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A Touch of Spice with a Pompom Edge.

March 14, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern36 Comments

Crochet Pompom Edging

I think a crochet pompom edging is one of my favourite types of blanket borders, so far. This is a cosy blanket just for me!

It’s a real thrill because most of my finished crochet blankets tend to make me feel a bit “meh” after I’ve finished them. It’s usually to do with them not ending up how they looked in my head, so they get abandoned, or I give them away. Not this time!

The main crochet stitch used in this blanket is the Stacked Shells section from Cherry Heart’s Spice of Life blanket. Sandra herself did the same thing, and I liked it even more than the Spice of Life Blanket [here’s my SoL]. I’ve totally copied the idea! It’s called A Touch of Spice, and I really love it.

A Touch of Spice Blanket

Last year, I bought a pile of Stylecraft Life DK, thinking I was going to make a Rustic Lace Square blanket. I’m still undecided about the Rustic Lace Square with this particular yarn, though. Some of the crochet blankets I’ve seen are exquisitely beautiful, but they look cottony and fine, not woolly and wintery. They’re lacey. I’m not sure this is the yarn for that crochet project. However, I’ve still got loads of Stylecraft Life left so…

Stacked shells with a crochet pompom edging

A Bobbly Pompom Border

The bobbly crochet pompoms are my absolute favourite bit. I love the red, and I just think they’re fabulous. I was super proud of them because I made up the crochet pattern myself.

I’d found a couple of crochet patterns and tutorials that had really faffy ways of crocheting pompoms, which I just couldn’t be bothered to do. I did try. Every pompom took an age, and it would have taken a lifetime to go round the whole blanket. My reaction to that was to come up with my own cheat pompom that takes half the time to crochet.

Spice of Life inspired Stacked Shells crochet blanket.

Bobbly Crochet Pompom Edging

Before I share the pattern (below), let’s take a look at the instructions for how to crochet a bobble. I have used UK terms, but a UK treble crochet is a US double crochet. Super simple to translate.

5tgr = treble crochet 5 together. Here are the instructions for a crochet bobble ie 4tgr:
Yarn over (YO), insert hook in stitch, YO, pull up a loop, 3 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 2 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 4 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 3 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 5 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 4 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 6 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 5 loops on hook.
YO & pull through the last 5 loops.

Gosh, that’s tricky to write down, that’s for sure!

Crochet PomPom Edging Pattern

This pompom edging is worked into a foundation of plain stitches that you’ll have already worked. I crocheted this pompom edging onto a round of UK treble stitches / US double crochet stitches. I continued to use the same colour.

Round 1: With right side of blanket facing, *Ch7, 5tgr in 4th ch from hook, ch1, sl st into bottom of bobble, ch3, skip 3 sts of blanket edging, and sl st into next st; rep from * around.

I’ve broken it down with a few pictures below:

How to make a crochet pompom edging. photo Tutorial.

Crochet Pompom Edging: Step By Step

Step1: Chain 7.
Step 2: Beginning the 5tr bobble.
Step 3: Before pulling through the last 5 loops on the hook.

A photo tutorial for a crochet bobble edge.

Step 4: A finished crochet bobble.
Step 5: Slip stitch into bottom of the cluster (original 4th ch from hook.)
Step 6: Chain 3.

Step 7: Miss 3 stitches. Slip stitch into the 4th chain.
Repeat all the way around. Fasten off, sew in ends and admire your new crochet pompom edging.

My Spice of Life inspired crochet blanket.. Except this has a crochet pompom edging

A Lovely Blanket with a Crochet Pompom Edging

Amazingly, for me, I blocked this crochet blanket. I pinned it directly onto the carpet because I don’t have any spongy foam blocking boards. It doesn’t seem to have ruined the carpet.

To block my blanket, I sprayed it lightly with water and left it overnight. By morning, it was dry (It was near the radiator). I have draped myself in my cuddly new blanket every evening since I finished it last week. It’s lovely.

