Welcome to another in my series of time machine blogs :) We go back to the past with the eye toward bringing patterns of the past into the future. I have many vintage magazines with great ideas but the patterns can be written using abbreviations, terms, or styles of pattern writing we no longer use. I fast forward to the future to find similar patterns using search engines such as Google or Ravelry. It's fun! I'm usually surprised how similar the new designs can be to the vintage styles! The Knitted and Crocheted Boutique book appears to have been published in 1972 is a mix and match delight. Patterns for both men and women are featured in this small booklet. Only 23 pages but a useful accessory pattern on nearly every page! Right from the start the book opens with some great knit patterns! Entitled His and Hers the patterns feature aran scarf, hat, and mittens. This same sort of pattern unisex Aran pattern can be found in many places on the internet. Bernat has a great set available before Yarnspirations bought them out. Check out this pattern at Archive.org (what would we do without the wayback machine?): web.archive.org/web/20160218234720/http://www.yarnspirations.com/patterns/cable-hat-mittens-scarf-and-socks-1.html Crocheted socks? To add a little groovy to your day, Mesh Crochet Socks might be a fun project to wear with your Ugg style boots or as slipper socks. Dorianna Rivelli, designer at the Lavender Chair wrote this great pattern for Valerie's Knee High Socks. Aren't they great? Planned color pooling is an adventure I have not taken as of yet. However, it's really not new. The designers of the Hit & Miss Hat and Scarf did some color pooling work of their own. While the hat is a basic crocheted hat, while the scarf in the Hit & Miss Hat & Scarf is really interesting. Check out the Harvest Beanie from While They Dream for a great basic hat! Lion Brand Yarn's YouTube Channel has a video to teach how to make a scarf with planned color pooling. Find the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eukjawTiFnc Because it's time for Fall to set in and also because I help organize a local charity collecting hats and scarves I did want to share two totally unisex patterns highlighted in my little vintage book. These patterns have an interesting texture and can certainly be duplicated by using modern patterns. To find similar modern design for the basketweave style scarf and hat I simply had to turn to the Premier Yarns website to find the Basketweave Hat and Scarf. (I'm a huge fan of Premier Yarns by the way) The second scarf is made of the Mistake Rib pattern. A hat and scarf pattern can be found at Fav Crafts here. One could also learn knit stitches by making scarves. My favorite site for learning new stitches is New Stitch A Day One last cool pattern for you a simple crocheted wide scarf. By adding a pop of color to white or cream a totally fresh look appears. As in the Stole pattern from the "Knitted and Crocheted Boutique" pamphlet. The Stitchin Mommy has created the Gray Shells Scarf which closely mirrors the shell scarf in the Stole pattern pictured above. The Gray Shells Scarf is created with Lion Brand Scarfie yarn. Any number of the new gradient yarns could substitute. Bearing in mind that the Scarfie yarn is bulky weight. There are a few more patterns in my very groovy book but I think I'll stop here for today. If you keep your eyes open you might find this little gem at a used book store or a thrift store. We have a Nor'Easter bearing down on most of New York and all of Vermont (among other places) I thought this blog, a repost from 2018, was worth sharing. Keep warm out there folks, be careful, and of course I hope you have plenty of yarn! Be well. ~Lyn
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A News from the Parc Guest post: T.k. Wilson of La Rose Rouge Vintage Toys Sales and Repair.1/18/2021 Like many people, I came into 2021 feeling like I needed to make a change. Like all of us, I had to make a lot of changes to my life over 2020, but I wanted to make one I chose. One thing I had decided was to take my business more seriously, and to do that, I had to make some changes to it.
