Crochet a Shawl for Less Than $5!

crochet shawl

Are you looking for a crochet project that won’t break your bank? I have just the thing for you. Here’s my “Keepsake Lace Shawl” that was originally published in the May/June 2010 issue of Crochet Today magazine. The pattern is available for FREE through the Coats & Clark archives here:

 

Keepsake Lace Shawl
Keepsake Lace Shawl

 

In the past 3 weeks, I’ve crocheted 2 of these shawls with just one skein of yarn each from Michaels! The yarn is called “Loops & Threads Woolike”. It is a light fingering weight yarn with 678 yards in the skein, made with 85% acrylic and 15% nylon fibers. And the best part is it retails for just $2.99! Yes, you heard me right. You’ll get 678 yards for just $2.99 (plus tax)!!! Now that’s a great deal for yarn!

 

Here is one of the shawls I crocheted last week. It’s for my Mom for Mother’s Day:

 

Mom's Keepsake Lace Shawl front
Mom’s Keepsake Lace Shawl front

 

Mom's Keepsake Lace Shawl back
Mom’s Keepsake Lace Shawl back

 

To read more about this shawl, you can see my Ravlery project page here. If you’re looking for a relatively quick, inexpensive shawl to crochet, you might want to consider this shawl and yarn!

 

The original pattern is for a 60″ long shawl. This shawl is about 42″ long with 9 pattern repeats across. I started with a foundation chain of 251 chains so I wouldn’t run out of yarn (I knew I wouldn’t have enough yarn to make it the full length and I didn’t want to go buy more yarn). I think the length is very nice! This color of yarn is called “beige” and the other shawl I made was with the color “mauve” (which is much more like burgundy).

 

I really like this yarn AND the amount of yards you get for only $2.99 (or less with a 40% off coupon)! If you don’t have a Michaels store near you, you can always order this yarn through their website here!

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at this crochet shawl pattern and this wonderful yarn!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

Free Lacy Granny Scarf pattern

crochet scarf

I’d like to share a new FREE pattern with you. It’s called “Lacy Granny Scarf”. The pattern is available on the Red Heart UK website here.

 

Lacy Granny Scarf
Lacy Granny Scarf

 

I designed this scarf about 4 months ago for Red Heart using their Red Heart “Precious” yarn, available in the UK. This yarn is a #1 weight yarn, made with 80% acrylic and 20% mohair fibers. I really enjoyed using this yarn and the scarf blocked up very nicely! As with any mohair yarn, you need to be careful with your stitches because ripping out can be a “challenge”!

 

The scarf measures 6″ wide x 60″ long and is made with 10 motifs, each measuring 6″ square. The motifs are joined as you go, so there is no sewing required. There is a simple single crochet edging worked around the joined motifs to give the edges some stability.

 

Since this pattern is published in the UK, some of the crochet terms are different in the pattern than the crochet terms we use here in the US. Here are the different terms used in this pattern:

 

UK “dc” = US “sc”

UK “tr” = US “dc”

UK “dtr” = US “tr”

 

It can sometimes be hard to wrap your head around the different crochet terms used in another country in a crochet pattern! I’ve rewritten patterns from the UK before with the US crochet terms in them to help myself remember which stitch to work when I’m making something from one of these patterns! And sometimes I draw a symbol crochet chart instead of using the written crochet pattern. I do whatever it takes to understand the pattern in order to make the project accurately!

 

If you love lacy crochet projects, I hope you’ll give this pretty Lacy Granny Scarf a try.

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Baby Baseball Cap Crochet Pattern

crochet baby cap

In honor of baseball’s Spring Training, today’s FREE crochet pattern is a baseball cap for babies!

 

Spring Training Cap
Spring Training Cap

 

This Spring Training Cap pattern was designed by Linda Permann for the Mar/April 2012 issue of Crochet Today magazine. The pattern is available for FREE here.

 

Isn’t this baby adorable? Of course, this baseball cap would look great on any baby!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Crochet Duck Pattern

crochet duck

In keeping with the Easter theme, today’s FREE crochet pattern is an adorable duck!

