creative jewish mom

Crocheted Medallion Stash Buster Potholder

Yesterday I made some fun crocheted medallion potholders and used up a bunch of little odds and ends from some Lion Brand cotton yarn I'd been saving. When trying to use up the odds and ends, one may end up trying out color combinations that you'd never normally think of, but that's part of the fun! And after all, these are potholders, not works of art, and maybe the less perfect they are the more likely they'll actually get used?

This pot holder in which I used up a tiny bit of dark brown is my favorite, but I do actually love them all and can't wait to make some more. I actually whipped these up to give as gifts at what we thought was going to be a pre-wedding family gathering at my sister in law's home, but when it turned out to be a glitzy affair in a hall, well, I left the potholders in the car for another time! That's what you get when you spend hours crocheting instead of tending to impending work assignments and piles of laundry, sigh. No regrets, I'm so happy to have this project to share with you, and now I have some gifts on hand, since these may never reach their initially intended recipients.

And I do think that a bunch of these hanging around somewhere could be great wall decor......stiffen them with some spray starch and hang! Or how about a fun table runner? Each pot holder took me about 45 minutes to crochet, not including weaving in the ends which I fudged a bit near the end by tying the beginning and the end of each round together a few times and trimming just above the knot....who's gonna notice anyway?

How To:

You can find the pattern that I used here, thanks to Made in K Town. Note that I omitted round 5 in the two green potholders. Also, I used Lion Brand Cotton, (4-ply worsted weight) as well as a brand of cotton called Scanfil from The Netherlands (which is 50g = 75m), and I used size G/5mm hook. 

Also, you do need to know that in the beginning of any round of double crochet, the first "double crochet" is always a chain 3, which is not specified in the pattern.

If you want your creations to be potholder size, so you'll have to use yarn that's at least this weight, otherwise the results will be significantly smaller, which is fine too. Use two to make a fun pin cushion, or invent more rounds and make a great pillow cover or even better, a stool cover, which is on my dream list. Enjoy!

Crocheted Wire Hanger Cover

A crocheted cover for a wire hanger looks great and is the perfect project for those of us who don't have easy access to vintage style wooden hangers. Of course if you can get your hands on some wooden hangers, the two look great together, and you can follow my pattern here! Truthfully, if you feel like getting a little creative, covering the wire hanger actually presents itself with many more possibilities as far as embellishments and filling in the void with crocheted lovliness if you so desire! You could certainly make some great wall decorations by simply using a hanger as the frame for your ideas!

So there you have it my friends, two very cheerful ways to fill your closet with a little color this summer! Though I must be honest, the wooden wire hanger cover took about a third of the time, so if you'll be making both, plan to make a lot more of those! And if you don't know how to crochet, well I guess this is some more encouragement, go for it! A set of hangers would make a super gift as well, so how about whipping up a bunch now for holiday gift giving?

Crocheted Wire Hanger Cover Pattern

Using the yarn and hook of your choice, single crochet around the entire perimeter of the hanger, and join to the first stitch with a slip stitch. Starting at the neck of the hanger, slip stitch down the entire side until you reach the bottom corner. The slip stitch makes a beautiful finished edge. Slip stitch down the other side of the hanger as well. For the shell stitch edging, simply crochet along the bottom following this stitch sequence: Skip first stitch, *5 double crochet in next stitch, skip stitch, single crochet in next stitch, skip stitch, and repeat from *.

Make two simple crocheted flowers, according to my quick crocheted flower pattern, and sew them together to cover the neck portion of the hanger.

You can certainly have lots of fun by exploring a bunch of crocheted trim options, and again, you can find my pattern for the wooden hanger here.

Crocheted Ribbed Button Up Cowl For Men and Women

A crocheted ribbed cowl is the perfect little accessory to keep you warm on a cool Spring morning, plus it's great for men and women and is a perfect gift to whip up in just a few hours. I love the fact that you can wear it so many ways, and of course make it in any color and just about any type of yarn. If the idea of a crocheted cowl seems more appropriate for Fall and Winter, so why not get a head start on your holiday gift making? This is the perfect little project for a car trip, or a lazy summer afternoon, so grab your crochet hook and enjoy creating something special!