I started Laterose Doll Clothes and Doll Repair as a teenager trying to sell toys and doll clothes, just getting my feet wet in the toy industry. The name Laterose originated in the works of British author Brian Jacques, specifically in his sixth Redwall novel Martin the Warrior. Laterose is the brave mouse who follows Martin into battle and, despite her tragic end, became a firm favorite of many people. At the time I opened my page, I was still pretty obsessed with Redwall and chose to name my business after one of my favorite characters in the series. Of course, there were people who needed the name explained, which was to be expected, Redwall was no Harry Potter, even in its heyday. But as time has marched on, fewer and fewer people have even heard of Redwall, let alone Laterose. Off and on I considered changing the name of my business, but I couldn’t think of how! That’s where my mom came in. She helped me decide on a new name that reflected everything I wanted, and I wouldn’t need that much retooling. That name is La Rose Rouge Vintage Toys Sales and Repairs. This was helpful because it still had the rose theme, so I could keep all my rose-themed props and red table decor and was more specific to what my business has become. As time has passed, I’ve changed from an emphasis on dolls to vintage girl toys in general so the “doll clothes” thing wasn’t exactly true anymore either. Roses are, of course, considered one of the most beautiful flowers, and so they are associated with perfection, love, and romance. Rose oil has been used for centuries to boost the mood, ease depression, and treat minor cuts and bruises. They are also associated with many different people in Christian tradition, and are a feature at every wedding. For me, Roses are associated with my grandmothers and several of my favorite stories like Redwall and the fairy tales Snow White and Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes we all need to change just one thing in our lives to re-energize our minds and outlooks. This is what the name change to La Rose Rouge has done for me. I’m very much looking forward to 2021 in my business. I have big plans to move forward in delivering more quality products and collectables for my customers. This name change doesn’t represent a difference in what I’m offering or how I do things. Only a re-focusing. This year, 2021, Out of the Parc Designs and the News from the Parc blog will have a new feature. A thank you to those who have helped to improve my knitting and crocheting world. The first thank you goes to Maria Weaber designer at Maria’s Blue Crayon.
Recently my daughter, T.k. Wilson, and I made the Crochet Woodland Blanket. It’s a SUPER cute pattern. I made the squares and T.k. made all the appliques. Then she sewed the entire thing together. A labor of love for a dear friend’s youngest. His bedroom is decorated in Woodland Creatures. The blanket pattern was chosen especially for little man’s room! (His mom did a great job) The Crochet Woodland Blanket is NOT the only totally adorable blanket on Maria’s website (also can be purchased through Etsy and Ravelry.). T.k. and I plan to gift the Crochet Spring Blanket in 2021. Winter can be VERY long here in the Adirondacks. Making something with a theme of Spring just gives us a little something to look forward to doesn’t it? Love those first signs of spring! Of course another sign of spring is the birth of baby animals. How CUTE is this Granny Square Farm Blanket?! Add another blanket to the “to do” list this Spring. One nice thing about the granny square patterns is that the squares can be made up at any time and set aside. They also make good take-along projects! One thing is inescapable here in the North East USA we go through a lot of hats. My family is spread out in states where snow is “a thing” as my kids say… from October to nearly May. My daughter has an obsession with handmade hats. Maria’s Blue Crayon has some super adorable hat patterns for every age. My personal favorite is the Faux Knit Hat. The look is classy and a bit different than other crochet hat patterns on the internet. I am able to knit but I am faster with a crochet hook so many of my projects are crocheted for the sake of time. The Faux Knit Hat offers the best of both worlds. Not only is Maria a fantastic designer but she’s always willing to answer questions as evidenced by her Facebook page. She’s responsive to people’s comments and is very active on that page. If you haven’t subscribed to her email list I encourage you to do so soon! Her emails update all the latest on her page. Personally, I want to thank Maria Weaber for designing with care. Also a big thanks for giving her followers as much personal attention as her schedule allows. She’s made life easier by making patterns that are easy to follow and her crochet-alongs are well worth the time. In 2021 we wish Maria and her family all the best. During the war years, “real toys” were out of reach for many. Because of rationing and lack of money to spend on such luxury items, many children throughout the USA had to “make do and mend” which meant going without many of the items they may have wanted. Many even voluntarily sacrificed treasured things to the war effort, as things like rayon, rubber, and steel were desperately needed. However, it wasn’t a dreary, barren, life, by no means! It only meant that parents, kids, and toymakers had to get creative.
