Innovative Designs for Yarnivores
Crochet Along with Recycled Into Yarn
We are pleased and honored to announce that Recycled Into Yarn will be using our FREE Crochet Sachet for their first Crochet Along.
The Crochet Along begins January 29, 2012.
They will be using T-shirt Yarn.
This pattern is great for beginners.
For complete details, and to participate in the Crochet Along, visit Recycled Into Yarn.
Have Fun!
Pig Crochet Pattern – Affectionally named “Pork Chop”
We have affectionately named the pig in our Pig Crochet Pattern, “Pork Chop”. He is deliciously fun and easy to crochet! He’s super cute when crocheted in a couple shades of pinks. Have you seen the little extra details this crocheted pig includes? There are dew claws on the feet, puffy checks and a curly tail, just to name a few.
For the hunters in our lives, we’ve modified “Pork Chop” and mounted his head! Yep, this pattern includes instructions on how to make a Mounted Boar’s Head! It’s a little crazy, but it’s so real looking when crocheted in Brown Angel Hair and with the addition of tusks. This would be perfect in a man’s office, study or library. Since it’s crocheted, it would even be fun in your craft room! Be sure to name him!
This pig crochet pattern includes the following instructions:
Pig Crochet Pattern – “Pork Chop” as a Famous Pig
This Pig Crochet Pattern can be modified and used to represent a number of famous pigs. As is, “Pork Chop” is a great farm animal. But with a few tweaks, he can be a book character or famous movie star. Here’s a short list of famous pigs:
Pig Crochet Patter – The Details
Like our other patterns, this Pig Crochet Pattern includes lots of photos, detailed written instructions, checkboxes to mark your progress, materials list, gauge info and more.
Skill Level: Easy
“Pork Chop” measures 10″ in length x 5 1/2″ tall x 3 3/4″ wide.
Pork Chop Pig pattern available on Etsy.
Pig Crochet Pattern – Available in the Store
The Pig Crochet Pattern is available now on Etsy. Purchase your pattern today and you can be making a pig tonight! Weeeeee….what fun!
FREE accessories and modifications are available in the store as well!
FREE Pig Accessories and Modifications Crochet Pattern – Dress Up “Pork Chop”
This free pig accessories pattern will transform your simple little pig into a stylish playtime buddy. It’s amazing what a simple little shirt or collar will do. Add initials to the tag or make the pig best of show by awarding them 1st place with the collar and medal.
The pattern includes:
Skill Level: Easy+
The Shirt does use a No Chain Foundation Single Crochet – instructions for this special stitch are provided.
FREE Pig Accessories and Modifications Crochet Pattern – More About “Pork Chop”
This pattern is an add on to “Pork Chop”. Learn more about the Pig Crochet Pattern in our blog. He comes with a pig stuffed animal, mounted pig head, mounted boar’s head and wild boar stuffed animal. Buy “Pork Chop” in the store.
Pork Chop Pig pattern on Etsy.
Free Patterns Page: Download the pattern from the FREE Crochet Patterns page.
D Fence Football Christmas Ornament – FREE Crochet Pattern – Great for Any Team
This FREE D Fence Football Christmas Ornament is great for any American football fan. You know we’re passionate about sports. We love high school, college and professional football. We also know that a good offense is a good defense.
This football ornament is great for friends and family alike. It can be used as a Christmas tree ornament, a refrigerator magnet or applique for a hat or other accessories. And this is a great stash buster. Use whatever yarns you have in the house just so long as your colors have contrast so each element will stand out.
D Fence (defense) is a popular poster design that football fans take with them to football games. It’s our way of encouraging the defensive line (players) to play hard and win.
D Fence Football Christmas Ornament – The Pattern Details
The D Fence Football Christmas Ornament measures 3 inches x 3 inches. It’s design is inspired by the picket style fence.