Anyway, I think I’m sewing stuff next. Maybe some Jedi robes for the boys, slightly different to usual. And I’ve dug out some paper piecing hexies, which is a very old, ongoing project.

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Amigurumi Easter Egg! Free Crochet Pattern.

March 8, 2016March 1, 2026amigurumi, crochet, free pattern45 Comments

Easter Eggs

Chocolate Easter Eggs are my favourite sort of chocolate. Mini eggs and creme eggs are both very good reasons to look forward to Easter, but neither truly beats a large Cadbury’s Dairy Milk (or other Cadbury) egg that has been put in the fridge for at least two hours so that it cracks and crunches as you bite it.

When I was little, I used to drink milk out of half a chocolate egg. I thought it was fancy. The other half of the chocolate egg was crumbled into a mug and ruined with hot water to make some kind of bad hot chocolate (not so fancy). I don’t waste it like that now, I shovel it in my face whilst hiding behind the fridge door. Mostly, I hide because the chocolate doesn’t belong to me. When I’ve finished mine, I’m then stealing from the children. Anyway, I shall move on…

Pretty amigurumi Easter eggs. Free crochet pattern.

Decorated Crochet Easter Eggs

Nearly as good as the chocolate eggs are crocheted versions. I am here to celebrate Easter with a little bit of amigurumi-style crochet eggs. I came up with the pattern for these at Christmas. I was trying to design a Father Christmas head/hat combo, but whatever shape I tried looked like an egg. I binned the Christmas idea, but out of it came these, so I can’t complain.

That’s the thing about crochet design. Through mistakes and failures come good things! I guess that’s the creative process, right?

I think these decorated crochet Easter eggs are cute, and I hope you like them too.

They did look quite nice sitting up by themselves. The children like throwing them around, and I know the cat would too if she could get her paws on them.

It’s rather telling that I don’t have any egg cups, and I had to use shot glasses.

Happy Easter! Cute amigurumi Easter eggs. Free crochet pattern.

Amigurumi Easter Egg Pattern

As with most crochet amigurumi patterns, the pattern is written in US terms.
I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn and a 3mm hook. I even found a use for the shade, Duck Egg!

Round 1: 6sc into a Magic Ring.
Round 2: 1 Inc in each stitch around. [12 sts].
Round 3: 1 sc in next stitch, 1 inc in next. Repeat around [18].
Round 4: Sc around. [18]
Round 5: 1sc in next 2 st, 1 inc in next. Repeat around. [24].
Rounds 6-7: Sc around [24]
Round 8: 1 sc in next 3 st, 1 inc in next. Repeat around [30].
Rounds 9-15: Sc around. [30]
Round 16: 1 sc in next 3 st, 1 dec. Repeat around. [24].
Round 17: 1 sc in next 2 st, 1 dec. Repeat around. [18].
Round 18: 1sc in next st, 1 dec. Repeat around [12].

Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Stuff your crochet egg firmly.
Using a darning needle, thread through the front loops only. Pull tight to close the hole. Stitch in and out a few times to fully secure and then snip the end neatly.

(Go HERE to see what I’ve done with the egg pattern for 2018!!)

Embroider Your Easter Eggs

Decorating your crocheted Easter eggs is relatively quick and easy. With a darning needle, I went in through the bottom of each egg and then made French knots for the flower centres and a few chain stitches for petals and leaves. With a poke and a prod from the darning needle, the snipped ends can be hidden inside. Hey presto!

Please don’t be frightened of the embroidery. I show you how I do it in the video tutorial (just below). I have very little experience with needlework and just make it up as I go along. If I can do that, then so can you, I promise!

I also tried a few different styles over the following years too.

YouTube Video Tutorial

For 2017, I’ve added a video tutorial for How To Crochet an Easter Egg on YouTube, which also includes how to decorate eggs with pretty embroidery.

This is an amigurumi Easter Egg pattern I’ve designed myself. It can be used to make decorations for yourself, gifts for friends and family, and even to be sold at your craft fairs.

