Inline Crochet Hooks

For the longest time I was unaware of the differences in crochet hooks, the only thing I really cared about was whether it was medal/aluminum or plastic... And even then I'm not sure I payed that much attention. But when I started making the fleece blankets with crochet edge I noticed that the inline hooks  were easier to push through the slits in the fleece. Of course at the time I did not know the different names. Since doing the fleece blankets, I've found that the inline hooks make working with "fluffy"/"fuzzy" (such as Red Heart Baby Clouds) yarn a lot easier. The inline hooks also eliminates part of the "twist" required to keep the yarn on the hook when you pull it through other loops.

      Inline     Out of line

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, it is hard to get clear images of shiny objects.

Cozy (Pink/Blue) Baby Layette

     If you have followed my blog for some time you may think this looks familiar and it should because I've posted the hat and booties before (here), since that post I have added to the set a blanket and a matching gift bag that I absolutely love!

     For the bag I use a hole punch to make the holes, and then I sc in each one all the way around, then I sl st to join the end.

      The blanket is very similar to the other fleece blankets I've made in the past (here) except I found I could "cheat" (because of the fluffy yarn) by only doing a single round and not doing a ch in between each sc.

     I think using  Red Heart Baby Clouds definitely ties the whole set together and allows me to make a matching baby girl set.

     Because I used the Provo Craft Knifty Knitter blue round loom for the newborn hat it was easy to adjust the size (by switching to the green loom) of it when I had the opportunity to make a matching "big sister" hat! :)

    The gift tag below was done by the author of Spare Thyme Ink who does many beautiful things in the paper crafting world!

More Crocheted Fleece Baby Blankets

This blanket has a simple dc edge but as you may notice, there's crocheting down the middle.
Unfortunately when I purchased this fleece the piece wasn't wide enough for a baby blanket. So when I went to cut the holes I decided to cut the long piece in half and put holes in all sides of both pieces.  I placed the wrong sides together, sc in the piece closest to me (piece a), instead of putting a ch between each sc I sc in the piece farthest from me (piece b). I sc in the next space on piece (a) and then sc in the next space on piece (b) all the way down the seam. Once I reached the end of the seam I did the basic base stitch (see Fleece Baby Blankets) and the dc all the way around as normal.

This jungle fleece blanket is probably one of my top 3 favorite crochet blankets, along with the next blanket shown here. I think this is a perfect example of how your border can make or break your project and not so much style or stitch, but the choice of yarn. I completely fell in love with this jungle print and put off crocheting the edge because I didn't think I had any yarn that would finish it just right. One day when I was going through my yarn stash (see My "Craft Room" Storage) I found this...

Instantly I thought of my jungle fleece, this will be perfect, this will "make" the blanket, this reminds me of the zebra in the print...I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!!!! So I just put a very simple double crochet around the edge after doing the base stitch.

This has the simplest edge you could imagine...okay maybe not, but what's so great about this edging is that you only have to go around once, that's right it's just the base stitch! I just used Red Heart Baby Clouds for this one so it matches my Baby Hat and Booties that I've made. (Note: I've also made a blue version of this)

I especially like the multi-colored borders on this one, which is as follows:
Rnd 1
Using purple, Base Stitch all the way around
Rnd 2
Sc all the way around, sl st in the 1st st
Rnd 3
Using pink, *ch 2, (dc, sc) in the next st, sl st, repeat from * all the way around

I hope this is helpful and that you enjoy them as much as I do. Again I would love to see your creations

Cute Baby Hat and Booties

These make the cutest little shower gifts. It's a simple, quick working and a very forgiving project, Perfect for beginners.

I used Red Heart Baby Clouds yarn for both the hat and booties. The hat was done on the blue knifty knitter loom (could also be done on a bulky weight, 24 peg knitting loom. Cast on 24, knit 3in (approx. 12rnds), reach inside the loom and place each loop from the first rnd over the corresponding peg, knit 6.5 to 7in more (approx. 26-28rnds), finish off with a draw string (to make a draw string simply cut the yarn leaving a 18in tail, thread a yarn needle using that tail. Go through each loop on each peg going from the bottom up. Once you have done so take each loop of each peg, then pull thread tight) secure with a knot . Feel free to add a pom-pom. Note this is just the instructions that came with the knitting loom, not my own pattern.

 The baby booty pattern was also not my own, but here's where I found it http://bevq.blogspot.com/2010/01/bevs-baby-clouds-booties.html

Together they look adorable in pink or in blue.  The booties fit perfectly into the hat for storage or shipping purposes.

Enjoy!