My take on the Sidewalk Shawl

I wanted to make someone for my mom, something big and warm with orange-ish colors. First I found the yarn in the local store, a beautiful color from Malabrigo called volcan. Very soft alpaca yarn in amazing shades, it was really not easy to choose, I was also very tempted by the deep red and the bright purple versions, but since it was for my mom, it was clear that the winner will be the one with the oranges and browns.

Then I dove into the search for a good pattern that would feature this yarn best. I figured that I need something that is neither too tight nor too lacey, so I was looking for something in between. Then I found the free pattern of the "sidewalk" scarf from red heart and a look was enough to make me think: I want to make this.



It's pretty, right?
So here's mine:

I love how the colors look and the pattern shows, I think this was a great match for this yarn. My mom will love it!

If you would like to try it too, you can find the pattern here.

Experimenting with upcycling

I've seen some cool crochet ideas online lately, and I've got some inspiration. I wanted to try my hands with transforming old plastic bags into something useful and good-looking. I was surprised by the easiness of creating the yarn (dubbed as "plarn" by some) and it's easier to work with than I thought. Also, since I'm using brown bags, the result looks surprisingly natural. I'm going to keep experimenting with this material, I think it can be perfect for bags, baskets and other kitchen-related stuff.
So here are the steps of transformation:

1. Ugly bag

2. Weird-looking "yarn"

3. Starting the work

4. The finished product

I'm completely excited about this new technique! If you have any other ideas for upcycling plastic bags or any interesting experience with it, please share!

Work in progress

Since I started my new day job, the time I can spend on working on my crochet ideas has reduced greatly. But I don't give up on it, and I still have some nice projects going on - it might take a little longer to finish them though. Here's what I'm experimenting now:

I've found this nice pattern online, I think on Pinterest, and I decided to try.

The diagram is nice and clear, although sadly it doesn't give me any idea about the yarn weight or the hook size, so I had to take a chance. I have some leftover lace yarn from another project, and I try to use that up. So here's where I am right now:

I'm still not sure if the size will be ok, or if the yarn will be enough to finish it :) But it's really exciting to see this beautiful lace pattern forming, so I'm willing to take this risk. I hope that soon I can report success!

Sharing Secrets II.: Searching for free patterns

    Whenever I need new ideas or patterns, the first thing I do is to search online for inspiration. Usually I do google image search with keywords like "bikini crochet pattern" or whatever I'm looking for at the moment. Sometimes this search is not really fruitful, then I use my little secret weapon.

I search in Chinese.

   It's still not always successful, but the Chinese web is huge, so there's a good chance to find very different things than what the English search brings you.

For your convenience, I'm sharing a few phrases here, you can copy-paste them into your google search. 

Crochet:   钩针编织
Knit:        编织
Pattern:    样式
Hat:         帽子
Top:        上衣
Bikini:    比基尼
Dress:     穿衣

If there are any other words or phrases you'd like to search for, leave a comment!
Good luck!

Experimental piece

     I have always wanted to make swimsuits! I just think that they are one of the most delicate and beautiful wearable items you can create with crochet. Also, it's quite challenging, as it needs to fit very well. I've been searching online for patterns, and I found surprisingly few. I did find pictures of finished swimsuits, mostly for sale, some of them were really beautiful. Sadly, the patterns I found turned out to be rather useless, as some were unclear, and others had weird proportions. I spent three days to make one of them, which came out as something that fits my wide hips well, but then the top part hardly reaches over my belly button, make it impossible to wear. It's like the top and the bottom part was designed for very different sizes.

     After that, I decided to make my own. I used some parts of other patterns, and made up the rest by myself. I think it's not a bad one for a first attempt. I did have to go back and change things quite a bit though, so although it's not a big piece, but it took a lot of work. I'm proud of it, and I already have some ideas about improving things for the next one. Because there will be a next one, I'm pretty sure!

What do you think about this one?

More pictures and details here.

Sharing Secrets I.: My favorite patterns for bra or bikini top

   One of the things I like making best is bikini tops or bras. The basic cups are relatively easy to make, and the ornamenting possibilities are simply endless. I've tried some different methods for making the bra cups, here's what worked for me best. (I found these patterns online, I don't own them and they are not my creations)

    I know it's a little hard to see because the picture is small, but maybe you can get the idea. It starts in the middle with single chains, then the rounds go on the two sides of the original chain, building up the cup from the center, working outward. The increase happens on the center line, adding an extra double crochet-single chain-double crochet group to each round.

    I like this pattern because the increase gives a nice shape to the cup, although sometimes I find that the single chain in the center can make a small opening on the texture, not too big, but you can see it if you look close.

Another one I like a lot is this one:

     I haven't tried to make the trim yet, but I found the cup pattern very useful. Although it has a very similar way of building up the cup from the center, but without the small holes on the center line I experienced with the first one. This one has no single chain increase, only double crochets, so the texture stays nice and even.

    I think the real trick is to find the right length of the starting center chain, based on the weight of your yarn and the desired cup size. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find out, but it's definitely worth it!

Do you know an even better way? Please share!

Recycling

     I'm still in the process to go through that big stash of yarn I was given from an old basement. It's been a big task, as it fills two large trash bags. I had to go through them skein by skein as I realized that some of the wool yarn were infested by moths, so I had to throw those away and carefully inspect the rest.

     Luckily, the stash consist of mostly synthetic fibers, which were unaffected by moths. Although, deciding the fiber was also an issue as most of the yarn came without any labels, so I spent a few hours in the backyard with a lighter, taking small samples of each skein and burn them to see what they're made of. I've found this helpful chart online that helps figuring out your yarn.

    So after inspecting and categorizing, now I'm ready to finally use the yarn. The cold weather gave me inspiration, and I decided to make a hooded scarf, because I think hooded scarfs are cool. I selected chocolate-colored yarns to create this piece, and as I watched the stripes building up, I nicknamed it tiramisu. The pattern is really easy, this is project that could be great for beginners, as it would be really difficult to not succeed.

Do you like hooded scarfs?