Patterns

Baby Comforter

No Comments

Hmm, someone seems to have stolen the sun this week!! What weather!! We had a lovely day on Monday and then the rest has really just been a wash out. And some seriously crazy storms too. Not a fan of storms. No idea why. Think it’s the unpredictableness of them. It’s hard not showing the kids your fear, as you really don’t want to pass it onto them. My Dad loves watching them. They are so bizarre aren’t they. Here’s hoping for a warmer weekend.

Well as promised here is the first of one of my patterns for little gifts that you can make. I mentioned in my previous blog that I was hoping to share some little patterns for gifts. I know many of you are still in lockdown or not able to get to the shops that are starting to open. So now is the time for a few little homemade gifts. And dare I say the word Christmas!!! Ekk, it will be here before we know it I am sure.

So my first pattern is a little baby comforter. I made one back in November for our local bakers little baby girl. I used some beautifully soft Sublime yarn.

So when I had my wonderful Ōilsyarns Club bundle from the lovely Abby at Orchidean Luxury Yarns drop on my doorstep, I knew a little comforter had to be made again for a friend of mine’s brand new baby. The colours in Abby’s yarn are so delicate and work perfectly for a baby comforter for a boy or a girl.

So here we go. I hope you enjoy this pattern.

Level – Medium. (Includes some different stitches)

Supplies –

For this little baby comforter I have used double knit yarn from my incredible Ōilsyarns Club from Abby at Orchidean Luxury Yarns.

You will also need a 3mm and 4mm crochet hook, toy stuffing, scissors, a blunt ended tapestry needle, a little bit of black/dark grey yarn for the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth. And a toy safety rattle, if you want to use one.

Here’s the link to Abby’s incredible website Orchidean Luxury Yarns, where you can find her amazing Ōilsyarns Club and also all her incredible other hand dyed yarn. Trust me, it is worth a peak!

https://luxuryyarns.co.uk/

Stitches –

Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Double Crochet Decrease (2dctog) – This is where you crochet two stitches together to decrease the amount of stitches in the round. So insert the hook through the front of the first stitch only (the front V) and then insert again through the front of the second stitch (the front V). Now yarn over your hook and pull it back through both stitches, so you will then have 2 loops on your hook. Yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops. And there is your 2dctog. (Basically 2 double crochet stitches crocheted together.)

Double Treble Crochet (dtr) – A double treble is quite a tall stitch. So yarn over hook twice, insert hook through the stitch/space and then yarn over hook again. Now pull the yarn through the stitch. There will now be 4 loops on the hook. Now place the yarn over the hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then yarn over the hook again and pull through the next two loops. Haha, now place the yarn over the hook again and pull through the last 2 loops. Phew! It’s a bit of a long process, but a lovely stitch with the height that it gives.

Decrease with Double Treble Crochet (2dtrtog) – Ok so basically you need to crochet 2 stitches together, but still keep the height of a dtr. So yarn over your hook and insert into stitch. Then yarn over hook and pull back through. This leaves you with 4 loops on your hook. Now yarn over your hook and pull through first 2 loops. This will leave you with 3 loops on your hook. Now yarn over hook and insert into the next stitch. Then yarn over your hook again and pull yarn back through. This leaves you with 5 loops on your hook. So yarn over your hook and pull through the first 2 loops. So yarn over your hook and pull through the first 2 loops. Then to finish, yarn over your hook and pull through the last 3 loops.

Picot Stitch – Start by working 1dc in the stitch and then ch3. Then insert your hook, front to back, into the top of dc stitch that you have just made. Yarn over your hook and pull back through to make a slip stitch, then chain 1. Finally miss a stitch. This completes your picot stitch.

Video Tutorials – I’ve popped a few links to some of my video tutorials at the bottom of the blog. Hope you find them useful.

PipsTips –

When sewing your ears on, it’s really important to make sure you sew them on securely. As this is a comforter for a baby, is it important that there are no loose ends and loose parts. I tend to go over the stitches a few times and also when fastening off the yarn, sew it through the head a few times before cutting it off.

Ok, so here we go…

Head – use a 3mm hook with your yarn. You are working in the round for the head.

