Hookin' One Stitch At a Time

On a journey through crochet fashion.

[crochetwolf1]

Crochet for charity

Crochet doesn't have to be a hobby just for yourself. There are many charities that take your homemade crochet items and send them to people in need based on what their cause is. 

Warm-up America is one that helps multiple drives and places in need. These needs change over time so it's nice to look at the website once in a while for updates. 

  https://warmupamerica.org/make/current-needs/

As of right now, they are not taking donations due to COVID-19 however if you're wanting to work on a project you can set it aside till they are in the office again. That's what I've been doing. 

I like this one because you don't need to make a big piece to be able to donate. They will take 7”x9” sections any yarn and weight any stitch, and when they get them they will sew them together with other people's sections to make a full blanket. 

Next is a more specific charity. It’s Click for Babies (Period of Purple Crying Babies).

They are a campaign to make purple hats for babies as a reminder about normal infant crying and ways to cope. And the danger in shaking and abusing an infant when frustrated. 

They have local offices in 9 states however anyone can mail in donations to the address on the site. 

https://www.clickforbabies.org/

The website has many patterns you can follow and sizing guides. They have crochet and knit patterns. The only requirement for this one is it’s a purple infant hat.

There are so many charities out there you can help out with. You can also call your local schools, hospitals, senior center, and other locations to see if anyone needs anything. Often In my spare time when I'm trying to bust through my stash I’ll make hats and scarves and when it starts getting into fall I’ll keep them in my car and hand them to the homeless I pass by on the street.

[crochetwolf1]

Yarn organization

Yarn organization is something I can't seem to get right. I'm not one that likes to keep things out on display like to have somewhere to hide away my stringy bits and pull them out when I need them.  I have tried getting a shoe holder for the back of my bedroom door and that worked for a little while but It just was an eyesore. I had them in a duffle bag in the closet and that worked fine till quarantine happened. And now I'm purging my closet and half my clothes so the duffle is  just an eye sore there now too. I currently have as much as I can stuffed in an under the bed box and that's working in the sense of getting the eye sore issue out of the way however. It’s not “organized” any more. I'm running out of ideas. This is something that has been on my mind for the longest time. I'm not sure what the solution is.

[crochetwolf1]

Art of Crochet

Crochet presentation for intro to crochet. 

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Getting Bored

I’ve been working off and on on my temperature blanket. I've had my moments when I wanna just sit and bust out as much as I can and then I have times when I just don't wanna look at it because I'm bored. If you find yourself in the position you are not alone. Sometimes this happens. I've had three or four projects started at once one time and didn't wanna look at any of them. When I get in the mindset I just make something quick like a cup cooze or a hat or something little a granny square. It's nice to give yourself a little win once in a while. That rush of joy and excitement you get for just a moment when you can say you are DONE. And that item is no longer on your social media WIPs (Work In Progress) update.

[crochetwolf1]

New to crochet, is it frustrating?

Crocheting can seem hard or frustrating at first but let me tell you once you learn a chain, a slip stitch, a single crochet, and a double crochet everything else you will learn is some combination of those. Taking something so minimal and stacking them together and connecting them in different ways is really fun. I challenge you to find a pattern and just work on the different stitches it uses. Don't worry about making the pattern just yet. Just make a small row of say 10 stitches and practice them first see how they form. Watch your tension and don't pull the yarn too tight. That will just make it harder for you when you stitch into it on the next row. Keep it light, hold the hook with ease and relax. Crochet is about the journey not the destination.

[crochetwolf1]

Reasons you should crochet

Reason you should start crochet!! 

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Crochet is personal

Crochet can be as limiting or and expensive as you make it. There is so much you can create with the art of crochet. You can make anything from blankets to toys to clothes. If you can imagine it you can make it. There are so many patterns out there for free that you can download as well as my personal favorite, Youtube videos. Some pattern designers actually film them making the piece and show you step by step how to make it yourself. 

There are patterns for everything, sweaters, tops, pants, shorts, dresses, swimsuits. Usually the skill level is noted at the beginning of the video. Even for a beginner some of the more advanced patterns are still pretty easy to follow. 

