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!

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!

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!!

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!

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...