Dr Seuss Inspired Cat in the Hat Free Pattern

Dr Seuss Cat in the Hat Free Crochet Pattern

So my son wanted a hat for Dr Seuss week at school. I couldn’t find a pattern online that looked like it would work for what I wanted; which was the right size, something that would work up fast, and was free. So I threw this one together and it worked great. I crochet while I watch TV shows or movies and was able to watch two episodes and get this done at the same time. I'm not necessarily the fastest/slowest crocheter in the world but I felt that the time was worth the investment. I could have done it faster following a pattern and not watching a show at the same time. I hope that helps you decide if it’s worth the time investment.

In this pattern I used an I hook, worsted weight yarn in Blue (Main Color) and White (Second Color). It will fit a 3-4 year old comfortably and fit ok on a 6 year old. My son chose blue and white but you can pick any colors you want. I also designed it to be big at the top and then taper in a little. You can leave out any row decreases and it will make the hat fit a larger child. I can stretch it onto a 22” mannequin head but it looks a little funky. So if you need that size then you should leave out the decreases, maybe keep one of them. You’ll need to adjust the brim increases accordingly as well.

MR- Magic Ring

Ch – chain

Hdc – Half-double crochet

St – stitch/stitches

BLO- back loop only

Hdctog – half-double crochet together

FLO- front loop only

FO- finish off

1. MR, 8 hdc

2. 2 hdc each st, join (16)

3. Ch 1, 1 hdc, 2 hdc (24)

4. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next two st, 2 hdc (32)

5. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next three st, 2 hdc (40)

6. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next four st, 2 hdc (48)

7. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next five st, 2 hdc (56)

8. This row worked BLO: Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next six st, 2 hdc (64) Switch to Second Color.

9-10. Ch 1, 1 hdc each st (64)

11. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next five st, 2 hdctog (56)

12. Ch 1, 1 hdc each st (56) Switch to Main Color.

13-15. Ch 1, 1 hdc each st (56) At the end of row 15 switch to Second Color.

16-18. Ch 1, 1 hdc each st (56)

19. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next four st, 2 hdctog (48) At the end of the row switch to Main Color.

20-23. Ch 1, 1 hdc each st (48) At the end of row 23 switch to Second Color.

24. This row worked FLO: Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next five st, 2 hdc (56)

25. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next six st, 2 hdc (64)

26. Ch 1, 1 hdc in the next seven st, 2 hdc (72) FO

I only did three rows of blue (row 13-15) because I was low on blue yarn and wanted to make sure that I would get at least three rows on the last band of blue. I wasn’t sure how far it would go and since it went further I went ahead and did four rows for the second band of blue. You can make changes and add another row of Main color for row 16 and then switch colors. Just push the rows down one and have 27 rows at the end of your project.

This is my own pattern I made up. I would appreciate it if you would please link back here if you reference this or sell anything from it.

I hope this inspires you to try something new or to branch out on your own and create something new. J

Happy Crocheting!

~Heidi

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Newborn Hat, diaper cover, and booties

I have a friend that had a baby and wanted to make something for her. When I found this pattern I had to try it. I think it turned out so cute! I couldn't decide on a blue to add as an accent so I decided to just leave it as gray. It was fun to make and pretty easy to do. It doesn't list the number of stitches that you are supposed to have at the end of the row on every row. So you have to count these to make sure you're on the right track but it's simple enough to verify you're doing it right. 

I'll be giving this to my friend today or tomorrow so I'm hoping she likes it. I love making baby gifts! I think they are the funnest ones to make.

~Heidi

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Pokemon Fever!

So my kids were invited to a friend's birthday party. In our family we like to make gifts that are fun and entertaining to give as the gift. I only had a couple of days so I started brainstorming. I had seen the friend and his brother out looking for Pokemon with their dad so the idea started germinating to make a Pokemon for him.

Thus ensued a Pinterest binge while I searched for ideas. I found so many ideas on Pinterest, it was hard to choose. I even printed out two or three patterns before I decided on some patterns from one specific blog here. She had videos and a written patterns.  She is from Thailand but her English is actually pretty good. She has patterns written translated into English so you don't have to pull up Google translate at all.