Dolls were of course among the first to fall. With many of the finest dolls made in countries that were now the enemy (Germany, Austria, Japan) girls would have to do without the lovely porcelain, bisque, and celluloid dolls popular at that time. Materials to make such dolls were now prohibitively expensive here in the USA, which had people turning to materials that were widely available. Paper dolls were printed by the millions and sold or given away free in magazines, newspapers, and sold in sheets for as little as a nickel. Often modeled after comic characters like Little Lulu, and Betsey McCall, or glamorous actresses and women in uniform, these entertained little girls for hours. Cuddly toys were also popular. Stuffed animals could be made cheaply, out of recycled materials, and were loved by children and often treasured for years. Raggedy Ann and Andy were popular stars, both of them starring in short films, along with their popular picture book series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hezi0ur8b4 One of America’s great minds in the toy world began making cloth dolls that were meant to be loved and played with. Her name? Madame Alexander. Her company still makes dolls that are treasured to this day and considered some of the finest in the world. Toys for boys included lead soldiers (we didn’t know how dangerous lead was at the time), wooden planes, trucks, wagons and more. These toys were modeled after the heroes of the time, our men in uniform, like the girl’s paper dolls. Many of these toys were made from heavy paper or cardboard. Lionel, the famous electric train maker, even made a toy train from cardboard! https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/play-stuff/2013/06/the-home-front-toy-production-during-world-war-ii World War Two gave us many of our favorites too. Board games like Monopoly and Candyland became widely popular, as board games could be made inexpensively and encouraged cooperative play. Another popular toy born from the war years was G.I. Joe. After the war, and with the popularity of World War Two movies, G.I. Joe was manufactured to capitalize on the fascination of the American Boy with the military. In 1963, a total of four different Joes were made, one for each branch of the military, including an African-American variation in the army uniform. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/now-you-know-the-history-of-gi-joe-and-knowing-is-half-the-battle-11506463/ Another popular toy born from the war was the View Master. Originally created by a Nazi sympathizer (who, in his defense, was just out to create an educatonal tool), the View Master was used by the US government to teach our boys how to identify planes with just a few celuloid prints and a bright light. The legend of the View Master travelled home with the soldiers, and it was turned into a popular toy by the end of the 1950s. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/84549/chakka-chhh-hidden-history-view-master If you want to learn about the handmade toys of the war era, you can check out this US issue pamphlet, courtesy of the Ohio State Library System: https://cdm16007.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15005coll2/id/872
This was never more celebrated than the time during The Great Recession of 1937-1938 through the end of WWII.
I am unabashedly a history nerd, old movie collector, and a believer in the fact that America and her allies (when we aren’t bickering) can get through just about anything. History proves this as fact. Additionally, I’m one of those odd people who check and double check everything but also optimistically believe that truth, and justice will, in time, prevail. It’s my gift to see things rationally and also impractically believe deeply in grace, mercy, and humility, as my family before me has done. As I present today’s blog I’m going to tap into a bit of that impractically, practical, nerdly movie buff and present you with a great flick to watch. I’m also going to share some fun facts about books, radio, comics and movies. Settle back, find a comfy chair, grab a family member (human or your pets LOL), and enjoy this classic movie from 1938. It assembles all my favorite movie ingredients, mystery, humor, sarcasm, a dash of romance and catching the bad guys before they get away! (time 1 hour 5 minutes) Danger on the Air stars Nan Gray, Donald Woods, Lee J. Cobb, William Lundigan, and was directed by Otis Garrett. It’s plot shows the behind the scenes at a radio studio where the murder of a rather important sponsor takes place. Who dunnit, why, and how will they solve the muder before time runs out…
As many of you already know, the rest of the team of Tabitha’s Mountain Rhapsody Family artists are also very big entertainment “nerds… or is it geeks” LOL? They love movies and books, old and new. We've been known to listen to old time radio shows! Many of the movies or movie series produced before and during WWII had been based on books whose popularity made them instant box office hits. Before we get into the lists of books that became radio shows and then movies, allow me to introduce you to two resources (besides youtube) for some entertainment gold. First, Comic Book Plus a veritable cornucopia of vintage comic books, comic strips, radio programs and general trivia about some of our favorite iconic characters. The second is the trusty Internet Archive. (Please don’t take my review of these website as a 100% approval of all that is on these sites, obviously with thousands of entries I cannot vouch for all of the content)
It is hard to choose between iconic stories that made both wonderful radio shows and also great movies. In fact the movie Danger on the Air was one of the “Crime Club” series from Universal in conjunction with Doubleday Publishing house. A series of 10 films about which you can learn more here: The Crime Club Books that became radio serials and then made it to the big screen: Dr. Kildare: Originally in pulp fiction written under the name Max Brand, Dr. Kildare went on to become a popular radio serial and eventually a film series by MGM. The Saint: Leslie Charteris, created this wildly popular, smooth talking, devilishly handsome character in 1928. The books became a very popular radio show and then on to delight audiences in movie theaters. The Saint Strikes Back from 1939 is available for purchase on YouTube.
