Crochet Hemp :: Crocheted Wire Heart Tutorial

Happy Valentine's Day!
Here's a little something I made to celebrate the occasion. A little crocheted wire heart tutorial.

Take a piece of wire and make a tiny twisty loop.

Turn that loop upside down and then curve both ends into the shape of a wire and twist the shorter end onto the longer end to make the bottom point of the heart.

Crochet single crochets all around the entire sire heart using crochet hemp (of course!) and then weave in all ends with a darning needle.
Cut two little hearts with red felt and attach them through the tiny loop using a small brad.


Twist the long end and place it into a vase or jar. (Add a bit of sheet music or tissue into the jar to keep the wire stem in place.)


Happy creating. :)

Crochet Hemp :: Knit & Crochet Hot Pad Tutorial

Check out these yummy, chunky hot pads I knitted (with a touch of crochet). Here's how I did it:

GATHER

• Crochet Hemp: (A) 12-strand, bleached
• Crochet Hemp: (B) 12-strand, natural
• Knitting needles: 10mm
• Crochet hook: 6.00mm
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors

MAKE

• With 6 strands of A held together, cast on 15 stitches onto knitting needles
• Rows 1–24: Knit all rows to create a stockinette pattern.
• Bind off and fasten off, leaving a long tail.
• With crochet hook, create 5 chain stitches with the tail and join with a slip stitch to create loop.
• With tapestry needle, fasten off all ends.

Repeat with 6 strands of B to create second hot pad.

NOTE
Each hot pad weighs approximately 6 ounces. You can work with 6 spools of A or B. If working with just one spool of A or B, pull out enough yarn so that it weighs 1 ounce and make that into a small ball. Repeat until you have 6 small 1-ounce balls of yarn. Use the strands of all six balls to make the hot pad. 

Learn more about Crochet Hemp here.

Washi + Crochet Hemp Ornament Tutorial

To me, the best ornaments aren't bought. They're handmade. Here's an easy one that I made with just a few tools and materials.

Attach washi tape to the edges of a 4-inch square canvas board.

Punch holes along the edges with a crop-a-dial and use Crochet Hemp (3-ply natural) and a crochet hook (size B) to single crochet along the edges. Here's a similar tutorial with a bit more deatils, including how to turn corners.

Adhere a photo to the center of the crocheted canvas board. I used a 3-inch square photo that I got from Kanvess. I also used spray adhesive, which makes the photo adhere nice and neatly.


Super fun project.

Happy crochet.

Happy holidays. :)

Dyed Crochet Hemp Hearts Tutorial

Check out my crocheted hearts that I dyed ... some in red and some in blue.

I started by crocheting hearts with the 3-ply bleached Crochet Hemp.


Then I prepared a dye bath with red Rit dye. About 3 cups of hot water and a capful of dye in a bowl.

For these light-red hearts, I dipped the hearts in the dye bath for about 1 second and then rinsed them with cold water.
For the light blue hearts, I prepared a dye bath using the denim Rit dye and dipped them for about 1 second.


For these darker red hearts, I dipped them in the dye bath for about 1 minute and then rinsed them with cold water.

Oh the possibilities.


NOTE ABOUT THIS DAY
I hope you vote today. And I hope that whoever you vote for and whoever you campaigned for prior to today, you'll count blessings that we live in a country where we have the freedom to champion the candidates and propositions that we believe in with all our might. But after the votes are cast, it is America's fine tradition that when the results become clear in a presidential election, the losing side makes a concession call to the winning side, followed by a concession speech. Transitions of power then take place in the most civil and peaceful manner that is the envy of the world. This is very different from other parts of the world where concession speeches are not made, and where power is held onto, frequently with force and violence. This is a tradition that should make all of us proud and one that we should work hard to preserve for future generations.

Happy voting.
Happy crocheting.

:)

Announcing :: Crochet Hemp

Announcing :: www.crochethemp.com

Of all the yarns and threads that exist in the world, my very favorite that I love to crochet and knit with is hemp yarn. I love how it looks and how it feels. But of course you know that by now. :)

As a fiber artist who has been working with hemp yarn for years, it seemed natural and logical for me to research the highest quality premium hemp yarn available and bring it to fiber artists at a most competitive price. This process of research led me to a Romanian manufacturer of hemp yarn where they use a natural process with hemp that is grown organically and processed without chemicals in order to preserve the integrity of the precious fibers.

It is a thrill for me to introduce a brand new line of hemp yarns that we call Crochet Hemp, available at www.crochethemp.com.