Charmander is the one that I actually made for the birthday boy. I even made a Pokeball carrying bag for him. He LOVED it! He would set Charmander out and then throw the bag trying to catch him! He was so excited.

I found the Pokeball bag pattern here. If you look at the post you'll notice that the ball was made backwards with the red and white being switched. But it was no big deal to start with the white rather than the red. They are all really easy patterns to follow and were a lot of fun too. I made more Pokemon too for my Etsy page. I didn't actually take a picture of the bag I made for the birthday boy but pictured is my larger version that I made. I wanted it to be able to fit more than one Pokemon.

I had a lot of fun making these. I really enjoy amigurumi creations and love to make new things. Have you been working on any new projects lately? What are your favorite amigurumi projects?

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Fun Recent Projects

So I have to share some of the fun new projects I've been working on. Some for my Etsy shop, some for gifts. They've been so much fun to make and have expanded my skills for sure!

The first project I want to share is this cute little Captain America lovey I made. It's for someone in particular but shhh they haven't had their baby yet so I haven't given it to them yet. : ) I also sell this on my Etsy site too.

  


I got the pattern from here. This gentleman was very nice to let me use his pattern. He also has one that is a Batman lovey pattern. Very cute but I haven't made it yet.


The second project I wanted to share was a very involved filet crochet project I made for my sister. I started to explore filet crochet about a year ago and have made some things but decided to try something personal and more difficult. I made my sister a pouch to put her temple things in. So first I had to design it. I spent most of January working on the design before I even tried to make it. Then since I didn't have a pattern it was trial and error to get the right size of crochet thread and the right hook. I went through three different sizes of crochet thread and tried out three or four different hook sizes before I finally got the right match. Unfortunately I had the piece about a third of the way done before realizing that no it will not in fact work and so I restarted. But it just made the final piece better because of all the practice. : )

To explain one small piece of the symbolism here I have a close up of part of it. I found a stitch that looks like people holding hands. I put this in here to represent the generations of family that have gone before, family now, and family in the future. We hold the family very sacred and esteem it's importance very high. We also put high emphasis on family history for the past, present, and future members. It truly was a labor of love and I really enjoyed making it.


Next in line is this cute little elephant lovey for a friend's baby. It was really an easy work up and was a fun project to make.



I got the pattern from Ravelry here. If you haven't been on Ravelry before it is an amazing site with a HUGE amount of patterns. It does require you to sign up but it is FREE. There are a lot of patterns for free and also paid patterns.



My next project was for teacher appreciation day at school. I completely forgot to take pictures of what I made for all my kids' teachers but I did get a picture of one thing I made. This is a frog bookmark. As you can see it looks a little funny, it's squished! I found this on Pinterest and it cracked me up. I had to make it for my son's pre-k teacher because 1. she loves books and 2. she would crack up as much as I did.



Since she is a pre-k teacher I made it longer than a normal bookmark because children's books tend to be larger so I wanted her to be able to use it for anything she wanted to. I honestly had to do a lot of searching to get the pattern. As I said before I found it on Pinterest and it sent me to the author's Facebook page here. then I had to scroll down until I found a picture she had taken of the pattern and I was able to save it as pictures and put them into Word so I could print them. Here's the kicker, the pattern was in Italian!! Lol! So I got to expand my horizon's and I googled Italian/English translation and was able to find a website that I could type in phrases and it would translate them for me. It took about an hour but I was able to get the whole pattern translated enough where I could figure out the pattern. Overall it was a pretty easy pattern and pretty fun to make.

PS My son's teacher loved it!


Another filet crochet project that I worked on this month was for my husband's cousin. She is getting married and I wanted to make something personal for her too. She is getting married in the temple so I wanted to have that in the design. Cat is actually the one that created the design for the temple and she let me use it.

It was really a fun and easy project. I actually like to use Excel to create my designs for my filet crochet projects. It makes it so easy to change the pattern and get it exactly centered and right. I made another one of these last month but didn't even think about getting a picture. But I used Excel for that one too and it made it so easy to just trade out the letters to change the name. I used this alphabet and love it.