Skill Level: Easy
The pattern for the D Fence Football Ornament includes detailed written instructions, supply list, gauge info, abbreviation list, checkbox to mark your progress, photos and more. The FREE pattern includes:
BONUS: This FREE pattern also includes instructions on crocheting a flower garden scene. We couldn’t resist making this fence ornament multi-purpose. The flower garden can be crocheted on the back or as a separate ornament all together.
D Fence Football Christmas Ornament – Download for FREE
This pattern includes all the great features found in all our patterns including photos, detailed instructions, gauge information, supply list, check boxes to mark your progress, and more.
Free Patterns Page: Download the pattern from the FREE Crochet Patterns page.
Store: Add the Fence Ornament Free to your cart in the Store.
Gardening Christmas Ornament – FREE Crochet Pattern
This FREE Gardening Christmas Ornament is perfect for people who loves flowers, gardening and the great outdoors. It spreads a little cheer in those cold winter months when blooms are a distant memory.
Gardeners can use this ornament to decorate their Christmas tree, as a refrigerator magnet or applique for purse or other accessories. The bright colors against the picket fence give it a touch of whimsy. Use scraps of yarn you have on hand. This project is perfect for the ultra brights and neons!
Gardening Christmas Ornament – FREE Pattern Details
The Gardening Christmas Ornament measures 3″ x 3″. The FREE pattern includes detailed written instructions, photos, gauge info, supplies list, check boxes to mark your progress and more.
Skill Level: Easy
The pattern includes directions for the following:
BONUS: This fence pattern includes instructions on making a fence for football fans. It doubles as a D Fence!
American football fans know that a good defense is a good offense. Show support of the whole team with this fun twist to the word defense (d fence).
Gardening Christmas Ornament – FREE Download
This pattern includes all the great features found in all our patterns including photos, detailed instructions, gauge information, supply list, check boxes to mark your progress, and more.
Free Patterns Page: Download the pattern from the FREE Crochet Patterns page.
Store: Add the Fence Ornament Free to your cart in the Store.
FREE Sachet Bag Crochet Pattern – Such Adorable Bags
Make your own Sachet Bags with this FREE Crochet Pattern and see what all the fuss is about. Why the new craze for sachet bags? Are they really all that special? Many people use them as soap savers. Do they really save on soap? Seeing is believing. Download the free pattern and see for yourself.
Soap isn’t the only thing these draw string bags are good for. They make great gift card holders! You can also use these as pouches for storing electrical devices such as an iPod and cell phones. These mini bags are most notably recognized as potpourri sachets and scented sachets or as wedding favors and bridal shower favors. These make great gift wrapping for smaller gifts like chocolates and jewelry. You’ll be so delighted with your sachet, you’ll come up with a lot of little uses for it.
FREE Sachet Bag Crochet Pattern – The Details
Your sachet bags will vary in size depending on the size hook you use. We used hook E with Red Heart Eco-Cotton yarn and our bags measure 2 3/4 inches x 6 inches.
Skill level: Easy
This bag is crocheted using the filet stitch (dc, ch 1 skip a st). It’s topped with a beautiful crown edge and tightens with a cord draw string. It’s simple yet elegant.
The pattern includes detailed written instructions (for the bag, crown edge and drawstring). It has lots of photos, materials list, gauge info, check box to mark your progress and more.
Free Patterns Page: Download the pattern from the FREE Crochet Patterns page.
Store: Add the Filet Sachet with Crown Edge Pattern Free to your cart in the Store.
FREE Sachet Bag Crochet Pattern – There’s More!
Caution: Sachet bags are addicting to make. We made one sachet and couldn’t stop. In our case, one bag led to seven! Here is a small sampling of them.
Blog: See all seven of the bags on our Crochet Soap Saver Collection blog post
Store: Also available in the store at Crochet Sachet Soap Saver Collection.
Etsy: Crochet Sachet Soap Saver Collection
This set has a nice blend of both feminine and masculine designs. Check out the bonus Mary Jane style Wash Mitt. It’s perfect for liquid soap users!