1 – Make a magic ring, chain 1, then work 6dc stitches into the ring. Then pull the tail tight to create the first round. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30)

6 – *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (36)

7 – *5dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (42)

8 – *6dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (48)

9 – 14 (6 rounds) For each round, work 1dc in each stitch. (48)

15 – *6dc, then 2dctog*. Work ** 6 times. (See stitches explanation above if you are unsure of how to work a 2dctog stitch.) (42)

16 – *5dc, then 2dctog*. Work ** 6 times. (36)

17 – *4dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (30)

18 – *3dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (24)

19 – *2dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (18)

This is a good moment to stuff your head and pop in your baby safety rattle. (If you are using one.)

20 – *1dc, then 2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (12)

21 – *2dctog* Work ** 6 times. (6)

Blanket – This continues on from the head, so it is all one piece.

1 – You are now going to work across the round. (This will seal up the head and able you to start the blanket.) So work a chain and then work 1dc in the first and last stitch in the round together. Then 1dc in the next and second to last stitch and finally 1dc in the third and fourth last stitch. This will give you 3dc stitches and the head will be sealed up. (3)

Now for the little blanket part of the comforter. For this, use your 4mm crochet hook.

2 – Turn your work and chain 1, then work 2dc in each stitch.* Repeat ** 3 times (6)

3 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *1dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (9)

4 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *2dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (12)

5 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *3dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (15)

6 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *4dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (18)

7 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *5dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (21)

8 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *6dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (24)

9 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *7dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (27)

10 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *8dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (30)

11 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *9dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (33)

12 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *10dtr, then 2dtr into the next stitch.* Work ** 3 times. (36)

13 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *10dtr, then 2dtrtog.* Work ** 3 times. (33)

14 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *9dtr, then 2dtrtog.* Work ** 3 times. (30)

15 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *8dtr, then 2dtrtog.* Work ** 3 times. (27)

16 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *7dtr, then 2dtrtog.* Work ** 3 times. (24)

17 – Turn your comforter and chain 4. Then work *6dtr, then 2dtrtog.* Work ** 3 times. (21)

Now slip stitch into your last stitch and fasten off your yarn. You can now sew in ends using your blunt ended needle.

Blanket Border – Use your cream yarn for this.

Attach your new colour in the side for the comforter at the top by the head in the first stitch by chaining 1.

Then work 1dc in the same stitch.

Now you are going to work 2dc in the side of each of the dtr stitches.

Once you have turned the corner to the bottom then work 1dc in each stitch. (18)

And then work back up the other side of the blanket, working 2dc in the side of each of the dtr stitches, as before and finish with 1dc in the last stitch. (84 in total)

Now turn your blanket, chain 1 and work 1dc in each stitch again all the way around. (84)

At this stage you can keep the same yarn, as I have done or you could attach a new colour here. It’s up to you.

So we’re now going to work a Picot stitch. So first things first turn your work and Ch1. Right so for the picot stitch – work 1dc in first stitch and then ch3. Then insert your hook, front to back, into the top of dc stitch that you have just made. Yarn over your hook and pull back through to make a slip stitch, then chain 1. This completes your picot stitch. Below are a few photo on how to work a picot stitch.

Now miss a stitch. *So to work your picot stitches, then work 1dc, then ch3. Insert your hook, front to back, into the top of dc stitch. Yarn over your hook and pull back through to make a slip stitch, then ch1 and finally miss a stitch.* Repeat this ** around the whole of the comforter blanket.

Then slip stitch into the base of the last picot stitch you made and fasten off your yarn. Sew in your ends with your blunt ended needle. (42 picot stitches)

Ears – Make 2

1 – Start with your coloured yarn and make a magic ring, ch1, then work 6dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30) 

6 – Change yarn in the first stitch to your cream yarn and work 1dc in each stitch in the round. (30)

7 – Finally work 1dc in each stitch in the round. (30)

Now slip stitch into the next stitch and fasten off your yarn, leaving a tail so that you can sew your ears onto the head with your blunt ended needle. When you sew in your ears onto the head, make sure that you sew them on securely. I tend to go over the stitches quite a few times.

Now that you have your ears on, all there is to do it sew your face on, using your grey yarn. I tend to sew over a few stitches for both the eyes and nose. And then a single stitch for the eyebrows and mouth.