Though the “pulp novel’ market had just about run its course by the end of the war, that didn’t stop the American public from enjoying the adventures of larger than life heroes. Authors whose work is now very well respected, Agatha Christie, H. Rider Haggard, P.G. Wodehouse, O. Henry, and many more wrote, and often got their start in the pages of pulp magazines. In fact, many of the heroes then are still spoken of today!
Closely related to pulp novels were comic books. Comic books portrayed the same types of stories as pulp novels (and often with the same characters) in a visual format that both the young and old could appreciate. While they are most famous for superheroes today, in the ‘40’s, comic books covered a wide variety of genres and characters; science fiction, fantasy, crime, humor, and romance comics were extremely popular. They were a cheap form of entertainment that common folk could get their hands on; television was in its infancy, and radios were expensive, but you could pick comics off of any newsstand for just a few cents. For just a dime, you could escape our often drab, boring reality into a world of color and adventure.
One of the more popular comic book characters in the 1940s was Flash Gordon, created in 1934 by writer and artist Alex Raymond. Flash was a Yale graduate and an accomplished polo player, until he was informed by Dr. Zakoff of an imminent threat to the safety of Earth. Zarkoff, Flash, and his love interest, Dale, took off in a rocket ship for the planet Mongo. Flash battled numerous alien creatures in his never-ending quest to protect the peoples of Earth and Mongo from the evil emperor Ming the merciless. You can listen to the complete radio serial from 1935 by clicking below
A little closer to Earth was the Shadow. Street & Smith, a pulp magazine publisher, sponsored the Detective Story Hour radio series, which featured a sinister sounding narrator known only as the Shadow. The character proved so popular that Street & Smith decided to give him his own pulp series. Street & Smith hired Walter Gibson, author and illusionist, to write the first story featuring the character in April of 1931. The shadow was a crimefighter, and a master of the mystic arts, able to make himself seem invisible to his enemies. The Shadow prefigured the era of masked vigilantes, and was a prototype for characters such as Batman. The Shadow was eventually given his own comic book series, a daily newspaper strip and even a 15-part movie serial. Enjoy this playlist of the original Shadow radio series below:
And last, but not least, is a character whose popularity has rarely waned since his original appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938: Superman! Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster back in 1935; the first character that can be properly called a superhero. The two shopped the story around to several publishers, until the company that would become DC Comics picked up the character. Superman has since enjoyed broad popularity and wide influence ever since then, and has appeared in television, movies, and radio. You can listen to the original Superman radio series from 1940 below:
I want to thank Ian Thomas Wilson and T.k. Wilson of Tabitha's Mountain Rhapsody Family Artists for their help in today's blog. All of us really enjoyed the experience. I do realize that it is a bit late however, it was my intention to share some family entertainment for this weekend. Since we all are learning to function in a way similar to our WWII grandparents, it is my hope we can deepen our resolve to carry on in a way that will leave an important legacy.
During World War II rationing was just a fact of life. It was no simple thing to create the traditional family holiday. Regardless of social status, economic status, or what your faith traditions were, rationing was the same for all. Food, clothes, shoes, soap, just about everything we take for granted daily life was carefully used, shared, saved or collected. We thought we’d look a bit at how this affected the holiday plans. Inspiring us to perhaps look at how we can change our own outlook on the Holiday Season of 2020. What, exactly, was rationing and why did government ration essentials? Good question!
