Doll Dresses

I crocheted doll dress for my cousin's 2 girls.  I found the pattern at http://www.abc-knitting-patterns.com/1029.html - they have lots of knitted and crocheted patterns.  One has pink trim and the other has purple trim.  After I made the first one I found that the dress was difficult to get on the doll so I changed the pattern a bit.  Instead of crocheting in the round when the skirt starts, I crocheted in rows for about 8 or 9 rows and then started crocheting in the round - this made it much easier to get on the doll.  Also next time I will use fewer buttons on the back.  Doll clothes are such fun (and the dolls don't outgrow the clothes before I finish them).

What fun, I started sewing and crocheting with doll clothes and here I am full circle again.  Cannot wait to create some of my own designs.  BTW - the girls loved them, we may have new crocheters coming along!

Free Ribbon Cuff Pattern

This cuff pattern is for those of you who might be interested in the cuff but do not want to crochet with beads. It uses fillet crochet and ribbon woven in. The ribbon can be changed out to match an outfit, a mood or a holiday. The pattern is for the 1.25 inch cuff with two rows of Ribbon

I was looking for green ribbon for St Patrick's day

 



 Blue and brown ribbon from Hobby Lobby

 

Thread = Lizbeth size 10 color #655 for the blue, Cebelia for the cream. The pattern stays the same as both are size 10 but for some reason I ended up with 20 fillet "windows in the blue and 22 in the cream Cebelia. The pattern starts and finishes like the beaded cuff but this works up faster. I find that a ch 1 will allow 1/8 to 1/4 inch of ribbon.

 Original Pattern - Pat Cooper Creations February 2013
Copyright February 2013

Please use this pattern to create bracelets for yourself and for gifts.  Please do not sell the pattern or items made form the pattern.  If you post this somewhere else please refer back to this blog.  Thank you for understanding.

Supplies

size 10 (1.3mm) crochet hook

one ball size 10 cotton thread your favorite color

one brass cuff blank 1.25 inches wide (I get mine from http://www.beadwork-supplies.com/braceletblanks.html )

1/2 yard of ribbon (3/8 inch) to coordinate with thread
small snaps
needle and thread
tapestry needle
scissors
safety pin

 

Foundation row Chain 11

Row 1: scblo in 2^nd chain from hook, sclblo in next 8 stitches, 3 sc in 10^th stitch; scblo in next 8 stitches, 2 scblo in last stitch (22 stitches) join w slip stitch to first chain stitch place a marker on this stitch), chain 1

Row 2: sc in 2^nd chain from hook (first stitch on previous row), sc in next 9 stitches, 2 sc in last stitch, sc in next 9 stitches, 2 sc in last stitch (24 stitches) join to ch1 with sl st, chain 3 (move marker to top stitch)

Row 3: dc in first stitch, dc around. Join with sl st to top of ch 3, ch 3 (move marker to top of ch 3) (24 double chain stitches)

Row4: dc in 1^st stitch, *ch 3, skip 3 stitches dc in next 2 st* repeat once from * dc in remaining st around, join to top of ch 3 with sl st, chain 3

You will have 2 "windows" and the crocheted back.

Rows 5 - 22: Repeat row 4. Slip on to brass cuff to measure, you may need to add a few more rows until bracelet is about ½ inch from end of form.  I prefer an even number of rows as this lets me put the turning row underneath the stitches but if you want it outside the stitches just use an odd number of rows.

End  (I started with row 1 of the end as you will decide how many rows of "windows" you want).

 

Row 1; Slide the cover off of the blank, Chain 3, dc around in each dc and chain stitch join with sl st to top of ch 3, ch 1

Row 2: sc crochet the next two stitches together (sc2tog) for a decrease, sc in the next 8 stitches, sc 2 stitches together (sc2tog), sc in next stitch (this should be the edge stitch), sc2tog, sc in next 10 st, sc2tog.  Join to ch1 with sl st stitch at beginning edge.  Ch 1

Row 3:  Sc in first stitch, continue to sc around to beginning, join to first ch 1 with slst, ch 1,

Row 4; sc in 1^st stitch of row, sc in next 11 to end, ch 1 turn

Row 5; repeat row 4

Row 6: sc2tog at beginning and end of row, ch1 turn

Row 7: sc across ch1 turn

Row 8-10: repeat row 5 until the flap is long enough to fold over the end of the blank with room to add the snaps. You want a snug fit but not too much stretching of the crochet

Finishing

Cut the thread leaving about 10” of thread. Draw the thread through the loop to fasten the stitches. Thread a tapestry needle with the end thread, and weave the thread through the stitches to fasten, cut the remaining thread. Weave the thread at the beginning end into the stitches

Cut 3/8 inch ribbon 13 inches long, weave the ribbon over and under the fillet bars starting from the inside of the cuff.  slide the cover onto the brass form, tuck the ribbon ends over the edge of the form and into the back of the bracelet.

Mark where you want the snaps to be with a pencil or pins. Using matching sewing thread, sew one half of a snap pair to the inside of the flap, sew the other half of the snap to the back of the cover making sure to position the snaps ends in place so that they will meet when the flap is folded over the end of the blank.