Thanks very much. Feel free to say hello, and follow my blog for more free crochet patterns and, dare I say, creative inspiration. Cheers!

Happy Easter!!

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Crochet Circles in a Square Blanket

February 5, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern26 Comments

Circle Centre Granny Squares

A few days ago, I had a nice comment about one of my crochet blankets that I’d used as a backdrop for another project. Every once in a while, the blanket just happens to appear here on the blog somewhere, usually in the background of a random photo.

Check out a very jolly, colourful version of this granny square blanket, here

I decided that I should write a post about one of my most-used and loved crochet blankets. I don’t have much I want to share this week, so it’s an ideal opportunity to talk about something I made in the past.

I’ve taken lots of pictures of the blanket, and I will just bung them up as I blather on about how I made it.

Crochet Inspiration

I remember the pretty picture that inspired me to make it. I haven’t seen the picture for a couple of years and now that I see it again… well, it’s miles better than mine… poo. The blog the original pattern is from is called Crochet with Raymond, and it’s still active (although the crocheter doesn’t write new content anymore). It’s still up and has lots of wonderful woolly things. It has been such a beautiful source of creative inspiration.

I crocheted this granny square blanket three years ago. I was very pregnant with my youngest boy, and I really wanted it to be finished by the time he arrived. I remember staring at it whilst I was in labour, feeling annoyed that the border still had two rows to go.

Granny Blanket Colours

I chose colours similar to the original. I used Stylecraft Special DK because that is what they sell at the shop down the road. I use Stylecraft for the majority of my projects, but I want to try something new – any suggestions?

There are ten yarn colours: Lipstick, Fondant, Pomegranate, Cloud, Sherbet, Aster, Meadow, Clematis, Wisteria and Cream. Lots of balls of cream were used, maybe 8 or 9, and then I think it was just one of each of the others, but I really don’t remember.

Granny Squares That Start With a Circle

I didn’t use an existing pattern; I made it up. It was easy enough to do. I’ll quickly write down what I think I did (using UK terms, so a “tr” is a US “dc”). FYI, I used a 4mm hook for the DK yarn.

I’m sharing the pattern for the granny circles here. They were turned into squares while working a Join As You Go method. I’ll share more about that in just a moment.

Granny Circle Pattern

Ch4 and join with a slip stitch.
Round 1: Ch4 (counts as 1tr and 1ch), *1tr into ring, ch1; repeat from* 10 more times, join with a slip stitch to the 3rd ch. – [12 tr stitches].
Fasten off (I think fastening off and then joining the new colour with a slip stitch looks much better than other ways of colour changing – didn’t do that here though).

Round 2: Join new colour. Ch2, 1htr, ch1, *tr2together in each chain space, ch1; repeat around from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 2ch. Fasten off. – [12 tr together].

Round 3: Join new colour. Ch3 (counts as first stitch). 2tr into first chain space, ch1, *3tr into next chain space, ch1; repeat from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 3ch. – [12 granny clusters].

Join As You Go Crochet Technique

Once I had lots of crochet granny circles, I crocheted them all together using Attic 24’s method of Joining As You Go. It creates a lovely, decorative pattern in the corners, which is one of my favourite things about this granny blanket.

Using this method still means lots of ends to sew in, and I’ve since sacrificed pretty corners in favour of the Continuous Join method, which stops all the dreaded ends as you have just two (one at the beginning, one at the end).

Looking at the picture above, I see that the stitches in the corners of each square have triple trebles rather than trebles.

Anyway, I think that’s it. The granny stripe border is just going round and round with clusters, and the final round is a variation of the bobble edge from Attic 24 (thanks again!), but with slip stitches between them. There are either 2 or 3 slip stitches between each bobble.

Mostly it’s screwed up on the sofa and the children wrap themselves in it whilst they watch the telly after school!

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My Spice of Life Crochet Blanket.

