lined them up so that the very tip was hanging off the edge of the letter. To prep the “B” I made some straight lines across the letter and all the way down to make sure my lines were going to stay straight as I started gluing.

Now, it was time to start cutting and gluing the crayons. I took enough crayons of the one color to extend the whole way across and then used my sharp X-acto knife to cut the tip off the middle crayon and any excess of the last crayon so that the end of the crayon was lining up with the right side of the “B.” 

 
The easiest way to cut the crayons is to gently put pressure on the crayon and start turning it so that you go all the way around the crayon. Then, it will gently snap off where you scored it. After cutting the crayons to the correct length, put a layer of glue on the wood and gently press the crayon onto the glue for a few seconds. Go on to the next crayon and finish off that row.

Continue on with each row, varying the colors and the way the crayon is laying. I didn’t want all of the crayons to say “Crayola” so I tried to randomize it the best I could. Make sure that you pay attention to the curvature of your letter and any holes you have to work around. It’s better to measure twice and only have to glue once!

 

When you are finished gluing the crayons, let it sit for at least 24 hours to completely dry. In order to hang it, you will need to have some kind of picture hangers on the back. I went with two pop tops and glued them in place with the hot glue gun. After letting them dry completely, I wound some green ribbon through both of them and tied it in a bow, putting a dab of glue in the middle of the bow tie knot to secure it. 

Let that dry for a few hours before testing it out. Ta-da! Your crayon letter is ready to go!

With some inexpensive materials, some patience and time, you can make a personalized monogram crayon letter for the special teacher in your life!

Crocheted necklace with beads

If you haven’t checked out my previous blog post with a fun free crocheted bracelet pattern, check it out here: http://erinscraftyendeavors.blogspot.com/2016/08/crocheted-bracelet.html .

I used the same beautiful turquoise thread to make this super cute beaded necklace. I have never crocheted with beads before so I was a bit intimidated.

Luckily for me, I found a super awesome blog post that had a video with a step-by-step of how to tackle this pattern. 

Here is her site: http://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/2016/05/beaded-crochet-wrap-necklace-video.html#.V73ra5grJhE . 

I like free patterns, but I like step-by-step videos even more! She does a great job explaining what to do and how to do it!

A nice pop of color with my crocheted
necklace!

                 

My previous blog post was on a crocheted bracelet.

       

Materials Needed:

Some thin crochet thread (I used Aunt Lydia’s Classic 10 yarn)

3 containers of glass e-beads (I went with some pretty silvery/grey ones from JoAnn Fabrics)

Crochet hook size 3.5mm

Thin needle that will fit through the beads

The first step in this process is to put ALL of the beads onto your thread first. Trust me, it is easier this way. I started off with 2 tubes of beads (which you will see in the picture) but I ended up buying one more because I liked the look of the necklace when it was a bit thicker. It’s up to you how many overall rows/circles you want for your necklace. I ended up with 9 total and I needed 3 tubes of beads for that.

This part is a bit time consuming, but totally worth it! Pour all your beads onto a large flat surface with a slight lip to it so the beads won't roll off. This old plastic plate was perfect! Thread your thin needle with the yarn you chose and start threading your needle through each bead. 

Keep going until they are all on there! You might be tempted to only start with a few, but it is easier to have them all on your thread so you don’t have to tie off and start over by adding more beads to your thread.

Once you have all your beads on your thread, start the pattern with chaining. When you get to the first bead part, you simply pull the bead up to where you are working and chain AROUND it. 

          

First bead is on! The step-by-step pictures show you how to chain around the bead. 

If this part seems confusing, check out the video – it will make sense! Really, all you are doing is pulling up a bead and chaining over it as you go. Super-duper easy.

The shell part in-between each chunk of beads is a little confusing for the first row but after that, it is pretty simple. The shell stitch keeps going in the middle of the previous row’s shell stitch. Be careful not to twist the necklace as you are working on it.

See how the shell stitches continue to build on each other? Each shell stitch is put in the chain space of the previous shell.

So, you've crocheted the next block of 8 beads. Now you need to connect to the shell stitch. The crochet hook is pointing right at where you will do your next shell stitch, connecting it to the previous round. 