And there you have it, your finished baby comforter.

I really hope you have enjoyed this pattern. Please give me a shout if you have any problems or need any help with anything. I am always happy to help the best I can.

Don’t forget to share your pictures.

Stay safe guys.

Happy Hooking.

🌈Xx

(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)

New to crocheting or need a recap – here’s a few videos that may help you.

Continue Reading

Blogs, Easter Patterns, Patterns

Lockdown Life with Egglebert

No Comments

Well we are now at the end of week 2 of our lockdown in the UK and it seems our new life is starting to become the norm. We have our new little routine in the day, which we don’t always keep to, but it’s there if we need it. It seems to mainly consist of snack and meal times. My two are still eating me out of house and home! I can’t keep up with them! It’s like they have hollow legs! They definitely seem to have settled into lockdown life now. My daughter has taken the whole thing in her stride. She’s quite happy bimbling around the house and garden most days. Bless her.

We are very lucky that we have quite a long drive which is on a bit of hill. So push along tractor & car races, seem to be a daily occurrence now. The other day I even managed to do a little crocheting while I was standing there. Not easy when you are catching them at the end of the race, but it was manageable. (Thank goodness for pockets!) I did have a very odd look from my husband though, but he knows me well enough that if there’s a chance to crochet, then I will take it.

We’ve had a good sort out of all our playmobil and what’s the best way to do this, set up your very own playmobil island!! Hee hee! I’m not just a big kid, honest!! I even found a place for my cuppa! Whoops!! Can you spot it!

I’m trying to fit in a range of activities throughout the day, but the best ones that I love are the crafting or cooking afternoons. You can’t beat a spot of sticking and glueing. And the kids love painting too. The baking on the other hand, always has the added bonus of being able to demolish the end product with deep satisfaction. As my son, well both of them really, love baking, I reckon we could make something most days.

Now I seem to becoming a little bit obsessed with sourdough bread. I used to make it quite a bit when we we’re in our old house. It was my go to bread recipe. So for those of you who don’t know, sourdough is only made with 3 ingredients – strong bread flour, water & some sourdough starter. Now it’s the sourdough starter that makes it special. The starter, otherwise known as the mother, is basically a pot with fermented dough, in which you take some out each time you use it and then feed it again and let it sit out to bubble up. It’s an alive mixture, so instead of needing dried yeast, it gets its yeast from the surrounding air.

You know it’s happy, when it bubbles up the jar! These are the bubbles that I have been obsessing over for the last week or so. So when it properly starting bubbling, I was really chuffed. Especially when this happened- it went nuts!!

Whoops!!

Sourdough bread has many benefits. The main benefit for me is the lack of sugar. It only has naturally occurring sugar from the flour and obviously if you use brown flour then it’s a win win all round. Ok, so science bit coming up. The reason it is so special is that the dough is fermented from the naturally occurring yeast and lactobacilli that’s present. The lactobacilli is the reason why it lasts so much longer than a normal loaf. (Well, I say last longer, but to be honest, it goes in a matter of minutes in our house!!) The lactobacilli creates lactic acid, which helps it to keep for longer and also gives it that sour kind of flavour.

Now for some reason my little starter was not playing ball and I had 2 rather awful failed attempts. I think it was just having a bad few days. Now I nurtured this little starter for a good week or so and have finally cracked it!! Phew! I think my husband thinks I am going mad and yes I may have taken it upstairs with us when we went to bed. But in my defence it was warmer up there! It needed warmth!!

Funny, well anyways, here’s my first successful loaf. Nom nom!! There’s some great recipes on the Internet for sourdough, so if anyone is struggling to buy dried yeast or bread for that matter, then this is your answer. I’ve used the yachtchefs method of cooking mine. You can find him on Instagram. It’s well worth a go and very satisfying when it works!!

Anyways, on to the crocheting…

So this is my little Easter Egg called Egglebert. Even though he is the same size as an egg, don’t underestimate him as he has a wicked boing on him. He can boing around a room for ages. He literally doesn’t stop all day. He’s hard to catch, but once you have, he will snuggle into the palm of your hand and keep you safe. So if you would like to make this strong little egg, then here’s his pattern.