February 2, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern23 Comments

The Spice of Life Blanket

I started this colourful crochet blanket three Sundays ago. I sewed in the last end of the Spice of Life blanket on Saturday night.

I didn’t know where this crochet blanket would end up for the first few days of making. Then all of a sudden I knew it would make a great birthday present for my Nanna and Grandad. They both had their 90th birthdays in January, and on Sunday, we had a lovely family birthday party.

Yarn For My Crochet Blanket

As is often the case, Stylecraft Special DK is the yarn I used. I loved the Spice of Life Rico colours that you can buy as a pack for making the blanket, but I couldn’t justify spending any more money on yarny things when I had loads of yarn stashed away already.

I only needed to buy a couple of balls to make up the blanket’s colour palette, which consisted of: Cloud blue, Storm blue, Cream, Lemon, Mocha, Lipstick, Emperor, Fondant, Shrimp, Kelly Green, Lobelia, Petrol and Spring Green.

I looked at the original Spice of Life blanket and matched the colours as closely as I could. My eyes tell me that the Stylecraft colours are a lot more vivid and saturated than the Rico yarn (not that I’ve seen the Rico in real life).

I downloaded the free crochet pattern from Ravelry via Cherry Heart (one of my favourite blogs) and off I went. There were a couple of occasions where I went wrong, so had to do some unravelling. There were a couple of other mistakes that got left in. I am hoping that they go unnoticed.

I had to crochet in the car on the way to Southampton (about 2 hours from home). And I added the final row of the border at my mum’s house. I tried several times to get a good photo of the finished blanket, but the weather was grey to the extreme. Rainy, cloudy skies and one hundred year old windows did not help. Neither did dodgy camera skills.

A Finished Crochet Blanket!

The blanket is actually one of the brightest crochet projects I’ve ever made. I’m glad it was a present for some old people, their eyes are rubbish.

Take a look at a painting of my hands as they sew in the ends of the Spice of Life blanket. My artist friend is painting my portrait! I’m finding the process lots of fun. I’ve said she can paint me any way she wants. Unfortunately, that means she wants me to take my clothes off. That certainly isn’t going to happen in February. Too cold. Anyway, more about that another day.

This week, I’m trying out some very basic knitting next. Hone my skills and all that.

Really Easy Crochet Shawl: A Simple Granny Triangle Pattern.

January 20, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, free pattern67 Comments

Simple Granny Triangle Shawl. Really easy free pattern.

Triangle Granny Shawl

This cute triangle granny shawl is a really fast make, which I speedily churned out last week. It has turned out much nicer than I thought it would, I’m ever so pleased! It has also come at a very convenient time because as soon as the last end was sewn in, the temperature dropped, and it was literally freezing outside.

Whilst there are numerous Granny triangle shawl patterns already out there, I didn’t bother checking any out until after I’d started this one. It was mainly to see if I was doing it the way others did. Mostly I was, but I think they’re all unique in some way.

I’ll share what I did to crochet my triangle granny shawl here (with pictures), so if you want to make it, you can. It is an excellent beginner’s project and a fantastic yarn stash buster.

I started crocheting it on a Monday and finished it on a Friday. It was taken out with me when I went places, so I could pick it up and stitch a few rows here and there. Or I just plonked myself in front of the telly of a chilly night.

Yarn for a Granny Stitch Shawl

I’ve used Drops Lima, which is an Alpaca/wool mix double knit yarn. I fell in love with Drops when I squished a few balls of it in a shop in Nailsworth (just outside Stroud) last year. It was Karisma, which I went on to use in the Lilypad Fireplace blanket. For this triangle granny shawl, I used Drops Lima in the following: Off White (x5 balls) and one of each of Goldenrod (!), Powder Pink, Cerise, Pistachio, Grey Blue and Dark Blue. They come in 50 gram balls.

The pattern uses UK terms, but it really isn’t difficult to translate to US crochet speak. Essentially, a UK tr is a US dc.

I used a 4mm hook. The 3ch at the beginning of rows always counts as a first stitch.

