Blogunity

The pattern for the picture above is a paid one — it runs around $6.50 — but those are nice looking cozies those patterns make.

We always like to also come up with some free alternatives (whether they’re the same or good starting points) as well on Blogunity, so here’s what we came up with: 1 is a simple felt cutout. All you do is make or buy a sheet of felt, then just cut out a one piece (a circle attached still to a wide square) and sew up the two seams (easy). Another option is to knit cabled jar cozies, like they do at Red Heart crafting.

DIY difficulty level: easy and good first-time felters project

What you need for this knitting project:

-Yarn weight: Worsted / 10 ply (9 wpi)
-Gauge: 14 stitches and 18 rows = 4 inches in Stockinette Stitch
-Needle size: US 10½ – 6.5 mm

How these are made: apparently, its easy and fast to make these in the round from the bottom up.

A tip is to shape around the rim, which keeps them from flaring when they’re felted.

For the Cozy Family paid pattern, visit Ravelry (click here). For the simple felt cutout, visit Naturally Crafted Mama (click here). For the cabled jar cozies pattern, visit Red Heart (click here).

Chain Link Scarf (free pattern)

This DIY crochet chain link scarf pattern is the invention of sisters Lorna and Jill Watt at Knits for Life blog. They sew these chain link projects in all colors, as you can see. What color would you wear our of those?

The crafter / crochet team says each scarf takes around 3-4 hours

For this DIY crochet chain link scarf you will need:

Around 450 yards of worsted yarn (or 255 yards of bulky or super bulky yarn)

Hook (8mm (L))

Stitched used: only slip stitch.

The pattern by Knits for Life is available for $5 per download from Ravelry. But, as you know, at Blogunity we like to not only show you how to find crafter’s patterns (whose businesses we like to support), but also provide a free option for those who want to try that out. What we found was a  pattern on Look What I Made for a two-tone chain link scarf. They interlink their chains differently, but you can easily see how those chains could be linked similar to the pattern pictured above.

For the Knits for Life $5 pattern, visit Ravelry (click here). For the Look What I Made free pattern, visit their crafting blog (click here).

Cute Boot Cuffs (free pattern)

These DIY boot cuffs are a fashion idea that doesn’t require much sewing ability, but they’ve caught a lot of attention for the extra something they add to the high boot look. They don’t cost much to make either: Around $5 is what was spent making the ones in the photo above.

The were made by Geneveive at Being Geneveive, who said that the idea came because she had seen some boot cuff pictures on Pinterest but she decided she could make her own during her kids nap time. It took her one nap time to make these. What she did:

She got her DIY boot cuff supplies: a white second-hand sweater, some eyelet lace (around a yard of it), and 4 medium sized buttons.

She also had sewing and cutting supplies in her house.

She decided how big she wanted her cuffs (the ones in the picture are 7″, so you can look at that and decide if you want longer or shorter). Then she zigzag stitched on her elastic to keep the socks on above her calves. Then she cut some lace ( the short piece you see on the outside side of the cuffs) and pinned and stitched them on vertically (with a straight and a zigzag stitch). Then she pinned and stitched on the lace around the cuff. Then she took 2 buttons per side and sewed them on. Finished.

To see more of this creative DIY boot sock pattern and other sewing and crafting ideas, visit Being Genevieve (click here).

 

Crochet Octopus (free pattern)

Look at those googley eyes on this crochet amigurumi octopus! That bright blue and purple stand out, and the octopus is maybe an animal where the crocheter has some room for error, and the project will still come out well. This crochet idea was thought up by Julie at Gleeful Things.

This crochet octopus was actually made from a pattern in the Cape Discovery Catalog that Julie found — this was one of their “Summer projects.” And Julie herself made some improvements on the pattern, as well as making it bigger.

This DIY crochet octopus is a “Varies” level project. There’s room in the project to do easier or more difficult things.

You will need:

• 5 oz; 236 yds yarn of the color you choose for your octopus: 1 skein
• 4 oz; 200 yds pink yarn
• White yarn: 1 skein
• Size: U.S. G or 6 crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge.
• Yarn needle
• Scissors
• Stuffing

For the free pattern and for the tips by Julie on how she made her crochet project, go to Gleeful Things (click here) and (for the pattern) Joann (click here).

Laid Back Cat (free crochet pattern)

Does this crochet cat remind you of that somewhat internet-famous picture of a white-bellied grey cat sprawled over the belly of its owner? That picture was the inspiration for this crochet pattern — the amigurumi crochet laid-back cat.

The crochet crafter behind the idea: Pam G., the blogger behind the Crochet Parfait blog.

What you’ll need for this crochet amigurumi project:

A hook (G 6″ is recommended), some worsted grey yarn. Some pink and white as well. Black embroidery floss. Pink felt. Tacky glue. A tapestry needle. And last-but-not-least, Poly-fil stuffing to fill your crochet cat.

Stitches and crochets involved:

Single, Single 2 stitches together, and Chain

The pattern starts out with the head, making a grey and white increasing whorl, then decreasing, until the ball is formed, then the body, done in the same way but a longer object. Then the four feet, the tail, the ears, the cheeks, nose and face, whiskers. Then with the felt the paws are made cutting out shapes and glueing them on. That should do it.

For the DIY crochet laid-back amigurumi cat pattern, visit Crochet Parfait (click here).

Chair Socks protect your Floors (free pattern)

Do you want to know how to make these crochet chair socks? Maybe you rent an apartment and the landlord warned you when you moved in about the hard wood floors, or maybe you own your own house and want to care for your own. Hardwood floors are expensive and many people (not myself) like them completely smooth and unscratched. Here’s a DIY crochet pattern for those who want to protect their floors while also doing a creative crochet project!

The person who came up with the idea — Shahnaz at Wool Street Studio — thought of this crochet idea out of practical necessity, but then it developed into an exercise in attractive crochet.

Level: Beginner crocheter

Needed for this DIY crochet chair sock project:

hook (3mm), any yarn, scissors, sewing needle (probably one of the least demanding

Crochet techniques:

Single, Slip, and Chain

Now there are pattern considerations for making these in solid colors or stripes. The idea is you start in the center of the bottom of the sock and crochet a continuous spiral around and around until you have a crochet chair sock of your desired height. For this crochet pattern, visit Wool Street Studio (click here).

Amazing Crochet Flowers

These red rose crochet flowers are the work of a Thai crafter / artisan. Her hame is Patty Nimo. These patterns are all available for purchase only (no free patterns, unfortunately, although we found something similar for those wanting a free pattern, below). The patterns cost in the range of $3 to $5 on the Happy Patty Crochet website.

Patty was interviewed by Crochet World recently, and she said she’s been crocheting since she was 7, and studied at the vocational college in her city (Chiang Mai) when she was 15. She likes flowers and flower arrangements, and seems to have specialized in them.

We also found a free pattern for a basic rose, which looks like this:

Click here for the Happy Patty Crochet website. Click here for the free pattern (a basic rose).

Grenoble Afghan Patterns

The purple Genoble afghan crochet pattern is created by Priscilla Hewitt and available for $4 US from Ravelry (click here for the $4 pattern download).

We also found a free pattern (a “Maltese” afghan), also by Priscilla Hewitt and also available at Ravelry. This pattern isn’t exactly the same — some people might like it better, some less, than the one above.

You will need (for the free pattern): 10 ply (8wpi) Aran wool and a 5.0mm (H) hook. The pattern makes either a 48 inch by 72 inch blanket / throw or a 36 inch square one. Click here for the free pattern.