Crochet is a creative expression of your own style. I often find patterns and then tweak them to fit me. Like sometimes I’ll find a crop top pattern I like but I’d rather have more coverage, so I’ll just continue the bottom repeat until I have the size I want. 

When crocheting clothes I do recommend learning how to use a measuring tape and creating a gauge swatch. There are many videos that can show you how to do this. I personally have a notebook that I keep with me that I have all my measurements noted in. So if I'm starting a new project like say a crop top and I need to know my waist or bust measurements I just open it up and it’s there ready for me. Every couple months I’ll retake the measurements to make sure They are correct.

[crochetwolf1]

Many Benefits of Crochet

Crochet offers many benefits from better hand eye coordination to stress relief. Understanding the different types of stitches and how they connect to create the shapes you need. For example the stitch pattern you use to make a flower is going to need more than one type stitch to make the shape of a  petal as opposed to a square blanket that is one even shape and can be done with one basic stitch. 

If you look at my post I did for the temperature blanket I used a moss stitch and that only uses a single crochet and chain. However, on the face mask I did you also need to know how to crochet two stitches together to make the narrowing sides. Crochet is a fun way to exercise your mind with problem solving. Knowing how the different stitches work together and figuring out how to use them to arrive at the shape you want. 

With crochet you also learn some basic math. For example when I was designing the face mask I had to take the measurements of my face from the bridge of my nose to the chin. As well as from one inch past my outer mouth crease on each side. Being able to calculate the needed size is half the battle. Otherwise you may end up with a mask that covers your eyes if it’s too long or one that doesnt cover your mouth all the way which would be too short and unuseable. 

Crochet is an art of trial and error. And it takes practice. But the pay off isn’t only the final product, the journey itself is allowing you to build your coordination, problem solve and can be very meditative in it’s repetitive actions.

[crochetwolf1]

Crochet Mask Pattern designed by Me! 

 If you make any adjustments make sure you write them down in a notebook or on your phone so that if you wanna make a second one you already have your notes. It’s also good practice for if you ever wanna make your own patterns. 

Body of Mask

The mask is worked from the middle of the body out to one side. Then we will fasten off and work out the other side. 

Ch 14  

{this is the tallest the mask will be. It should measure from your lower chin to just over the top of the nose. This pattern can be adjusted for adults and children}

Row 1-6 Ch up 1, Sc in each 

Row 7-9 Ch up 1, Sc2tog, sc 10, Sc2tog

Row 10-13 Ch up 1, Sc in each

Fasten off. 

Attach to the other side. 

Row 1-5 Ch up 1, Sc in each 

Row 6-8 Ch up 1, Sc2tog, sc 10, Sc2tog

Row 9-12 Ch up 1, Sc in each

Sc around the outside of the mask and Sl to the first st. 

{At each corner (sc in the corner, Ch 1, Sc in same stitch)}

Ear Straps

Ch 20 form the corner, sl to the other corner on the same side. 

{Try on the mask keeping the middle of the body even with the nose. It should fit snug but not hurt your ears. Add and subtract the amount of ch’s to fit.} 

Sc into the back pearl of each st, Sl to the st next from the one you started at and fasten off. 

Repeat on the other side.

Optional: 

In order for this to be a cdc approved face mask there needs to be a lining. So if you plan on using this as a virus preventative you should add the lining or use this over top a medical face mask.  

(https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html)

Trace the outside of the mask you made to get the accurate size and shape. Add ¼ inch for sem allowance. Hem the raw edge all the way around the fabric. (you can use a sewing machine or hand sew. For this part I prefer the sewing machine) Then line up the lining to the crocheted mask and sew together. (this part I prefer to hand sew with a running stitch) 

Option 2:

 Cut out 2 pieces of cotton fabric instead of just one. Leaving a pocket open from the side. This will allow you to add a filter for extra protection. 

Make sure you are washing this mask daily if you are using it for protection from the virus. 