And whilst you’re here, please feel free to look around. Have you checked out my other free crochet patterns?

Crochet Stitch Abbreviations:
ch= chain, ch-sp= chain space, dc= double crochet (US single), tr= treble crochet (US double), htr= half treble (US hdc).
ss= slip stitch, st= stitch, ^ = little arrow pointing upwards!

Granny Triangle Shawl Pattern

To begin, get yourself a slip knot and put it on your hook. You’ll need to do this for the colour changes too.

Ch4 and join with a ss to make a circle. (A magic circle might work better for this but I didn’t even think of doing it at the time!)

Row 1: Ch3 (remember that this counts as the first stitch!) [top left pic ^], 2tr into the circle, ch2, 3tr into the circle [top right pic ^], turn.

Row 2: Ch3 [bottom left pic ^], 2tr into the first st [bottom right pic ^], (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in last st (top of the 3ch), turn.

Row 3: Ch3, 2tr into first st [right pic ^], 3tr in next sp between clusters, (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in next sp, 3tr in last st, turn.

Continue as Row 3 until you’ve used all the main colour. Cut yarn and fasten off. I used 5x 50g balls.

It should look something like this ^.

For colour changes, make a slip knot with your chosen colour and attach to the top of the first st with a ss. Carry on as normal. I worked two rows of each colour. – Side note, feel free to change colour using your preferred method. I no longer change colour by securing with a slip knot. It’s still OK to do it like this though.

Crochet Scallop Edging

This is a very simple and pretty way to finish off your triangle granny shawl.

Attach the Powder Pink yarn.
Row 1: Ch3, work 1tr in the top of each stitch all the way along to the centre, (2tr, ch1, 2tr) in centre ch-sp, continue tr sts to end, turn.

Row 2: Ch3, 4tr in same st, *Miss 1 st, ss in the next, miss 1 st, 5tr in the next; Repeat from * to centre, 7tr in centre st, continue on your merry way until the end of the row. The last scallop of tr stitches is finished with a ss in the same st, which should hopefully be the last st of the row. Cut yarn and fasten off.

Back loops only for this row apart from the slip stitches.
Row 3: With the right side of the scallops facing you, attach Cerise. Ch2, htr in each tr st, ss in each ss to centre. For the middle scallop: work 1htr in each of the first two tr, 1tr in the next st, 3tr in the next (middle) st, 1tr in the next st, 1htr in each of the last two sts. Continue in pattern to end. Cut yarn and fasten off. Sew in your ends!

Crochet shawl. Ridiculously easy shawl pattern.

Blocking your crochet granny shawl may be a good idea at this stage, but as I’m incredibly lazy I haven’t bothered with it. It would definitely benefit the edging if it is particularly curly, but I think it adds to the scallopy effect.

And that is it! I feel like I’ve seen the word scallop a few too many times now, not sure I’m keen.

I’ve been wearing it like a scarf. Look! A crappy self-portrait. I chose this one for the Minecraft picture in the background. It wasn’t until afterwards that I cleaned the mirror. Wish I’d done my eyebrows.

When trying to take pictures, it takes twice as long when the cat wants to get involved.

I hope you like this granny pattern. Feel free to leave a comment or say hello! And check out my summery granny shawl here! Or, if you’re from the future and a few years have passed, check out my 4ply granny triangle granny shawl that is the best stash buster ever!

If you like this Granny Triangle Shawl, please feel free to check out some of my other Free Crochet Patterns. This is one of my first, eeek.

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Lily’s Lilypad Fireplace Blanket.

October 14, 2015February 27, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern18 Comments

A Granny Square Blanket

At last, I have finished my new granny square blanket! It has been an age. I got the wool in July, which to me seems like a loooong time ago. The first post I mentioned it in reminds me not to just click on auto edit when sorting out the photos because, crikey, those pictures need toning down. I hope I’ve improved since then. The next picture doesn’t count, it was taken indoors on a rainy day :/

Inspiration For Crochet Projects

These are the decorative fireplace tiles, which originally inspired the colour choices.

