Crochet Project Bags in 3 sizes: Free Crochet Pattern

Posted on by melissa

I started these crochet project bags on a whim. Looking over at my shelves of acrylic yarn, it occurred to me that I should use some of it up. We were thinking about the possibility of moving and it seemed easier to move a project bag than a skein of yarn. I doubt that’s the case, but it seemed logical when I grabbed the soft blue and green yarn and started on the medium sized one. My idea was to hang these from command hooks on the wall by the craft room door. I’m still in love with this idea, but now we’re packing and taking things down from the walls. Pictures of my cute crochet project bags hanging from their hooks will have to wait until the move is complete! Whether you hang them up or carry them around, you need these project bags!

Crochet scarf fastened with buttons into a cowl

Scarf versatility: The convertible crochet scarf and infinity scarf

Posted on by melissa

The convertible crochet scarf came to be because I couldn’t make up my mind whether to make a scarf or a cowl. This scarf is both! You can wear this scarf long or like an infinity scarf by fastening buttons to puff stitch flower buttonholes. Made with Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball yarn, the scarf has lacy, drapey cable-like tall crochet stitches. The chunky puff stitch flowers in Lion Brand Hometown USA offer a nice texture contrast to the rest of the scarf. Wrap it around twice and button the flowers and you have a cozy cowl.

Puffed Waves Crochet Scarf: Free crochet pattern

Posted on by melissa

This puffed waves crochet scarf ticks all my boxes for a perfect crochet project. I love projects you can complete sooner rather than later. Projects with easily memorizable pattern repeats make Netflix + crochet way easier. A stitch pattern that shows off swoon-worthy colors of my yarn? Yes, please! As I’ve mentioned before, crocheting scarves (and more scarves) is the best. Scarves allow you to try things out without a huge commitment AND you get a finished object out of the deal. Further, you don’t have to figure out increases and decreases like you do with a hat. When my sister gave me some Red Heart Unforgettable, I dove into showing off its gorgeous color changes with the puffed waves crochet scarf.

Crochet Edging Pattern Scarves: 5 tips for transforming edging patterns into beautiful scarves

Posted on by melissa

I’m excited to present the third installment in my series on off-label uses for crochet edging patterns! This post focuses on crochet edging pattern scarves. If you didn’t catch my posts on bracelets and headbands, you’ve got to check them out! It turns out edging patterns are perfect for making accessories. Today, I share my experience making three scarves from edging patterns and tips for making your own.

Crocheted Bracelets made from Edging Patterns

Posted on by melissa

In the mid 1980s I was in grade school. Talk about a fun fashion period for a kid! Neon colors, ruffles, big hair, and massive amounts of jewelry. Somewhere around 1984 I had loads of jelly bracelets and wore them halfway up my forearm. If I recall, most of them came out of machines you put a quarter into at the pizza parlor. While I don’t think I saved any of those high-fashion accessories, I didn’t lose the urge to wear a lot of bracelets. But here’s the thing about bracelets: they get in the way. The beaded bracelets I wear now either hurt my wrist while writing and typing or scratch up my watch crystal. But what if you could wear bracelets halfway to your elbow (or just one) and not have any watch scratching or uncomfortable wrist positioning? What if they were crocheted bracelets?

Crochet Edgings become Crochet Headbands

Posted on by melissa

I feel like I’ve gone on and on and on about how much I love crochet edging patterns. But really, what do I do with them? Sadly, I do not have handkerchiefs to edge, nor do I want to embellish our flannel sheets with crochet edgings. Nevertheless, I still peruse edging patterns as if I have a hope chest to fill with daintily edged tea towels. (I do not have a hope chest.) After I finished indulging in fantasies of living in a novel from the 1900s, I vowed to come up with a practical use for crochet edgings. After about the four thousandth time of flipping through pattern books recently, I started to see several potential headbands in the pages! Using edging patterns for headbands is easy and fun! Here, I give tips on how to choose crochet edgings for headbands and walk through how I made a couple of headbands from nice edging patterns.

Welcome baby!

Posted on by melissa

Trainee Hero has been on hiatus for the past year. Stephen and I happily return this month with new patterns, projects, recipes, and all things creative. I am very pleased to introduce our reason for taking a break and the newest member of our family:

Crochet hydrangea brooch

Posted on by melissa

This might be one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. I had an idea in my head and the finished product actually came out to be almost exactly what I had envisioned. Made to resemble hydrangea flowers, I fashioned this thread crochet brooch from size 30 cotton crochet thread and colored the flowers with Sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol. Using wire and beads, I assembled the flowers onto a crocheted hydrangea leaf and actually had it ready in time for Mother’s Day.

Waves on Rocks Scarf: Free crochet pattern

Posted on by melissa

It might sound silly, but some of what drives my choice of stitches in scarf patterns is what I will name the pattern. Sometimes the stitches drive the name. The honey buzzzz scarf contained honeycomb trellis and a honeycomb stitch. Also, I made the sample in yellow. Sometimes the name comes from a feeling I get about the piece. The winter picnic hat has a rather random name, but the fun texture of the warm hat just kept making me think I’d like to wear it to eat lunch outside in the cold. With this project, I knew I wanted to use a wave-like pattern stitch and then the name popped into my head. I’d been playing around with rows of puff stitches in a couple of other projects, so I plopped them between sections of waves in this pattern. Boom: The Waves on Rocks Scarf.

Roasted Carrot, Squash, and Potato Soup

Posted on by Stephen

Moments of inspiration. They happen at really odd times. Maybe you’re struck with an idea for a salad while you’re checking the mail. While stuck in traffic, perhaps you think of the perfect addition to something you’ve made for years. Those moments are fun. Those moments are exciting. You want to go straight to the grocery store and grab what you need. This roasted carrot, squash, and potato soup is not the result of one of those moments.