Sorry Ladies, My Daddy is Taken SEI Iron-On Art

SEI Crafts has a huge selection of scrapbooking products, tie-dye, and iron-on art. 

With Father's Day fast approaching I thought the sentiment "sorry ladies, my DADDY is TAKEN!" would be perfect for a onesie.  I also made a matching infant headband with crocheted flowers.  To learn how to make the flowers visit my tutorial: 6 Petal Crochet Flower Tutorial.

This style iron-on is different from any that I have ever made.  Previous ones, I have used you iron and then slowly peeled away the label.  You are left with a film on the entire design. 

This iron-on the letters are perforated and you slowly peel and remove the letters from the label.  It takes a little to pull them from the label and the entire time I was worried that not all the letters would come off.  However, each letter along with the dots for the "i's" and the comma did peel off.  I would absolutely use this type of iron-on art, again.  The letters are raised, have texture, and look professionally done.

You can find this iron-on on Amazon.com (click the picture below for more details).

There are so many different possibilities with s.e.i iron-ons!

6 Petal Crochet Flower Tutorial

Crochet a 6 petal flower to place onto barrettes, headbands, and clothing.  I made several six petal flowers and added them to an infant crocheted headband.  This easy to follow tutorial will have you crocheting flowers all day!  They are so much fun to make!

The flowers are very simple to crochet, you can experiment with different yarn types and crochet hooks.  To make these flowers I used vibrant colored yarns and a size "f" hook.

To crochet the flowers make a 4 chain and join it together in the first stitch with a single stitch to make a ring.

Single chain six stitches in the ring.

To make the first petal single stitch in the first stitch, chain three, double crochet, chain three, and single stitch again in that same stitch. Your first petal is complete.

Repeat to make a total of six petals.   Then fasten off.

 

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Easy to Crochet Infant Booties

This weekend, I was on the hunt for a crochet pattern to make infant booties.  I have several books with infant clothing patterns but each time I have tried to make booties, I have failed.  I decided that I was best try a really easy pattern and work my way up.

I found a pattern that looked easy at AllCrafts.

The pattern is geared for newborn to 3 months.  I increased the overall stitching and made the booties larger for a 6 month old.

I brought the yarn and a copy of the pattern to my son's baseball game. I was able to finish the booties in the 2hrs it took for the game.  After making these booties I feel like I have the confidence now to try some of the more complex baby bootie patterns.


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Vanna's Choice Easy Crochet Critters Review with Project

Over the last several months, I have been learning how to read crochet patterns.   I learned how to make infant hats, little sweaters, and now little critters!

Vanna's Choice Easy Crochet Critters has cute little yarn designs that are wonderful to keep or to share! 10 designs to crochet using medium weight yarn: elephant, hippo, monkey, giraffe, alligator, lion, seal, walrus, penguin, and snowy owl. Sizes range from 4" to 8" tall.

I decided to try my hand making the yarn monkey.  The pattern is pretty simple and can be made in an afternoon.

If you are giving these little yarn critters to small children you will need 2 plastic safety eyes 6mm diameter.  I didn't have any safety eyes and I just used beads so - I won't be able to give it to a small child.

Also, stitch markers are really important.  These patterns are easy but really need to be marked along the way.

These patterns are great for last minute baby gifts or to make entire zoo for your baby's room!

Here are some supplies you will need:

Infant Beanie & Wide-Brimmed Crochet Hats

During the fall and winter I enjoy making simple crochet throw blankets.  The blankets are very simple to make and keep me occupied (and warm), while my husband is watching hours of football, on Sundays.  However, I have decided to expand my knowledge of crocheting and try to figure out crochet patterns - with all their crazy two and three letter notations.

Crochet patterns in the past, have always looked too scary to me, to even attempt.  I thought I would start with a simple crochet baby beanie hat as my first project.  I used About.com and their pattern for my first project.   I really enjoyed the pattern because the author provided a key with links so that I could figure out each stitch style. 

I made the beanie hat four times before I got it right!  The first two hats were absolutely awful and the other two there was just minor imperfections but I had put so much effort into this pattern, I wanted it to be right.   Luckily, the project was very easy to take apart and I just kept reusing the same yarn.   The final hat took me less than hour to make and it was so easy and "simple" once I got the hang of reading the pattern.

Once, I figured out the pattern I decided to just make a few changes.  I so surprised that just a few little tweaks and the hat could look entirely different.  For my original beanie hat I used Light #3 Worsted Yarn for a wide-brimmed hat I used both Medium and Light worsted yarn.  I changed the color pattern, medium worsted yarn at the top, light worsted yarn at the bottom, finished with a little yellow ribbon.  

If you are a beginner crocheter and are nervous about following a pattern, I highly recommend starting with something easy like a beanie hat.  Also, Crochet About.com was a wonderful resource for crochet instructions and a free pattern!


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