Crochet Chiq

I was just browsing other crochet blogs and wow sometimes people are just mean! Just because the pattern is free doesn't mean you should complain to the designer you don't understand it.. and if you don't know what dec. is maybe and advanced pattern is something you should hold off on?? okay rant over.. I don't like seeing mean comments to other designers when the person doesn't know what they are talking about!!! How about we do a nice comment day! if there is a site you have gotten a pattern from you like go leave them some love on their page! and post a link on this post! Here are some sites I learned from , Have I mentioned I learn to crochet completely online?? Teresa Richardson crochet geek Beth Ham- Bethintx1 Mikey aka the crochetcrowd Claire aka Bob Wilson Donna aka Naztazia Laura AKA The Crochet Case ravelry  if you have this check out and leave a comment to those you have completed projects for.. Even send them a message or email!! ...

I read a review on Red Heart and on AllFreeCrochet and I was intrigued to get my hands on a copy and try a few patterns out! I am still working through the book but I wanted to share with you 2 of the animals I have made and as I make more I will share those with you too! so I couldn't find my darning needle and I used my hook to weave everything lol... that's why the face is lacking in detail!  The Harp seal is the 2nd pattern listed in the book and it's quick cute and easy pattern. However read each round completely before you crochet... a few times I almost made a mistake because of the way the pattern was worded and the way it increased. I loved everything about the pattern it's just written different than what I am used to and... I haven't followed a pattern in a while since I normally just figure it out myself. The author of this book is Megan Kreiner ( she calls her crochet MK Crochet, so bonus cool points because she is an MK too!!) Megan is an anim...

So yesterday I was looking around Elizabeth Ham 's facebook group  and some one posted a jacob's ladder style pattern and I thought to myself WOW I could soo do that to make a frumpy tee look fitted and flirty!! Check out my NEW Video HERE This will make your t shirt tighter cut you slits about 3-4 inches long and about 1-2 inches apart using a ruler helps to keep everything straight uses sharp scissors make a difference! in the video you can see i used my trusty Fiscars! Using the hook you pull the loops through each other to create a cable on top. I started from the toop of the shirt. 

This amazing pattern is FREE here on the Crochet Today Website T he magazine has awesome studs but I couldn't find any at my local craft stores. So I found two cute but manly turtle buttons and decided to stitch 1 Cor. 13:13  (  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.  ) it! This was a gift to my boyfriend who plays in the worship band at my church and was in despite need of a new guitar strap!  I love how quick and easy this pattern designed by Brenda K. B. Anderson  ( click her name to see her designs on ravely)  is. I made the strap in an evening! I like how the skinny black rows are raised which gives the strap so detailing. What way would you personalize your strap? Comment below!

My favorite blanket I am working on is this baby one featuring  the new Annes Geddes baby yarn! This is the star stitch pattern  Another unfinished blanket I have it the wave one! Anyone else start one and then get excited about other projects??? Do you know that Stitch and Unwind has a Stitch and Share event going on right now asking you to share your favorite blankets and/ or hats? You don't need a blog just a photo! The winner gets 29 skeins of threads and a mention in the newsletter!!! Now I won the first one and bloggers you want to win one because a mention in the newsletter boost your blog so much more and for more days than a regular link! Here are some of my favorite hats I have made that are not from patterns here on crochet chiq! Some I made up and the star stitch ones are from The Crochet Geek The first hat I ever tried to make with out a pattern and just looking at a picture! These hats took forever but I loved making them!...

so now you have your bag.... why would you want to line your bag? Lining helps your bag from stretching and helps it keep it's shape! it is also great for grannys or lacey bags because then you don't have to worry about your stuff falling! I have wrote a good post about how to line a bag in general here at stitch and unwind  I also show how to add a zipper in the link.. however the shape of this bag is not friendly for adding a zipper if you are new to sewing! All sewing can be done by hand or machine if sewing by hand this is what you want it to look like... also try to match your thread to your fabric.. I contrasted here so you could see this.  place your fabric folded or two pieces with the right side ( if it looks good on both sides it doesn't matter) facing the inside on a flat surface. Place your bag on top of that, out line your bag on the fabric and cut. Place a pin every 6 to 8 inches along the edge so it doesn't come apart ( pinning is optional but...

