Pullover newborn sweater

Nowadays crochet craze is eating me up more than I eat my food..So I am ending up putting crochet posts rather than recipes in recent times. But I guess this is going to be my last crochet time for a quite sometime. My husband is also helping me improve my crochet skills by giving me new ideas. One such idea was this newborn sweater for his friend's newborn son. I have crocheted button-on sweaters for couple of friends' newborns, but this time my husband suggested to do a pullover sweater. But I found patterns for jackets or cardigans but couldn't find one-piece pullover sweater pattern. I was a bit lazy to do front, back and sleeves separately and attach them. So I did a mix of the cardigan pattern and my own pattern.  I also did a matching beanie cap.


Pattern for the sweater:
Chain 38.
Row1:
Double crochet in third chain from the hook and all the chains. (36 DC)
Row2:
Chain 3, turn DC in next 5 stitches, (DC,chain 1,DC) in the next stitch.
DC in the next 4 stitches, (DC,chain 1, DC) in the next stitch.
DC in the next 12 stitches, (DC, chain 1,DC) in the next stitch.
DC in next 4 stitches (DC,chain 1,DC) in the next stitch.
DC in the next 6 stitches.
Rows 3-6:
Chain 3 DC in each stitch across, (DC,chain 1,DC) in each chain 1 space.
Row 7 (Forming armholes):
Chain 3 DC in each stitch, when you reach the chain 1 space, fold the piece such that the 1st and 2nd chain 1 spaces are aligned and DC in the chain spaces together.
For reference you can view this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZQJohHaMF4&list=PL4B355BC209651362&index=10

Repeat the same for the next chain 1 spaces. Continue DC in the rest of the stitches.

After finishing the last DC in the 7th row, slip stitch in 3rd chain of the first DC of the same row.
Rows 8-13:
Chain 3, DC in each stitch across, slip stitch with 3rd chain of beginning chain.
(I used red and yellow alternatively. You can either follow a single color or change colors between rows.)
After slip stitching the last row cut your yarn from about 2 inches of length, pull the loop out and tighten the yarn.

Sleeves:
Join the yarn at the joint of the arm holes and body part, chain 3, DC in each stitch across and slip stitch in the 3rd chain of the beginning chain.
Continue this pattern for as many rows you want.
(Make sure you have equal number of DC in each row, so that the sleeves look even.)

Refer to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HosVpcU0s7Q&list=PL4B355BC209651362&index=16

Edging: (For the neck, arms,and waist)
Join yarn, chain 1 and single crochet in each stitch across, slip stitch at the beginning chain.

Here's the finished sweater...

I made a matching hat with the sweater which is a regular beanie with ear flaps whose pattern you might find in youtube.



 

Crochet dress

Couldnt wait to post this dress I crocheted for my toddler girl. As soon as I finished crocheting this dress I made her wear this and took a few snaps so that I could post it right away. I will try to post the patterns as soon as possible. The pattern is designed by me. Until you wait for the pattern you could take a look at the dress..

 

Crochet jewelry

My daughter is changing school this fall. It is the most sad feeling to leave your old school and friends behind and move on. It was almost like a second home for my kid. She loved it there. The teachers were so kind and patient with her and all the kids studying there. I even would wish sometimes we had a school life like hers. I really should appreciate their efforts to bring out the best in each and every child. They certainly did more than I could have done. I wanted to give a small gift of appreciation to the teachers on the last school day for my daughter. I could have easily brought something in a store, but I wanted to put some effort in making the gift myself, to respect their efforts. So I chose to do some crochet jewelry. I got some satin and thread chains and fish hooks, and crochet thread and viewed a lot of patterns to finally come up with these jewelry

HEART SHAPED PENDANT AND EARRINGS

This is a very simple pattern, but it took me a little while to master as I am new to crocheting with crochet threads which are much thinner than the regular yarns. I used a size 10 thread and 2.5 mm hook.

FLOWER PENDANT AND EARRINGS

This is also a beautiful pattern as the previous one. With the same thread and hook, I made the pendant and earrings in less than an hour.

SUMMER BRACELETS:

These bracelets were made with my own pattern. I just started blank and started inventing the pattern on the go. It might not be a masterpiece but a decent one for a beginner. I used 4 ply yarn and 5 mm hook for this pattern.

My new crochet project..Baby set

Finally I have finished the baby set for my friend's newborn girl!!!!. I have made a blanket, sweater and a hat for the sweetie. The blanket took me a very long time but the sweater and hat took me only a week to complete.

