80's Flashback: Rainbow Brite!

This project was a special request from a coworker who wanted to surprise his wife with a blast from the past on Valentine's day. I was a little nervous since I had never made it before and had little time for mistakes. Luckily I found a great pattern on Ravelry.com by ShadyCreations. Check out all her lovely patterns! The only changes I made was the color of the arm bands and the size of the safety eyes. I used slightly bigger eyes. I had a hard time finding the perfect little stars to make it complete, but I found some acrylic stickers that did the job. I was happy with my final piece and so was the recipient!

Yoda, Yoda, Yoda

You've seen him everywhere so why not here? One of my best friends asked me to crochet a life sized baby Yoda for her, so I jumped on the bandwagon. I found a pattern and was able to snag it before it was taken down. I got the pattern from Ravelry.com by Allison Hoffman and her blog can be found at www.craftyiscool.com. She is super talented and has designed many characters.

Here is my finished piece made with Allison's pattern:

I also made some smaller ones using another pattern from amiamour.com. I made a few minor changes with the eyes and face. 

There are a lot of patterns out there for this little guy. Have you made one?

Woven Scarf Pattern

St. Francis Scarf

I named this scarf for the uniform colors of my son’s school and the first one made
was donated to the Francis House to give out with their Christmas gifts.

Materials:

• Size I crochet hook (5.5 mm)
• Worsted weight yarn in 3 colors. I used:
• Red Heart Heat Wave (1 ball each)
• Summer Night (Black - Color A)
• Radio (Grey - Color B)
• Luggage (Burgundy - Color C)

Pattern:

Mesh base:

In color A, Ch 33. Leave a tail about 6 inches long to blend in with fringe. 

Row 1: Dc in 5th ch from hook. *Ch 1, skip 1 ch, dc in next* to end. (16 dc)

Row 2: Ch 3 turn. Dc in each dc across chaining 1 in between each dc. 

Rows 3-7: Repeat row 2. (7 rows of color A) Cut yarn.

Rows 8-14: Join color B and repeat row 2. (7 rows of color B)

Rows 15-21: Join color A and repeat row 2. (7 rows of color A)

Rows 22-28: Join color B and repeat row 2. (7 rows of color B)

Rows 29-31: Join color C and repeat row 2. (3 rows of color C)

Continue the mesh base pattern:

7 rows of color A

7 rows of color B

7 rows of color A

7 rows of color B

3 rows of color C

7 rows of color A

7 rows of color B

7 rows of color A

7 rows of color B

Finish off your yarn ends.

Woven chains:

Make 8 chains of color A

Make 4 chains of color B

Make 3 chains of color C

Ch about 180. Leave a tail about 6 inches on each side to blend in with the fringe.

If you’re not sure the chain will fit, weave in one chain to see how well it fits within the scarf
then adjust accordingly. They should stretch a little to fit.

Weave 4 of the color A chains through the mesh, alternating directions.
So if you started with the first chain going over, under, over, under, then when you start the
second chain go under, over, under, over, etc.  

Weave 4 of the color B chains next. 

Weave 3 of the color C chains.

Weave the last 4 color A chains. 

Fringe:

String together 3 strands of each color about 12 inches long.
Make a larks head knot in each chain space, pulling in any tails. 

15 knots on each end of the scarf. Be sure to make the knots the same way for a clean look.

Fold the scarf in half and even out the fringe by trimming. 

Show & Tell Adorable Floppy

Someone was so kind to send this absolutely adorable picture of her daughter modeling her new floppy sun hat. Isn't she just precious?!

Get the free floppy sun hat pattern here.

Children's Head Warmer Pattern

  Here is a crochet pattern for a child's size head or ear warmer. It is almost identical to the adult sized pattern but it is a little shorter and more narrow as you can see below.

Materials:

• Worsted Weight Yarn
•  Size I Crochet Hook
•  A button that will fit in between your double crochet stitches
• Thread and needle

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
st = stitch
dc = double crochet
ea = each

Note:  First ch 2 counts as dc. 
    