I just love the fact that because it's a button up cowl you can wear it so many ways, and with a variety of outfits. I love the neutral grey, but this would be great in bright colors or even with a little stripe here and there!

And I should mention that because the stitch is double crochet, you don't have to worry about button holes, as there's enough space between the stitches to slide a medium sized button through the cowl where ever you please!

So, are you sold? I made four of these this past January as gifts for family in New York, and after revisiting this project via this blog post, why I think I'll just have to make some more!

You'll Need:

• chunky yarn, or two strands of sport weight yarn crocheted together which is what I used
• size K hook, or the hook that works with your yarn choice
• three buttons and thread and needle

How To:

The dimensions of my finished cowl are 2ocm x 63cm which is a nice size for an adult. Gauge isn't really important, but do make a little swatch using your yarn and hook and then calculate how many stitches you'll need on the initial chain (plus three for first stitch) to get the proper width.

So here's the pattern, can't get much simpler my friends!

Crocheted Ribbed Button Up Cowl:

ch 24, (or the number of stitches plus three, necessary to achieve a width of 20cm)

Round 1: double crochet in the back loop of the fourth chain from the hook, and continue double crocheting in the back loop of every chain across. Chain three and turn.

Round 2: double crochet in the back loop only across, chain three and turn.

Repeat round 2 until you've reached a length of 63 cm.

Sew on three buttons, or how ever many suits your fancy, and enjoy!

Decorate Canvas Tote Bags With Fabric Markers

Canvas tote bags are great for crafting and simply drawing on them with fabric markers could be a really fun take-home party project, or gift bag just about any time. Purim is just around the corner, and my daughter and I had fun making these to use either on Purim for transporting little gifts, or even as gift bags themselves. We're not quite sure yet, but we still have a week to decide! In any case, these bags were only 3 shekels (about 75 cents) each, so there will definitely be some more in our future!

You'll Need:

• inexpensive blank canvas tote bags
• fabric markers: we used Tulip fabric markers, Tulip neon fabric markers,  and some Crayola medium point fabric markers
• a pencil and eraser
• freezer paper to iron on to the inside for stability, or a piece of cereal box cardboard

How To:

Iron a piece of freezer paper to the inside to stabilize the fabric and prevent ink from leaking through to the other side, or  simply cut a piece of cardboard to fit snuggly inside the bag. Draw your design with pencil and then go over it with fabric markers. Set aside to dry and set according to manufacturers instructions. 

I don't think anyone can ever really have too many tote bags, so these would be welcomed gifts anytime!

Crepe Paper Flower Bouquet

Crepe paper flowers are simple to whip up, and make a perfect little gift when a little something hand-crafted from the heart in called for. Quicker than running to the store for real flowers, much quicker in my case, and oh so sweet. And my daughter was more than happy to deliver the gift, so I caught her with my camera on her way out, promising not to show her face on my blog. Well at least not more than a tiny glimpse!

Mazal Tov! Congratulations to our neighbor whose oldest son just got engaged. All the siblings were so excited and I knew that I must send them something, but what? I'm just not the type to whip up a cake, but  something quick and crafted is of course right up my alley! So on an already very busy Friday afternoon I made some crepe paper flowers using neon colored crepe paper that I purchased a while back. And the vase, well it's time to start passing along those white vases I made last year, and now my closet has one less. 

You'll Need:

• brightly colored crepe paper or tissue paper
• floral wire, I used pre-cut flower stems
• scissors
• embellished wine bottle vase
• a tag, ours made with a scalloped circle punch and a hole punch

How To:

1. See my crepe paper flower tutorial, as well as another example of a beautiful crepe paper bouquet. 
2. See my post about embellishing wine bottles
3. Take note that with these flowers I used pink and coral colored crepe paper together in one flower, and for the yellow flower I turned some of the pieces of crepe paper over as the two sides were not the same hue. 
4. Looking back at my tutorial, I realize now that I used fewer layers of crepe paper which is why these flowers aren't quite as full and gorgeous. But that's okay, they did the job!