I used the Lily pad square from Pasta and Patchwork, but I added extra chains between stitches for the first couple of rounds as my granny squares were not sitting flat. Indeed, they looked like strange nipples. They still don’t sit flat, so they could do with blocking. However, blocking things increases waiting time, and I just want to see a crochet blanket finished. I’m too impatient for it, but this granny square blanket would really benefit from blocking. Over time, it’ll sort itself out.

Woolly Yarn For A Crochet Blanket

I used Drops Karisma yarn for this project. It has alpaca in it, and it’s super warm. It’s nice and hefty; the weight of it has real cosiness.

The colours are: light beige, olive, mint, light dusty pink, dark mustard, light grey green, chocolate brown, wine red and beige brown mix. I used 7 balls of light beige and two of each for the others.

The blanket is an odd size: 6×9 granny squares, which is slightly over long, or not quite wide enough, depending on which way you want to look at it. I actually planned for 7×7, but I didn’t want to have that much leftover yarn, and I wasn’t sure it’d be that big. Unfortunately, I was a square short to add another row of 7. I eeked it out with what I could, and this was the formation that used the most squares.

I think the border suits it very well, and I will use it for my next crochet blanket (which I’ve already started!). The border has come from Around the Corner, Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman. It’s the last two rows of pattern 27. The corners are made up because I hadn’t laid the foundation stitches from the pattern (not enough yarn for that). I think it works beautifully.

Continuous Join As You Go

I’ve used a Continuous Join As You Go to join the granny squares together. I learned this method using a fabulous JAYG tutorial, it’s the clearest one I’ve found. I used two UK trebles in every other stitch, which is different from the cluster used in the tutorial, but the principle is the same.

I’m properly pleased with this new blanket. I will be waving goodbye to it at the end of the month when I hand it over to my sister-in-law. A Lily Pad blanket for Lily, or a Fireplace Blanket.

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Getting Out There in The Crochet World

August 25, 2015February 26, 2026crochet, free pattern, sewing7 Comments

I’m In A Magazine!

Look! It’s me!! I made these little guys a few weeks ago with scrap yarn and then tagged Simply Crochet magazine on the picture I Instagrammed. I was pretty chuffed to see the crochet fox and raccoon in the magazine. Now I know they don’t make up pretend readers!

I don’t often buy magazines (not reeeallly), let alone make the crochet patterns within the pages, but I did this time. It has definitely given me a boost but I am wondering if I should aim higher next time.

I’m thinking about focusing more on my own crochet designs and seeing what happens if I shout loudly about them… for example:

These little hooters are becoming really popular. I posted the pattern at the beginning of the month. They are my Granny Owl Decorations. A few days later, I twigged that I should probably put them on Ravelry. I did, and it went a bit mental for a couple of days. Then yesterday, completely out of the blue, they gathered loads of interest after someone (I’ve no idea who) posted a link on their Facebook page.

Very interesting, very exciting. I guess I need to be less scared about what I’m doing. Stop being a wimp. And I guess I should say “Thanks” to those who have found and liked my crochet owlies. There will definitely be more patterns from me in the future.

PS I’m many places online: Instagram, Facebook and ~~Twitter~~ pages. Please Follow/Like and what have you. And I’m also on Pinterest (all.the.time). Have a look! Thank you. X

Crochet Granny Owl Decoration. Free Pattern!

August 5, 2015February 26, 2026crochet, free pattern14 Comments

Crochet Granny Owl Decoration

For 2019, I have written an update and created a video tutorial on YouTube: How to Crochet a Granny Owl . Cheers.

A while ago I wrote about how I was working on a crochet pattern. It was a design idea that I came up with a few years ago, but I wasn’t entirely happy with it. I dug out my old and poorly written crochet pattern and decided to play around with it; give it a little makeover. I now think it is ready to be unleashed so it can fly off and make new friends!

