New website... check it out!

Hi everyone!  I'm no longer updating this blog, as I've launched my new website, www.homemadebygiggles.com.  Head on over there to check it out!

Happy crafting!
Marianne

Pumpkin Baby Carrier Set - FREE crochet pattern!

Happy Halloween!  My cousin just welcomed a brand new sweet baby boy into the world and had asked me to make her something that could work for Halloween night for a newborn.  Despite not-so-great pictures, it turned out great!  So I'm sharing the pattern!

Fat Bottom Bag - project instructions

Fat Bottom Bag... you make the rockin' world go round!

I've sewn a lot of bags in the past but haven't crocheted anything with handles!  So when I saw these handles at my local Lens Mill store, I couldn't resist a project!  I saw a pattern on Ravelry that I loved, but it was only in print so I looked around online and found some great instructions that I followed.  My step by step process is detailed below!

Baby Bear Set

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I made a baby set.  My cousin sent me a picture of a cute outfit and I replicated it from the pic for her baby shower.  It's SO sweet!  Here is the picture I referenced, unfortunately the item is no longer in stock on Etsy so I can't credit the creator.  If you know whose pattern it is, let me know so I can give proper credit!  All photos below are from the set I made - I didn't write down a pattern give a "recipe" for the items if people want to know roughly how they were constructed!

Diagonal Stripe Blanket Experiment

Experiment time!  I created this beautiful (and BIG!!!!) bag recently and finally got around to the finishing details.  But I'm totally in love with this bag and I'll explain why the yarn I used is also my favorite new yarn to play with.  Instructions on how I made this blanket are included in this blog post.

Shark Graphghan - FREE crochet pattern!

It's been a while since I blogged... life has been busy!  But I have had a bit of time to do some crocheting, of course. For this one I was very inspired by another crafter's project and blog post, I'll share some details below.  Here is my shark graphghan, which is a graph afghan, made with a pixel chart!  The technique is Corner to Corner (C2C) and it was so fun to make!

Ocean Waves Blanket

So I normally don't make blankets for people.  They're beautiful and I love making them, but they just take SO LONG to make!  But when a close friend makes a special request, I will of course make it!  This is to be a gift for a friend's cousin's wedding.  They own a boat called 'Hoot' so we wanted to come up with something that was water-related and also incorporated the boat name.  Here are some photos and details on this beautiful blanket's construction!

Owl Appliqué - FREE Crochet Pattern!

I was making a blanket for a friend and it included adding a pair of owls onto it.  Using the same colors as the blanket, I made these appliqués and had to choose amongst them for the blanket.  I figured I could share the pattern for these!  There's actually a pattern for 2 different ones, a bigger one made with single crochet and a smaller, simpler one made with double crochet.

Hermit Crab with Removable Shells - FREE Crochet Pattern!

My sister gave my daughter some sea shells from a trip to Cuba, and she just loved them.  We had recently seen an episode of a kid's show that had hermit crabs, so we looked online to see hermit crabs and found a few pictures of hermit crabs wearing shells just like hers!  So I thought I'd make her a crocheted crab for her, finding some way to make the shells removable.  And here is the result, please enjoy this pattern, including a couple of shell possibilities.  I would LOVE to have comments and pictures of other shells people create, the possibilities are endless!!

Twisted and Chain Cable Headbands - FREE Knit Patterns!

Much to our dismay, we've been hit with yet another bout of snow in Southwestern Ontario.  Spring sure does take its time!  Although I'd rather be out in the garden, it gave me a bit of cozy time to knit up a couple headbands before the snow is gone for good!  Here are a couple of them I've whipped up, including patterns.  My instructions for both are in this blog!

Aladdin-Inspired Stuffie - FREE Crochet Pattern!

So I set out to make a stuffed critter for my daughter.  I wanted it to be kind of monster-like, like Patchy-Patch from Toopy and Binoo (a Canadian Kids TV show).  But once I started making it, I thought a little vest would be cute, and then a little cap, and then he really started to look like an Arabian Nights / Aladdin-type guy so I gave him some pointy shoes and VOILA!  I hope you enjoy making this critter... you could really dress him up however you want!  A scarf, a top hat... whatever your heart desires.

Unicorn Hat - FREE Crochet Pattern!

My daughter asked me if I could make her a unicorn hat... and I can't say no to my sweet little girl when it comes to crochet projects!!  But I thought about attaching a mane of hair and didn't want to attach tons of threads of yarn to a hat (although I'm sure it would be awesome).  Then I remembered when I was young, I made Yarnables (link here, although I don't like that someone posted the patterns free, you can see pics of them all) - my Dad worked at the company that makes Bernat yarn and brought home these kits and I loved making them!  So I incorporated hair from the Curly Yarnable, simply doing dc and it will hold the curl.  Improvised some details and VOILA!  A hat!  Free pattern is below!

Bean Bag Owl - FREE Crochet Pattern!

