Friday 22 November 2013

Washi Tape Christmas Tags

I finally bought myself some washi tape - after looking longingly at other bloggers' washi tape projects for some time.  I was never quite sure what I'd actually do with it if I got some - but Christmas Tags were the answer!



I used Word to make a page of tag shapes with 'Merry Christmas' in grey typed into them.  I printed onto white card, cut out, then taped away!  A hole punch and some bakers twine, and the tags were complete.  Easy and fun!

One set of colours to match one wrapping paper design:



And a different set to match another:



Very pleased with them!  Although the red gingham tape has been peeling off a bit which is annoying, and I'm not sure whether it's a common issue with washi tape or not.  (Anyone know?)  The other ones seem ok and are staying stuck down.

So, that's good progress on my Christmas prep - but I need to make some more and try to keep up the momentum!


Thanks for the lovely comments on my star jar covers!


Wednesday 20 November 2013

Crafty Christmas Tutorial Link-Up

Following on from my tutorial for my Christmas Star Jar Covers, here are the other Christmas tutorials which are part of Lupin's Crafty Christmas Link-up...



See Laura's post here with the links to each tutorial.  Have fun crafting!


Monday 18 November 2013

Free Tutorial - Christmas Star Jar Covers


Well, you wanted it... here it is!  I'm publishing this tutorial as part of Lupin's Christmas Tutorial Link Up (click on the link to see the other tutorials).

Christmas Star Jar Cover Tutorial

What you need:
Yarn in two colours
Crochet hook in the appropriate size to match your yarn
Tapestry needle
Clean jar - (I used jars with lid diameters of 9cm and 7.5cm - adjust hook size depending on your jar size, and also the tension of your crochet)


Stitches used:
(Don't be put off by some of the less common stitches - they are easy to do, and you don't need to do many of them)
(I use US terms but the conversions are shown below)
ch - chain
sl st - slip stich
sc - single crochet (conversion for UK: double crochet)
dc - double crochet (conversion for UK: treble crochet)
hdc - half double crochet (conversion for UK: half treble crochet)
tr - treble crochet (conversion for UK: double treble)
htr - half treble crochet (conversion for UK: no idea!  But it's easy, see description below)

As these are less common stitches, here is how to do the treble and the half treble:

Treble (double treble - UK):
yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn around hook and pull loop through the stitch - 4 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 3 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 2 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through both loops on hook - 1 loop on hook (stitch finished)

Half treble (no idea of UK stitch name - I may have made this stitch up!)
yarn around hook twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn around hook and pull loop through the stitch - 4 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through first two loops on hook - 3 loops on hook
yarn around hook, pull through the three loops on hook - 1 loop on hook (stitch finished)

The Star:


Rnd 1: (Right Side) Starting at center, ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring; ch 1 (loosely), 15 dc in ring; join with sl st to first dc. (15 dc)
Rnd 2: * Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, skip next 2 dc (on Rnd 1), sl st in next dc; rep from * around. (5 points)
Finish off and weave in ends.

(Pattern found on Pinterest here, which links to the pattern here)
This is not my pattern, I used the description from the pin, which is what I have copied above.

Turning the star into a jar cover:



******
If you like, you can go to the end to see the quick, less waffley, straight to the point instructions

******

Look at your star - you should see that there are four stitches down the side of each point (2,3,4,5 in picture below) plus a point at the top (1), plus a stitch at the bottom between each point and the next one (6).


When your star is finished you need to attach a new colour by sl st to the point (1).  Then stitch into the back loop of the stitches numbered in the picture above, as listed below:

2) sc
3) dc
4) htr
5) htr
6) tr
5) htr
4) htr
3) dc
2) sc
1) sl st

Repeat the above until you complete that round and are back where you started.  (It can be quite tricky when working on the righthand side of each point to find the correct loops to work into (or maybe my stars weren't that great!) - as long as you are doing the right number of stitches down the side, it should work out).

Your final sl st above, would have been into the starting point (1) which starts your next round.  That sl st and the following stitches should be through both loops of each stitch as normal (rather than the back loops as with the previous round) as follows:

2) sc
3) sc
4) hdc
5) dc
6) dc
5) dc
4) hdc
3) sc
2) sc
1) sl st

Repeat the above until you complete that round and are back where you started and have finished the round.


The tricky bit is now over!!  You should have 50 stitches in your round.

(As you continue, it may seem as though your cover is pulling into a 'bowl' shape too soon, but when you pull it over your jar it should flatten out nicely over the top, creating a good fit.)

ch 3 (to count as first dc) then dc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (50 st)
Repeat as many times as necessary.

