I have been waiting to write this post for a while now. The reason it took so long to write is because I wanted to test a theory.
My mother in-law was coming to visit from over seas and offered to get us some pillow covers with her. This made me feel like I needed to step up and make some custom pillows for the house. For me, designing and making pillows was logically the next step. I had tried to head towards that step once before and I failed miserably. I had bought these 18x18 inch pillows from amazon yet I designed and crocheted a pillow cover that was about 7x7 inches. Now that i had visitors coming, It was finally time I give it another try.
I got to work and decided I wanted to make 2 pillows same colours but different designs. The first one I started with was the musical note pillow. I made a 31x31 square design and crocheted it using a 3.5 mm hook. After finishing the pillow I was so happy and proud of how it turned out. My mom, who taught me how to crochet, made an interesting point. She mentioned that I should have made a smaller cover because the pillow will lose some of its fluffiness with time, which would make the cover seem too big. That point was what delayed me from posting.
I ended up adjusting the design to 30x30 squares. As for the yarn, I recommend using medium worsted yarn such as red heart or Caron One Pound. The Pattern has 2 sides that are connected together using SC (Single Crochet).
Once the 2 sides are finished you need to SC crochet 3 sides together. Put the pillow inside then close it off by SC crocheting the 4th side.
At each corner I did 3SC to give it that rounded look.
At the sides I made sure the Purple lines where connected with a purple SC to give it a continuous look.
I love and use Bernat Blanket yarn a lot. I was looking online and some fellow crocheters were talking about reusable water balloons. So why not try it!
I made the balloons and as you can see most of them are multi-coloured because I wanted to use up all the left overs I had from projects before.
Now! The balloons are done and ready to be tested! I filled a bucket of water and dumped the balloons in. They are very water absorbent which is perfect for this cause.
In the middle of the fight all we can hear was my 2 year old yelling: "Not me, not me". All in all, we had a great time and I ended up making 10 more balloons. In the 2 weeks that I had these balloons, we used them 3 times. They were great fun during the kids birthday party and in the park. After every fight I would just add them to the laundry and they were ready to be used again.
Note: If thrown hard enough, they do hurt just as much as regular balloons do. So, be gentle when you throw them.
Bernat Blanket Yarn
8.0 mm crochet hook
Scissors
Yarn needle
St: stitch
Sl st: slip stitch
Ch: chain
SC: single crochet
DC: double crochet
DC2TOG: double crochet two together
Ch st at the beginning of rounds does not count as a stitch
ch 3
Round 1: 8 DC in 3rd ch from your hook, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (8 Stitches)
Round 2: Ch 2, 2 DC in the same stitch as ch2 and in each st around, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (16 Stitches)
Round 3: Ch 2, DC in the same stitch as ch2 and in each st around, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (16 Stitches)
Round 4: Ch 2, DC2Tog around, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (8 Stitches)
Round 5: Ch 2, DC2Tog around, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (4 Stitches)
Round 6: Ch 1, 2 SC in each st around, sl st to the top of the chain 2. (8 Stitches)
Cut the yarn and leave about 10 cm to wrap around the balloon. Wrap it just under the SC row. This would make it look like a real balloon. I wrap it a couple of times then pull the ends into the wrap couple of times before I push the left over yarn inside the balloon.
Happy Crocheting 🧶
]]>It is a really cool funky design for a laptop sleeve. I used Bernat Blanket yarn because it is chunky and would form a thick soft cushion to protect my laptop for all these bangs. Also, because I have a lot of Bernat Blanket yarn left over from my last blanket.
I decided to use the Corner to Corner (C2C) technique as it is fast and easy to create that funky design I wanted in.
Corner to corner (C2C) is a crochet technique in which you crochet diagonally from one corner to the other. You can make square or rectangular blankets. Each pixel (little square) is represented by Chain 3 and 3 Double Crochets (DC). Need help with C2C, check out my C2C tips and tricks
The size of each pixel depends on the thickness of yarn you use. I had to test a little to find out how big this design should be to fit my 13 inch laptop perfectly.
As you can see from the design above, I crocheted one long rectangle. I then folded that rectangle to create the sleeve. Since I wanted to make sure the whole laptop is protected from the sides, the flap had to be as small as possible. I left 3 pixels for the flap and single crocheted the sides together.
Also, this project would not be complete without some cute buttons. So, I went into my stash and found my adorable owl buttons. I sewed them on the second pixel of the front side.
On my first day using the sleeve I realized there was no space for my laptop charger and earphones. That was very important for me since my laptop battery is not what it used to be.
The solution was easy though. I decided to solve this with a little pocket on the front of the sleeve.
It was just a small 4x4 square that had a similar design to the sleeve. Finally, I sewed it on the bottom right corner of the sleeve.
Let me know what you think. Do you think your laptop or the laptop of someone you know needs this like mine did?
For me each pixel was about 2.5 cm (0.98 Inches). The sleeve turned out to have a length of 70.104 cm (27.6 Inches) and width of 22.606 cm (8.9 Inches). The Charger Pocket is 10 x 10 cm (3.9 x 3.9 inches).
So here is the recipe:
I would love to see the final product. Send me pictures to the following email
Happy Crocheting
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C2C Blankets
Corner to corner (C2C) is a crochet technique in which you crochet diagonally from one corner to the other. You can make square or rectangular blankets. Each pixel (little square) is represented by Chain 3 and 3 Double Crochets (DC).
On first sight, C2C blankets might seem hard to make. This is a common misconception resulting from the very complex designs that can be produced with this technique. In reality, it is a lot easier than you might think. The only pre-requisite is to learn how to do a DC stitch and you'll be able to crochet any design you like. Another common misconception is how much time it takes to make one of these blankets. It does not take as long as you might expect. Even though the result might make you think that it takes months to complete, the fact is you can finish one of these in about 50-60 hours. As a mother of two little boys, I like to take my time and only work a couple of hours a day after my kids go to sleep.
No matter what picture you choose the resulting blanket is something you are going to be proud of using or gifting. Every blanket you make will be unique and represents you and your passions.
For more information about the C2C techniques check out Make and Do Crew. They have done an amazing job explaining the technique in detail showing how to increase, decrease, and how to read a chart.
My first blanket
My first C2C blanket was quite an experience. I wanted to make my 3 year old a blanket. I was thinking of how cold his room is in the winter. It is located above the garage and that automatically makes it the coldest room in the house. So, why not make it with Bernat Blanket yarn. It's soft and would definitely have the warm factor I was looking for. I underestimated how different yarn can affect the size of a blanket. I ended up with a blanket 200cmx250cm (approximately 79"x98"). The shorter side is longer than me and unless you are playing for the NBA tall, it would fully cover you too. It has a great childish design but fits a super king size bed with extras. It ended up being very heavy and very warm. Even though I do not regret making it, I still have to admit it is huge.
Tips and Tricks:
Picture of pins on balls of yarn
For a video showing the basic C2C techniques like: starting, increasing, decreasing, colour changing, and making a rectangle vs a square shaped blanket, check out this: http://bit.ly/2SYup5i
Please let me know about your first experience with C2C Blankets and if you have any tips and tricks you would like to share.