Here is my pattern. It's not the greatest picture but that's because of converting it from Excel to pdf and then pulling it into Photoshop and saving it as a jpeg. I love to use Excel since I can make all the squares small and the same size. Put in shaded boxes to make my pattern. And I also like to put in the number of filet crochet boxes I have to make. Whether they are open or closed boxes doesn't matter because the shading tells me that. I just make sure I know where I'm starting and then I can just follow the pattern. Anyway so I'll get off my soapbox about Excel. ; ) I just love it and wanted to share.

My last project to share is one I made for my soon to come little guy. It's a dragon lovey pattern that I found, where else, on Pinterest.

                   


This lovey was fun and really easy to make. I did have a hard time getting my brain to wrap around doing the scales but I think it was more my brain than the pattern. But I eventually got it and I think it turned out so cute! It was a lot of fun seeing it come together once you get to the sewing it all together part. : ) This is another free pattern that is found on Ravelry here.


I have to tell you that my craft board on Pinterest is just bulging with projects that I would love to make! I just have to find a reason to make them and then the time. There is so much creativity out there and I love that people are willing to share!

I just had to share a bunch of the projects that I've been working on. It's been a lot of fun. I've also done some other projects like a mermaid tail afghan and I also did get to design and make fun new Dalek and Tardis tablet pouches for a lady for Christmas. Train tracks and roads for my son (Pattern came from here and I absolutely love her work!). Rather than make this post even longer I'll just put a few pictures up instead of talking about each one. These are projects that I did last fall and they were fun to make. I made the mermaid tail for my little girl for her birthday and she loved it.

 



What projects have you been busy working on? There is so much to choose from out there! Happy Crocheting!

~Heidi







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Crochet Nativity Set (Part 2): Shepherds, Sheep, & Donkey

I know I promised this up and done by last fall, and I am really sorry I didn't follow through with it.  I have an excellent excuse, you know.  Between the last time I posted the part 1 of the Nativity, we moved from Utah to Oklahoma for a while, and then on to Tennessee with the Army.  Then last Halloween I had my 4th son.  So the last year and half, things have been a little crazy, to say the least.

But better late than never right??

(Note: You can find Part 1 of the Nativity Set: Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Angel, & Stable here!)

Presenting: 

Crochet Nativity Set (Part 2):

Shepherds, Sheep, & Donkey

For the shepherds I used the same designer and writer (6ichthusfish) that made the earlier set.  You can find the pattern for the shepherds here:

Shepherd pattern for Nativity

My changes:

I did not make the finger puppet versions, and stuffed mine.  I also wanted to make them a little bigger than her designs and used a G hook.  Belt:  I really only liked chained only belt (brown one), going back on it with a sc made it thicker than I wanted (the green one).  If you prefer to do the sc, I suggest using a smaller hook.  I used the long beard pattern for the white one, and the short for the brown.  I haven't yet made a crook that I like, this one above is just a twist tie I did really quick.  I wanted to get the patterns up asap and haven't made it to Hobby Lobby yet.

That's it!

Now, her pattern design didn't include animals... but what Nativity is complete without the animals, right??

So for the last 2 years, I have searched for patterns for the animals that would preserve the integrity of the style of the Nativity characters I already made.  Most designs were too cartoon-like for what I wanted.  I thought of making my own, but I didn't know clue one about designing crochet animals.  This last month, though, I have been on bed rest with the pregnancy and I had time to learn the basics about crocheting dolls, and I learned so much, I was finally able to sit down and design the animals that had been floating around in my head these last couple years.  So here are my patterns, originals by me, Cat, for your private use.  If you choose to sell anything you make, please make sure you give credit to me and this website for your designs.  (Also don't forget to properly credit 6ichthusfish for her beautiful designs as well.)

Sheep Pattern for Nativity

Pattern and Design by Catherine Lang 2015 @ theworstedcrochetblog.blogspot.com 

You will need:

-F Hook (US) 3.75 mm
-4 Ply Yarn: white/off-white/OR ivory AND grey, black or brown -- or whatever colors you want to use.
-Soft stuffing

Special Stitches:

Magic Circle

Puff Stitch (ps): Yarn over (yo), insert the hook in the stitch, yarn over, draw the yarn through the stitch, yarn over, and draw the yarn through the 2 loops on the hook. In the same stitch, repeat the preceding step twice. Yarn over and draw the yarn through all 4 loops on the hook.

Ear Picot (ep): sc in next st, ch 3, ss in 3nd ch from hook.

