sewing Archives - Zeens and Roger

How To Crochet A Granny Square Bag

March 29, 2017March 6, 2026crochet, free pattern, sewing28 Comments

Sudden Crochet Inspiration

I had no idea that I was going to make a Granny Square bag last week, no idea at all! I was dashing off somewhere and felt I could do with taking a little crochet project with me. Hurriedly, random balls of yarn were grabbed and off out I went. Those random balls of yarn were about to become granny squares, which were about to become a yarny, patchwork bag! Yay!

I didn’t have enough yarn to crochet a blanket, which made me wonder what else I could turn the colourful granny squares into. I considered making a cushion, but what got me really excited was the idea of a crochet bag! It’s a tricky thing to take a picture of, the bright colours shout so loudly that they blow the pics out!

I used leftover yarn stash of Paintbox acrylic aran yarn and, just because I fancied it, used a Join As You Go method.

Make a Crochet Granny Bag

To crochet your own granny square bag, you’ll need a few things. Here they are:

Colourful yarn in various colours (I used aran weight, but any yarn is fine).
4.5mm hook (if using a different weight, make sure to use the right sized hook for the weight of yarn you use).
Bag handles (I recommend searching for “long bag handles” on eBay or Etsy, that’s what I did!)
Lining fabric (something measuring a couple of inches bigger than your finished crochet piece)
Darning needle for when you’re sewing with yarn
Pins, sewing needle and thread for when making up the lining.

The main body of the bag is a bog standard gang of grannies; super quick and easy to do! Rounds of three, joined together in 8 rows of 5 squares (you’ll either need more rows or more rounds for each square if you’re using DK yarn; check out my tutorial for a double knit version here).

My piece measured 15.5 x 27 inches (40 x 68cm).

Making a granny square bag using leftover yarn

How to Place Colours in Crochet

Every now and again, it is worth checking to see that the spread of colour is even. I eyeball the colour layout for the granny squares, taking into consideration how colours look when they sit next to each other. I also make sure to know what I’ve got left in stash so that I don’t accidentally run out of a shade halfway through. If you take a look at the picture above, you can see that the colours are evenly distributed.

Adding Handles to a Crochet Bag

Once the main body of the crochet bag is complete, the handle sections need to be shaped. It’s not as tricky as it looks, and luckily, accuracy is not paramount. I don’t mind a project that needs a bit of bodging, and crochet is usually very forgiving when it comes to bodging! Not that you need to bodge it, I’m just saying!!

Note that UK terms are used (a UK treble is a US double crochet)

At one end of the main body (right side facing), work a strip of granny clusters starting with a ch3 and 1tr in the first st and ending with 2tr on the last stitch of the row. Straddle the square joins with (1tr, tr2tgr, 1tr). You can kind of see what I’ve done on the picture above, but I also show you how to add this edge across granny squares (about 2:40 into the vid)
Turn the work. Ch2, 1htr in each stitch along to the end. Turn.
Ch1, slip stitch along approximately 10 stitches (you want the narrow section to be the same width as the handle slot). Ch2, 1htr in each stitch along, missing the last (approx) 10sts. Turn.
Ch2, 1htr in each stitch of the last row. To widen the work again, ch13, Turn.
1htr in 3rd ch from hk. 1htr in each st along to the end. Continue by adding 10 more stitches using a chainless foundation half double stitch. This is actually lovely to do, I promise. I have a video that shows you how, it’s here: The Foundationless Start. Skip the first bit of the video (that explains the same technique for a UK dc). Turn.
Ch2, htr all the way along. Turn.
Repeat row 6. Fasten off.
Repeat 1-7 on the other end of the bag.

Next, with the right side facing, evenly stitch UK doubles (US single crochet) all the way down the edge of both lengths. Don’t fasten off yet…

Fold the granny square bag in half and, using the yarn still on the hook, slip stitch the sides together. Repeat on the other side.

Tuck the handle bits through the handle holes/slots, then fold down to the inside and pin, ready for sewing closed.

The stitches don’t have to be super neat. If you use matching yarn, you won’t see if you’re making a dog’s dinner of it! Try not to come through to the right side, though, or if you do, make the stitches small, so they’re not staring at you. Don’t forget the top bits at the ends.