The answer comes from the National World War 2 Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. “Rationing involved setting limits on purchasing certain high-demand items. The government issued a number of “points” to each person, even babies, which had to be turned in along with money to purchase goods made with restricted items. In 1943 for example, a pound of bacon cost about 30 cents, but a shopper would also have to turn in seven ration points to buy the meat. These points came in the form of stamps that were distributed to citizens in books throughout the war. The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was in charge of this program, but it relied heavily on volunteers to hand out the ration books and explain the system to consumers and merchants. By the end of the war, about 5,600 local rationing boards staffed by over 100,000 citizen volunteers were administering the program.” www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/rationing The rationing program began in 1942, in part to prevent hoarding. (sound familiar?) Naturally the program wasn’t perfect but it did keep the troops supplied with what they needed and the homefront, while struggling to find alternatives did their bit. I don’t remember hearing any of my relatives who were alive at the time, complain about what they had to do to win the war. I remember hearing one of my aunts say “we just got on with it” referring to the life on the homefront. If they needed to work around the lack of sugar or coffee they did so. I didn’t realize when I was young that some of my favorite things to eat at the holidays came about because of the rationing during World War 2. Then, like now in our current predicament with COVID-19, there are a lot of people learning to think outside the proverbial box with regard to the holidays. One thing is true of the WW2 era cooking and baking, nothing went to waste. For more information on rationing see www.history.com/news/food-rationing-in-wartime-america I will get to the gift giving at another time but first I wanted to toss the blog to my daughter to discuss holiday recipes that were popular during the World War 2 era. As happened in the Depression, the Christmas holiday was celebrated as a welcome respite from the grim world of the war. But with the shortages and staples like meats and sugar, Christmas looked very very different than it had in the past. What they were able to buy, they made it last for as long as possible. This resulted in what we would consider very odd foods, such as ham salad made with Jello. They did a lot of things with Jello… would’ve been a good time to take out stock! One of the most popular recipes of course was cake. “War Cake” could be made with the smallest amount of ingredients, and in such a way that nobody would be the wiser. I first uncovered a recipe for war cake in the pages of “My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck”, a historical fiction book by Mary Pope Osborne as part of the Dear America series. Similar to American Girl, these books examined the lives and times of girls in significant points in American history, only aimed at a slightly older audience. This cake is similar to a rich, dark fruitcake, and only requires a handful of ingredients. You can find that recipe here: https://www.food.com/recipe/ww2-war-cake-1881 Another common cake recipe was one that has been enjoyed in my family for generations: Dump cake! A dump cake is a cake made from minimal ingredients, no eggs, no butter, no milk, and turns out SO GOOD. It is my birthday cake of choice (spread with some nice coconut frosting to make German chocolate cake) to this day. You can find that recipe here: https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/329242-wwii-ration-chocolate-cake When fruits and vegetables were rationed, folks had to find new ways of getting a square meal, one of which was planting a victory garden. The US government issued several books and pamphlets to help people unaccustomed to gardening learn to provide for themselves. There were local victory garden committees to organize community gardening efforts and share resources. In addition to the nutrition gained from growing food, gardeners got the satisfaction of having grown the food themselves and taking pride in their work. Most of what was on the table at Thanksgiving and Christmas during the war years was grown in victory gardens and canned, pickled or otherwise preserved by dutiful citizens. You can read up on victory gardens in this World War II era handbook: https://archive.org/details/victorygardensha00mack/page/10/mode/2up?q=1943+victory+garden First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a great influence and encouragement to the country during the Second World War. She created an entirely new attitude at the White House. A great proponent of what we now call recycling and upcycling. In the people’s house. Nothing was thrown away if it could be used to assist the war effort. No fancy lunches, just basic fare like the rest of America. According to History.com ““Eleanor wasn’t just choosing a cuisine; she was defining her role in the White House, and the food had to deliver the right message,” writes historian Laura Shapiro in the New Yorker. The First Lady wanted her kitchen to be a showcase for American foods and modern American ways of cooking them.” https://www.history.com/news/eleanor-roosevelt-white-house-menu-bad-food In an America where COVID-19 is changing how we Holiday we can certainly look to history for inspiration. For more on Eleanor Roosevelt check out https://www.history.com/topics/first-ladies/eleanor-roosevelt A big thanks to T.k. Wilson and Ian Wilson for their input into this article. Some of the most popular movies and television shows in recent memory take a look back at events of the past. Father Brown, Downton Abbey, Foyle's War, of course Call The Midwife, and many others. However, I've been blessed enough to have heard some of the stories of American history from family who lived them first hand. While we face a different sort of holiday season this year, it is made richer by the fact that people are thinking about giving differently than they may have done in the past. In this particular blog series I will to look back