And you know me. I like to keep things simple and minimal. And that means just four delightful variations of Crochet Hemp:

• 3-strand natural
• 12-strand natural
• 3-strand bleached
• 12-strand bleached

I'm pretty convinced that with just these four yarns, I can conquer the world. :)

I hope you'll visit www.crochethemp.com and join me in discovering the joy and beauty of the fiber arts with these exquisite yarns.

Mixed Media Tags with Crochet, Free Motion Stitching & Doodles

Crochet. Free motion sttiching. Doodling. What could be better?
Here's how I did it.

Crochet 3 small rings. (Here's the pattern for the rings.)

Adhere them with spray adhesive onto shipping tags. Free motion stitch the tails to the bottom edge of tags.


Free motion stitch flower shapes around the crochet.

Add doodling with markers.


Super cute and unique gift tags ready to be personalized and attached to gifts.

Easy peasy.

Happy creating!

Crocheted, Doodled & Free Motion Stitched Brown Paper Bag Gift Tutorial

For me, the best part of getting a gift ready to give is packaging it in new and unique ways. Here's how I wrapped this gift for a friend.

To start crochet ring: With pink cotton yarn and size F crochet hook ch 3, join with sl st in first ch to make a ring
Round 1: Ch 1, 10 sc in ring, join with sl st in first sc.
Fasten off. With tapestry needle, weave in starting tail.
Cut a brown grocery bag into two square pieces.
Adhere the crochet to the paper with a small amount of spray adhesive.
Free motion stitch around the edge of the crochet and add stitched petals. (To free motion stitch, lower feed dogs and use a daring foot on your machine.)

Free motion stitch words with brown thread.
Add doodling with black marker and white gel pen.

Place the stitched piece on top of the other piece of brown paper and stitch the sides and bottom.
Insert gift into the bag and stitch the top closed.

Baker's Twine & Hemp Scallop Crocheted Cuff Tutorial

Oh how I love crocheting with baker's twine and hemp yarn. This is the latest cuff I made. Super cute and easy. Here's how I did it:

Materials Needed:

• 3-ply baker's twine (Yarn A)
• 3-ply hemp yarn (Yarn B)
• Crochet hook: US B/1 (2.25mm)
• Tapestry needle

To begin: With yarn A, ch 7, turn.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, turn (you now have 6 sc).
Row 2: Ch 1, sc in each sc, turn.
Repeat Row 2 until the piece fits the circumference of your wrist, turn.
Button Hole Start: Ch 1, sc in first sc, ch 4, sc in last sc, turn.
Button Hole Finish: Ch 1, sc in each sc.
Fasten off.

Edge Trim: With right side facing you and button hole at top, draw up a loop of yarn B at upper left corner of the cuff, near the button hole; ch 1, sc evenly spaced around, join with sl st in first sc.



Scallop Edge: Ch 1, *3 sc in next sc, sl st in next sc; repeat from * to end. Fasten off.

Use yarn B to crochet a heart using the pattern found here. With tapestry needle sew it onto one of the short edges of the cuff. Weave in all ends.


Easy Peasy.

Happy crochet. :)

Crocheted Heart Bracelet Tutorial

Check out my cute little crocheted heart bracelet.

Start by crocheting a little heart using baker's twine. The pattern for the crocheted heart can be found here. With a tapestry needle, thread a piece of red perle cotton through the middle of the heart.

Tie both layers of the perle cotton close to one side of the heart.

Do the same thing to the other side.

Tiethe ends of the first layer of perle cotton into a loop.


Thread the other layers of perle cotton into a vintage white button and tie the ends close to the button.
Trim excess and it's ready to be worn!

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Zoofari & Crocheted Bear Ears

Tonight is Zoofari. One of the best events that I get to attend all year, given that one of the things that The Mister oversees for The City of Santa Ana (along with all the parks, rec centers, and the library) is the beautiful Santa Ana Zoo. Zoofari is the annual black-tie gala where guests are invited to dress in black-tie with a twist ... in honor of the animals. So tonight, I'll be taking my dress to the event but it will likely be used late at night, when the heat dies down, as a jacket that I wear over this dress. 

For some reason, I had the darnest time getting a head-to-toe shot of the dress with my favorite pair of red shoes on ... but you can sort of see one of the shoes peeking out in the shot below.

Oh, and of course, my twist to the black tie will be my crocheted bear ears ... one of the many projects that will found in my new book, Crochet Love :: 25+ Zakka-Inspired Projects ... coming out in 2013. Super fun.

I'll try and snap some shots of the fun scenes from Zoofari tonight on my Instagram ... keep up with my Instagrams here.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.