 

Crochet Duck
Crochet Duck

 

This duck pattern includes a removable bonnet! How cute is that? And the facial expression on the duck is priceless!!! Jackie Laing from the website, Amidorable Crochet designed this cute duck. You can find the free pattern on her website here.

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere!

crochet bunny

If you love bunnies, you’re going to love today’s FREE crochet pattern!

 

Spring Bunnies
Spring Bunnies

 

This is the Spring Bunnies pattern by Stephanie Jessica Lau of the All About Ami website. You can find this FREE pattern here. I think this is the 3rd FREE crochet pattern of Jessica’s that I’ve shared this month! I really like Jessica’s designs! She has a great style of designing and her projects are so cute!

 

I hope you’ll enjoy this FREE crochet pattern and make a spring bunny for someone you love this week!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Baby Chicks Crochet Pattern

crochet chicks

Since Easter is coming, I’ve got another FREE Easter crochet pattern for you today. These chicks would work up in very little time (at least for one of the chicks, not a dozen of them)!

 

Baby Chicks in Eggshells
Baby Chicks in Eggshells

 

This is the “Baby Chicks in Eggshells” pattern by Lani Herschensohn of the Red Hot Fibers website. You can find this adorable pattern here. This is what Lani wrote about the pattern:

 

“This pattern is a great way to make a game for young children. Mix up the baby chicks and the shells and the child learns to match their colors. It helps with their fine motor skills as they match up the correct chick with the eggshell.”

 

The pattern doesn’t say anything about stuffing the chicks, but I think I’d stuff them with some polyester fiberfill to help them keep their shape.

 

I hope you enjoy this FREE crochet pattern.

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Sheep Crochet Pattern

crochet sheep

Today’s FREE crochet pattern is for an adorable amigurumi lamb, designed by Stephanie Jessica Lau from her “All About Ami” website.

 

Chinese New Year Sheep/Lamb
Chinese New Year Sheep/Lamb

 

I just love this cute sheep/lamb that Stephanie designed to celebrate the Chinese New Year. You can find this FREE pattern here.

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Amish Puzzle Ball crochet pattern

crochet puzzle ball

I love jigsaw puzzles and crochet puzzle balls are fabulous! Dedri Uys has designed a lot of them (she’s a pro with these designs!). Today’s FREE crochet pattern is one of Dedri’s patterns that is available on her website.

 

Amish Crochet Flower Puzzle Ball
Amish Crochet Flower Puzzle Ball

 

It’s her Amish Crochet Flower Puzzle Ball. You can find this FREE pattern here. The pattern includes a LOT of step-by-step photos. This puzzle ball is made with DK weight yarn and a size G (4 mm) crochet hook.

 

Dedri also has an Amamani Puzzle Balls book that is published by Annie’s. These other puzzle balls are made in the shape of animals! They’re adorable!!! You can read all about Dedri’s Amamani Puzzle Balls book in the book review I wrote in my blog post last September here.

 

I hope you enjoy this FREE crochet pattern and have lots of fun crocheting this flower puzzle ball!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Cheery Crochet Coaster Pattern

smiling face

If you need a little cheering up from the weather, why not make my Smiling Face Coaster! The FREE pattern is available right here on The Crochet Architect website.

 

Smiling Face Coaster
Smiling Face Coaster

 

You can download this FREE pattern here. I designed this coaster for crocheters to learn/practice working in the round. The coaster is made with worsted weight cotton yarn and a size I (5.5 mm) crochet hook. The finished coaster measures 4 3/4″ diameter.

 

I hope you enjoy this FREE pattern!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan

 

FREE Spring Blanket Crochet Pattern

crochet baby blanket

Let’s think “spring”, shall we? Today’s FREE crochet pattern is a beautiful blanket made with Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable, which is one of my favorite yarns to use because of the gorgeous colors!

 

Spring into Summer Blanket
Spring into Summer Blanket

 

This is the Spring into Summer Blanket, designed by Susan Carlson, who owns the website, www.feltedbutton.com. You can see more photos of this beautiful blanket on Susan’s website here. You can find this FREE crochet pattern in Susan’s Ravelry store here or in her Craftsy store here.

 

I hope you enjoy this beautiful, FREE crochet pattern!

 

Happy crocheting,

Susan (Lowman)