Happy Pi Day!
Mmmmm…cherry pie with a lattice-top crust! It’s a wonderful, no-calorie treat to make for March 14, 2016, 3.14 16, Pi Day! The pattern for “Homemade Pie” is in Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Critters, Folks, Food & More, pages 48-50.
Notice how nicely the crust goes around the circumference It’s a very tidy pi-d. Ba hahaha. I always laugh at my own jokes, just in case no other geometry geeks with a good sense of humor are around. Around!? Ba hahahahaaaa!
Okay, I’m done with jokes now. Here are some hints to help you crochet “Homemade Pie.”
The pie filling is crocheted in round, using the yarn flavor of your choice. In contrast, the lattice top is worked back and forth. The woven-looking texture is created by alternating Back Post and Front Post double crochet sts (BPdc and FPdc).
Here’s my system for remembering how to make back/front post crochet stitches:
To start a BACK Post dc: the hook starts at the BACK of your work (as you are looking at it right now) and comes around the post of the stitch below, and you yarn over in BACK.
By the same token, for a FRONT Post dc, the hook starts in FRONT, goes around the post of the stitch below, and you yarn over in FRONT.
The photo above shows the finished lattice top. Count around the edge to find 14 spaces, which you’ll work into to join the top to the filling.
Place the finished lattice top on top of the finished pie filling, both with right sides up. The pattern says to insert the hook in the first space, and also into a stitch of the filling, draw up a loop, finish a sc, and ch 2. Work two more stitches into the same space, but place each into the next stitch of the filling.
In this photo, the first space of the lattice is joined to the filling, and you can see how the stitches are evenly spaced, because they’re placed into three successive stitches of the filling. Leave a long end for sewing when you finish the crust.
To sew the finished pie tin to the crust, skim your needle under the “v” shape created by the single crochet sts on the wrong side of the crust, and sew into the next st of the pie tin, moving one stitch over with each stitch.
When you’re finished sewing and stuffing the pie, thread the long end of the pie crust into a tapestry needle. As described in the instructions, bring the needle out at the top middle of the pie, then take the needle through the pie and out the bottom. As discretely as you can, catch the bottom of the pie with a stitch, as you bring the needle back up to the top (as in the photo above), tack, and weave in the end. This preserves the flat shape.
My piecrust looked a little underdone, so I brushed it with a little brown eyebrow shaping powder. I thought I still had some golden brown eye shadow, but no.
Teeny Tiny Bones Free Crochet Pattern
Sc Teeny Tiny Bone:
Ch 6, (sc 2, sl st) in 2nd ch from hook,
Ch 2, (sc 2, sl st) in 2nd ch from hook, working back along original ch, sl st in next 4 ch-sts,
Ch 2, (sc 2, sl st) in 2nd ch from hook,
Ch 2, (sc 2, sl st) in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in very first ch of bone.
Here it is without all the arrows and stuff.
Hdc Teeny Tiny Bone:
Ch 7, (hdc, ch 2, sl st) in 3rd ch from hook,
Ch 3, (hdc, ch 2, sl st) in 3rd ch from hook, working back along original ch, sl st in next 4 ch-sts,
Ch 3, (hdc, ch 2, sl st) in 3rd ch from hook,
Ch 3, (hdc, ch 2, sl st) in 3rd ch from hook, sl st in very first ch of bone.
Are you making a bone for your “Wiener Dog” from Cute Crochet World? Use the same weight of yarn as you used for crocheting the dog, and the bones will be the right size.
Hints for Making the Wiener Dog from Cute Crochet World
Complete written instructions for the Wiener Dog are on pages 40-41 of Cute Crochet World. These photos and hints are meant to supplement the crochet instructions in the book, and will help you have a successful dachsie crochet experience.
Strange as it may seem at first glance, the Wiener Dog is crocheted in three rounds. The first round makes the shoulder and chest of the dog, while the second begins the head and body. The second round also makes the front leg. The nose, tail, and back leg are finished in Round 3.
Here, Rnd 1 is finished and the head and ear are started. The notes and arrows in the photos should help you with stitch placement as you follow the instructions in the book.
The body starts as a long chain. Work back along the chain and then attach to Rnd 1.
This is the end of Rnd 2, with the front leg complete. The arrows show where to begin Rnd 3.
The nose starts as a chain. Work back along the chain and attach to Rnd 2, as shown.
To start “Ear and back of neck” in the pattern: fold or move the ear out of the way to the back, sc in next stitch of head, which is beyond the ear.
Keeping your hook and yarn out of the way, fold the ear down to the right side. Insert the hook in the marked stitch, insert the hook into the next st of the head, yo and draw through all loops on hook.
The pattern notes “(sc2tog made),” but this is wrong! Please delete that phrase. To make myself feel better about this, I checked my original manuscript—it wasn’t there! Yay! But I obviously missed it when proofreading. Aw man!