Add Lining to Your Crochet Bag

Next, you need to add the lining. It’s not 100% necessary, but I think it looks better, and you won’t have your stuff escaping through granny holes!

Fold a length of fabric in half, right sides together. Place the granny square bag on top and mark/draw where you need to sew. Also, mark where you want the fold of your top hem to go. Sew down both sides to make the bag cavity. Next, iron the seams nice and flat. At the same time, fold down the top hem and press. I went back to the sewing machine and top-stitched the hem.

Tuck the lining into your bag, pin it in place, and hand sew the top of the lining to the top of the crochet! And there you have it, a crochet bag of your own!

Retro granny square bag. Free crochet pattern

Oh goodness, I think I need a course in how to photograph bright colours!!

I would absolutely love to hear from you if you make one of my designs. If you do, please give me a shout. I’d love it if you said Hi! Don’t forget that I’m on Ravelry, so your makes can be added there. Oh, and I almost forgot Instagram!

And don’t forget to check out my other Free Crochet Patterns, right here on my blog. Not to mention some super useful Crochet Tips & Tricks, here!

Thank you. X

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A Bunch of Handmade Crochet Gifts

January 11, 2017March 4, 2026crochet, sewing20 Comments

The Post-Christmas Craft Comedown

My blogging will is not here today. I’m not really here. I’d rather be doing my crochet. I’m looking over to the other side of the room to where my current WIPS are. Getting the balance between making stuff and blogging about it can be tricky! The problem today is that I’ve seen all this stuff, like, ages ago! I love writing a craft blog, I really do, but I also must find the time to do the thing I write about. It’d be a bit futile if I didn’t do any craft, wouldn’t it?!

I probably made this little fabric basket in October. I use a great tutorial for making these (it comes in two different sizes). Go Here for the instructions on how to sew a little fabric basket.

I made up the pattern for this bag. I must make another and, when I do, I think I’ll do a sewing tutorial. This will hopefully happen at some point this year; it’s on a list of things to do, but so are lots of other crafty things! I also want to do a crochet version with bamboo handles as well!

This project bag annoyed me. I forgot to add interfacing, and it’s all floppy. The recipient didn’t mind, and I guess that’s what counts.

I made this crochet basket with it simple crab stitch edging a few months ago, and it was meant to have another to nestle within. It hurt my hands to crochet with such bulky yarn, so I didn’t make the other one. I think I chose a hook a size that was too small, which is what made it painful. The yarn itself is a t-shirt yarn from Flying Tiger and felt beautifully silky to the touch. I don’t know who has actual T-shirts that silky, not anyone I’ve met.

There’s no pattern for this one; I made it up.

Aran Weight Crochet Cowl

This crochet cowl was lovely to make. Very quick, too. I used two balls of Drops Alaska, and the pattern is from a new book by Nicki Trench: Crocheted Scarves and Cowls. I bought it from The Works around November.

mustard-waffle-crochet-cushion-wiht-wooden-buttons

Waffle Stitch Cushion

Ages ago, I’d wanted to make a crochet blanket using waffle stitch. About 100 grams of yarn into the project, I realised that the stitch was a massive, greedy yarn eater and it wouldn’t go as far as I’d imagined. I frogged it and went in the cushion direction.

It’s an 18″ cushion, and I did 70-something stitches across with the old Stylecraft spesh DK. Love it. But it was a present, so I gave it away.

It looks very tight-fitting but cushions like negative ease for their crochet jackets. Otherwise, the fabric stretches out, and you get a baggy, saggy cushion.

The Kelpie Hat

This is the Kelpie hat by The Crochet Project. Such a lovely yet simple stitch! I had to tinker with the number of stitches because I used a thicker yarn than recommended. This is a Malabrigo aran weight yarn. I can’t remember the colour name, and I don’t know where the label is!

Another Red Crochet Cowl!

And this cowl is a free crochet pattern called the Lacey Shells Scarf. I reduced the number of stitches so that it was a cowl and not an infinity scarf.

Think this is Drops Nepal. Maybe three balls … 4? A couple of years ago, I made the infinity version in a brown yarn, and I wore it for about two years solid.

