If you’ve always wanted to learn to crochet baby booties, then now is the time! I have a new YouTube video that goes along with my FREE Baby Booties pattern where I teach how to make these baby booties from start to finish! They are great projects to make quickly for a baby shower. Or make some for a local charity, or for your own baby!
The other new YouTube video I’ve made is for crocheting a beginner-friendly scarf. This scarf is made with rows of dc throughout. I’ll teach you where to begin and end your rows of dc and share a tip to help you keep the edges even. I’ve got a FREE crochet pattern that goes along with this video, as well. This project is great for practicing your double crochet stitches.
I hope you enjoy both of these videos and learn something new to further your crochet skills and knowledge!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying lots of sun, relaxation and a vacation or two! A few weeks ago, my husband, middle son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter and I went up to Idaho to visit my dad and step-mom. We stayed at Zion National Park on the way up and at Yellowstone National Park on the way back. It was lots of fun, we saw some beautiful animals and we made some great memories! One of the memories was more scary than fun, though! The 2 propane tanks came off our travel trailer while driving to Yellowstone! One of the tanks disappeared completely and the other was hanging on, scraping on the road and sparking! We feel very blessed that God had His angels keeping us safe. This could have had disastrous results, since propane can explode!
Now that I’m back from vacation, I’m busy getting ready for the CGOA Conference, where I’ll be teaching 5 (or 6) crochet classes next week! Since one of the teachers can’t make it to the conference, several of the teachers with sold out classes were asked if they could teach another class to fill in for her classes, which were cancelled. I said I’d be happy to teach my sold out Invisible Repairs class a 2nd time, so I’m scheduled to teach it both Friday morning and Friday afternoon at the conference! If you weren’t able to get into the Friday morning class, you are in luck! Now you can sign up at the conference for the Friday afternoon class (a repeat of the morning class) and pay the pre-registration price there! If you’re planning to take my new Friday afternoon class, please check out the homework for the class and get it done before the afternoon class. You can find the homework here. I hope to see you at the conference!!!
I thought I’d take a little break from printing class handouts today and share some fun baby toys to crochet with you! I crocheted 3 baby toys in the past few months for my granddaughter, Rubekah (Ruru for short)! They were all lots of fun to make.
Into the Jungle
First is the “Into the Jungle” stacking animal rings designed by Cindy Cseh. The pattern was available in the April, June and August 2013 issues of Crochet World magazine. I knew when I saw the pattern that I wanted to make it for a grandchild some day! So earlier this year, I set out to make it. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s a lot of fun to see my granddaughter play with it! You can see more photos of this fun project on my Ravelry project page here.
Amish Puzzle Ball and my granddaughter
The 2nd is the Amish Puzzle Ball by Dedri Uys. This pattern is so much fun to make and put together! This is a FREE pattern that you can find here. I LOVE this pattern and I’ll probably make several more, just for fun!
Crochet Dinosaur Puzzle Ball
The 3rd project that I crocheted for my granddaughter is also by Dedri Uys. It is the Crochet Dinosaur Puzzle that is in Dedri’s book, Amamani Puzzle Balls, by Annie’s. This project was somewhere between the complexity of the Amish Puzzle Ball and the Into the Jungle stacking animals! The pattern was great and easy to follow! You can see all of the patterns in this book here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these 3 crochet baby toy projects and are inspired to crochet some toys for your favorite baby very soon!
I just love to crochet for babies, don’t you? I’m currently still crocheting (and knitting) for my granddaughter, who is already 3 months old! How can she already be 3 months old? How does that happen? It seems like yesterday that she was born!!! I’m almost done with a lacy dress for Rubekah that I’ll be taking with me on my next trip to China. And I finished a knit dress for her on Sunday by sewing on the buttons to finish it off. I’ll share photos of Ruru (that’s one of her nicknames) wearing these dresses as I get them from my son and daughter-in-law. Being a grandma is the best!
Babies are so much fun to crochet for, especially since many of the projects for them are quick projects with almost instant gratification! But even crocheting baby blankets is gratifying and lots of fun, even if they take longer! I haven’t found a crochet baby project that I don’t enjoy!
I’d like to share about a new book by Leisure Arts called “Nature’s Gifts for Baby”. This book has 7 sets of designs for babies, designed by Sara Leighton. Each set includes a baby blanket and a hat. So if you’re in the mood for a quick project, why not crochet the hat? If you have more time and would like to crochet for longer, the blanket is perfect! And if you like coordinating sets, make both the blanket and the hat! Each design reflects “gifts of Nature, such as a starry sky or lush flowers and trees”.
Here are photos of the front cover, and Sara Leighton, the designer:
Nature’s Gifts for Baby front cover
Sara Leighton
I haven’t met Sara in person, yet, but she’s as sweet as can be online! I absolutely LOVE the hat she’s wearing in this photo, too (here’s a link to her pattern for the hat on Ravelry)! I think Sara is going to have a long, successful crochet career ahead of her!