And by the way, crepe paper flowers are perfect for Purim and for ushering in Spring! Also, do take a look at how I decorated with crepe paper flowers last Purim, and go to town. I guess crepe paper flowers are in my blood this time of year! And why not, quick to make and perfect in so many ways.

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Woven Recycled Bleach Bottle Basket

You can use a recycled bleach bottle to make a really fun woven basket. And when you add a little felt liner, your recycled bottle basket suddenly becomes really amazingly cute. If I do say so myself. Now, I must admit, I made this basket over two years ago, and for some reason never quite fit it into my schedule to take some photos. So in a way this little woven basket craft is new to me too! But now that I'm revisiting this one, I can't wait to make more, and I may even make some to use for gift baskets for Purim......you know for the special people like teachers and such who deserve (and in my case, will expect) something just a bit special.

Here's another similar photo for those of you who love to study things and needed a slightly lower shot.

You'll Need:

• a large opaque bottle, like a bleach or floor cleaner bottle
• colorful yarn, the thicker the better, but a variety of thicknesses is good too
• good scissors
• masking tape

How To:

1. With a kitchen knife, cut the top off your bottle. Thoroughly wash out the piece you'll be using. Trim the remaining basket portion to the desired height with scissors.
2. Wrap a piece of masking tape around the top circumference, and mark off even increments of about 2 cm , or just a bit larger, on the tape. Make sure that you'll have an odd number of pieces so that the over and under process will work out at the end of the round! Place another piece of tape around the bottom of the basket as a guide for where to stop cutting.
3. Cut slits in your basket all the way around, making sure not to cut beyond the bottom guide. (If you take a good look at my photo, you may notice that I cut without marking anything off which is fine if you're just anxious to get going, and aren't a perfectionist, but then you may have to fudge things a bit as I apparently did as I actually cut an even number of pieces, but go figure, this was a million projects ago!)
4. Tie a piece of yarn to one of the pieces from the inside. Start weaving!
5. Make a felt sleeve using a sewing machine and two colors of felt. You could also quite simply glue fabric or felt to the edge to conceal it. Or glue a piece of fabric to the bottom and sides, and then cover the rim with a felt or ribbon edge that covers both the inside and outside rim.

And just for the record, the ever creative Gail over at that artist woman, had a very similar idea which she posted here to my great surprise after I made my basket. I love her version with sections of different sizes and she used foam cups I believe, decoupaged with recycled paper, adding another dimension to this project. So now that you have two source for this wonderful project, collect those bleach bottles and  recycled containers, and lets get started!

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Chunky Knit Pot Holder From Rope

I just love my chunky knit rope potholder. Or is it a chunky knit rope trivet? Either way, this is one craft I'm going to do again as I think it would make a super great gift, for the right person that is! And with all the crocheting going on around here lately, I have to say, knitting this pot holder was really refreshing.

And yes, while this pot holder is made with garter stitch, you can also knit one row purl one row for the traditional knit fabric, as you can see on my previous post knitting with rope. But I have to tell you, this version here not only has much more rustic appeal, you don't have to worry about the end stitches looking really uneven and the finished piece has a much nicer feeling. In the previous version I did a special edge stitch to help the situation, but it still looks a little funny, so experiment yourself, or take my word for it and go with the garter stitch!

You'll Need:

• cotton rope, mine was a small spool from the hardware store
• large knitting needles, I used size US 17

A pot holder is a great project to practice knitting with rope, but I'm quite sure there are many more projects that could be great, like knit rope bags, knit rope bath mats or rugs, knit rope stool covers, and anything else you can dream of! Enjoy and let me know how it goes. I think this would be a great gift with a batch of homemade muffins or a hearty loaf of bread, don't you?

Giant Crocheted Rosette Flower

Okay, maybe not exactly a giant crocheted rosette flower, but definitely a very large crocheted flower. You know, the kind of flower that will certainly make a cheerful statement worn on a hat or a winter coat right about now. So I do hope that you crochet, since everyone could use a little wardrobe pick me up, especially one that's as simple and quick as this one! Of course, you don't have to make your flower in turquoise (this one is for my daughter) a more neutral color like gray or creme would be gorgeous too.