There really was so much more that I intended to make, and time ran away from me. I also gifted lots of Christmas decorations. Crochet baubles and lots of felt things were great for giving as little extras.

And now I’m going to dash back to my crochet pile and hide in there. It’s a lovely place to be.

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Me Made May

May 27, 2016March 2, 2026crochet, sewing23 Comments

Having a go at Cherry Heart's Victoria Shawl.

Making Things For May

At the beginning of the month, I made a last-minute pledge to join in with Me Made May.

I love the idea; encouraging sewers, knitters, crocheters to make or refashion clothes to wear during the month of May. I pledged to bring out all the handmade items hidden in my wardrobe and wear them. I also pledged to make a dress. The only problem is that the weather has been a bit iffy, and even on nice days, none of my makes have been suitable.

Handmade Summer Skirts

All summery skirts, see? I wore the grey Lycra maxi skirt; that was all. They’re all different: a dirndl, wrap skirt, plain old elasticated waist skirts (with or without pockets!!). I guess I will wait until the sun really shines to prance about in them all.

Altering Handmade Clothes

Talking of that maxi skirt, the hem really needs sorting out. I’m glad I’ve been taking part in this challenge because it has brought to my attention that the hem needs to be taken up an inch. It’s a bit close to the edge. I think wide hems look better. It’s a long enough skirt that I can adjust it. I know this because I keep tripping up in it.

The other project that was brought to light was a very pretty, floral skirt. I remember getting ridiculously frustrated with the sewing machine tension. I didn’t know how to get it right. Then, at the end of last summer, whilst “teaching” my friend how to sew, it twigged that I needed to adjust the bobbin tension under the plate.

Honestly, I felt so dim-witted. I first started using this machine when I was 12, and I’m now in my thirties. The shame! Anyway, now that I know this, I want to unpick the skirt and sort out all the dodgy seams. This was supposed to have been done over the last few weeks… erm, maybe this weekend?!

Crochet Victoria Shawl

This brown crochet shawl, I am pleased with. I love it! I wore it to a wedding last weekend. I made it out of Drops Baby Merino yarn. I think I’ll write more about it next week. I took tonnes of pictures, so I definitely have more to share. It’s a pattern by Cherry Heart called the Victoria shawl.

My Handmade Summer Dress!

And finally, this is the summery dress I made! I reckon the only reason I actually sat down and made it was because it was going to be my party frock for the wedding I went to. At the last minute, I chickened out of wearing it; it didn’t feel smart enough. And it wasn’t warm enough even if I wore a shawl with it!

The pattern is from Simply Sewing magazine and it’s By Hand London‘s Charlie dress. I’m happy with how it turned out. I had to make adjustments for my weird body (I have a long body with a narrow back). I extended the bodice length and widened the front side panels to accommodate the gargantuan bosom. Thank you to 7 year old for taking pictures of me. I felt a bit daft doing this, I have to say.

Untidy Sewing

Right at the end, I spotted that the bands on the bodice don’t meet. I’m putting that down to the inaccurate the extensions I made. I’m not going to complain about the zip; I’m satisfied with that, although it has issues. I’m keen to have another go with a different fabric and maybe with a half-circle skirt instead of the quarter one here. Stitchy stitch.

Right, that is my Me Made May experience. I can’t say that I’ve thrown myself into it with complete gusto but I did make a dress and that makes me feel alright!

Birthday

May 9, 2016March 2, 2026crochet, sewing23 Comments

A Birthday Weekend

I’ve had a week filled with lovely birthday things. I’ve been out for dinner/lunch twice, no! three times. I’ve had lots of awesome presents, and there has been gorgeous weather. Smashin’.

I got my hair cut off too, so when I went out to dinner on Saturday night (The Five Bells in Clyst Hydon- very nice) I felt all new and swooshy. I didn’t feel so new and swooshy when we went out for lunch on Sunday (The Rock Inn on Dartmoor). A roast dinner sorted me out but crikey, I felt rough yesterday.

A New Granny Square Blanket

I also finished a colourful granny square blanket, which I’m really pleased with. I especially love the border, which uses the same scalloped edging as my granny shawl crochet pattern. This blanket is all Stylecraft Special dk.