at the past patterns, fashions, ideas, and societal expectations with an eye toward looking at our present to find comparable patterns to use right now. (See the parent blog Tabitha's Mountain Rhapsody Family Artists for more Vintage blog posts) From what I remember of the chats I had with the elder members of our family gifting during the holiday was pretty simple. Gifts of food and treats of candy along with necessities. Handmade items were the norm not something to be mocked. People shared what they had (whether wealthy or poor) because rationing during World War II taught them to conserve and share. Some of the original upcycle/recycle ideas came about during this time in history in many countries not just America. The arts and crafts played a huge role in the holiday celebrations. Handmade was a way to share love with family, friends and neighbors. Everyone got involved! From the youngest to the oldest. Generally this had the effect of bonding members of a household and members of the community. From recycling a sweater to make a baby bonnet and coat or creating salt dough Holiday ornaments, handmade was truly appreciated and honored. Here are a few introductory links to give an historic perspective to Christmas during WWII www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/america-goes-war-take-closer-look www.nww2m.com/2016/12/home-front-friday-the-gifts-that-keep-on-giving/ Here's a fantastic pinterest page www.pinterest.com/sarahsundin/christmas-in-world-war-ii/ A Fireside Chat by President Franklin Roosevelt archive.org/details/14December241943FiresideChat27OnTheTehranAndCairoConferencesFDR I know that some won't be interested in the historical pieces of this series. However, please stick around for the patterns and the hat tips to the indie designers and companies that make our craft supplies. Thank you for taking a moment to read this introduction! Photo credit: Tim Mossholder https://unsplash.com/@timmossholder Bone marrow donation. I'd heard of it of course, but never realized how vital it was to get the word out about donation. Over the course of a year or so, I watched the journey of an incredible woman go through her battle with Myleofibrosis. I learned about the real need for bone marrow donors. Included in this post will be a free pattern for the Annalise hat. A hat I designed to honor cancer warriors and their families. Myleofibrosis is a rare blood cancer. Treated by various therapies including bone marrow transplantation. I knew next to nothing about bone marrow transplantation. It's incredible how many diseases/cancers are cured by bone marrow transplantation. I found out that 70% of people waiting for a bone marrow transplant DO NOT have a match within their own family! There are thousands of people depending on strangers to sign up to be bone marrow donors. (Just for full disclosure I have some benign cell count issues. Therefore I cannot donate) If you feel you might like to donate your bone marrow to save a life, call your doctor or hospital. Ask about the process and getting registered as a donor. In the span of the last 10 years I've had 3 people in my sphere of influence experience some kind of bone/blood cancer. Here's a general list of conditions that bone marrow donation can successfully treat.
"Approximately every three minutes, a child or adult in the United States is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. That’s 480 people a day, 175,200 people a year." Source: www.giftoflife.org/page/content/learnmore These are heart wrenching facts however, as an average person you could be someone's superhero!! Now I want to present my pattern for the crocheted convertible Annalise Hat. The Annalise Hat was designed to be a chemo cap originally. It is a surprise of sorts for a friend. However, it would be a great gift for those who have had a successful bone marrow transplant or conversely to honor those who have fought their cancer to the last. Give this hat as gift for a surviving family member, spouse, or friend. This pattern is FREE. Eventually I will add sizes for men and children. However if you follow the instructions you'll find that you can easily adjust the size. Note: The Annalise Hat was tested by Jill Schaefer, my friend and teacher. She also provided me with pictures of her finished project. Annalise Hat: FREE pattern (the pattern is free to use but the photographs are property of myself (Lyn Wilson) and Jill Schaefer. The Annalise hat is so named for friends who fought bone cancer to the death. They did not lose their battle… but like all warriors the end sometimes comes sooner than we expected. I certainly hope that you will use this hat pattern to comfort those who are still soldiering on. Yellow is the color of the bone cancer ribbon, therefore I chose a yellow yarn for my project. This cozy hat might also be a gift for those who have been left behind as a reminder that they are loved, prayed for, and thought of often. The color of the ribbon for cancer survivors is lavender This will be a convertible cap. Switch easily from cap to cowl/neck warmer. Cancer fighters have told me their body goes through a lot of temperature changes during treatment. A hat that turns to a cowl seemed like a good way to allow for flexibility in an accessory. Despite the name the stitches used are totally unisex and reversible. The hat pattern is pretty flexible on length so you can create a brim if you wish. It is also flexible in width to fit any size head! Note: While the pattern is pretty basic I might call this an intermediate beginner pattern because there are special stitches. However, thanks to tutorials online the stitches are simple to learn! The hat is crocheted flat, back and forth, then stitched up the back to form a tube. (vertically just to create a different look. See photo below) Also, The hat will have stretch vertically but not a lot of stretch horizontally. You’ll want to take this into consideration when choosing a material to create the hat. Note: Video on the foundation stitches from Christine of Sweet Potato 3 dot com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZcKVI-NTRs https://yarnandchai.com/tutorial-chainless-foundation-no-more-chains/ Photo tutorial. The Ribbed Half Double Crochet (RHDC) will be used throughout: