Doughnut Blanket

The doughnut blanket has launched! I’m so in love with this pattern. The little cupcake border makes me so happy, too. It’s great for scrap eating and using up fun little bits of variegated yarn that’s hard to use in larger projects, and is super easy to customize for baby shower themes, too.

Also, it looks delicious. Yum!

The pattern is up in my Ravelry shop for $1 off for the launch weekend (until 8/12/18), or in Etsy if you’d prefer that.

Ahhh, just look at those little cupcakes!

If you make your own version of the blanket, please tag me on IG (#tigardneedlework & #cassandrasdesigns) or make a project page on Rav! I love seeing what everyone comes up with.

Happy crafting!

Mosaic Dishcloths Everywhere

It’s been a while since I’ve written up a blog post, but suffice to say: my life is dishcloths.

I love that they’re easy to make, quick, satisfying, and useful. They make great gifts and there’s something lovely about having a nice stack of finished dishcloths sitting on my table at the end of the day.

Mosaic ones have particularly been my jam, but I’m trying to branch out into some crochet options, as well.

Here’s a small sample of some dishcloths you can find up in my Rav store.

Hogwash: a mosaic dishcloth pattern

Find Hogwash on Ravelry, here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hogwash

 

Purr: a mosaic dishcloth pattern

Find Purr on Ravelry, here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/purry-baby

Cupcake Chart

The corner to corner (C2C) craze has finally caught hold of me. I love these silly charts and have been making them far faster than I can crochet them – but that doesn’t mean I can’t share them with others!

First up, is a cute cupcake. It’s a pretty simple chart with only a few colours used. It’s also easily customized to just about however you want it to work up. I want to make one and stitch on some sprinkles in a varigated yarn, maybe..? Mmm. All the deliciousness, none of the calories!

I’ve included the chart if you’d like to save it and zoom in (the rows are numbered for C2C), and also uploaded a PDF that can be downloaded and printed off. The PDF has the chart split onto four pages so you can cut and tape them together for a big picture. This chart is 80 pixels wide by 100 pixels tall, and will make a decent sized blanket with a standard worsted weight yarn & hook size. (This will vary with gauge, but expect a blanket about 80″ wide by about 100″ tall or so, not counting a border.) Speaking of a border, maybe a cute cupcake border will be in order?!

Download the printable PDF for free here from Google Drive: click me!

If you prefer written directions for C2C, or would rather work this in a single crochet chart format, you can find those PDFs in my Ravelry store, here: click me! (or if you’d rather, in my Etsy shop: click me!)

I hope you enjoy the pattern & share your creations for everyone to see!

GAL Projects

Between my furious crafting fest for the bazaar next Tuesday (ahhh, it’s coming up so fast!), I’ve been sneaking time to work on an Indie Design now & then. The prizes are pretty awesome & it’s been a lot of fun scouring the patterns and picking out gifts. It’s also nice working from stash.

This particular hat pattern is a fave of mine. I’m going to make another up soon, even!

The pattern is called Feathery Owl Hat, and it’s up for sale on Rav, which you can find by clicking here.

Want to learn more about the Indie Design GAL & maybe enter for a chance at some prizes? You can read all about it in the Rav group located here: https://www.ravelry.com/groups/indie-design-gift-a-long

Black Friday / Small Business / Cyber Monday

How many sales can we hit at once? Three, apparently! Right now, until 11/27 @ 11:59PM (PST), all of my patterns on Ravelry are 30% off – no coupon code needed! If you’ve had your eye on any, now is the time to catch ’em!

Click here to check out my Ravelry patterns!

Get this pattern & others in my shop!

Flower Cup Cozy

This quick little cup cozy works up perfectly in spring colours! Use it to hold your hot or cold drink year round. The size listed in the pattern is for a standard large sized cup from Starbucks – if you order various sizes, make it a little smaller than directed for some flexibility, as the pattern does stretch depending on the yarn you use.

Hook: H (5 mm)

Yarn: Worsted weight in 2-3 colours, roughly 12 grams total.

Special Stitches

Beginning Cluster: *Yo, insert hook into st, pull up a loop, yo, pull yarn through 2 loops. Repeat from * once more, then pull yarn through all three loops on hook.

Cluster (cl): *Yo, insert hook into st, pull up a loop, yo, pull yarn through 2 loops. Repeat from * twice more, then pull yarn through all four loops on hook.

Corner Cluster: cluster, ch 2, cluster.

Pattern

Make a magic ring with yarn A, or ch 4 and slip stitch to first ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as a dc), beginning cluster into ring, ch 3, *cl into ring, ch 3. Repeat from * 5 times, join with a slip stitch into top of beginning cluster. Cut yarn.