Sewing Little Bags and Purses

Other things I managed to finish last week were two little bag/purse type things. One is for my unimpressive collection of barely used knitting needles, and the other is for keeping small projects in so I can take it out and about.
I used the fabric I bought in Totnes shops during the Easter hols. They both need pressing again because I made a very lacklustre job of it.

Sewing A Dress

I had all my sewing laid out on the table. I’ve made a half-hearted pledge to take part in Me Made May. Since last week, I’ve worn handmade things already, and I made a dress! I’ll take pictures of the dress before the end of May, I’m sure.

More Crochet Granny Stitches

Another work in progress is a new granny shawl. I’m doing a variation of my granny shawl just to play around. I’m using Drops Baby Merino. I went on a Drops spending frenzy last weekend. They had a sale at Woolwarehouse so I went a bit bonkers.

See! Drops yarn. I have an idea.

More Drops. I cannot wait to start this, Cherry Heart’s Victoria shawl. I have bought the puff stitch pattern, it’s printed, and I’m ready to start any second.

Birthday Presents

Some lovely presents were received. I got a bunch of fat quarters from my mother-in-law. She went to a quilting shop in Bovey Tracey. I know about this shop, but I’ve not been. It’s supposed to be good.

I got lots of fab books. Looking forward to getting stuck into those…

I got these bowls too. I got loads of stuff, I won’t show it all, but needless to say it’s all good gear. One of my favourites is the drawing from the photo at the top. It’s by my friend, who is an artist and graphic designer. It’s a picture of me doing my crochet! I guess I should frame it, I think it’s beautiful, but then so is the subject matter, obvs.

Craft Blog Club

And then the week before last, I got this wonderful bundle of stuff from Samantha at createitsamantha.co.uk. We took part in the #craftblogclub spring clean challenge on twitter. Essentially, it was a craft stash swap.

It was such a lovely surprise to open up the parcel and have lots of delightful things tumble out. The Power Ranger didn’t come with my new stuff; Three year old thought I should take a picture of it. I have some ideas of what I might do (not including the Power Ranger). I’m looking forward to playing around in the next week or two.

I love getting birthday flowers!

Anyway, I’m off. Got a house to tidy and a child to entertain. Can’t watch A Bug’s Life all day. Actually, we did sit down and watch the local secondary school do a live Q&A with Tim Peak on the International Space Station a couple of hours ago (via the internet). I thought it was interesting but Three year old only managed five minutes before going off to look at a Lego book.

Handmade Patchwork Bag

April 6, 2016March 1, 2026sewing40 Comments

After many years I've finally finished my patchwork knitting bag.

English Paper Piecing – New Project Bag

My skewed memory tells me I started my patchwork bag three years ago, but it may be even longer than that. The main fabric is hand-stitched using English Paper Piecing. All the fabrics I used came from purchased fat quarters that had caught my eye, or they were scraps leftover from old projects.

I am properly happy that it’s all done and in use; it’s great for storing my crochet projects! It looks so much better than I thought it would, too. I was getting bored with seeing lots of little unstitched hexagons, waiting to be sewn together.

Time To Start Sewing

Lots of individually tacked hexies sat in a paper bag for over three years. Now and again, I’d get them out of the bag to look at them, and that was about it. Back in they’d go and I’d do something else instead. Eventually, I found that it was time to start sewing.

I laid out all the hexies and took a picture of them to work from, so I knew the “random” order that they’d go in. It’s nice to have a picture to reference. That way, I know that each fabric print is evenly spaced, and I don’t have to worry about two matching hexies accidentally being placed next to each other.

Eventually, I began the slowish process of stitching them together, and I was happy to discover that it wasn’t really that slow to do afterall. It had never occurred to me how useful it was to have them all wrapped in their shaped paper. I mean, of course it was, that’s the whole point of EPP, but still…

With a couple of weeks of sewing the hexies together, in a little and often sort of way, I was finished with stage two.

Handsewn Patchwork Fabric

I liked the crinkle of the paper as I had it on my lap, a very tactile and auditorily calming experience. With stage two finished, it dawned on me that I’d have to actually put in some effort to move on to stage three. I knew I had to do it immediately because it would otherwise sit in the cupboard for another three years.