Abbreviations:

dec: decrease = sc next 2 st together.
ep: ear picot (see special stitches)
inc: increase = 2 sc in next same stitch.
ps: puff stitch (see special stitches)
scbl:  single crochet in back loop ONLY.

Instructions:

Tip: since you are working in rounds, make sure you use a stitch marker so you don't lose count.

Head/Face

Make a magic circle.

Rnd #
1:  sc 6 in magic circle and pull tight. (6 st)
2:  sc 6. (6 st)
3:  (sc, inc) x3 (9 st)
4:  sc 2, ep, (inc) x3, ep, sc 2 (12 st)
5:  (inc) x2, scbl (work behind the ear), scbl, sc 5, scbl (work behind ear), scbl, inc. (15 st)

Switch to white or ivory (to make a smooth color change, check out this video tip!)

Body

6:  scbl 7, (inc) x3, sc 5 (18 st)
7:  (hdc, ps) x9 (18 st)
8:  (sc 2, inc) x6 (24 st)
9:  (hdc, ps) x12 (24 st)
10:  (sc 2, dec) x9 (18 st)
11:  (hdc, ps) x9 (18 st)
12:  (sc, dec) x6 (12 st)  STUFF NOW!
13:  (dec) x6 (6 st)
14:  (dec) x3 to close off OR you can try this super cool close off method that I LOVE: click here!! (the tutorial is near the bottom of the page with pictures included)

Legs (Make 4)

Magic circle with 2nd color (non-white)

1:  sc 6 into circle and tighten (6 st)
2:  scbl 6 (6 st)
3:  sc 6 (6 st)

Fasten off leaving long tail to use to stitch on body.

Tail

With 2nd color, non-white, Magic circle and sc 6 and tighten circle.  Fasten off leaving tail to use to attach.

Finish off!!

Stitch on the parts by following the picture or how you would best like.

Donkey Pattern for Nativity

Pattern and Design by Catherine Lang 2015 @ theworstedcrochetblog.blogspot.com 

You will need:

-F Hook (US) 3.75 mm
-4 Ply Yarn: white/off-white/OR ivory, grey, black, and brown -- or whatever colors you want to use. -Soft stuffing

Special Stitches:

Magic Circle

Special Ear Picot (sep): sc in next st, ch 4, ss in 2nd ch from hook, sc 2 (down the ch), ss in front of bottom of the original sc before the ch -- see picture below for where to insert hook for the last ss:

Abbreviations:

dec: decrease = sc next 2 st together.
sep: special ear picot (see special stitches)
inc: increase = 2 sc in next same stitch.
scbl:  single crochet in back loop ONLY.
sc3tog: single crochet next 3 stitches together.

Instructions:

Tip: since you are working in rounds, make sure you use a stitch marker so you don't lose count.

Head/Face/Body

Make a magic circle with white/ivory.

Rnd #
1: sc 6, pull circle closed tight (6 st)
2: sc 6 (6 st)
3: (sc, inc) x 3 (9 st)

Change to grey, (to make a smooth color change, check out this video tip!)

4: sc 3, (inc) x 3, sc 3 (12 st)
5: sc 3, (inc) x 6, sc 3 (18 st)
6: sc 18 (18 st)
7: (sc, dec) x 6 (12 st)
8: sc 4, sep, sc 3, sep, sc 3 (10 st + 2 ears = 12 st)
9: (dec) x2, scbl, ch 1 (work behind the ears), sc3tog, scbl, ch 1 (work behind the ear), dec, sc. (9 st) Start stuffing NOW -- and stuff the neck as you go along.

10: inc, sc 2, sc in ch sp, sc 2, sc in ch sp, sc, inc. (11 st)
11: (inc) x 2, sc 3, (dec) x 2, sc, inc. (12 st)
12: (sc, inc) x 2, sc, (dec) x 3, inc. (12 st)
13: sc 2, (inc) x 2, sc 7, inc (15 st)
14: sc 2, (inc) x 3, sc 2, (dec) x 3, sc 2 (15 st)
15: sc 3, inc, sc 2, inc, sc 4, dec, sc 2 (16 st)
16: sc 5, (inc) x 3,sc 5, dec, sc (18 st)
17: sc 18 (18 st)
18: sc 6, (inc) x 6, sc x 6 (24 st)
19-28 (10 rounds): sc 24 (24 st)
29: (sc x 3, dec) x 4, sc 4 (20 st)
30: sc 20 (20 st)
31: (sc 2, dec) x 5 (15 st)

Finish off stuffing body NOW!