Winter Hat and Scarf Gift Set – A Happy Trio
Ohhh so soft. This Winter Hat and Scarf Gift Set is cute and cuddly. Whether you make just one piece or all three, you’ll love the way it feels and so will the recipient! The colors of the Sensations Rainbow Boucle yarn were calling our names begging to be turned into a winter scene. Here is the happy result.
Scarves and Hats whip up pretty quickly so they make great last minute gifts. If you have a little extra time, the gift bag is adorable – don’t pass that up. We crocheted with two strands at once (held double) and used a hdc so that it would work up a bit quicker than a single crochet project.
Skill Level: The pattern is easy, but the Boucle yarn is a bit tricky to work with. If you use Boucle, please note that you probably won’t be able to see your stitches. You’ll have to crochet more by feel than anything. But it should be pretty easy to do since these projects are worked in a rectangle (back and forth – not in the round).
Winter Hat and Scarf Gift Set – The Pattern Details
The set is an adorable gift because the hat and scarf match and fit nicely inside the gift bag. Mix and match for your specific needs. We love that the winter scene isn’t too “Christmasy” and can be worn all winter long.
The pattern includes lots of photos, written directions, a couple of charts, gauge info, materials list, check boxes to mark your progress and more. Since the stitches of Boucle are difficult to see, we’ve also taken photos of the tree appliques with traditional yarn.
The Winter Hat Pattern
This is crocheted as a rectangle. The finished project measures 9 1/5 inches tall not including the pom pom. It’s 10 1/2 inches when folded flat. It’s one size fits all. It fits young boys, teen girls and adult women.
The hat pattern includes a chart as well as written instructions. It can be easily modified for larger or smaller sizes. There are photos and instructions on how to make the pom pom. And of course photos and directions for the tree.
The Winter Scarf Pattern
This is crocheted with short rows. The scarf measures 5 inches by 56 inches. There are detailed instructions and photos for the scarf, tree and star.
This piece is a lot of fun to make and wear. It’s so soft looking, don’t be surprised if people stop you and ask to feel it!
The Winter Gift Bag Pattern
This is crocheted as a rectangle (the bottom sewn on as a separate piece). There is a chart as well as detailed instructions on how to crochet the bag. There are detailed instructions on making the cute icicle edging, handles and tree appliques.
This gift bag will look absolutely adorable under the Christmas tree. Or maybe you’ll use it as an adorable tote?
Winter Hat and Scarf Gift Set – In the Store
The pattern is now available in the store. Order now and download the pattern right from the link on your receipt. See more photos on the Winter Hat and Scarf Gift Set page in the store.
Mary Jane Wash Mitt – Fun and Practical
Mary Jane shoes and slippers are wildly popular. Bath time has been totally inspired by her, too!
Where the toe box might be, we’ve got a pocket for your fingers. Where the heel might be, we’ve got a pocket for the thumb. And nothing says Mary Jane like a fun strap with faux button. We’ve got one of those to. It runs across the back of your hand to strap the Mary Jane Wash Mitt firmly in place.
The Bath Mitt is great for liquid soap lovers. You can use it in the bath, shower or keep it by your sink to use as your face scrubbie.
Mary Jane Wash Mitt – the Details
We dressed up this Mary Jane Wash Mitt by adding a bit of ruffle around the edge. Who doesn’t love a little extra frill?!
Skill Level: Easy
Really, this is a fun, quick and easy project. You can make three or more wash mitts with one skein of Red Heart Eco-Cotton Yarn. So this is fabulous last minute gift. It measures 4 1/2″ x 8″. We’ve included instructions on how to make it smaller for more petite hands.
The pattern includes detailed written instructions, lots of pictures, gauge info, materials list, check box for marking your progress, size info, abbreviation list and more.
BONUS: This pattern also includes 7 soap saver sachets! And they are all adorable. You can learn more about them on our crochet soap saver collection page.
Crochet Soap Saver Collection pattern on Etsy.