The Patchwork Pattern

The pattern for this patchwork bag is from Cath Kidston’s book, Sew! The book has so many lovely looking things, but I have to be honest, I think the instructions are rubbish! For this particular pattern, it wouldn’t have hurt to have a couple of illustrations demonstrating how to insert the lining, would it?!

I had a look online but only found other bloggers or reviewers who were frustrated with it too. Nothing that helped, unfortunately. With that in mind, I decided to take photos of what I did. Maybe it’ll help someone else. Or maybe it’ll just remind me how I did it, in case I fancy having another go.

And I haven’t even mentioned that the instructions were just plain wrong! It said to fold the lining fabric lengthways. They don’t mean that, they mean the other way. Who wrote that?! That wasn’t the first mistake either. The other error was to do with sewing the hexies together. When joining the outer sides together, it told me to sew three rather than four of the hexie strips together. If I’d done that, my bag would have had a massive gaping hole at one of the sides! Jeez! Anyway, moving on…

Making the lining for a patchwork knitting bag

Making and Lining The Patchwork Bag

Here are a few pictures showing what I did. Hopefully they’ll do the trick. Do I need some words to go with them?

Step 1: Fold the lining fabric in half.

Step 2: Measure 25cm from the bottom fold and mark with a pencil. Or line up the bottom seam of the hexie fabric with the bottom fold of the lining and mark where the opening, near the top, sits (which should work out as approx 25cm).

Step 3: Sew that bit on both sides. Then press, continuing the fold to the top of the fabric. Press a seam across the top bits too.

Step by step pictures to lining a patchwork knitting bag

Step 4: I snipped the corners to avoid bulk. The instructions don’t tell you to do this, but the seams are bigguns.

Step 5: Put the lining inside the bag, wrong side out.

Step 6: Pin together at the bag opening.

Pinning the edges. Patchwork knitting bag.

Pinning the bag opening.

Getting out the sewing machine. Patchwork knitting bag.

Machine stitch the lining to the top of the hexies. Do this on both sides. I think I did this after slip stitching the open sides. In that picture above, I can’t see any stitches. I was drinking Cava at this point, so it’s a bit foggy (it was the weekend!). Not sure that bit matters, it’d probably work either way.

Attaching the handle onto the patchwork knitting bag

Attaching the Bag Handle

This was a fun bit. I managed to catch the end of Adventures in Babysitting, so I sat and watched that whilst pinning the handles in place.

By the time I got around to sewing the hem down, I was watching Alien. I haven’t seen it in years; it is such a good film. A proper film (not like Prometheus, ugh, terrible).

A patchwork knitting bag from Cath Kidston's Sew! book.

I’ve impressed myself by finishing it; I still can’t quite believe it. It’s good, isn’t it!?! I took the pictures of the completed article at Grandma’s house.

The only thing I might change is the green fabric at the top. It’s a bit deep and makes the bag slightly too long.

Would it be that much of a bother to unstitch it and do it again? I could take the time to shorten it, but I think I’m nitpicking; it’s probably OK.

And I did it with many interruptions. I took many photos with a child sitting on my head (see the odd middle picture), and the cat kept sitting on it at any given opportunity!

I was asked via Instagram if I would like to link up with Me, You and Magoo for Crafting is My Therapy. I’ve not done a Link up before, but I think I just share this lovely badge and everyone can share a bit of creativity! Is that right?

DIY Jedi Robes. Reversible, In Case You Want To Join the Dark Side!

March 31, 2016March 1, 2026free pattern, sewing20 Comments

Homemade Jedi Robes

It’s the Easter holidays, so I will be relatively quiet here until the week after next. It’s amazing how having an extra child at home creates so much more work. There has been a birthday too, which has made me busy.

Don’t worry, we’ll talk about handmade Jedi Robes in just a moment!

mini chocolate muffins instead of a big birthday cake.