32: (sc, dec) x 5, dec (10 st)
33: (dec) x 5 (5 st)
34: dec until sewn up to close off OR you can try this super cool close off method that I LOVE: click here!! (the tutorial is near the bottom of the page with pictures included)

Legs- Make 4

Magic circle with black yarn.

1: sc 6, tighten circle (6 st)
2: scbl 6 (6 st)
3: sc 6, (6 st)
Switch to grey yarn
4-8 (5 rounds): sc 6 (6 st)

Fasten off leaving a tail for sewing onto body later.

Tail

With grey yarn ch 7,  ss in 2nd ch from hook, ss 2, sc 3 (6 st)

Fasten off leaving a tail to attach to body.  Tie on black fringe on the bottom.  I do it the same way I do the mane: see bottom picture guide.

Mane

Halter

With brown yarn ch 25, ss in 13th ch from hook, ch 12, ss to first chain and fasten off.

Finishing Off

Attach the parts using my pictures as guides or however you want!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me @ nutsinanutshell(at)gmail(dot)com. Enjoy!!!

-Cat

(Note: You can find Part 1 of the Nativity Set: Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Angel, & Stable here!)

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Minion hats! Nice ones... and Evil ones :)

Along with millions of other kids around the world, my kids are big Despicable Me fans... Including myself (nothing better than a movie they play repeatedly that doesn't bother me.. and still makes me chuckle!!) So, I made some hats. I started with the basic minions. Then, I received a request from a friend to make one that is more girly. So I made a female minion. Then I had no choice but to make an evil one to complete the set. So here they are! I have them available on my Etsy site at https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmysCrocheting. At the moment I do not have the evil one up yet, but I should by the end of today. With these hats, I have had several people order some for the kids.. then come back and order adult sizes for themselves. It has been really fun... especially when I find out how much the kids that receive them love them! They are high quality.. I put my all into every hat I make :)

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Crochet Nativity Set (Part One)

I am so excited to finally post about this project I have been doing this year.  The idea came from a fellow crocheter and blogger, Chelsea from A Chick w/ Sticks.  But of course, I really wanted to make it my own.

(I actually made 7 sets, but had already sent out 2 before I remembered to take pics!)

I made 7 Nativity Sets.  Well, they aren't complete YET.  Since I am making so many, I have scheduled this as a 3 year project.  This year, my family received these:

This basic set included:
Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Angel, and stable carrier case.

You can find the original patterns here:
Mary
Joseph
Baby Jesus
Manger
Angel
Stable Carrier Case (Crocheted Cheche)  (Update: this pattern can now be found on Ravelry! Yay!)

And then I made my own adjustments:

For the figures, I didn't want finger puppets, and I wanted to make them bigger.  So I used a G hook, and then I used the stuffing option that the pattern gives.

Mary: I gave her some white trim.

Joseph: I used a darker green, and I added a belt for him.

Baby Jesus:  I made the baby with the smaller hook required in the pattern, I tried it with the G but the baby was WAY to big!  Then I made the manger from the magazine pattern -- but I made the straw a little more loopy.  AND the manger is reversible... so I can turn the straw in and put baby on top if I want.

Angel:  I didn't like the pattern wings -- I thought they looked more like a butterfly's.  So I designed my own.  I wanted them to look graceful and "falling".

Stable Carrier Case:  I actually made this a little bigger than the pattern asks for.  I also made the star bigger too.

NEXT YEAR

This project is the first installment of a 3 year project.  This next year (2014) I will be adding the shepherds, some sheep (my own design), and a donkey (which will be my own design as well), and my family members will get to add them to their collections.

In 2015, I will be doing the 3 wise men, and a camel (again, will be my design).  I will be including the patterns for FREE on this site when I get them done so you will be able to add them to your own nativity sets... yay!

-Cat

2015 UPDATES!!!!

The Nativity Part 2 is up!!!  It includes the links to the shepherds and my own patterns for FREE for the Donkey and the Sheep!!  Click here!!

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