I should manage to send her the baby set this week. This is going to be a complete surprise for her. I wish she likes them.

I used babysport yarn for this blanket and the pattern is from lionbrand.com. You just have to register and you can view lots and lots of free patterns. This website was very useful for me to try out new crochet projects. 

This sweater is a combination of two patterns. The top half of the sweater is made using the sweater pattern from yarnydays.com. The link for this pattern is http://www.yarnydays.com/2009/02/everyday-is-new-sweater-day.html
The umbrella pattern of the lower half of this sweater and the sleeves are made using the pattern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4EdtsIzcUY

I was thinking to make a regular beanie but suddenly struck by the idea of ear flap hat. For girls, I think, some extra decorations make them look more cute and pretty. So this ear flap hat would be a perfect choice for baby girls. I got this pattern from http://allicrafts.blogspot.com/search/label/9-12%20months

The sweater and hat are for 9-12 months size. But they looked a bit smaller for me. That might be even because its been a long time since I've been with babies less than a year. Hoping to crochet more sweaters and hats if this one fits her and my friend likes this set.

PS: I've added some links for patterns that I could remember, as I have promised.

My next project is a boy's sweater for my hubby's friend who just had a baby boy. Will try to finish the sweater ASAP and upload it sooner.

A new addiction...Crochet

Knitting and sewing was in my hobby list from ever since I could remember. But for some reason I didn't pursue it very seriously. Only recently I battled all my blocks and finally got into it. But before trying knitting I wanted to practice crochet (I believed crochet was much easier than knitting). I found my motivation through a friend who was into knitting for a very long time and has decorated her home with her beautiful creations. I came to know knitting is not only for baby sweaters and hats, but has lots of uses once your imagination is untied. I searched for basic crochet patterns in the net and learned crochet through lots of YouTube videos and couldn't stop myself from crocheting from then. I'll make sure to add all the links when I find time.

I first started with a hat for my daughter. I was a bit overconfident and did a slight mistake. I thought that the hat wouldn't fit my toddler's head and did an extra step which resulted in a large hat. It fit my toddler's head but it was not a perfect fit I should say. It was a bit loose for her. So I decided to keep that for myself. I was feeling guilty and tried to make it up for her by crocheting another hat. I followed the exact gauge and stitches. But this time the hat looked smaller. It might be because of the yarn or the needle. I promised to myself that next time I am going to follow the rules very strictly.

My next project was once again a hat for my little one. By this time the weather was getting better, so I decided to make a fancy summer hat. With a YouTube video to help I finished the hat and it perfectly fit my little one's head. Phew!! what a relief.

This time I wanted to make a small purse with a long string to take my phone and house keys while I went to the park with my daughter. I wanted a very simple and easy pattern, but the handbag patterns I saw were very complicated and seems like it would take a long time to complete. So I crocheted the bag with my own ideas. I also made a button with the leftover yarn, viewing a YouTube video. My daughter loved it and wanted to take her water bottle in the bag, to the park...Hmm Mothers are made to sacrifice..'No problem I can make a handbag for myself sometime later' I told myself.











My husband was very cross with me ..("You are making hats and bags for you and your daughter, what about me?"). OK. Here you go Darling Hubby...A smart crew cap for you. I found this pattern in a YouTube video. It didn't come as exactly as shown but it is still good and he wore it very proudly on our wedding anniversary.

link for the pattern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEffgaeEbus












There's some leftover yarn after the bag. I searched for a pattern to finish off the yarn. A shrug pattern got my eye at lionbrand.com. They have a huge collection of crochet and knitting patterns. And they also have an option to buy the necessary yarn and other accessories from their online store.
This sequoia shrug (I'm not sure if I spelled it right..) took quite a long time for me to finish plus I had to buy extra yarn. But it's worth the effort. I was very pleased by the result.

Link for the pattern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nB94a0bAZg

These are the small bow clips I made for my daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcxz3r9VZoQ

My next project is a baby blanket and sweater for my friend's newborn girl. I hope I finish it before the baby starts walking..lol will upload the photos once I finished this projects..

PS: In the middle of the blanket I finished a wallet (cant wait until I finish the blanket and sweater..). This wallet is an improvisation of a basic credit card purse pattern by bobwilson which I saw in You Tube. I have added an additional card space so that you have three spaces for keeping your money , card and even your phone.
The basic pattern can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFbqXRp84NI