Tag: designs

  • Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas July 2018: Twirly Baubles

    Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas July 2018: Twirly Baubles

    Happy Thread the Needle Day! The origin of this special day (July 25) is unknown, but as a crafter, I naturally think of sewing. This month’s project for Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas uses the simplest sewing ever, so this one would be great for getting older kids involved.

    I was immediately drawn to the paper snowflake-inspired Felt Ogee Ornaments made by Betz White. I found this project a while ago, and I’m so happy that I finally got around to making one. Betz recommended 3 mm felt because it is stiff enough to hold its shape. I couldn’t find it locally, so I bought a wool/rayon blend on Amazon. I thought mine was a tad too thick because it wrinkled a little as it bent around. I’m wondering if 2.5 mm or 2 mm felt would work better. The biggest drawback is that the thick felt is not typically sold in stores. I think the results are definitely worth the online shopping trip.

    I used sewing thread to sew the overlapping edges and tied surgeon’s knots to secure. I used invisible quilting thread for hanging.

    I made my own felt beads for this. Yep. With plain ol’ wool yarn. (more…)

  • Summer Stock Shawlette

    Summer Stock Shawlette

    Summer Stock Shawlette is a fluttery little thing—easy-breezy and perfect for cool nights or over-air-conditioned spaces. I love my version in Nettle Grove by Plymouth Yarn (a blend of cotton, linen, silk, and nettle in a sport weight yarn), but it’ll look great in all sorts of yarn. Go ahead and stash dive on this one! The pattern includes alternative stitch counts that will work for the border, so you can make this as small or as large as you want.

    The inspiration first came from the yarn. My friend Britni and I had been talking about summery shawls when I ran across this Nettle Grove. It’s way out of my comfort zone, but that’s what I wanted. First of all, I don’t work with a lot of cotton, let alone linen or nettle (nettle?). It’s not too scratchy to work with, and as everyone says, it softens up so much. And then orange? Orange is SO not a good color for me, but somehow, this muted orange works. It looks great with gray, blue, purple, raspberry—all my cool-colored t-shirts. The color wheel in action! (more…)

  • Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas November 2017: Quick Knits

    Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas November 2017: Quick Knits

    It’s time for the final push! We only have one month until Christmas! Can you believe it?

    Every time I write about a new craft I’ve made, I feel a slight pang of guilt. I’ve always dabbled in all sorts of crafts, so it’s not like I’m a monogamous crafter or anything. Knitting is my main squeeze, though, so that is my go-to when I want to make a handmade gift. But wait a second. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to blog about knitting in, say, June when we still had several months ahead of us? Well, my favorite things to knit are accessories because they are quick and make a big impact with only a small amount of time and effort. I’m a procrastinator, and I know many of you are, too, so quick and easy are key features when you’re on a deadline.

    [It just occurred to me that knitting is a little like childbirth. Yeah, of course, you created this thing of beauty and the knitting project is your baby and all that, but I’m thinking about the effort you put in. You always hear moms bragging about how many hours they labored. It seems like the most dramatic stories come at the extremes: “I pushed for FOUR hours!” but also, “I only pushed for 22 MINUTES! I guess he was in a hurry.” (True story. 22 minutes for me. Not bragging at all.) So when it comes to knitting, we’re especially proud when we finally complete a sweater or afghan that took 2 years to complete but also when we whip up a cowl in only a few hours. Or is it just me?] (more…)

  • Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas November 2016: For the Home

    Bronwyn’s Handmade Christmas November 2016: For the Home

    I have to admit that I don’t decorate much for Christmas, or throughout the year, for that matter. I put up a tree and hang a wreath on the door, but that’s about it. A few years ago, I started collecting the LEGO Winter Village sets (Some people collect ceramic houses; I do LEGO.), but I never get around to setting up an actual display. Maybe this year will be different.

    I came across a video a few weeks ago for how to make pumpkin pom pom garland. I’ve seen a similar technique for making several pom poms at once, but this is pretty clever. First, wrap lots of yarn around two poles several feet apart. Then, securely tie short sections at equal intervals. Finally, cut between the ties to create individual pom poms; for garland, though, keep one strand intact all the way across so that the poms are strung along the length of it, evenly spaced. To trim and shape the pom poms, hold the long strand out of the way while you carefully snip around. (more…)

  • Indie Designer Gift-A-Long 2016

    Indie Designer Gift-A-Long 2016

    With Christmas just over a month away, it’s time for all you knitters and crocheters to kick your crafting into high gear if you’re planning to make hand-stitched gifts. If you’re still looking for just the right pattern, now is a great time to support independent designers like me. It takes a lot of time and hard work to put out quality designs, so we all really appreciate every pattern sale. The Indie Design Gift-A-Long (GAL) is a Ravelry-wide knit-along/crochet-along (KAL/CAL) that showcases knit and crochet designers who self-publish their patterns. Without wide exposure from magazines or yarn companies, indie designers are left to fend for themselves. This GAL is an excellent way to discover fun patterns from new-to-you designers. The event begins with a pattern sale running from tonight, November 22, at 8 p.m. EST (New York time) through Wednesday, November 30, 2016, 11:59 p.m. EST. Hundreds of designers (335, actually) have created “pattern bundles” on Ravelry to highlight their 5-20 designs that qualify for a 25% discount. Use the universal code giftalong2016 in your shopping cart to take advantage of the sale. (more…)

  • Gathering Rosebuds

    Gathering Rosebuds

    I’m so excited to release my new shawl pattern today! Gathering Rosebuds is a shallow crescent, one of my favorite shawl shapes. I love the long tails that can wrap around my shoulders when worn as a traditional shawl, and when I wrap it around my neck like a scarf, the center isn’t so deep that it feels like I’m wearing a lobster bib. The increases are worked all the way through the border in order to maintain the elegant curve of the crescent. This means that the tails cascade gracefully rather than being lopped off at the ends.
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    I designed Gathering Rosebuds to be knit with just one skein of fingering weight yarn. I chose a gorgeous skein of MCN (Merino/Cashmere/Nylon 80/10/10) dyed by Jeanette of Sun Valley Fibers. (Mine used about 92 g in the Moody colorway.) She has some of the most beautiful semi-solid colorways. If you have extra yarn, I’ve included additional instructions for knitting two more rows of rosebuds. Charts and written instructions are provided in the pattern.

    What’s in a name? (more…)