It’s The Boys’ Birthday

Mini birthday chocolate muffins. I guess you could argue that the star decorations were part of a Star Wars birthday theme, but I didn’t twig until just this second that there was a connection. Let’s go with it…

The ever evasive Darth Vader in homemade jedi robes

Reversible Jedi Robes

Anyway, on to what I’m here for. I made a Star Wars costume for a three-year-old. For a bit of diversity, I decided to make it reversible. This gave the boy a choice of whether he wanted to be a Jedi Knight or give in to temptation and join the Dark Side.

I think it is safe to say that he has joined the Dark Side. I knew he would, which is why his big brother models the Jedi version. Not sure I’ve got my priorities right by buying him Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, but whatever, he loves it.

Start Wars fancy dress. DIY Jedi robes. And they're reversible so you can turn to the Dark side!

You need about three metres of each of the brown and black fabric. It was 45″ wide. I got it all from Amazon as I only needed cheap stuff. I usually only get fabric online if I don’t care much about the quality.

These DIY robes were actually really easy to sew. Apologies, but the old tutorial I used can no longer be found online; there are plenty of others to choose from. I made two robes (without hemming): one in brown fabric and one in black fabric.

With right sides together, I sewed them together, leaving a 5 – 6 inch gap in the bottom so I could turn the whole thing the right way round. Bagging out, right?

Initially, you ignore the sleeves, tucking them in whilst you stitch around everything else. Once it has all been pressed (don’t melt your cheap fabric as I did), the sleeves can be tucked into each other and their hems both folded to the inside, where they won’t be seen. A little bit of top stitching sews them together.

Top stitching around everything else also tidies it all up and closes the hole that was left at the bottom.

A Star Wars Fancy Dress Costume

Because it is just a fancy dress costume, I wasn’t particularly careful about how it all went together. I’m pretty shocked that it worked so well. I cut out the black fabric first and used it as a template for the brown so they’d both be the same size.

I had some minor unpicking to do at the beginning, where I messed up the shoulders. And I had some mighty gathering to do on the hood because it was so much bigger than the neck bit (it is supposed to be big though).

I think it’ll get too short very quickly, too; children grow so quickly. If I were to make it again, I’d add about three extra inches to the length of the robes.

Other than that, it all kind of worked. Three-year-old stomped around the house in Vader style and had a great time (there was even hands on hips and heavy-duty breathing).

Both boys got right into the spirit of it, which I loved, especially as my eldest hates dressing up and will usually refuse. My efforts rewarded, phew!

Oh, and I forgot to take pictures as I made it, so I can’t show a step-by-step thing. It’s not so important with the robes, as it was someone else’s tutorial.

Making the Coordinating Tabard

I bought a metre of calico for the tabard and used half (it was 60″wide).

The tabard was really easy to make. I had two rectangles, approximately boy-sized, and I snipped in a V shape at the neck. I sloped the shoulders slightly (downward towards the outside), then stitched the pieces together at the shoulders. I quickly (and shoddily) hemmed all around the raw edges and left it open at the sides.

It is tied closed around the body with a belt, which is a strip of leftover brown fabric that I folded in half lengthwise (with raw edges tucked in) and top-stitched.

This was the most basic way I could think of to finish out the Jedi outfit.

Then, after Star Wars shenanigans, they did “art” or, in other words, they painted themselves…

Such a mess.

Old Craft Projects and New WIPs

March 18, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, sewing17 Comments

Random Craft Projects

This is going to be a bit of a random post today. I’m chucking up pictures of where I’m at with my crafting this week. There isn’t a theme as such, just sewing and crochet I’m tinkering with.

English Paper Piecing

I’ve had all these EPP hexies stored away in a tatty old paper bag for about three years. I think I was pregnant when I was basting the fabric to paper, and now my boy is turning three soon. A long time.

With spring on its way, the change in season has created a new surge in enthusiasm for this sewing project. I have the painstaking task of hand-stitching all of the fabric hexagons together. It’s actually not that bad. I think I put it off for so long because I thought it was going to be a nasty job. I’m actually enjoying it!

I’m not going to go nuts, it’s only a patchwork bag. It’d be a definite labour of love to go bigger. I’ve got an amazing patchwork blanket my Nanna made for me when I turned eighteen. I think she was at the EPP for years.