[crochetwolf1]

Keeping organized for a project like this is super important. Before the pandemic my work schedule was kind of all over the place and I don’t always have time to work on this project. However Keeping a log of the temperature for each day helps so that later on when I have some spare time I can work on a weeks worth of rows at one time. 

So at the top left of my log is my color key for each set of temperatures. Because where I live we never really get below freezing I set my coldest temp to 49 and below. And I know in the summer we do hit low triple digits so I set my Highest to 100+. I didn’t wanna have to many color sections I wanted to keep to under 10 so I split them into sections by 10′s. This can be customized to where you live and how you want to tackle this project. 

Under that I started to list out the dates for each month so I’d have somewhere to keep a log of the daily temperatures. As Im writing this it is April 19th and as you can see in the log I only have temperatures logged till April 12th. This is where the internet can help you out. 

I use https://www.wunderground.com/ to look up the average temperatures for the days I didn’t get to log. This website has a very easy to use clean layout and you can filter by month. I go off the high for the day in my log. You can choose to go off the high. low, or average.  

Now on the right page I have notes Ive made about my pattern. When working on a year long patten it’s likely that you wont remember everything later on after a few months. So I mad a note of how many starting chains I used, so that after a few rows I can count my stitches and make sure Im not missing anyone or haven’t added too many. I also made note of the hook size. There was a moment that I ran out of a color and had to wait for the yarn to be mailed before I could continue. When the yarn arrived it had been a couple weeks because of my notes I knew I was using a 5mm hook and a moss stitch. I even made notes on how to do the moss stitch as a refresher. 

Under that I started to log how many rows of each color I was doing. Like I said before  there was a moment when I ran out of one of my colors. So with logging how many rows of each color Im doing Im able to see how much of what color I may run out of soon so I can keep up with ordering. And on a side note, when I started this project I would save the paper wrap on the yarn with a few wraps of the color in came off of. This serves two purposes, the first being when I go to reorder the yarn I know the name brand and color along with dye lot. This is important because some dye lots can be a little off, it’s not a perfect science. Secondly having a yard or two of spare yarn once the project is done is nice just in case a stitch breaks or any part of the blanket needs repair. 

So far this project is been super fun and Im excited to see how it turns out. 

What are you currently working on?    Let me know in the comments! 

[crochetwolf1]

Year long project!

So lately I’ve been working on a new year long project. I started it on Jan 1 2020. So basically everyday of 2020 I am crocheting a row of the blanket based on the average temperature of the day. I have a color dedicated to each temperature group starting with 40′s - 90′s. I planned out my colors based on the average coldest and hottest temps in my area. 

The blanket is going to end up with 366 rows (since this is a leap year) and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t massively longer then wide so I calculated via a swatch test how long 366 rows will be with different stitches using worsted size 4 yarn and made the starting chain 350 chains coming out to about 8ft long. This will be the length of the blanket. after this is done it with be about 7.5 ft by 8ft. Ive decided to use single crochet with a simple moss stitch (sc, ch 1, skp 1, sc. repeating this in the next rows with the sc in the ch1 space.)

So far this is turning out amazingly and I kinda wanna do something like this again with other projects. I think the idea of not knowing how the colors will turn out till I get to it is kinda fun and tracking the temp changes over the days and how often is shifts. It’s so fun. 

Im new to the blogging world and will seen be taking photos and updating you on my year long project photos very soon.  

[crochetwolf1]

Welcome

This blog is about everything crochet fashion. Tops, Shorts, Pants, Dresses, Hats, if you can wear it Im interested. And I hope you will be too. We live in a world of fast fashion and the ability to be able to create my own fashion putting my own time and energy into it allows me to really think about the piece Im making. And then the time comes to move on from that piece I have two options, 

1) if I know someone that wants it and can fit into it I pass it on. 

2) I unravel the yearn and make something new. 

A lot of crocheters will see that last one and get all wide eyed and freak out. However I dont wanna be apart of the fast fashion and plastic pollution so I re use when I can. 

Join me on this adventure, lets see where this goes.