Here are lots of crochet granny owl decorations in various stages of making. They don’t take too long to put together.

I’m only hurting them because I love them.

I made eight little crochet granny owl decorations in the end, each of which turned out a little different depending on how I tweaked the pattern. Every single one has a unique personality.

What I like is that you can add bits or leave bits off. Wings, tufty ears, a hangy loop. The wings can be sewn on completely or half-sewn on so that they flap about. They work beautifully as cute handmade Christmas decorations, too.

tufted crochet granny owl. free pattern.

Owly with wings and tufty ears.

crochet granny owl pattern. Add wings and tufts for more owliness.

Owly without wings and tufty ears. This one has suffered a minor injury to his hanging loop. He was attacked by a scissor-wielding boy.

A friend of mine knew what I was up to and offered to help turn my pattern into a fancy pants PDF that could be downloaded. This is something I have no experience in, and I am unbelievably grateful that she spent so much time making it for me. She is an amazing artist and graphic designer. It looks so pretty! I have given her an open favour in return, I wonder what it’ll be…

crochet owl pattern. It's in the detail.

The PDF should be just below. It has the pattern and some (hopefully) helpful pictures.

GRANNY OWL PATTERN (2)

I love these crochet granny owls. I feel a weeny bit of proud of myself! They’re very cute. I think a snowy owl version would look lovely hanging from a Christmas tree. Or, I’m thinking of a Halloween version?! I’d love to see one of those. Also, I’m sure it could be turned into other creatures besides an owl. Can’t think of any at the moment though…um… turn it upside down, add a few curling tentacles and it’s an octopus??

If you like this pattern, please take a look at my other free crochet patterns.

I’m also on Pinterest come and have a look. I flippin love Pinterest!

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Sewing a Simple Skirt & How I Added the Pockets.

July 20, 2015February 25, 2026free pattern, sewing4 Comments

Sewing a Summer Skirt. With Pockets!

Last week I decided to make a skirt from a sewing pattern I’d spotted on Pinterest ages ago. I made it last Friday. The night before, I drew out the pattern pieces and cut out the fabric ready for the next day. The pattern is for a summery skirt on sewinglikemad.com, which has the basic formula for the skirt and you kind of work out for yourself how it goes together. It has a useful link for making the waistband, which is much better than a plain elasticated waistband. I also found a video tutorial to help me put the pockets together. I can’t remember if I’ve ever done pockets before.

Pocket Facings

The above photo shows pinning the pocket facings onto the front of the skirt. It was very easy to do and quite good fun. A step up from my normal sewing level, which isn’t usually adventurous.

Once I had sewn and pressed the facings, I added the main pocket piece to each side.

What I should have done next was gather the whole piece across the top. However, I had already gathered the front main piece of the skirt before I attached the pockets. I should have waited until this stage. I had to do a teeny extra bit of gathering at the pockets to make it the same size as the waistband, ready to sew them together.

This is it all stitched together. It didn’t take very long to get to this stage at all. It was definitely helpful to follow the link in the pattern to make the waistband. I was so impatient to get it finished, I kept to my usual of 1inch elastic rather than three lots of thinner stuff. However, next time I will be up for making the smaller casings as it creates a really nice finish to the waistband.

Sewing a Summer Skirt with Pockets

This is not a particularly good picture, but it is good enough to demonstrate what my new summer skirt looks like. I’m enormously pleased with my new handmade skirt!! My favourite bit is the deep pockets. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be adding pockets to everything now.

Handmade Elderflowers Are Better Than Real Elderflowers.

July 12, 2015February 25, 2026crochet, free pattern, sewing8 Comments

Elderflower Brooches and a Crochet Purse

I made pretty embroidered felt brooches, inspired by the real thing growing in the garden. Then I had to crochet a purse for one of them to live on. So here, I talk a little about how I designed the elderflower brooch, and then how I made up an on-the-spot crochet purse pattern!