There is no right way to do this... I just laid out the squares and sewed them together one by one. I used red yarn and a darning ( yarn) needle to sew them. ALWAYS sew with the right sides facing each other. When you are done your bag should look like this... the blue will be folded and sewn together after the bag is lined. This part is my least favorite part and can seem to take longer than it should but hang in there and keep with it. Be sure to knot and weave in all you ends. When you are done with the bag be sure to trim any left over ends. HERE is a YOUTUBE link to some great AFC videos on how to join grannys Check back on here Thursday night for the easy lining instructions! this is what the wrong side looks like

Welcome back to part 2 I used red heart super saver for the blue and red heart with love for the white , its an off white  and I used a J hook My How to make a puff stitch picture step by step is here Puff stitch We start with a magic circle and then pull the loop up Then we yarn over, Go under the circle and yarn over Pull through the circle and yarn over and go back through the circle, yarn over Pull through ( five loops on the hook) yarn over Go through the circle and yarn over Pull through the circle and yarn over and pull through all 7 loops on your hook Push the loops together and secure your stitch with a chain Only 6 squares left!! Puff Center Granny - make 6- round one is white rounds 2-4 are blue Make a Magic circle or ch 4 and join Round 1- pull up on the loop ( 1 to 1.5 inch) make a puff stitch chain 2, make a puff stitch , chain 2, make a puff stitch, chain 2, make a puff stitch chain 2 and join.sl to chain 2 Round 2-...

Hi, I'm Mallory from Griffin Handspun . Mary invited me to write about how to make felt balls. I'm sure some of you are wondering what they are and why you'd want to make (or buy ) them. Felt balls can be made in many sizes depending on what you want to use them for; I use large one as dryer balls as well as kids' toys and small ones as beads. We try to avoid dryer sheets because of the chemicals they're made with so we made the switch dryer balls which soften clothes and reduce the drying time by about 25% (we've definitely noticed a drop in our electric bill). All you'll need is: A bowl of water Dish soap - I prefer Dawn 100% wool yarn - this can NOT be superwash yarn because it needs to be able to felt A towel - this is only used for catching any drips Start out by pouring a squirt of soap in the bowl of water. Now you'll begin wrapping the yarn around 2 fingers in a figure 8. If you've ever wrapped a skein of yarn into a ball this ...

Now this step may take you a while and that's okay! Remember you don't have to submit a photo via email to crochetchiq@gmail.com until July 5th to be entered in the contest!!   Please note this contest was for the year 2013  here is the winner!  I hope you all still enjoy the pattern! Don't make the blue and white square yet because it is a different pattern! Also note all granny squares are 4 rounds. For this step you need , your J hook ( or hook you prefer) and 1 ball of red 4 play yarn, and 1 ball of White 4 ply yarn You will need to make 9  Red 4 round double crochet solid granny squares 6 White 4 round double crochet solid granny squares If you know how to make them, go ahead and check post 2 on 6-12 If you don't know how don't worry they are quite easy!! click here for my written and photo tutorial on solid grannys Basic 4 round granny make a magic circle or chain 4 and join Round 1 - ch3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3dc, ch2 ,3dc, ch2, 3dc, ch2 join s...

PLEASE note the contest ended on july5th 2013 Ready to have the best forth of July bag ever and a chance to win??? I will start releasing parts of the pattern on Monday June 10th you will hold a drawling on July 5th To enter  email me crochetchiq@gmail.com a photo of  your finished project. Don't for get to tag crochetchiq in your facebook, twitter and instagram  project updates! Rules: You can use your own colors, I know I have a world wide audience and not everyone wants an American bag!  You must use at least 3 colors ( 2 colors for the blue and white square) and you must use 4 ply yarn. The yarn I used is  Red Heart with Love and Red Heart Super Saver but you can use any 4 ply yarn. I used a J hook but feel free to use any hook you like! You can not make a larger or smaller bag and must use the same number of squares listed. A while I am making the lining easy to follow you do not have to line your bag to enter the contest! All photos submi...