Try your cover on your jar to see how many rounds of dc you need to do.  On my larger jar I did 4 rounds, on my smaller jar I did 3 rounds.  (I used a slightly smaller hook for my smaller jar too).

When you are happy with the length of your cover in the main colour, finish with that colour.

The Ruffle:


Attach the colour you used to make the star.
ch 1 (to count as first sc) then sc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (50 st)
ch 3 (to count as first dc) then 2 dc in same stitch and 3 dc in all stitches all the way round, sl st to finish (150 st)

Finish off and weave in all ends using your tapestry needle.

The Pompom Ties

Create two pompoms in the colour of your star and ruffle.

Cut three lengths of yarn in the same colour, long enough to be plaited, fit round your jar and be tied in a knot or bow, as you prefer.

Plait them together and tie each end to the middle of one of your pompoms.

Tie round the jar cover and you are done!



Quick Instructions

Star:
Colour A
Rnd 1: Starting at center, ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring; ch 1 (loosely), 15 dc in ring; join with sl st to first dc. (15 dc)
Rnd 2: * Ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, skip next 2 dc (on Rnd 1), sl st in next dc; rep from * around. (5 points)

Cover:
Colour B
Rnd 3: In back loops only: Starting at tip of point, sl st, * sc, dc, htr, htr, tr, htr, htr, dc, sc, sl st; rep from * around (50 st)
Rnd 4: (sl st on 1st point was completed at end of last round) In both loops, not just back loops: * sc, sc, hdc, dc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, sc, sl st; rep from * around (50 st)
Rnd 5: ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) dc in every stitch around; join with sl st to 1st dc (50 st)
Rnd 6, 7, 8 (if required): repeat Rnd 5.  (Do as many rounds of dc as required to get the length you desire for your jar)

Ruffle:
Colour A
Rnd 9: ch 1 (counts as 1st sc) sc in every stitch around; join with sl st to 1st sc (50 st)
Rnd 10: ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) 2 dc in same st as ch 3; 3 dc in each stitch all the way round; join with sl st to first dc (150 st)

Finish and weave in ends.


**********

If you have any problems with this, or any questions, please let me know - writing a tutorial/pattern is quite tricky!!

I'd love to see what you make using this pattern, so please let me know if you do make something!



Check out my completed crochet projects here and for more tutorials/patterns see here.



Tuesday 12 November 2013

Autumn

Hello and thanks for the great comments on my Christmas Star Jar Covers!  I have been working on a pattern and will be publishing it soon... watch this space!

But before we focus on Christmas (even though I'm getting excited already!) let's enjoy Autumn.  Check out the colour of this tree outside our house:


We can look out at it from bed in the mornings and the colour is amazing.  (At the weekend anyway, when there is time for lying around in bed and we're not getting up when it's still dark and gloomy!)

I made my first pumpkin pie last week - with the flesh from our Halloween carved pumpkin.  It seemed to work out ok, and tasted good, which is the main thing!


And we made gingerbread biscuits at the weekend from some ready-to-roll pepparkaka dough from Ikea:


Right... see you next time with the Christmas pattern/tutorial!!  (I don't know why I'm so excited about it!)


Friday 1 November 2013

Christmas Star Jar Covers



Those two little stars from my other post have been transformed into these Christmas jam jar covers.  And do you know what...?  I do believe I have invented this!  (Well, not jar covers in general - but these particular star ones).

I had the idea for this and thought they must be out there somewhere on the internet.  I was sure I'd be able to find a pattern online, but nope!  Couldn't find anything similar.  (Not saying nothing exists, but I couldn't find it if it does!)  So I had to work it out myself.

I found a free pattern for the star, but then worked out how to turn it into a circle, then into a jar cover with ruffle.




I think they'll be perfect filled with Christmassy sweets - I'm imagining little red and white candy canes...




I'm so pleased with how they turned out - exactly as I had pictured in my head.  I especially love the ruffle and the pompom ties!



I think I'll write up a pattern for these, in case anyone feels like making some?  They'd be great for Christmas presents, filled with some tasty treats!

Edited to add: Tutorial now available here!

Thanks for the comments on my post with the little stars.  Chrissie, the cup and saucer are PiP Studio Chinese Rose in Khaki.  I have a little cake plate to match the cup pattern.  They were presents last year (and I'm hoping for the same in blue for my birthday or Christmas this year!)


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