This is available now in the store. Your receipt will have a link to download the pattern. Buy the Mary Jane Wash Mitt pattern now and start crocheting right away.
Crochet Soap Saver Collection – Fun and Diverse
Caution: this crochet soap saver collection is a lot of fun to make. Once you make one, you’ll be hooked and find that you can’t stop until you’ve crocheted them all! And each one takes only an hour or two to whip up! These are great last minute gifts. (Oh, and check out the bonus wash mitt below…)
Traditionally, soap savers are used a couple of different ways.
The pattern includes photos of the soap savers used as a cell phone pouch and iPod cozy. But these are also great for bridal shower gift bags, Wedding Favor Sachets, Mini Draw String Gift Bags, Potpourri bags or Scented Satchets and more.
Crochet Soap Saver Collection – The Details
Why is this crochet soap saver collection so much fun? It could be because each pattern uses a different stitch (shell, moss, filet and more). Or maybe it’s the other little details such as unique edging (heart, crown, button top and more) or the diverse types of draw strings (flower, heart, leaf and more).The collection includes both masculine and feminine designs.
Many of these soap savers are crocheted with Red Heart Eco-Cotton blend yarn. One skein will make three or more soap savers. Some sachets were crocheted with Hemp Cord or Twine as seen in the photos.
The pattern calls for crochet in the round. The pattern includes materials list, abbreviations, special stitch instructions, photos, gauge info, check boxes to help mark your progress and more.
Crochet Soap Saver Collection – In the Store
These crochet sachet soap savers are available now in the store. When you purchase through our website, you’ll immediately receive a receipt which includes a link to download the PDF pattern.
Crochet Sachet Soap Savers pattern on Etsy.
Order today and start crocheting right away! Bath time will be a whole lot of fun.
How to Hold a Crochet Hook
I’m starting to become a little insecure about how to hold a crochet hook. It seems as though everyone around me holds it one way and I the other. Can you relate or am I the lone wolf here.
In fact, I recently watched a youtube video where the gal was demonstrating both techniques and she made some sort of comment about my chosen grip being awkward. Awkward? It doesn’t feel awkward to me. If anything, her grip is awkward. But apparently not to most of my friends and family!
20+ years ago my grandmother taught my twin sister, my mother and I how to crochet. And it’s engraved on my brain that the way I hold my hook is “the right way”. Really, I remember her saying there was a right and wrong way. As a new hooker, I wanted to do it right, so I chose my grip.
Now, I wonder, “Have I been wrong all these years?” Most crocheters these days say that either way is right. But do they really believe that or are they just appeasing people like me?
Case in point, I went to a knitters and crocheters group the other day and one of the gals was staring at me while I crocheted. Then, she and my sister started talking about how I hold the crochet hook…as if I was some sort of alien. “Hello,” I thought, “I’m right here in the room.”
So, based on their conversation, it should come as no surprise that Yarnovator (my twin sister) and I each hold the crochet hook differently. It was shocking to me when I recently found out that one of us holds it from beneath like a pencil and the other holds it overhand like a knife. It seems strange to me that we are similar in so many ways yet different here, on a matter of technique.
And what about my mother? After all, she was there when my grandmother taught us “right from wrong”. She’s apparently not picking sides because she holds the crochet hook both ways. Literally…for every stitch she holds it both ways. She starts out her stitch holding the crochet hook like a pencil, then ends the stitch holding it like a knife! I have to admit, I’ve never seen anyone crochet quite like that. She definitely has both bases covered.
How to Hold a Crochet Hook – The Conclusion
So, what will I do about how to hold a crochet hook? Will I change my technique to blend in with the crowd or band together with others who crochet like me and start a crusade? I think I’ll just turn on the tv and work on my next project and crochet the way I know to be the right way.
How do you hold your crochet hook? Take the poll below letting us know.
Loading ...
All patterns are written in US terms.
*****9/15/23 Great news! We are moving our store to Etsy. Some of our links will redirect you there for your convenience.
Dana (left) with Deborah (right) and her two boys. 