I just love owls.  Who doesn't?  I designed this little amigurumi beanie Owl for my son's nursery.  I decided to stuff it with bean bag beans (details below), but it could be stuffed with regular batting or any other stuffing you want!  I've put quite detailed assembly instructions below, as I find that the proper assembly is really what makes an amigurumi critter look great!

Pattern has been updated to include a video with full assembly instructions.  Even a beginner-level crocheter could make this project in a few hours!

Double-sided pillow pattern - FREE!

I wanted to have a pillow with a bit more texture than what I see in the stores.  I found this great, soft, super bulky yarn to try out, but when I worked up one side of a pillow, it used up 95% of the yarn.  And this yarn wasn't cheap!  So I decided to make a double-sided pillow using a worsted yarn on the opposite side.  I love the result, so I decided to share the patterns!  I used a standard Ikea pillow to stuff it and then sewed it shut, but more ambitious folks could install a zipper or Velcro.

Making a Mermaid Tail Blanket

Hi everyone!  As Mermaid Tail Blankets were one of the hot ticket items that people were requesting me to make this year, I thought I'd take some time to write down how I make mine, and show some pictures of the finished products.

LOTS OF PHOTOS BELOW!!!

Leading Ladies

I'm happy to see that most of my hat requests are actually for little girls, asking for characters of strong leading ladies!  I'm also a proud Canadian, especially of our current new Prime Minister and his attitude towards feminism (see the article here).  So this blog post is for the strong women out there!!

Princess Leia Hat:
As usual, I improvised this pattern, however there is a free pattern on Ravelry that is similar, Star Wars Princess Leia Hat/Wig by Sara Jean.

Princess Anna Hat:
A bonnet-style hat styled after Anna's winter outfit in Frozen. Again, I free-handed the pattern but it was based on the image from this Etsy listing here.

Be sure to check out my Facebook Page to see my other work too. Until next time...

Character Hats

Happy New Year everyone!

I was quite busy over the holiday season working on custom pieces for people to give as gifts for Christmas.  Which is good, as I love keeping busy!  Mermaid and Shark blankets were definitely a hot ticket item this season (see my other blog post about them), but I was surprised to find out that character hats are also very popular right now!

Here are a few that I've put together in the last month.  It's important to note that these were all hand crocheted by me based on pictures people sent me that they found online.  Patterns probably exist out there for these, and I'm happy to credit them where I can.  I did not use a pattern for any of these myself but I didn't 'invent' the hats at all, other people created them, made them and I just reproduced based on a picture!  Where I've seen them online I've linked them below with the pictures of my work.

For people who have been asking me, most of these hats take ~4 hours to complete from scratch.  That process takes into account figuring out the pattern (often ripping out a few iterations of pieces in the process!), crocheting the pieces, sewing them in place (often adjusting several times) and finishing - hiding loose ends, attaching buttons, etc.  Sometimes I get lucky and they take less time because they're more familiar or straightforward to me.  Once I've developed my pattern for them, making an additional copy of the hat usually takes ~2 hours.

Darth Vader Hat:
People seemed to love this hat, and I appropriately (but accidentally!) put pictures up on Facebook of these on the day Star Wars was released!  I did find a source for a pattern that I can credit on Etsy (click here) by MyLittleChapina.  Again, I created the hat based on this picture but I didn't actually use the pattern when I created the hat.  I love how it turned out!

Optimus Prime Hat:

I've made a couple of these hats and there's another blog post about them talking about the cost of homemade items.  I also got to see an adorable picture of a little boy wearing my hat while he slept after Christmas!  I based my hat on the picture from the Etsy listing (click here) by LaineysBowtique.

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

These hats were super fun to make.  The Winnie the Pooh hat was based on a picture (see here) that is watermarked by Ira Rott.  Looking at her page, the item is no longer listed but the picture is still out there!  The Tigger hat was based on a picture sent to me that I can't really find online but it was great to develop!

Ninjago Hat ("Jay"):

Now, I don't know anything about Ninjago... but this one was pretty straightforward to make, and cute!  I couldn't find it exactly but I believe it was from this Etsy shop (click here) by MaryOriginals.  I think this blue guy's name is Jay.

Minion Hat:

Now, I had made a minion hat before but hadn't made an adult one before!  It was super cute but pretty huge for an adult head!  Bless this customer, she got it for her husband (a GRANDPA!) who love wearing fun stuff like this.  What a cool Grandpa!  I did a search and found this pattern posted online for sale (click here), but again I didn't buy the pattern, I simply reproduced the hat based on the picture sent to me!

John Deere:

If you're from where I'm from (rural Canada), you'll understand the love of John Deere!  This isn't so much a "character hat" but it's still a themed hat!  The picture I based this on looks like it links to a shop (click here) by Lily-Rose Crochet Designs.  I also did a matching girl's hat in the same colours but a more girly style!  Fun!

I hope you enjoyed looking at these pictures as much as I loved making the hats!  Hopefully in 2016 I will be able to start creating some of my own designs and post some patterns for you all!