Elderflower Cordial

I think it was the weekend of Father’s Day that we saw lots of elderflowers blooming in Grandma and Grandad’s garden. Six year old and Daddy filled a little trug with elderflowers because six year old wanted to make elderflower cordial. I hate the stuff, it sucks. I do not get why everyone loves it so much. Blurgh. Anyway, seeing as he’s only six, I obliged and helped him make a drink out of the pretty but stinky flowers.

It was a made up recipe because we didn’t have things like citric acid. To go with the collected elderflowers, I whacked in a tonne of sugar and loads of lemon juice. It was far too sweet, but mixed with fizzy water, we got away with it. My six year old made me drink some.

Anyway, playing with these flowers gave me an idea for an elderflower without the stench. I quickly sketched out my idea and got stuck in. I decided to sew a brooch using felt. The last time I did felt sewing was when I made a cherry blossom needle case. It was one of my first blog posts so no one saw it!

Designing felt flowers. beginning elderflower brooch

Elderflowers Made of Felt

Cutting out the little felt flowers was a fiddly job. I didn’t bother using the templates I’d made for those, just cut little circles and snipped petal shapes into them.

Felt elderflower brooch design taking shape

I have white felt and off-white felt. They are both different sorts of felt. I wanted to use the off-white but I think it must be 100% wool because it is mega fluffy and breaks away at the edges very easily. I decided to make two brooches as I wasn’t sure which felt fabric would be the best.

In the above picture, you can see I have used off-white flowers on a white felt backing and vice versa in the other bloom. The extra woolly felt was definitely not good for the small flowers.

Adding Crochet

I’m going to pin one of the finished flower brooches onto a new crochet purse. Originally, I was going to do it applique style and have the flower as the purse’s design feature. It turned out I couldn’t be bothered to do that, so I added a little brooch clasp instead and that way I had a removable brooch, or bag decoration!

Crochet Purse Pattern

I used a 4mm hook and double-knit yarn.

To make the purse, I chained 34+1 and did enough rows until I was happy with the length, approximately 46 rows of UK dc / US sc crochet stitches.

Then I began a few regular decreases to shape the purse flap. I dropped the first stitch of every row for about eight rows (it might have been ten rows!). I then did six (maybe eight?) rows with a UK tr2tog / US dc2tog at the beginning and end of each row.

Adding the Buttonhole into Crochet

To add the buttonhole to the top of the purse flap, just before the last couple of rows, I missed two stitches in the middle of a row and chained two instead. In the following row, I made two single crochets in the chain space and then did the final row normally.

Apologies, probably not the best instructions in the world, but I didn’t write them down, so I’m remembering. Before fastening off, go around the edge of the entire piece with UK dc / US sc stitches for a neater result.

Adding a Simple Lining To Crochet

I sewed on the lining by hand and cut a hole for the button to go through. The buttonhole is hand-sewn, so a little messy, but I still like it.

I measured a piece of fabric against the finished crocheted piece and folded the edges in to hide the seams. Just eyeballing it all, really.

Finishing the Crochet Purse

I folded the straight section in half to meet the bottom of the flap. I then crocheted the sides together (a sewn whip stitch would be good too). I actually forgot to go around all edges first with the single crochet, so I botched it, as usual. To rectify my error, I attached some yarn to one of the corners and just single crochet stitches along the flap edge. Seeing as this is a prototype, it’s not bad. You learn as you go, I suppose.

I absolutely prefer the brooch on the right. It is brooch number two. The first one, I used a darker embroidery thread for the middles of the flowers, and it doesn’t work for me. I also went crazy with some dodgy French knots, but they don’t work for me either.

They look lovely! I’m pleased with how they match the crochet purse. I think, if I were going to get brave and open an Etsy shop, this is the kind of thing I’d want to sell.

So, that is the new thing I made. Sewing and Crochet, two fab hobbies!

Back to just crochet this afternoon, I reckon. And after a week of feeling rough, I have my appetite back just in time for slow-roasted pork and veg from the garden. All is good. Hurray!