Egglebert is my first little pattern for the beautiful yarn from Abby over at Luxury Yarns. I will also be sharing a baby comforter pattern next week too. I subscribe to Abby’s Ōil Yarns Club every couple of months, which provides me with a magical parcel arriving on my door step filled with the delights of yarny heaven and essential oils every few months!!!

It’s definitely something I look forward to!! Here’s the link.

https://luxuryyarns.co.uk/oilyarns-club/

So for this little egg I have used a 3mm hook with about 30g of double knit yarn. You will also need some scissors, blunt ended needle, toy stuffing a small bit of black yarn for your face and finally some white yarn hit the hair. I think he’s hiding for someone to find him.

Stitches –

Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.

Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.

Double Crochet Decrease (2dctog) – This is where you crochet two stitches together to decrease the amount of stitches in the round. So insert the hook through the front of the first stitch only (the front V) and then insert again through the front of the second stitch (the front V). Now yarn over your hook and pull it back through both stitches, so you will then have 2 loops on your hook. Yarn over your hook again and pull through both loops. And there is your 2dctog. (Basically 2 double crochet stitches crocheted together.)

Ok so here we go…

Body –

1 – Make a magic ring, ch1, then work 6dc into the ring. Then pull the tail tight. (6)

2 – *2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (12)

3 – *1dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (18)

4 – *2dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (24)

5 – *3dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (30) 

6 – 8 (3 rounds) Work 1dc in each stitch. (30)

9 – *4dc, then 2dc into each stitch.* Work ** 6 times. (36)

10 – 11 (2 rounds) Work 1dc in each stitch. (36)

12 – *4dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 6 times. (30)

13 – *8dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (27)

14 – *7dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (24)

15 – *6dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (21)

16 – *5dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (18)

17 – Work 1dc in each stitch. (18)
This is a good time to stuff your body.

18 – *4dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (15)

19 – Work 1dc in each stitch. (15)

20 – *3dc, then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (12)

21 – *2dc then 2dctog.* Work ** 3 times. (9)

22 – Finally work 1dc in each stitch. (9) Then slip stitch into next stitch and sew up the hole and fasten off. Don’t forget to sew in your end.

Hair – use your white/cream yarn

Now for that lovely hair.

Attach your yarn with a slip stitch, by inserting your hook through one of the top stitches and pull through.

You can make a little slip knot here to pull through which will make it even more secure. Now make a chain stitch.

Then *chain 10.

Then join this chain of stitches with a slip stitch into another stitch.

Repeat ** this process till you have as much hair as you would like.

When you have enough hair just simply slip stitch into the nearest stitch and the cut your yarn and pull through the tail and fasten off. Sew in yarn ends. 

Face – Use your black yarn and a blunt ended tapestry needle.

For the eyes. Attach by knotting one end and threading it through a gap in between a stitch at the back of the body. This will hide the end. Now pull the needle through where you would like the eye to be.

I tend to sew over 1 or 2 stitches to make the eye and sew over this stitch about 3 times.

Then move across and complete the next eye in the same way, checking that both eyes are in the correct place on the body. You can add eyebrows in the same way as the eyes, but with one stitch. I love the simpleness of the eyebrows. They can make such a difference to a face!!

For the mouth. Pull the yarn through where you would like the mouth to start then thread back through where you want the mouth to finish. Now here’s the tricky part. You now need to anchor the mouth in the middle to make it a smile.

So simply push the yarn back up in the middle of the mouth by one stitch lower, go over the top of the mouth, then back through the same stitch.

This will give you the smile. Again, simple, but effective.

And there you have it, one little Egglebert.

As always, if there are any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask. Can’t wait to see all of your creations. Don’t forget to share them. You can use the hash tag #egglebert

Thanks ever so much for following me.

Now, as with all my patterns, they are all here for you to enjoy. And in exchange for these patterns, I would be very grateful if you could give, however little, a donation to our chosen charity Child Bereavement UK. This is an incredible Charity, that was been close to our hearts for a few years now. I cannot imagine how important the work they do is to the families that help. So if you can, however small, donate to the charity, in exchange for my pattern, then I would be so grateful. Thank you. Here’s the link to the Just Giving Page

Wishing you all health and happiness in these scary times.

Stay Safe Everyone!!!

Happy hooking.

🌈Xx

(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)

Continue Reading