December 2020 – The Crochet Architect

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve published a new crochet hat pattern. My Easy Rainbow Hat coordinates perfectly with my very popular Easy Rainbow Scarf pattern! The hat pattern comes in 2 styles and 3 sizes. You’ll find it easy to make and fun to wear. Easy because my video tutorial will step you through the stitches. Fun because you’ll look so good in it, especially with the matching Easy Rainbow Scarf.

If you’d like to save 20% on the hat pattern or the scarf pattern (or both), watch the video to find a special discount code that’s valid on my website only until Jan. 31, 2021.

Several months ago, someone on Etsy asked me if I had a coordinating hat pattern for my Easy Rainbow Scarf pattern. I said I didn’t, but then I asked myself why I didn’t. So I got to work designing the hat soon afterward, using the same yarn that I used for my Easy Rainbow Scarf pattern: Caron Simply Soft, which is a worsted weight yarn. I designed and made the largest size first, then I thought it would be great to have 3 sizes: child, woman/teen and man.

I love the fact that you can make coordinating sets of hats and scarves now! If you love rainbow colors, like me, you’ll have some very colorful accessories, made with the 6 colors of the rainbow plus black! If you want to keep things simple, use only a dark color and a light color. Either way, the hat looks great! And if you’d like to make a messy bun hat, simply omit the final 3 decrease rounds at the top of the hat!

The pattern comes with complete written instructions, along with step-by-step photos for working in the back bump of the foundation chain, making a Long double crochet (Ldc) and starting a row (joining) with a dc.

The pattern comes with two PDF downloads. One download includes the step-by-step photos and the other download has less photos for ease of printing. Also, the written instructions and stitch counts for each hat size are color-coded to help you follow the instructions for the hat size you’re making.

Since I started a YouTube crochet channel earlier this year, I made a video tutorial teaching how to make the Long dc, working in the back bump of the foundation chain, making the sc ribbing, along with all the decreases used in this hat pattern. So if you haven’t done some of these stitches or techniques before, check out that video here.

You can find my new Easy Rainbow Hat pattern to purchase here.

I wish you all a Healthy, Happy New Year with lots of time to crochet!

Susan

I just LOVE the looks of crocheted snowflakes, don’t you? They look so pretty on a Christmas tree or as decorations anywhere in your home! They make great gifts, as well as package decorations, too! And they’re surprisingly easy to make (with a few crochet skills and knowledge)!

But how do you take a crocheted snowflake from droopy and lifeless to stiffened and lacy? You stiffen it with fabric stiffener and pin it out to dry! It’s not hard at all. Just a little time-consuming, like so many things in life! But it’s so worth it when you’re done! I have a free PDF template that you can use for pinning your snowflakes on to shape them perfectly. You can find that template in my written tutorial.

If you’ve never stiffened crocheted snowflakes before, check out my new YouTube video where I’ll take you step-by-step through the process. I also share my favorite pattern book for crocheting the snowflakes, as well as how I store my snowflakes for years of enjoyment!

So what are you waiting for? Learn to stiffen crochet snowflakes today for many years of enjoyment by you or someone you love!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year!

Happy snowflake crocheting!

Susan

P.S. Here’s another way to store your stiffened crocheted snowflakes. It’s a gift card tin from Amazon! I have several of these and they work great for storing my snowflakes. I can fit 4 medium size snowflakes in each tin. The tin comes with a gift card ($25 minimum card amount) that you can use or give as a gift. Then you can keep the tin and use it to store some snowflakes! Here’s a link to the Amazon gift card page with this snowflake tin (the tin is free with the purchase of the gift card!).