Pattern-herd: Christmas Garlands!

The Coca-Cola advert has been on TV here in England. That can only mean one thing: the holidays are coming! If you're organised, then this post will probably be too late for you. For those of you who like the thrill and adrenaline of being last minute, then this post is for you!

Christmas garlands! They're a perfect way to quickly decorate any room in your house or string it around the tree instead of tinsel for a personal-touch :)

1) Christmas Light Advent Calendar by Laura Campbell

A brilliant way to count down to the big day! Put chocolate or other little presents into the lights and you could embroider a number of each of the lights! Available as a free download from Ravelry.

2) Crochet Snowflake Garland by Mary Jane Protus

These gorgeous snowflakes would brighten up any Christmas tree! The snowflakes individually would look great as appliqués on jumpers or accessories :) Pattern available for free on Red Heart.

3) Jolly Festive Bunting by Lucy of Attic24

Those socks are amazing! Anyway... This bunting by Lucy is so bright and colourful! It's a great way to liven up and make any house look fun and ready for the holidays :) This pattern is available for free on Lucy's blog, Attic 24.

4) Crocheted Paper Chains by Steph Giddens

You won't need to make paper chains any more once you've crocheted this! A very easy pattern that's perfect for beginners, just getting in to the world of crochet! Pattern available on Lovestitches blog for free!

5) "Popcorn" Christmas Garland by Natalie Clegg

That tree is such a fantastic colour! A slightly alternative way to adorn your tree with a funky "popcorn" garland. This pattern is a free Ravelry download.

6) Garland of Pinwheels by Mary Jane Protus

This is a slightly more advanced pattern than others that I've posted today, but it's worth the time and concentration! Completed with little bells for the essential Christmas "jingle". This pattern is available for free from Red Heart.

7) Christmas Stars by Barbara Wilder

This pattern is in German, but there is a crochet diagram at the bottom of the blog post for those who can read them. This garland is perfect for not only Christmas, but also decorating children's rooms all year around! This is a free pattern available on Barbara Wilder's blog.

8) Snowflake Garland by Nancy Anderson

Another snowflake garland with gorgeously crochet snowflakes! Guaranteed to get anyone in a christmassy mood :) Another amazing, free pattern that's available on Red Heart.

9) Smitten (a Holiday Garland) by Emily Ivey

A knitting pattern this time! Another countdown-calendar, so you'd better get a wriggle on if you're making it! These gorgeous little mittens will become an heirloom and a tradition for your family each year :) Fill with little presents, sweets or anything else you'd like to make the countdown to Christmas even more exciting!! This pattern is available for free on KnitPicks.

10) Amigurumi Holiday Lights by Jill Watt

Time for a cute garland now! Look at their adorable little faces :) These holiday lights would even make Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch smile! This pattern is a free Ravelry download.

I hope that you like this first pattern-herd! I will try and make it a weekly-affair, every Thursday, and bring you some brilliant patterns from the world of Ravelry!

Penguin "glittens"!

So about a month ago, my friend asked me to make some penguin mittens/fingerless gloves for her. It took me so long to work out how to make them, but I've finally done it! It will be much easier to make next time :)

To make the gloves/mittens, I used this pattern here as my friend is 6ft+ and therefore has larger hands, so I used a pattern designed for men. I used a 5mm (H) crochet hook and DK (worsted weight)  yarn in black. I decided not to crochet the individual fingers and just make it as I make my other fingerless gloves. I also added a loop at the top of the mitten so the mitten part could be held back with a button.

The pattern requires a lot of counting and I had to unpick and re-crochet a lot of the first mitten. Quick tip: read the pattern thoroughly before you start each row!! 

Once I finished the base, I had to make the penguin face. I didn't know how to do it so I had a look around on Ravelry and I found a great pattern for a hat. I used this pattern for the face, but with a 3.5mm crochet hook so it's smaller. For the eyes, I made a magic ring and DC (SC) 8 into the ring and then fastened off and tightened the ring. The beak I kind of made up... (US terms are in brackets)

CH2,

R1: 2 DC (SC) in second chain from hook, ch1 turn

R2: 2 DC (SC) in each stitch, ch1, turn

R3: 2 DC (SC) in first st, 1 DC (SC) in 2 st, 2 DC (SC) in last st, ch1, turn

R4: 2 DC (SC) in first st, 1 DC (SC) in 4 st, 2 DC (SC) in last st

Fasten off.

I'm so proud of these mittens! I will definitely be making more to post on my online shop!

Quick and Easy Fingerless Gloves - UK Edition!

I said I'd post the UK terminology for this pattern, and here it is! I'm sure most of you, if you're anything like me, are used to having to use US patterns anyway! Ah the joys of the internet...

You will need:

A 4mm crochet hook

Double Knit Yarn

A Yarn Needle

Chain 35

Row 1: DC in 2nd chain from hook then DC in each chain. Then chain 2 and turn. (34)

Row 2: Skip the first stitch that the chain comes from and TR in each stitch along. TR in the chain from the row before. Then, as before, chain 2 and turn. (34)

Rows 3-20 (17 rows): Repeat the 2nd row.

Row 21: As row 2, but chain 1 and turn at the end of the row. (34)

Row 22: Skip the first stitch that the chain comes from, DC in each stitch along. Then DC in chain from last row and fasten off the yarn, leaving a long tail. (34)

To make up the gloves, either sew or SS the two edges together for 6 rows. Skip 3-4 rows (making space for your thumb) and then sew up the rest of the glove.

These gloves are completely customisable! If you'd like longer gloves, continue to DC for more rows. You can also add embellishments to the gloves to make them more individual.

I added some little pink hearts to spice up these grey gloves, that I made using a pattern I found on Ravelry.

And for my Mickey Mouse-obsessed sister, I added some Mickey ears :) I will write the pattern out for that in a later blog post!

Thank you for coming to visit my blog. Your support is appreciated.

Welcome and Quick and Easy Fingerless Gloves - US Edition

Hey there! Welcome to The Corner of Craft! On this blog I will be sharing some patterns with you, doing a roundup of my favourite patterns that I have found on the interwebs and sharing a little bit about my life!

To kick things off, I have decided to be extremely generous to you all and share a fingerless glove crochet pattern with you all. It's an extremely easy pattern that makes up quickly so your hands will be warm in no time!

This pattern uses US crochet-terms. I will rewrite the pattern with UK terms and leave the link here when it is done :)

You will need:

A 4mm (G) crochet hook

Worsted Weight Yarn

A Yarn Needle

Chain 35

Row 1: SC in 2nd chain from hook then SC in each chain. Then chain 2 and turn. (34)

Row 2: Skip the first stitch that the chain comes from and DC in each stitch along. DC in the chain from the row before. Then, as before, chain 2 and turn. (34)

Rows 3-20 (17 rows): Repeat the 2nd row.

Row 21: As row 2, but chain 1 and turn at the end of the row. (34)

Row 22: Skip the first stitch that the chain comes from, SC in each stitch along. Then SC in chain from last row and fasten off the yarn, leaving a long tail. (34)

To make up the gloves, either sew or SS the two edges together for 6 rows. Skip 3-4 rows (making space for your thumb) and then sew up the rest of the glove.

These gloves are completely customisable! If you'd like longer gloves, continue to DC for more rows. You can also add embellishments to the gloves to make them more individual.

I customised these gloves with some magenta hearts, which I made using a pattern I found on Ravelry.

I hope you've all enjoyed this pattern! Please feel free to leave me feedback :)