Sunday, January 31, 2016

Crocheting for Our New Baby Girl


The Reveal

When my husband and I first discovered we are expecting our third child, he left it up to me to decide whether or not we know the gender early.  I was quite determined to wait until "birth" day.  However, when the doctor asked if we'd like to know, I caved.  I don't have enough willpower to wait.  Silly me...

So of course I had to crochet a little something for our new baby girl!  I made her a tiny, ruffled romper and headband for her to wear during one of her first photo shoots. Can't wait to meet her in July!


Boy or Girl?

Before the big reveal, I had also made a gender-neutral baby afghan.  I still love the colors and know we will put it to good use.  I wanted to create a unique patchwork-style afghan involving squares with puffy, two-dimensional stars in the middle of each square.  I used lightweight yarn for our summer baby and loose stitching for breathability. 


My little sweetie loves snuggling with her very first blankie!






The Super Fuzzy Chevron Afghan & Snuggle Bunny


I finished my baby girl's afghan today and made a matching stuffed snuggle bunny to complete her future nap time ensemble. I love the luxurious, soothing smooth texture of Bernat Pipsqueak yarn and am sure our little one will find it comforting as well.


The bunny was an experiment. I created the head with a 3D puffy-cheeks appearance and used the same fuzzy yarn as the afghan to line the interior of the ears and to add a fluffy bunny tail. Then I appliqued a pink heart-shaped nose onto the face and embroidered the sleepy eyes and mouth in grey.  I look forward to seeing my baby girl snuggled up with her little nap time buddy one day. 


The Lacy Daisy Set

In another blog post I shared the Lacy Daisy Octagon Granny Baby Afghan that I made for my little one.  



I also shared family photos with my baby girl wearing the matching sundress set and my oldest daughter wearing a matching sundress.  Here are the photos again just for the sheer fact that I love seeing them over and over!






The Lacy Chevron Baby Dress Set 

First, I just have to share a photo of my sweet, smiley baby!  After all, her smile is contagious!


I originally made this set for my little lady to wear as a hospital homecoming ensemble.  However, she wasn't born quite as large as the doctors thought she would be.  So... this set had to wait for another day.  When she was six weeks old, it finally fit.  And just in time!  One week later, it was a bit too snug!  I can't believe how fast she's growing!








Crochet Soft Baby Swaddling Wrap/Cocoon & Hat Set




I've been holding onto two skeins of soft, chunky Red Heart Baby Clouds yarn for a while just wondering what to do with it.  Thankfully, an idea came to me today!  Inspired by the baby swaddling wraps that I personally found extremely clever for both of my children during their infancies, I created this baby swaddling wrap/cocoon.  The wrap/cocoon is made primarily of the soft, warm Baby Clouds yarn and is embellished with a lacy edging and flowers made using Caron Simply Soft satin yarn.

I love this set so much that I've also made another in preparation for the arrival of our baby girl as well as writing the pattern for others. 

This set is not only photography session worthy but also very practical for everyday use.  Below is a little more information behind the design:

The Wrapping "Wings"

The top "wings" of the wrap/cocoon wrap in a crisscross fashion across the front and are secured with large white buttons. The buttons' positions may be adjusted on the panels, so the wrap/cocoon fits tighter or looser per your baby's needs/preference.




The edges of the wrapping "wings" include a delicate, feminine mint green lacy edging. The front-side of the wrap/cocoon is adorned with a decorative color-coordinated flower with leaves and a pearl bead sewn into the center.

The Hat

The hat is made using the same yarn as the swaddling wrap/cocoon body. It also includes a coordinating decorative flower with leaves and pearl bead as well as mint green lacy edging identical to that of the wrap/cocoon. 

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The pattern for this set is also available in my Etsy shop.  Just click HERE for the pattern.

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UPDATE
February 3, 2016

Inspired by this week's spring-like weather, I made another swaddling wrap/cocoon with two of my favorite spring flowers in mind--daffodils and snowdrops.  This set can be found HERE my Etsy shop.





Friday, January 15, 2016

Crochet Baby Owl Cocoon with Owl Hat in 0-3 and 3-6 Month Sizes

I love owls, and I've fallen in love with baby cocoons lately, so I decided to design a new owl cocoon crochet pattern using my own originally designed version of a scale stitch.  I chose the lovely main shades of orchid and honeydew melon because they are a fun combination and added a splash of grey and white in the breast feathers, wings and hat for a bit of contrast.




This Baby Owl Cocoon with Owl Hat is of my own original design and features my own originally-designed version of a scale stitch, which gives the owl cocoon a fine, scaly textured appearance. I created this stitch when I designed my Mermaid Tail Afghan because I wanted to achieve something that differed from the bulkiness of the crocodile stitch.



More information about the design:

A - The wings are securely appliqued onto the front-sides and fold over the breast feathers in the center of the cocoon.

B - The breast feathers are worked in a continuous "striping" pattern around the front and back of the cocoon, which means when the cocoon is turned over, there is a stripe of orchid/melon/grey/white with solid orchid at the top and bottom. This makes the cocoon reversible, so both "winged" and "striped" sides could be utilized to change up the look.

This Baby Owl Cocoon is available here as a CROCHET PATTERN as well as the FINISHED PRODUCT in my Etsy shop.

The CROCHET PATTERN is intermediate level and includes instructions for the following:

  • A detailed photo tutorial on how to create my scale stitch design
  • Owl Cocoon using my scale stitch 
  • Owl Hat with ruffle-rimmed eyes, owl beak and tasseled ears appliques

Supplies Needed:
"J" Crochet Hook
7 oz. 4 Medium Weight Yarn in Orchid (I used Red Heart brand)
7 oz. 4 Medium Weight Yarn in Honeydew Melon (I used Red Heart brand)
3 oz. 4 Medium Weight Yarn in Soft White (I used Red Heart brand)
3 oz. 4 Medium Weight Yarn in Grey
1 oz. 4 Medium Weight Yarn in Black (I used Red Heart brand)
(If you desire using a 3 Light Weight baby yarn, be sure to use an “I”-sized crochet hook.)

Stitches Used:
Chain
Single Crochet
Slip Stitch
Half Double Crochet
Double Crochet
Single Crochet Two Together
Double Crochet Two Together
Scale Stitch