Handmade Jedi Robes

Next: a pile of Jedi-appropriate fabrics. Both my boys have birthdays on the way, so they will each have something Star Warsy. If I’ve got enough fabric, I’m thinking reversible Jedi robes. The kids can decide whether to be a Jedi Knight or join the Dark Side!

I’m not sure how this’ll work right now, but I’d better get on with it and start the design process.

Handmade Summer Dress

For me, I want a summer dress. I saw a really pretty handmade dress on Instagram about a month ago, did some nosing and found out it was the Charlie Dress from Simply Sewing magazine.

The sewing pattern was spread over two issues, and it was the second issue that was in the shops. I ordered the back issue of the first one, and it arrived within a week. I’ve sorted the pattern pieces and dug out some ancient fabric from the depths of my fabric drawer. Fingers crossed, I will actually do this.

I have repeatedly got to the cutting out stage with many a dress pattern over the last few years. Then all stops. I chuck it all back in the fabric drawer and forget. I think I’m pretty consistent like that.

Using Up Fabric Scraps

Also kicking about is my sweety tin. My sweety tin is a good size for keeping embroidery-type projects in.

I’m not very far ahead with this idea. I’ve drawn a rough sketch of what I want (a bouquet of wild flowers) and now need to sort out all the little bits for it. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out; it’s more of an experiment at this stage. I just really enjoyed making my spring flower stitching a few weeks ago and want to play some more.

I’m thinking of a fabric collage, which is a great way of using scraps of felt and fabrics. Colourful embroidery thread adds more depth and shaping.

A Baby Crochet Ripple Blanket

Then there is an actual finished object! A baby crochet ripple blanket. I’m going for a plain border. I guess I could add something a bit snazzier, but I feel like I’m finished with it.

I thought that was it for WIPs, but I’ve got garter stitch knitting kicking about somewhere.

It feels a bit weird to write this post as I reckon I’ve mostly been banging on about crochet for the last few months. This has actually been quite effective because traffic here has gone bonkers (relatively speaking). It’s tempting to try to force new crochet ideas upon myself to keep up with momentum. Not gonna do that though. Since I don’t get paid for blahing about my hobbies, I’m going to carry on and do whatever I fancy. But it is lovely to know that people like things I do, so thank you. I’m loving it here. x

First Time on Etsy!

February 27, 2016March 1, 2026sewing26 Comments

Embroidered Needlecases

I don’t usually visit the blog over the weekend, but I’m here to quickly link to my Etsy shop, which I have now added things to! Go me! I really hope these handmade needlecases do well. At the time, I didn’t know what else to make with the embroidery I had made.

I actually would like to just present the little fabric collages on hoops in future. They looked so nice like that.

Inspired by spring flowers, each needlecase shows a different bulb flower. Daffodils, snowdrops and hyacinth! What a smashin’ trio! The embroidery pictures are stitched onto lined, felt needlecases that I made using scraps, including leftovers from handmade curtains!

Anyway, here are some pictures. Have a lovely weekend!! X

Hand Embroidered Needlcases

Daffodil embroidered needle case standing

Small Crafts and New Supplies

February 18, 2016March 1, 2026crochet, sewing18 Comments

February Half Term Small Crafts

Handmade Cards

Husband got a Valentine’s card, and my Mum got a birthday card. Both quick, easy and fun to do yet very effective, I think. Inspired by The Messy Brunette and her post about Valentines.

To achieve the hand-painted flowers, swirls of pink and white paint were blobbed onto card with the end of a pencil. Tiny flicks of green paint made the leaves. Easy peasy.

Cotton Crochet Doilies

I crocheted a couple of doilies with cheap Drops cotton I bought recently. Cheap for a reason. It’s VERY splitty. But I wasn’t expecting it to be amazing at 80p a ball.

The first crochet doily is the better of the two, but neither is particularly great. Not dainty in the slightest, the yarn is too thick for that, and I would prefer a more lightweight yarn for a dainty doily!

I think they’ll just get hidden away rather than used. I found a crochet diagram pattern for the doily on Pinterest that I used. And I only went and blocked something!! I usually try to avoid blocking crochet, but there was no escaping it this time.