https://yarnandchai.com/tutorial-ribbed-half-double-crochet-stitch-ribhdc/ Keep these stitches an even tension or the work will have a tendency to bow. NOTE: I used less than a skein of Herrschners Worsted 8 yarn that I had on hand and a size “H” (if you tend to crochet tightly you might want to go up a size hook AFTER the foundation row). If you use this pattern as a chemo cap please use a cozy and soft worsted weight yarn. Note: If you choose to use something like a DK weight yarn you will need to adjust the pattern to accommodate a lighter weight yarn. TO BEGIN: Foundation row: Create a chainless half-double crochet foundation row of 12 to 13” (or the length of your liking) I ended up with 29 stitches at the end of my foundation row. Chain 2 turn. (if you would like a wider brim simply crochet a longer chainless half-double crochet) Row 2: Starting with the first stitch in your Foundation Row, Begin the RHDC straight across your foundation row. Chain ONE then turn (if you have another turning method ie: chainless starting stitch. Feel free to use this method.) Continue row 2 until you’ve reached the desired width/circumference of the hat. To make sure you get the right size you can try placing the hat around your head to check the fit Remember you are working flat and vertically. This may look a bit different in RHDC. My head is about 22 inches in circumference give or take therefore, I will work the hat pattern back and forth until the width equals 21 1/2 inches. (I like a snug fit) When your hat has reached the desired width to fit the circumference of the head (in my case 21 ½ inches) it’s time to sew up the back of your hat. Simply slip stitch or whipstitch the row you just completed to the foundation row. (If you slip stitch the hat closed, there's no need to cut the yarn at the end of your last row. Carry on slip stitching the last row to the foundation row) Finish off, cut the yarn, and weave in the ends securely) Remember you are working vertically to form an open tube. To whip stitch simply thread yarn on to a yarn needle and sew the last row to the Foundation row. SEE GALLERY BELOW FOR PHOTOGRAPHS Once the hat is sewn closed run a long crochet chain, a foundationless single crochet chain, a ribbon, or contrasting yarn doubled to act as a closure woven through the hat fabric. I started my closure about an inch from the top of the hat. (In reality there’s no top or bottom of the hat therefore you can run your closure through either end) I used a basic bow made of double strands of wool. Be creative about the type of closure you want to use as long as it’s easy to open. The hat becomes a cowl/neck warmer by loosening the closure and pulling the hat down over the head. My hat is pictured below. The hat can be embellished several ways as the situation allows. Appliques, buttons, flowers, patches from a favorite football team. Even using a cake type yarn like Caron Cakes or Premier Sweet Roll (my current favorite) would give this hat a completely different look. Foundationless single crochet as a closure tie: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/foundation-single-crochet-fsc/ Excellent photo tutorial here Appliques: https://mariasbluecrayon.com/free-crochet-patterns Maria offers a lot of various applique patterns and very cute ideas. Flower appliques: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/easy-crochet-flower-patterns-978611 Buttons of various sizes and shapes can be obtained at your local craft store or for some really unique buttons check out Etsy sellers! Premier Sweet Roll yarn: https://www.premieryarns.com/collections/premier-yarns/products/psweetroll I’ve just used this yarn for 2 large projects. I thought it was worth every penny! NOTE: This hat can be made longer or shorter simply by increasing or decreasing the length of the Chainless Foundation Half Double Crochet. For a more slouchy look make the Foundation row longer. To create a hat for a child simply shorten the Foundation row. To make the hat smaller in circumference stop working the RHDC when the hat reaches the desired width. (i.e. the average 5 year old's head is 20.5 inches. Therefore you'd stop crocheting when the width of your fabric reaches 20.5 inches). The average adult male head is about 23 inches. To make this hat larger simply work the RHDC until the width of the fabric reaches about 23 inches. 6/24/2017
I wrote this blog a little over three years ago. I am happy to say that Christine Naugle has just ticked over 20,000 sales in her Etsy Shop. Great to see indie designers making a huge contribution. Congrats Christine! Today T.k. Wilson and I will do a dual blog on Christine of Sweet Potato 3. Christine designs both clothing accessories and toys. I will be covering the clothing, and accessories from newborn through adults, T.k. will be covering the whimsical clothing and toys. First I should note that Christine has an Etsy shop, a Ravelry shop, a Facebook page, website https://sweetpotato3.com/ and designs for sale at LoveCrafts . No shortage of pages from which to buy Christine's patterns! If you follow her facebook page you’ll get updates on the latest news from the drawing table. She's also very interested in and active on her Facebook page. I enjoy reading her posts and updates. I don't know about your experience but in my world babies seem to come to friends and family in bunches. Finding the perfect gift is hard. I mean I put my heart and soul into finding the perfect gift as many "makers" do. (Makers: time.com/104210/maker-faire-maker-movement/ )Every once in a while, but not often, we take a knock for giving handmade. However, when you see designs like those Christine of Sweet Potato 3 you draw in a sharp breath and exclaim " I HAVE TO MAKE THAT!!", loud enough for the neighbors to hear :) . (So you do :)) Picking a few favorites out of the pages of work Sweet Potato 3's Ravelry pages was really a challenge. Mercifully T.k. will be helping to cover more. The baby patterns are too "sweet" (if you’ll pardon a little play on words):
For kids there is a plethora of great accessories that make a great back to school gift or something for holiday gifting. Christine has 3 kids of her own so she gets a lot of practice creating cute pieces. I like her out of the box style.