Round 2: Join yarn B to any ch 3 space. Ch 3, beginning cluster in same ch 3 space yarn was joined in, *ch 3, corner cluster in next ch 3 space, ch 3, corner cluster in next ch 3 space, ch 3**, cluster in next ch 3 space. Repeat from * once more, ending at **. Join with a slip stitch to beginning cluster. If using 3 colours, cut yarn.

Round 3: Join yarn C in ch 3 of first corner cluster after round 2’s end OR sl st with yarn B into ch 3 space of first corner cluster. Ch 1. Sc 2 in ch 3 space, sc in cluster. Sc 3 in next ch 3 space, sc in cluster, sc 2 in ch 3 space of next corner cluster, turn. (9 sc)

Row 4: Ch 2, hdc in each stitch across, turn. (9 hdc)

Row 5: Ch 1, sc in back loop of each stitch across, turn. (9 sc)

Repeat row 4 – 5 until piece measures 9″ (23 cm). Fold cozy with right sides facing and cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Seam ends together to create a tube.

Note: To create a custom sized cozy, crochet until desired size instead of 9″ – you could crochet even longer for a headband option or boot cuff!

Edging: Turn cozy right side out and attach yarn colour of choice to the cozy. Ch 1. Sc evenly around. Repeat edging for the other end. Weave in ends. Optionally, slip stitch or a basic picot could be added for a decorative edge.

Fairy Hat & Petal Skirt

Welp folks, I finally got a new pattern published! I’ve been working on a bit of a side project lately, so pattern making has been put a bit on back burner. But I was feeling an itch to make something cute and straight forward. I found myself drawn, as usual, to baby items!

Hence this cute fairy flower hat and petal skirt. The version I made used the tulle under the petals option, but there’s directions for a two layer petal skirt, as well. It’s sized for 0-3 months and 3-6 months, so you can get those baby photos in pronto! (Seriously, get the pictures in before the kiddo figures out how to wiggle around so much!)

You can find this pattern up on the various sites I sell at, linked here:

Ravelry – Etsy – Craftsy

As always, thank you for your support & I hope your weekend is going fabulously! We’re melting here in the pacific northwest, so there’s not much hope for us at this point.

Pattern Testing, ahoy!

Yesterday, I started my day off with a goal to write a pattern. It’d been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I felt like I really needed to get it down. I knew from the start I wanted something fitting the following criteria:

• Easy. I wanted it simple and enjoyable.
• Practical. Something people would want to put time into as gifts for themselves and others.
• Adjustable. Works with the yarn and hooks you have, no specifics.

In this pattern, I’ve found all those aspects. Thus far, I’ve written the pattern for the 6-12 mo, 12-18 mo, and 18-24 mo. Today I hope to take the real test and try writing the child/teen/adult sizes to round it off and get it set up for testing!

Here’s a few preview photos of my new pattern, hopefully being published sometime next week!

18-24 mo size.

Size 6 – 12 mo.

Crochet Hat & Flower Accent Patterns

I was bribedencouraged with the prospect of a free pattern the other day to hook up a hat pattern – it was an interesting pattern, and I really liked that it provided a video tutorial, a chart, and written directions! I’m the type of person who likes written patterns, with photos/video to supplement, and maybe a chart to clarify (though I usually get by on written just fine.)

The hat itself was pretty cute, I made a baby size with a brim. But it seemed to be lacking that… pop. Crochet hats in solid colours can be a little underwhelming sometimes, and it’s a baby hat – they’re supposed to be adorable!

So the pattern feature is really for two crochet patterns that I found. Last night, after the hat was finished, I took some time to search Ravelry for a lovely floral addition to my hat, and found the fantastic pattern used below!

Free crochet your own adventure hat pattern and flower pattern.

The flower pattern is really nice because it can be done with any hook/yarn. Basically, find a button you want to slip it over (did I mention it’s no sew?), size your beginning chains, and then make as many layers of petals as you want (3 layers are supplied; I did 2 for mine.) How great is that? It could be used to make a variety of colours and then be changed out depending on season or outfit themes… yes. The potential is endless.

Here’s the links you’ve been waiting for!

• Crochet Your Own Adventure Hat
• Flower Accent

Any grand plans for your crafting weekend? I’m still working on my pattern process posts at the moment, in-between crocheting and knitting, of course. Classes at uni start Monday for me, so I’m enjoying my last tastes of freedom and preparing for OFFF on Sunday, as well! There’ll be lots of pictures and coverage of that event on the blog, too.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Did you know that Friday, Sept 19 is talk like a pirate day? No, really, it’s a thing. To that end, I’ve rounded up some cute (and free!) knit and crochet patterns to help you scallywags celebrate in the pillaging and plundering!

Six free pirate-themed patterns!

1. Fingerless Gloves (knitting)
2. Pirate Booties (knitting)
3. Pirate Patch (crochet)
4. Puppy Pirate Hat (crochet)
5. Skull & Crossbone Cuffs (knitting)
6. Skull Shawl (crochet)