Lightweight Poncho Crochet Pattern

There are many poncho patterns out there but most of them are made to keep you warm. Coming from a place where it is hot most of the year, that isn't very useful. So, I found a poncho pattern that I really liked that was also lightweight. But The problem was you need to work it in the round which proved to be hard for me. Every time I tried to join the two ends, my chain would twist and it would make me so mad! After an hour or two of attempting this pattern, I decided it just wasn't going to work. So this pattern is worked in as a single "panel". As you would make a blanket. I thought that I might as well make this poncho 100% mine and create a whole knew pattern.

First, you chain an odd number of stitches. It doesn't matter exactly how many, you can completely customize this pattern.
Row 1- 2 sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across until last ch, 2 sc in final ch
Row 2-5- ch 1, 2 sc in next st and in each st across until last st, 2 sc in last stitch.
Row 6- *ch 5, skip one st, sc in next* repeat from * across
Row 7- *ch 5, sc in middle ch of the next gap* repeat from * across.

Repeat those seven rows until desired length and sc five final rows.
Before you cut the yarn,  fold the poncho in half and slip st the sides together. When slip stitching insert hook into the two sides at once and continue until you have seamed the whole project together. Flip inside out.

If you have any questions, be sure to ask me because I would love to answer them. Let me know how yours turns out!

Knit Baby Sweaters

I have always wanted to make a sweater but was too scared because it looked too complicated. I didn't want to deal with the stress of it not working so that I had to keep starting over and over again. But after a while, I figured that a baby sweater would be a good place to start because they are small and if I messed up, it wouldn't be so bad to start over. Also, I had just bought a circular needle set so I was ready to break in those bad boys.

As you could guess, once I discovered the top- down raglan technique through YouTube, I figured it didn't have to be as complicated as I thought. This technique involves no sewing- just a simple pattern of increases and holding stitches for later. I wanted to find a baby sweater pattern at this point but every one of them looked a bit too complicated with pockets and buttons and hoodies and all that good stuff. I wanted to start small and simple and ease my way into this stuff. It may be cute, but its hard.

Then I found a sweater pattern generator- Sweater Pattern. All you have to do is enter the needle size you'll be using, your gauge, a chest measurement, and the type of fit that you need- snug, comfortable, or loose. Then you press submit and the whole pattern generates for you. Here was the data I put in:

Needle Size- US 6

Gauge- 23 stitches per four inches and 29 rows per four inches

Chest Measurement- 24 inches

Fit- comfortable

The pictures above show how they turned out. For my first sweaters, I'd say I'm pretty proud. The pink one is supposed to be a sweater dress for my soon-to-be niece. I think they are so cute and turned out pretty well! I really can't wait to see them on my niece!

If you try this, tell me how it goes!

Knit Socks

I finished these socks a while ago and I forgot to post about them. These were my first socks... and I didn't use a pattern. Which might have been a mistake but they turned out pretty good. I just looked up how to do a short row heel and did it but I screwed up and just started winging it from there.

I used worsted weight yarn as most people suggest for your first pair of socks. Sorry that I don't have a pattern for these because I was kind of just experimenting.

Crochet Christmas Trees!

I love these trees! I think the yarn that my mom picked out looks great for this project because the little shimmery bits look like ice on the branches. Although this pattern is by Red Heart (Red Heart Tree), I used  I Love This Yarn in three different colors that seemed the most Christmas-y. You can also find the altered pattern, that I used, on Crochet Crowd where he makes the trees look more ruffled and random: Crochet Crowd Tree. In the pattern, it tells you to put a bead in the top with a straight pin, but I decided not to. I think it looks good the way it is. Also, I had to hot glue the tops onto the trees so they wouldn't fall off and I think something like that is mentioned in the pattern. I really do love these trees because Christmas is probably my favorite time of year! Tell me how it goes if you make them!

Knit Baby Hats

Okay, guys. I finished these two hats and I have to say the gray one is my favorite. Like ever.
I JUST WANT TO SEE IT ON A LITTLE BABY!
I used the same pattern for both of these and it is available in several different sizes: Simple Hat. These are both newborn size but the gray one looks a bit smaller. I added the cable on my own so it was not part of the original pattern. The cable is six knits wide and they are separated by 3 purls. I only tested this on the newborn size so it might not work on the others. When I got to the decreases, I just started doing knits around with no purls because it was getting a little too complicated for my liking.
Although I really liked this pattern, the one thing that I would change is the decreases. It says to k2tog and then ssk but the ssk looks very crooked on mine. So next time, I think I am going to do two k2tog in a row. (Hopefully that's not a knitting no-no.)
Anyway, If you have any questions about the cable or anything just let me know and I will be happy to answer!

Newborn Cowgirl Outfit

I found an awesome cowgirl outfit pattern that I am obsessed with! I used two seperate patterns-one for the hat and one for the outfit. The hat pattern was free: Cowboy Hat Pattern. But the outfit wasn't ): Cowgirl Outfit. I found it on Ravelry and I am so sad that I had to pay for it. I hate paying for patterns but I was getting desperate. I could not find another pattern as cute as this one.

All of the peices took me about a day each to make. The hat only took about five hours because it is so tiny and you work with two strands of yarn. Really, This project took less than two balls of yarn... so that's a win.

The one thing that I don't like is that there are alot of ends to weave in on the vest... and when I say "alot" I mean ALOT. I hate weaving in ends and if I never had to do it again, I'd be very thankful.

But I can't wait to see this on a baby girl. Really.

Flower Beanie

I made this hat just for fun.... because I bored. But I figured a hat would be fast and I could finish it quick so that once I found something really cool, I could do it.

Alright, pattern time! I used two different patterns, one for the hat and one for the flower: Beanie Pattern and Flower Pattern.

The button wasn't supposed to go in the middle of the flower but I had one that was the same size, so I added it.

Anyway, the hat pattern is available in several different sizes so you could make it for a newborn, too (which would make it even quicker.) I thought this was really cute and I could only imagine it on a baby or a toddler.