There are some great accessories for the grown ups too. Christine has designed a piece for many different occasions . She also designs for charity so be sure to check out her designs for the cancer challenge. These patterns
I truly do enjoy all the accessories for men and women. The shawls and scarves designed by Christine are so pretty. Living in the Northern Adirondacks of New York we often have cool evenings even in Summer. I hope you'll read T.k. Wilson's blog for more on the extensive designs of Sweet Potato 3 at laterosedollclothes.weebly.com/ I have very much enjoyed writing about Sweet Potato 3. Her work is inspired and her cancer challenge designs are inspiring. I wish to thank Christine for her hard work and beautiful designs. Granted, I'm a bit stuck on Autumn this year. I think because the colors of Autumn came and went so quickly. The remnants of the brightly colored leaves are hanging on, as you can see from my panoramic picture. I live in a place where the difference between seasons is pretty stark, the Northern Adirondack region. Color, however is important in many different aspects of the art/craft/ home decor world. Today's blog deals with color and the palettes of life around us. Nature provides the inspiration for color palettes of many sorts I've created an colors of nature aesthetic board or two of my own on Pinterest. I'm giving it a try anyways :) Like this from my favorite icolorpalette.com made from a photo of my fall hydrangeas. Color options like this can make it easier for my customers to choose colors that they might want in a project. I can't guarantee that I can find the exact colors but having this tool makes the hunt so much easier. My daughter started doing aesthetic boards some time ago. I love the idea. Such a useful tool. However, there are times when a simple color palette will do. Pinterest has a MULTITUDE of color palette boards. However, there are times when a customer, family or friend might want something very specific. The easiest way to find that color is to use the icolorpalette tool. There's no guessing or trying to shop as your customer describes that color to you. For instance my favorite plaid shirt has this great green tone to it and I wanted to make a tank top to wear under the shirt. Here is the color card from icolorpalette.com (I can wear green so that's a good thing!) This color card gives me great options for matching yarns, some of which I probably have in my stash right now. The next project I want to complete is a change to the color scheme for our kitchen. This has been difficult, not only because we are doing most of the work ourselves but also because the supplies are hard to find. Paint, yarn, fabric... all among the things that are very difficult to get in any quantity since May. However, thanks to the Make & Do Crew, we have learned how to shop our stash of yarn and fabric. For instance this next color palette is based on a table runner made of bright crochet cotton. My daughter made this runner couple of years ago. She and I decided to try to incorporate more of colors from this cute hexagonal pattern into our kitchen scheme from our current stash of yarns. With that in mind I created this palette: This simple tool, icolorpalette.com has helped me to develop new ways to use the materials I have at my finger tips. I do tend to get a bit of tunnel vision when it comes to my own stash. I see the yarn but I don't really see the potential in the yarn. I want customers considering my business to know that I don't remain stagnant. Moving forward I can help them choose the right yarns for the right job. Also I have a wide enough selection of yarns in my own stash to create a project even when some yarns are still in short supply. I'm sure many of the makers who read this blog will feel the same way.
Thank you for reading the blog today! |
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