I Think I Can ... I Think I Can ...

Do you ever have projects that you just can't seem to get right? I'm a bit (that's an understatement) of a perfectionist, so if something isn't  perfect I frog it and start again. The project I'm currently working on has been completely frogged 4 times (so far). I just can't seem to get it right. I'm putting all the blame on the yarn. I do not like Lion Brand Homespun yarn. It is so hard to work with! I am always losing my count or having trouble picking up my stitches with it. The finished product always ends up so soft and cozy ... but I just have the worst time getting to that finish line. I will say that crocheting with Homespun is much easier than knitting with it ... but it's still very far down my list of favorite yarns. I need to get this project done by Friday, so keep your fingers crossed I don't end up having to frog it again. I should have some interesting pictures of this next week for you guys. ;-)

That's Better!

My last post was about a pattern called "Bunny Blanket Buddy" by Lion Brand Yarn, and how I wasn't 100% in love with the end product. Well, I took another stab at it -- with some alterations.

I lengthened the ears like I talked about. I added 10 stitches onto their pattern. Ten so that it'd be easy to do the additions in my head. When it says to cast on 17, I cast on 27. When it says to purl 14 stitches, I purled 24. When it says to bind of 18, I bind of 28. Piece of cake and looks much more "bunny".

I also shortened the head just a touch, by .5". You can't tell at all in the picture, but the subtle difference looks much more appealing to me in person.

The last change I made was embroidering the face in lighter colors. The black was too bold for me -- it didn't read "baby", so I went for a rose color for the nose and grey for everything else to soften it up.

Now it's definitely my new go-to baby gift. I'm much happier with it. What do you think?

Lion Brand Yarn "Bunny Blanket Buddy" (Knit Version)

This pattern has been in my binder for a while now. Like ... years. I just have never gotten around to making it. It's called "Bunny Blanket Buddy" and you can find it on Lion Brand Yarn's website. It's a free pattern that has both a knit (here) and crochet (here) version.

I used Baby Bee Dreamy Baby Chenille in "Boo Pink" and I think it's just the perfect yarn for this project. Super soft and cuddly, which is exactly how a lovey should be.

I started out with the crochet version, hoping to save myself some time since crocheting is quicker than knitting. I got a few rows into it and frogged it. It just doesn't look as good crocheted. It was ok, but I knew I'd much prefer the knit version, so that's what I went with.

Overall I like the way it turned out. There are a couple things I would change though. Next time I will definitely lengthen the ears. Maybe even twice the length they are in the original pattern. One of my friends commented that it looks a bit like a dog the way the ears are now, and I agree. I think they need to be quite a bit longer to give it a much more obvious "bunny" look. I also think I will make the head a little shorter next time, but only by a few rows (maybe 3" instead of 3.5").

One thing I absolutely loved with this pattern was the way the head was knit. It's a technique I've never seen before (Has anyone else? Have I been living under a rock or is this as awesome as I think it is?) and I wish I had a million more projects to do with it! At first I was confused and thought the head was coming out as a flat rectangle ... which I wasn't very happy with. Then at the very end it suddenly pops open with a little hole for stuffing, and what I thought was a flat rectangle was actually a little pocket! It blew my mind! (Totally not exaggerating -- ask my husband. I was so excited about this!)

Overall I thought this knit up pretty cute, and I think I'll love it once I make those alterations I talked about. It may end up being my new go-to baby gift!

Simple Crochet Bow - with Pictures! (Crochet Pattern)

This is a simple little bow that can be used as a hair accessory or embellishment for a number of projects. It takes less than a half hour to make (seriously 10 minutes or so once you get the hang of it) and is easy to adjust to different types of yarn -- just go up or down to an appropriate hook size.

Download the PDF version here!

My little girl modeling the bow on a headband.
You should have seen the out-takes. She is
not a very cooperative little model, lol.

Materials:

• Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn")


• Size "H" (5.00 mm) Hook


• Tapestry Needle for weaving in ends

Abbreviations:

• ch: Chain


• sc: single crochet

Gauge:

Not crucial for this project.

Step One:

- Chain 15 sts. Sc in second stitch from hook and then continue with "Row 1".
- Row 1:  sc in each st, ch 1 at end and turn
- Repeat Row 1 three or four more times, depending on how thick/full you want your bow to look.

Row 1 was repeated three times in this example. To see an example of four rows scroll to the bottom and see the purple bow.

Step Two:

- Make a sc border around your whole rectangle. (Just sc in each stitch around your whole piece.)
- When you come to a corner sc once in the corner st, ch 2, and then sc again in the same stitch -- this will keep your piece looking more like a rectangle and less like an oval. (Feel free to skip this if you want the edges of your bow to be very rounded.)
- Weave in any ends you have so that they'll disappear under the center wrap when you finish your bow.

Step Three:

- Pinch the bow in the middle so that it folds up sort of like an accordion.
- Make sure that both edges are facing the same direction.
- Tie a small length of yarn around the center to keep it cinched.
- Trim the ends so they're easy to hide when you wrap the center of the bow in the next step.

Step Four:

- Using a longer length of yarn wrap the center of your bow until it looks finished.
- Tie off in the back and trim the ends so they'll be easy to hide when you attach your bow to whatever it is you choose.

Step Five:

- Attach your bow to an alligator clippie, barette, hair tie, or headband ... or really anything else you'd like ... and voila.

Row 1 was repeated three times in the pink bow and four times
in the purple bow. You can see the slight difference in fullness
between the two.

To make a headband:

... like the pink bow is attached to in the above picture simply make a chain the circumference you need to fit, slip stitch the ends together (making sure the chain is facing the same direction all the way around), and weave in the ends to finish it. Then attach your bow.