Free Pattern: Lacy Shells Earwarmer - Adult

This pattern in a toddler/kid size here.

I made these for my sisters and sisters-in-law this Christmas.  I searched for a pattern I wanted to use, and I found a whole bunch of cute ones, but I ended up making up my own since I hadn't found exactly what I was thinking of.  After several tries to limit the number of ends I had to weave in, I gave up and just made it look the way I wanted, even though there were more ends to weave in than I prefer.  I made a no-sew rose and a large no-sew rose on an alligator clip for each one.

Christmas Makes

"...The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, 

who is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!  I hope you're having a great holiday celebration with your family.  Here are some of the things I made for mine this year.

A tiny rocket for a tiny nephew

 An infinity scarf for a friend
(thick and thin yarn, winged it in half double crochet)

A set of baskets and a star ornament for my aunt
(for the bigger basket I did another round on the bottom of 2 dc, dc,
then added an extra row on the side)

A washcloth for my Gran
(Up and down stitch, cotton sport yarn, 36 or so stitches by 32 rows)

©2012 Alli Hyer, all rights reserved.

Free Pattern: Open Stitch Hat - 3 Months

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
6 month size here.

On the three-month size I used the open version of the large no-sew rose.  Love these colors.

Free Pattern: Vertical Stripes Beanie - 3 Months

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
6 month size here.

This hat is a worsted-weight copy of this hat.  I think it turned out really sweet.  It would be a great boy hat, too, especially with a little brim.

The spaces between the stripes on this size aren't even, as you may be able to see.  I guess this could be good, or it might be annoying.  If you'd prefer even stripes, go up a size or down a size.

I decorated this one for Christmas with the Wreath Applique.

Free Pattern: Wreath Applique or Ornament

This little wreath (about 3" across) is perfect for decorating a hat, or for a quick handmade ornament for the Christmas tree!  I just decorated with red, finishing with a bow,  but you could alternately crochet beads right in, or sew them on after you're finished.

It's shown below on a Vertical Stripes Beanie.

Craft Tutorial: Non-slip Hair Clip

I've been making crochet and felt flowers and bows for my girls' hair for a long time, and pretty early on I realized that most handmade bows are too heavy for the alligator clips, especially with a layer of felt in between the "jaws."  I figured out this way to make the clips stay in their hair better from looking at my non-slip headbands for running.  There's a line of clear plastic on the inside that grips my hair.  That was easy enough to do!

I put the flowers for all my crochet hats on alligator clips so that they can be used as hair bows after the baby grows out of the hat.  Using this non-slip hair clip method ensures that the clip won't slip off the hat or out of the kid's (or mom's!) hair.

Free Pattern: Vertical Stripes Beanie - Newborn

Premie size here.
3 month size here.
6 month size here.

This hat is a worsted-weight copy of this hat.  I think it turned out really sweet.  It would be a great boy hat, too, especially with a little brim.

Free Pattern: Tiny Basket

This little basket is about 3" in diameter on the inside, perfect for tiny things like buttons or change.  I made it as a laundry basket for my makeup remover pads.  It's just a little bigger than they are, so they stack up in there just right.  And unlike the lingerie bag I was using, it stands up and looks cute on my counter.

Filled with a week's worth of makeup remover pads, this would be a perfect stocking-stuffer for a teenager or an adult!

Blog Update

In an effort to make the blog easier to browse, I've added page breaks to the pattern posts.  Instead of seeing the whole pattern on the front blog page, you'll just click in to the post to see the pattern.

To get the whole pattern, you can click on the "see pattern" link at the bottom of each post or the title of the post.  (see image below)

All the patterns are still there, and all the patterns are still free!

I did this so that when browsing the blog, you won't have to scroll past all the technical details of the pattern to get to the next post.

This won't affect direct links at all, just the experience on the main blog page.  Links directly to the post will still show the whole pattern on the same page.

I'm hoping that this will make the labels on the right side of the blog easier to use to find patterns you want.

Thanks for being flexible!

Alli

Free Pattern: Princess Tiara - Toddler/Youth

This year, for #1's fourth birthday, I wanted to make a more delicate crown with some sparkly pink yarn I knew she would love.  This one in sport yarn is super cute, but my yarn is worsted weight.  So I came up with this.  She was such an adorable birthday princess.  :)

Giveaway!

*This giveaway is closed*

This week I published my 100th free pattern!  In celebration, I'm going to do a giveaway!  I will choose two winners and send them three baby hats (one girl, one boy, one neutral).  Here are the hats to choose from:

1 2

34

56

The pink hat actually has a white flower, and the brown hat actually has a green edge instead of a green detail row.

To enter, please comment on this post with your email address (and just for fun, which of my patterns, if any, you've tried.  But you can enter even if you're not a crocheter!)

For an extra entry, share the contest on facebook and comment again that you did.

The contest will end at noon Sunday November 4, and after I generate the winning random numbers, I will email the winners.

Thanks for visiting and using my patterns!  I love hearing that you're making amazing things.

Congratulations to the winners!  Thanks, everybody, for entering!

Free Pattern: Tulip Stitch Hat - Newborn

Isn't this hat lovely?  This hat has such a sweet, girly texture.  I learned this stitch from The Crochet Stitch Bible. (It's called the Paris stitch in the book.)  Gorgeous bow by Bella Designs

Free Pattern: Number Four 4 Applique (3 inches)

Find the rest of the numbers here.