Instructions:

Row 1: ch 6, dc in first 3 chs made, making 4 dc total.

Row 2: ch2, turn. dc in 2nd stitch from hook and each stitch across, including very last st. (5dc)

Row 2 will have 5dc

Rows 3-9: Repeat row 2. This will make an increase per row and you should end up with 12 dc in last row.
Row 10: ch 2, turn. dc in each st across, but NOT the very last st in order to maintain 12 dc. 

Rows 11-29: Repeat row 10.

Row 30: ch 2, turn. Skip first st, dc in each st across. (11 dc)

Rows 31-37: Repeat row 30 to continue to decrease. You will have 4 dc in the last row. 

Final piece is about 20" long

At this point you could fasten off or you could crochet a border. A simple hdc around looks nice and you could even do it in a contrasting color. Another border stitch I like is the crab stitch, also known as reverse single crochet as seen below.

Crab stitch border

I love seeing finished products from my patterns. If you want to be featured on my blog with your finished items, just shoot me an email. If you don't want to be featured but still want to send me pics, that's great too! Just let me know in the email if you want me to post your pics or not.

daperfectmix@gmail.com

                                                         Copyright 2017 PerfectMix Creations

Pillow Talk

  I crocheted this pillow cover about 2 years ago to cover up my bad sewing job. It was a simple stitch made with a large crochet hook. I think it was a half double crochet, but since the hook was so large it gave it this mesh look. I don't think I wrote a post about it because, well, it's kind of ugly.

   I finally gave this pillow a proper upgrade. Both my sewing skills and crocheting skills have improved since then. I unraveled my mesh cover and saved my yarn for another project. I thought about using it for the back, but decided to go with some leftover fabric that matches everything else in my craft room, as you can see on the chair that it is on. I made six panels inspired from the book, Crochet! Techniques, Stitches, Patterns by Marie-Noëlle Bayard. Three panels of vertical ribbing which is just alternating front and back post double crochet and three panels in a stitch called triangular leaves. I think it is much, much better than the original. I sewed the two sides together with my sewing machine leaving one end open to stuff the pillow in. Then I hand sewed it closed. I like how the blue color comes through the open leaf stitches.

Front

Back

Valentine Doll Dress

  I found this adorable free crochet pattern on Ravelry.com by Elaine Phillips. This was a pretty easy pattern until I got to the sleeves. The way it is written made it really confusing to me. Eventually I got it done. I wish I could explain how I figured out the sleeves so I can have it for my own future reference. If this dress is sold and someone requests another, I will be sure to update this post. 

  The shoes are a pattern that I used before by Whistle and Ivy called Little Dot Mary Janes. I just didn't put the "dot" or the strap that is supposed to go across. I added some little rhinestones to give them some character. 

Show & Tell, Head Warmer

I love Show & Tell! Allie made a beautiful head warmer using my pattern and she was so kind to send pictures of the final piece.

Get the free head warmer pattern here. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Show & Tell, Mermaid Tail

Melissa sent me a beautiful picture of her final mermaid tail! I love the colors she used. This seems to be a really popular pattern.

Do you want to make one for yourself or a loved one? Click here for the free pattern. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Crochet Neck Warmers

I've been so busy with school (mine and the kids) lately that I haven't had time to update my blog. I was able to crochet some small projects. I have to keep my sanity somehow, right? My friend asked me to make a neck warmer for her and this is what I came up with.

She wanted a simple design that she can slip over her head in a neutral color that goes with pretty much anything. I found the pattern on ravelry.com called "Super Easy Textured Neck Warmer" by Paige Buffone. It really was super easy. I made mine a little shorter than the pattern because my friend did not want it to be too bulky. I had the yarn for a while, it is Caron Sheepish and the color is Gun Metal(ish). I think she'll be happy with it.

After seeing this pin while searching through some neck warmers on Pinterest, I also made this neck warmer.

