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!