The reason that this flower is so simple is that it's made by crocheting a strip and then rolling up the strip and sewing it all together. And of course, if you use chunky yarn, or a few strands together like I did, you can make flowers just about any size, even to cover a pillow front, how about that?

You'll Need:

• chunky yarn, or in my case 3 strands of worsted weight yarn
• size 9mm crochet hook, or the hook size to suit your yarn choice
• large-eyed yarn needle
• rosette flower pattern, thanks to Lion Brand

If you're looking for another idea for making a flower of this kind, check out my rosette flower headband, which uses a similar, yet slightly different pattern. Have fun adding some crocheted flowers to your life in no time! And stay tuned for a few more crocheted flowers and the projects that go with them. Don't know about you, but winter in full force all I want to do is crochet!

Crocheted T-Shirt Yarn Basket For Holiday Giving

Crocheting with t-shirt yarn is so much fun, and lucky for me I happened to have a few balls of t-shirt yarn on hand. I whipped up this basket quite quickly, which qualifies it as a great green gift for those on your list who'd appreciate such a rustic vessel. I think it would be great to give with a batch of homemade muffins, or holding a gift of toiletries, including maybe some gorgeous crocheted wash cloths. 

Just make sure to make a few, because you'll surely want to keep some on hand to enjoy in your home this holiday season. Really, you can never have too many catchalls......and great for guests to hold their little stuff, or how about one for each child to contain all the little things that collect in their pockets? And best of all, this little basket is of course totally washable!

You'll Need:

• t-shirt yarn, how to make t-shirt yarn tutorial here
• large crochet hook, I used a 10mm
• a simple basket pattern, you can follow mine here, though note that because the t-shirt yarn I made was on the thick side, (and because I was winging it...) my first round of crochet consisted of 1 ch2 and 11 dc into a foundation ring of 6 ch.

Notes:

• I crocheted this basket such that the "right side" is actually on the inside. If your basket will be something that will be placed on a shelf and viewed mostly from the outside, so it is probably preferable for the "right side" to be on the outside. Decide what suits you (the "wrong side" is rougher looking) and when you start the rows for the sides, make sure you're crocheting such that you'll get the desired results. I didn't even think of this as I was doing it, but you can!
• When I crocheted a basket using sheets (which are not stretchy) I had to work at getting the bowl shape. In this case, I had honestly intended to make a straight sided basket, but because of the nature of the t-shirt yarn and the hook size, the sides naturally curved in, which is just fine with me, though I can't guarantee that the same thing will happen with you. Let me know! And now, go whip up some of these baskets and bring some green joy to friends and family!

Crocheted Skinny Scalloped Scarf

Here it is, my friends, the crocheted skinny scalloped scarf. A super project for beginners and for anybody who'd like to whip up a load of handmade gifts in the next month or so. And guess what, these scarfs may look like they're more for style than warmth, but I can attest to the fact that they're great neck warmers to wear anytime without the bulk of a regular scarf. In fact I'm wearing one right now!

And if you'd like your skinny scarf to be not so skinny, so use a few strands of yarn and a bigger crochet hook (or chunky yarn) for a skinny chunky scarf. I actually made this scarf from two strands of some pink baby weight yarn that was given to me (thanks Dena!) by a reader who moved out of town, and this was the perfect project. My daughter sometimes wears this scarf with her dressy shabbat outfits in grays and blacks, and it looks super!

Super Simple Crocheted Skinny Scalloped Scarf Pattern:

Gauge is really unimportant for this one, yippee!

If using two strands of baby weight or sport weight yarn, use a size J or K hook, but the best idea is to make a small sample with the yarn you'll be using and find the crochet hook that produces the best results.

Foundation Chain: Ch 203 very loosely

Row 1: dc in fourth chain from hook and in every stitch until the end, turn

Row 2: ch 3, dc in every stitch across, turn (Note: for a slightly wider scarf one can simply repeat row 2)

Row 3: Skip first 2 stitches, *scallop in next stitch, skip next stitch, slip stitch in next stitch, skip next stitch, and repeat from * across to end.

A scallop is made as follows: in the specified stitch crochet (1sc, 2hdc, 1dc,2hdc, 1sc)

Enjoy!