I used a Red Heart Super Saver Yarn , Black that I had on hand. I crocheted a rectangle with a basket weave stitch, then sewed the end to the side of the other end to create the shape. I like how it turned out. It looks like you are wearing a sweater when worn with a jacket. This took a little longer than the first neck warmer, but still quick to work up.

I have one more neck warmer that I made sometime last year. I never got around to taking pictures or blogging about it. It was a free pattern that came to me in the mail. Unfortunately I don't have the pattern anymore but I think it was a Lion Brand pattern. It is a cowl and can be worn as a hood to keep you extra warm. It was a fairly simple pattern using mostly double crochet and chain stitches made in a rectangle then sewn together to make a circle. I believe the yarn was Spinrite Simply Soft Heather Yarn, Soft Grey.

Show & Tell Mermaid Tail

Here's another show and tell project. This one is made from my mermaid fin pattern. Donna sent me a picture of her beautiful finished mermaid tail. She added some wire so the fin will keep it's shape. Brilliant! I wish I could make the picture bigger to show off the details. Thank's for sending the pic, Donna!

Do you want to make one for yourself or a loved one? Click here for the free pattern. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Show & Tell Classic Cloche

Check out Kimmy's lovely classic cloche! I love her braided adornment, it makes it unique. Very nice job! Thanks so much for sending the pics of your finished product. Do you want to make your own? Click here for the free pattern.

 Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!

More American Girl Doll Clothes

  Here is the blue and silver dress I was working on. I wish it was this quick to make clothes for myself! This dress pattern can be found on ravelry.com. It is Classic Navy Girl Dress by Dash of Bella. The silver chain can be removed and a ribbon or something else can be added to give it a different look. 

  The headband is also by Dash of Bella and is a free ravelry download found at this link. I made a blue one and a silver one since they were so quick to work up. I also added some bling to the silver one to match the shoes. 

  For the shoes, I used part of Whistle & Ivy's free pattern called Little Dot Mary Janes. I used the newborn size. They can be found on the site here. They also have a ton of adorable baby shoe crochet patterns on that site. I've made some before in a previous post. 

Show & Tell Crochet Tie

Here is a lovely picture from Sue of a tie that was crocheted as a gift for Father's day! Very stylish! She made the bottom of the tie square instead of the triangular shape that the pattern makes. I know I've said it before, but that's what I love about crocheting - the versatility.

Get the free pattern here!

                  Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!

American Girl Doll Clothes

  Recently I've been reminiscing about my doll playing days. If they were around when I was a kid, I would have wanted an American Girl Doll. It would've been one of those things I really wanted, but could never get because of the cost (kinda like that cabbage patch kid I never got).

  Anyway, I'm here to talk about the cute little outfits I made for my coworker's daughter. She just got an American Girl for her birthday. I told my coworker that I may be able to make something for her, so we looked at some patterns on Ravelry and he had his daughter pick some out. I didn't have a doll, so using a pattern would take all the guess work out of sizing.

  I still wanted a doll, so I could maybe practice my sewing skills sometime and have a little model for sizing. Luckily my neighbor found an 18" doll that's been in her daughter's daycare for a couple months. No one has claimed it, so they said she can have it. She knew I was looking for one so I can take pictures of my work. That worked out really well. Also, since her daughter isn't really into dolls, she parted with it quite easily.

  The pattern that was used for this adorable dress is found on Ravelry.com called American Girl Doll Summer Dress by Danielle Bonacquisti. The hat was inspired by a free pattern called Ice Queen Hat Pattern by Mango Tree Crafts and can be found here. I used the pattern for the base of the hat, then I made a floppy brim to finish it off. The shoes were made with a free pattern as well, but I cannot seem to find it. If I happen to find it again, I will update this post with the link.

  Isn't she adorable? More little clothes to come. I'm working on a blue and silver dress. 

Show & Tell Floppy Sun Hat

Check out this lovely Floppy Sun Hat created by Priscilla! Thanks so much for sending the picture!

Get the free pattern here.

                Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!