I am fine with having the ribbon ends free to make it easy to change colors; however, if you want more stability, fold over the ends twice so there are no frayed endings.  sew one side of a snap to the TOP of the ribbon, sew the other end to the inside back of the cuff, when snapped it will hold the ribbon in place (see picture below)

I have also made one with a chain one space for use with 1/4 inch ribbon.  I also tried putting charms on the ends and then moved them to the center, I did not use jump rings and I plan to play around with this idea using beads.  I may have to snap the ribbon if the beads get to heavy.

 

This is my Valentine's Day bracelet!

 

Cuff Bracelet Examples

Hopefully my Amethyst chip cuff bracelet will be published in Crochet magazine this Spring.  The pictures below are a few other ides for cuff bracelets that I have crocheted.  I used Conso cord and a mixed 6/0 bead mix for the early ones.  Conso cord is an upholstery thread, nice and stiff but I do not like the way it looks after a year or more.  It starts to look faded (unless I go for a denim look, hmmmm have to think about that).  I prefer using cotton cord, it gives a softer finish, it is easier to find and there is a wide range of colors and sizes.  For most chips I need a 40 weight, chips tend to have smaller holes and they abrade the thread somewhat.  The lighter weight makes it easier to string the beads and move them along.  Below are some of my other designs.

 

These are silk embroidery ribbon with 6/0 seed beads as the background.  The "paddles" are vintage beads.  Instead of snaps I used loops and the vintage paddles as the closure (bottom view).

 

 

 

This is Conso cord again with 6/0 seed beads as the base.  I made the charms from leaf shaped beads.  the charms are attached to jump rings.  I tried crocheting soldered jump rings in to the design but I find that the weight of the dangle pulls on the thread and I have had much more success using split jump rings placed through the 6/0 seed beads and attaching dangles to that.  I have used buttons, charms, anything that can be put on a head pin really.

 

 





This is conso cord with a leaf design crocheted as the pattern.  The leaves have 3 seed beads (11/0) on each side to make the dangle.  the flower beads were attached by sewing them to the thread using a 15/0 seed bead as the center.

I have several other examples, but they seem to have disappeared into my studio "black hole".  I will post them when the gremlins decide to let them surface.  All of these use a basic "cuff cover" adapted for the width of the blank and the weight of the thread or ribbon.  New cuff pattern coming in the next post using ribbon instead of beads!

This is the baby snuggle and hat I finished.  If they look alike it is because the snuggle is basically a larger version of the hat.  I used Caron yarn, worsted weight.  I want to try another one in baby weight or cotton for something a little lighter.

Top: baby snuggle  Bottom: Hat

 

The snuggle pattern called for all shell stitch, I was just playing around with the stitches on the bottom, using some front and back post dc's I had just worked on in my swatches.

CGOA Master's Program

For those of you who have not heard I (Pat) retired at the end of December.  It was cold and rainy in Texas and I needed something to help make the transition so I went to work on a Masters program from the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA).  I had started it in the spring but I had not gotten very far, so I started again.  It consists of 48 increasingly complex swatches, with NO pictures as guidelines.  I not only started it I told others I was working on it so that I would HAVE to finish it.  And I did!

We are not supposed to publish any of the swatches but below is a picture of the notebook with the final swatches and my pile of "out-takes". Now I have to submit it to be evaluated.  There is a backlog (apparently a lot of other folks think that this is a good idea) and I am waiting to hear how long it will take before I can submit it. 

To answer a lot of people's questions, I will only get a pin from CGOA if I pass muster (which I consider important) and I am mostly doing it for my own self.  I would like to take my crochet journey seriously and this is one step on the way. 

Out-takes and Finished Binder

Hopefully I will be able to post on a regualr basis now - I have lots of projects on my to do list so I will have a lot to share.  Next posting - baby "stuff" for our first grandchild to be - Pat

Welcome

Welcome to Bajor Lane, my place to post my crafts and ideas about life.  I am planning to post my projects (and I do have a lot of projects going at any given time) and plans.  I travel a lot for work so many of my projects are seperated into "travel" projects and "sitting" projects.  "Travel" projects are ones that travel well, Road Warrior projects.  They are ones that I can take with me and work on in the airport, on  a plane or just generally waiting somewhere.  "Sitting" projects  usually have more loose parts and require some space to spread things out, I do not do these on the plane, but I do often do them in my hotel room.  One of the nice things about travleing is that I get to explore a lot of different places, including museums, bead stores and quilt stores.  I hope to include some of my findings in future projects.

My sister and I - Knit and Crochet

My sister Marie has joined me on this blog.  We are very different people but we share many of the same interests.  She likes to knit but she does not enjoy chrochet, I know how to knit but I do not enjoy it the way I enjoy chrocheting. This summer we found some combo patterns (knit and crochet) and we did some joint projects. with Marie doing the knitting part and then I did the crochet trim. It was a lot of fun collaborating that way.  Marie is going to post some pictures at a later date (I hope).  The other project we started is felting.  We have been making some baskets out of wool yarn and felting them.  A small bucket and a potato masher works but the washing machine works better.  I am hoping that she will post some pictures of the baskets also.  If you have not figured it out yet, Marie is also the photography buff.