A co-worker of mine wanted a scarf that looked like the cowl featured in the Outlander, the TV series, pictured here.
The pattern which I saw at the lionbrand website is a knitted pattern. I know how to knit but I do not think I have needles big enough to make that big of a stitch so I made her a crocheted version.
She requested having it as a scarf. I suggested for her scarf to have buttons so when she wants to wear it as a cowl she can
Watching the nutcracker inspired me to make a pancake tutu, no not a very tasty tutu but one of those tutus that stick out instead of looking like a pouf-y skirt.
When I looked online I saw several tutorials that required tutu wire, or using a wire underneath the skirt. Looking around made me realize that tutu wires were a little bit heavy and might bring the skirt down instead of making it stick out. Maybe I just need to find a thinner wire that will hold it’s shape and not make the tutu heavier. Or another option might be to add more tulle to give it more volume. 
I used the help of my trusty model to wear the sample I made for my niece just to test out my theory on how to make this pancake tutu, it fit her very nice especially with the lace around it.
I stumbled a bit by just measuring it at 25″ because I thought that would be enough to make it stretchy enough so I can put an elastic in the band and cinch it down to 21″ and still have it tight and stretchy enough.
One thing I found out was that it was just big enough to fit around her waist but the elastic did not really do anything but hold the skirt and band together.
She enjoyed wearing it for her birthday and it held up as I thought it would but I think I will add more tulle so it would have more pouf. As for the elastic band I decided to just make it like I would a regular elastic skirt.
So I measured and doubled her waist to 50, stitched the tulle onto it and inserted an elastic that measures 23. Hopefully this time it will work.
I will post more pictures as soon as I am done.
Kids always like dressing up as super heroes. I remember using our sheets and blankets as capes when we were kids, we would go around the bedroom pretending to look for the bad guys and fight them. So making capes was near and dear to my heart and I started making them for my nieces and nephews. I included masks to make it look extra special.
J was having his birthday on the last day of March and he had PJ Masks as his theme. I thought since he was going to dress up as a superhero what better way to let his friends join in by making them capes and masks as well. Since we Mike and I planned to go online and sell our capes I already had the material and the colors that they needed. It was perfect, I didn’t need to go to downtown to buy the fabric.
19 capes and masks and I am proud to announce that I was able to finish it in time to wrap it up and even add a business card in the package. This was a fun project and I found ways to make things easier so the next time I have a project I will have the process work a little faster.
He had a costume but I guess it was too hot for him to wear so he just wore the cape I made him and that made me happy because then I got to see how it fit him and how happy he was wearing it.
So this will be our very first craft fair and I’m a little bit anxious and excited at the same time.
We have one more weekend before the event and I think we are mostly stocked up on the scarves we are going to sell. I have my mom making half of the inventory and it was a little stressful at first because we do not see each other that often and I’m little miss perfectionist when it comes to how I want things to be. Quality control comes to mind when I think about it in a business perspective.
I bought the yarn online and had them delivered so I could eliminate going to the store and bringing them to her. I gave her the pattern and as all crocheters can tell you each pattern can look different for each crocheter. Some people can crochet tight and others can crochet loosely.
We finally sorted that out and everything is a go. We have transformed most of the yarn that we brought into scarves. We still have a few sitting around waiting to be finished but that may just have to be for the website if it doesn’t make it to the fair.
It helps when you have a creative family.
My brother John suggested that we make a small postcard that shows how you can wear the scarves. I will yet have to get a model for that (any volunteers?), so instead I made a a postcard showing the different looks I made with my own model, I call her Tyra.
Mary his wife suggested we make baby or kid versions of the scarves too, so they can be mom and me scarves, so now we are offering that too. I just hope I can take pictures in time for the Christmas Boutique.
I set up a mock display today and had John and my mom over for brainstorming. I think we came to a unanimous decision on what the display should look like, which was nice because sometimes it’s hard to come up with something when you feel the pressure of doing this for the first time.
If you have time, join us at the Christmas Boutique at Immaculate Conception school in Monrovia happening this Saturday 11/04/2017 from 11am to 7pm.
I got hooked on crochet at a very young age.
I saw my mom making this very beautiful table cover when I was a kid, she would do it during nap time, when I was pretending to sleep and well into the night.
She had these 1970’s crochet magazines that had images of table covers, coasters, dresses and other colorful things that I would always look at and I was always amazed how these beautiful things came out from this spool of yarn, this small thing we used to tease the cat with.
I remember we had these very beautiful bed covers (or were they blankets, I forgot) and table covers that she would always use when there were special occasions.
I have a vague memory of her teaching me how to make a circle with this white yarn and this very thin crochet hook, I think it was a zero and it always came out looking like it got strangled and was always grey because my hands were probably not clean and I was sweating bullets just to get it right.
It became a very useful skill in high school when I was able to teach a few friends how to crochet these small cute bells they made as Christmas ornaments for the Home Economics club.
Thanks to my mom I never run out of ideas when it comes to Christmas gifts and baby shower gifts.