Finishing Spring Flower Embroidery

I completed my hyacinth embroidery. I can’t find the time to do anything with the flowery embroidery things I’ve been doing. Maybe next week I shall think about what to do with my new spring flower embroidered pieces.

Crochet and Yarn (Thread)

I’ve been crocheting instead of persevering with my knitting. I love crochet. I’m making a simple cowl in three spring-like colours.

Colourful Cotton Thread

I go through so much embroidery thread when making flower embroidery and Christmas decorations. Hopefully, this is the answer. Lots of colours of mercerised cotton thread bought from eBay for less than £25! 50 flippin’ balls!

It wasn’t in any kind of shade order, so I’ve been playing with the way the colours all live together.

I’m more excited than I should be about some cotton thread.

Look at the beautiful bounty of awesomeness! It was bought with Christmas money, and I still got a mild telling off for buying more “craft crap”.

February Knitting, Crochet & Embroidery

February 11, 2016March 1, 2026sewing29 Comments

Crafting This Week

It’s been a bit of a blah kind of week. I think it’s because I started knitting a garter stitch baby blanket, and I haven’t become an instant expert. I see knitting everywhere at the moment and thought I would jump on the bandwagon. Well, I don’t think I’ll stay on very long. I’m not enjoying it that much.

Learning How To Knit is Frustrating

I’m tempted to unravel this pappy knitting attempt and crochet my way to a baby blanket instead. It’s messy and has dropped stitches. There is always the fear of precious stitches coming off the needles, and I have no idea of what real knitters do when they make a mistake.

I mean, do you just unravel rows and then painstakingly reattach all those loops? What about unravelling the underneath row by mistake??! What a pain in the arse! It’s happened. Twice.

The first time, my nearly three-year-old son grabbed the knitting needles and effortlessly yoinked away my hard work by swishing around his new “light sabres.” It was my fault the second time because there were too many loose stitches after a colour change.

Ugh. Do I stick with it ?… Or not? I’m surprised that I’ve picked up speed when I’m doing it right, and I love the click clack of the needles, but that is about it. Hmm.

Making Pompoms

In a bid to change the mood, I thought I’d have some fun with pompom making. It turns out that this isn’t much fun either. I bought a cheap pompom maker, and it keeps popping open at the crucial moment, spilling tiny threads of yarn all over my lap. Also, I think mixing up the colours was a mistake. I’m thinking of trying some mono colour balls. They’ll look better.

Crafty Corner At Home

I’ve been sitting in my crafty corner this week. Surrounded by mess. I’m like some sort of creative tramp at the minute. It’s the rotten weather that does it. Although, having said that, yesterday I took the small boy for a long walk around town. I said we could go and look at the swollen, rain-filled river, but by the time we got there, he was asleep in his pushchair. When we returned home, he was angry with me because we hadn’t been to the river. It’s not my fault that he missed it!

Spring Flowers

Looking out the window at the spring flowers, I had an idea that might cheer me up a bit.

Snowdrops!

I love the smell of Hyacinths. I love the smell of daffodils too. They’re also among the prettiest flowers of the spring. They are the first signs that winter is on the way out (although they’ve been fooled as the temperature was -1 this morning, and there is frost on the grass).

Freehand Embroidery

Anyway, I used spring flowers as a bit of inspo for some more crafting. I drew some quick sketches and off I went, cutting up bits of fabric and stitching them roughly together with clumsy embroidery.

I’m really pleased with the results. One or two mess-ups have occurred, but nothing too awful. I asked Husband his opinion, and apparently they are twee and granny-like. Something you’d find in a charity shop, he said. Maybe that’s the result I’m after, but it kind of threw me. Now I’m having doubts.

I think the hyacinths will look the most granny-like and I’m hoping that will change with the things I’ll do to them. I’d really like them to be displayed in the embroidery hoops, but they’re expensive, so I only have one. I’ve got another idea, but I’m afraid that it’ll transform them into “twee” monstrosities. Oh well, we shall see.

Lastly, I have this Drops recycled cotton yarn. 80 pence each! I want to make a doily or two, but still on the lookout for the right sort of pattern. Fingers crossed, I’ll find a crochet pattern soon and get on with it. I’m getting crochet withdrawal symptoms.