This number is made in two parts and sewn together.

Free Pattern: Number Five 5 Applique (3 inches)

Find the rest of the numbers here.

Free Pattern: Soccer Ball

 

This is a small soccer ball, about 3" across.  I decided not to do the official hexagon-pentagon soccer ball pattern so that I could finish faster.  (But it would be super easy to use this pattern to make the hex-pent ball, just do 6 sc in the first round for the hexagons and follow the pattern from there, with the additional stitches in each round.  Make 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons. Surround the pentagons with hexagons.  It will turn out bigger.)

Free Pattern: Maternity Sash for Gender-Reveal

I've seen these pregnancy "flower belt" photography props on Pinterest and Etsy, and I knew I could make one.  I love how it turned out.

Free Pattern: Number One Applique (3 inches)

Find the rest of the numbers here.

This number one is made by sewing the top part to the bottom part.  You could simplify it by leaving off the bottom, if you want.

Don't worry if your finished number looks a little uneven - when you sew it on, you will be able to make it look how you want.

Free Pattern: Number Appliques

These numbers are about 3" tall.  I will be adding to this list until it is complete!

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

Number Four

Number Five

Number Six

Number Seven

Number Eight

Number Nine

Number Zero

Free Pattern: Deeply Textured Hat - Toddler

This is a modification of the pattern from The Laughing Willow.  For adult size, see her original post.

This size hat should fit through youth sizes, just keep adding rounds at the bottom to make it longer.  A helpful measurement when trying to determine how much longer it needs to be is ear-to-ear measurement.  Measure over the top of the hat and it should be long enough to cover the top part of the ear.

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
3-month size here.
6-month size here.
9-12-month size here.

Free Pattern: Thick and Thin Striped Beanie - 6 Months

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
3 month size here.
9-12 month size here.

Love these bold colors together.  I originally thought of this as a boy hat, but the open version of the large no-sew rose really works!

Free Pattern: Cluster Hat - 6 Months

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
9-12 months here.

Love this sweet hat for a temperate fall.

Free Pattern: No-sew Rose, Large

This is a larger version of the original no-sew rose.  Created with a flat circle for a base, it's more streamlined than the prevailing rolling method, easier to use as an embellishment.  This flower would work well on an adult-sized hat, or as an over-sized flower on a baby hat.  I used the closed version on the newborn size Open Stitch Newborn Hat.  Pictured below, I used the open version in my non-slip hairclip tutorial.

Free Pattern: Open Stitch Hat - Newborn

Premie size here.
3 month size here.
6 month size here.

This hat forms a great base for some fabulous accessories - crochet flowers or felt or fabric flowers.  I used the closed version of my large no-sew-rose.

Free Pattern: Beanie with Crossed Texture Detail Row: Newborn

Premie size here.
3 month size here.
6 month size here.

Free Pattern: Deeply Textured Hat - 9-12 months

This is a modification of the pattern from The Laughing Willow.  For adult size, see her original post.

Premie size here.
Newborn size here.
3-month size here.
6-month size here.
Toddler size here.

Free Pattern: Kiddie Sunglasses Necklace

These are for my girlies, who love to wear their sunglasses when the sun is "shiny" in their eyes, but who frequently toss them onto the floor of the van.  Where they step on them.

I am going to share the method I used to DIY the section that attaches to the glasses.  There is a much easier way to do it - you can just buy a couple of crimp beads in the jewelry making section of the craft store and sl st the yarn to one side of each one.  But I wanted to come up with a way to do it for someone like me who thinks of it and wants to do it without a trip to the craft store first.

Free Pattern: Wave Stitch Dishcloth Size 3 Thread

This is a small dishcloth, about 5" by 5", made using only one ball of size 3 thread.  The idea of the wave stitch is to sc in every dc, to dc in every sc, and to hdc in every hdc.  It makes a nice texture.

Summer Schedule

Thanks for stopping by allicrafts!  I'm glad you are visiting, and I hope you find something you'd like to make.

Usually I post a new pattern every week, but for the summer I will be posting a new one every other week.  I find, as do many of you I'm sure, that during the summer there just isn't as much time for crochet!  With vacations and a big wedding we have coming up, I'm setting my goals realistically.  :)

All the best to all of you readers, and thanks for all your kind comments!

Free Pattern: Crayon Pouch

When my three-year-old #1 girl colors, she sometimes finishes by throwing on the floor whichever crayons she hadn't dropped.  I wanted a crayon holder to keep the crayons together, giving her options without letting her make a mess.

There are so many ways to make crayon holders - I have seen great ideas all over the place!  I decided on a small, non folding or rolling one, so that she can access them easily all by herself.  I attached each crayon to the pouch with a string.  When the crayon breaks or runs out, I can untie the string and replace it with a new one.

Vacation!

I'm on vacation this week!  I'll be back next week with a new pattern, but in the meantime, have you checked out all of these perfect-for-summer patterns?

Plarn Wet Swimsuit Pouch -

We use this almost every day in the summer, for bringing suits home from the pool or splash pad. 

Newborn Cluster Stitch Hat - 

The circulation from the cluster spaces makes this perfect for a little one due in the hot months.

Toy Jump Rope -

Great for an uncoordinated little one to use to pretend to play jump rope outside.