Here are photos of all the projects in this adorable book:
Coniferous Set
Starry Set
Fox Set
Seedling Set
Sunrise Set
Water Lilies Set
Raindrops Set
As you can see, each set is unique! Each blanket is made with different stitches, mostly in “quick to crochet” rows. Each of the hat patterns come in 2 sizes: 0-6 months and 6-12 months. The exact yarns (and colors) used in each set are listed at the back of the book. One of the newer features of Leisure Arts books is additional videos for stitches and techniques, like how to work a treble crochet, how to change colors, and lots more. Their books also include many diagrams for different stitches and/or techniques. All of this extra information helps crocheters of all skill levels to be successful in their crochet projects!
Each of the sets in this book, except the Fox Set, is made with medium, worsted weight yarn. The Fox Set is made with super bulky weight yarn. If you’re not familiar with yarn weights, check out this page on the Craft Yarn Council’s website here. The Craft Yarn Council has many pages of helpful information about crocheting, knitting, yarn, crochet hook sizes, knitting needle sizes, and more on their website. So if you’ve never gone to their website, you don’t know what you’re missing!
You can see and purchase “Nature’s Gifts for Baby” on the Leisure Arts website here or on Amazon here. This 32-page book retails for $9.99.
If you’re looking for some new crochet patterns to make for a favorite baby in your life, I hope you’ll consider this book with lots of creative designs!
Have you ever worked on a crochet project that you considered a “labor of love”?
I’ve been working on one ever since the day after my mom’s memorial service on Feb. 20th, 2016. My mom passed away at 82 years young on Feb. 11 unexpectedly (not from a long illness). Just 23 days before she passed away, she bought some baby yarn at her local Michaels craft store to crochet a baby blanket for my first grandchild that we’re expecting at the beginning of June (in China). My mom had a favorite baby blanket pattern that she enjoyed crocheting and she wanted to make it for her great grandchild, even though her fingers weren’t working as well as they used to due to having arthritis for many years and the crippling effect it can have on a person’s hands/fingers. Here’s a photo of the baby afghan that my mom enjoyed making:
Mom’s Favorite Baby Afghan pattern
This afghan pattern came in a kit with the yarn and pattern way back when (probably in the 70’s or 80’s). My mom kept the pattern and purchased new yarn whenever she wanted to crochet another baby blanket. I think the colors are fabulous, especially since I love pastels!
Well, she told me that she was crocheting this blanket for my coming grandchild shortly after she started it. I was surprised and delighted that she was crocheting again! A few days after she died, I remembered the baby blanket. So when I was at her house after her memorial service, I asked my step-dad about the blanket. He helped me locate it and I brought it home with me to finish for my mom. She had finished a full strip of 19 curved sections and a partial strip with the first 7 curves done. This blanket has 7 strips with 19 curved sections in each strip.
My mom tried to teach me to knit when I was a child, but I wasn’t very good at it. So I stuck with embroidery and counted cross stitch instead until my best friend taught me to crochet in high school. My mom said she did a lot of knitting for our family when we were little. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of her knitting. I suppose it got lost over the years, especially after my parents divorced back in the early 70’s. I do have a green afghan that my mom crocheted for me about 10 years ago, though. I don’t know when my mom learned to crochet. Maybe she learned before me or maybe after me. It’s a mystery to me. But I think I got my creativeness from her. Here’s a picture of my mom from my middle son’s wedding in 2009 (the same son who’s having his first child in June):
My Mom in 2009
For 3 weeks, I worked on this baby blanket for my son, my daughter-in-law and their baby-to-be. I finished it about a week ago. It has been a true “labor of love” to be able to finish this blanket that my mom started before she died. I felt close to her whenever I worked on it and I know my mom would be pleased that I picked up where she left off. I’m so glad that I know how to crochet so I could finish it! Here’s the finished afghan for you to see:
Baby Blanket by Mom and Me
Baby Blanket by Mom and Me
Have you ever worked on a “labor of love” similar to this? Did you feel closer to the person who started the project while you were crocheting it?
I can’t wait to see my grandchild wrapped in this beautiful afghan! It will bring tears (of joy and sadness) to my eyes, I’m sure!
Do you have an adorable baby in your life who gets the sun in her/his eyes outside? Then I have the perfect solution for you! Our Baby Sun Hat crochet pattern is perfect for keeping the sun off baby’s face and head, while looking great at the same time!
Newborn, Baby and Toddlers sizes
This pattern comes in 3 sizes for newborns, babies and toddlers. The circumference of the hat (made with the same gauge as the pattern) is 12” for newborns, 14” for babies and 16” for toddlers. Our hats were made with Red Heart Baby Sheen, which is a fine/sport weight acrylic yarn, but you can make your sun hats with any comparable yarn you choose.
The instructions for each size of this sun hat are written separately, making it easier to follow the instructions for the size you’re going to make. The hat includes an optional crocheted flower and a contrasting bottom edging (worked in reverse single crochet).
The woven strands of yarn at the top of the brim make the hat slightly adjustable. Just untie the bow. Loosen or tighten the strands a little and tie the bow again to give your baby a custom hat fit! So as your baby grows so will the hat.
Flower on Baby Sun Hat
Trim on Baby Sun Hat
Here’s a photo of the sun hat on Ivy, my sister-in-law’s granddaughter last year:
Baby Sun Hat on Ivy
Doesn’t Ivy look adorable in this sun hat? I think so!
The pattern is available for purchase on our “Patterns” page for just $4.95.
I hope you thoroughly enjoy this new crochet pattern. If you have any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m happy to help!
Toddler size