As you get going, you will notice that the necklace seems overly long – ridiculously long, actually. That is normal because you will end up doubling it when you are done. When I was done with 9 rows (circles), I had used up almost all of my beads and decided I was done. I tied off and weaved in loose ends. 

Then, you put it on over your head and double it up one time. I love how light the necklace is but also how simple and beautiful it is! The choices of bead and thread colors are endless! This might be my go-to Christmas present this year. :) 

Crocheted teething biscuit

Chomp chomp. Nom nom.

 Woohoo for nephews! I love my nieces to pieces! BABIES BABIES everywhere! Can you tell I have a great love for babies? I have worked with infants for 10 years and am now working with infant and toddler caregivers. I have a passion for babies. Whenever I see a baby, I want to hold them, snuggle them, tickle them, smooch them,  play peek-a-boo with them, cuddle them, laugh with them, bounce them, play pat-a-cake with them, you get the picture.....



I love to spoil my nieces and nephews and my close friends' and relatives' babies. Anytime I hear someone is expecting, I can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or girl so I can start crocheting something for them! I’ve been known to make blankets, diaper covers, shoes, boots, stuffed animals, hats, leg warmers, and stuffed beach balls. I love making homemade crocheted gifts for new lil ones.

             

Who can resist those flirtatious eyes and smile? :)

Because I’ve worked with many infants, I know how much the teething process SUCKS. It is so painful! I am so glad we don’t remember the process of our teeth poking through our gums for the first time! I can’t stand the pain of a canker sore, much less a tooth pushing its way through super sore, swollen gums. Anyone who has ever worked with infants (or is a parent of one) knows that when a child is teething, they want to chew on EVERYTHING. Soft squishy toys? Stuffed animals? Blocks? A friend’s elbow? Hard edge of a wooden table? Perfect!

My sweet nephew, RJ, chomping away.

When I came across this crochet pattern for teething biscuits I decided to give it a whirl. If they can help out even one baby get through the horrible process of teething, it’s worth it.

You can store these in the fridge or freezer or just run them under cool water right before giving them to the baby. They are completely washable and made of sturdy cotton thread so they won’t shred like polyester blends.

I found the pattern from this site: http://www.thelavenderchair.com/crochet-teething-biscuit-pattern/

I rewrote the pattern so I could understand it a little bit better. Here is my version: 

Teething Biscuits:

Cotton Yarn (I used Sugar ‘n Cream)
4.25 mm hook

Ch 10.

Row one: 3 hdc in 3^rd chain from hook. Hdc in each stitch across until the last stitch. 6 hdc in last chain. Turn work around and work along other side. 6 hdc. 3 hdc in last stitch that already has 3 in it. Join with sl st to first stitch

Row two: Ch 2. Two dc in next 3 stitches. 6 dc along the side. Make 2 dc in next 6 stitches. Dc 6. Make 2 dc in the last 3 stitches. Sl st to first double crochet stitch.

Make 2 of these and slip stitch them together, weaving ends inside.

Put in refrigerator or rinse with cold water and offer to child. Washable. 

In the picture on the left, I have chained 10. The picture above is of 3 hdc in the 3rd chain from the hook.

This is a picture of what it should look like after you have done a row

of hdc across and 6 hdc stitches in the last stitch. As you can see, after 

putting 6 hdc stitches in the last stitch, you have turned your work around 

and are ready to work on the other side.

Slip-stitching to the first stitch, ending round one! 

End of Row two!

I crocheted two separate pieces  using the same pattern and then slip stitched them together. To do this, line them up and go through both stitches at once.

Slip stitching the two pieces together.

What the finished product looks like after the two pieces are stitched together. 

              

To weave in loose ends, I use my crafting needle and push the needle through a stitch near the end and push it all the way through to the middle of the teething biscuit. After pulling the needle through, cut the yarn where it comes through and wiggle the crocheted biscuit so that the loose end gets lost inside. Ta-da! You're done!

"Can I get this whole teether in my mouth? I'm not sure, but I'm gonna try!"