Now we’re at “Back and tail.” The dots show where to place the stitches along the back. They are worked into the free loops of the foundation chain. Be sure you start in the correct loop (it will have a htr in it already from Rnd 2 (htr instructions here LINK).
“Back and tail” are done. The reason the tail curves, is because you work 2 sl sts into one of the chains.
This doggy’s hind leg is shaped in one row. You chain, make a picot, decrease to make the foot. The photo shows the next decrease, which forms the ankle.
When the hind leg is finished, you skip one st of the body and sl st in the next st. The photo should help clear any confusion about which stitch is which.
The best way to end a motif like this is with a needle-join. When the chest is finished, cut the yarn and pull the hook straight up from the final stitch. The end of the yarn will come out at the top of the last st.
Thread the yarn end into a needle, take the needle around the stitch at the base of the front leg and back down into the final stitch of Rnd 3. At the back, catch another loop, like this:
Adjust the new loop to look its best, weave in the end, block, and you’re done!
Need a bone for your new Wiener Dog? Here are two free patterns!
Hints for Making the Mamas and Papas of Cute Crochet World, Part 2 of 3
Start Mama’s legs and Papa’s trousers by drawing up a loop in the lower edge of the dress or shirt. The instructions say “join with a sl st,” which to my mind (at the time I wrote the instructions) meant the same thing. “Draw up a loop” is a better way to say what I meant.
Chain as instructed, and then work back along the chain to create the leg.
Mama’s feet are shaped by increasing or decreasing at the heel, and her slender ankles are sc, while her shapely calves are hdc.
The shoe on this foot begins at the toe. The shoe on the other foot begins at the heel. You’ll see as you follow the directions, why this is.
Mama’s legs are worked separately.
To start Papa’s trousers, draw up a loop in the appropriate stitch at the lower edge of Papa’s shirt. Chain and then work back along the chain to make the first trouser leg. Row 2 is only two sc, which serve to join the trouser legs. From the last sc, chain out again (photo shows how he looks at this point), work back along the chain to create the second trouser leg, and join to the shirt.
Use one of the yarn ends to sew the last dc of the legs to the edge of the shirt. I wove my needle back and forth to catch loops from the legs and the shirt, as in the photo above. I pulled the yarn end through and wove it in a different direction to make sure it wouldn’t come loose.
Papa’s shoes are worked into the turning ch at the end of the trouser legs. Take a moment to find the four ch-sts of each turning ch before you start. The photo shows how first shoe begins with drawing up a loop in the first ch of the ch4-loop. The blue dots indicate the second, third, and fourth ch-sts.
The second shoe begins with hdc in the second ch of the ch4-loop. To begin with hdc, place a slip knot on your hook, yo, hold these loops in place with your fingers, draw up a loop in the second ch, yo, and complete the st as you would any hdc.
The blue dots show each of the four ch-sts. The black stitch is in the second ch.
Mama and Papa are ready for arms. There’s lots of choice with arms: waving, expansive, relaxed. What will I choose? Maybe a little of each, so you can see how to make them in the next post.
Hints for Making “Mamas and Papas,” Part 3 of 3, Arms and Hands
The Mamas and Papas’ arms and hands are pretty simple to crochet, once you decide exactly what you want. The sidebar “Arms” on page 141 of Cute Crochet World gives some general hints. Specific instructions for Mama’s arms begin on page 139, and Papa’s arms are on page 141.
Where you place the arm on each sleeve changes the gesture of the person. An arm high on the sleeve is waving, while an arm low on the sleeve is at rest at the person’s side.
The other decision to make is whether the arm is “hand first” or “thumb first.” When you make any arm, you make a chain. As you work back along the chain to finish the arm, “hand first” means you will crochet the hand first; and “thumb first” means the thumb will be completed first. Let’s look at a few examples.
I crocheted Lio’s left arm at the side of the sleeve, so he looks like he’s welcoming someone or about to pat someone on the back. This arm is “hand first,” because after making the initial chain, the hand is the first thing you make, and then the thumb. This arm is slightly bent, because of one decrease at the elbow—this option is given in the instructions.
Lio’s right arm hangs straight and relaxed at his side, crocheted onto the bottom of the sleeve. This arm is also “hand first.”
Irene’s left arm, crocheted into the side of her sleeve, is waving and “hand first.” Her right arm is by her side, “thumb first,” and bent.
Nils’s left arm hangs straight by his side, “hand first.” His right arm is waving, attached to the top of his sleeve, “thumb first.”
Can you figure out which comes first–the hand or the thumb—for Rog and Pam? (Answer below the photos.)
ANSWER: Rog and Pam’s left arms: “hand first;” and their right arms: “thumb first.”
You can plan this all before you start, or you can test different arms to get a better idea of how they will look. Just crochet a couple of thumb-first and hand-first arms, bent and straight. Instead of drawing up a loop in the sleeve, just begin with a slip knot on your hook.
Now you can test different arm positions before you commit. The arms are made with so few stitches, it won’t take long to take this option.
For the new Mama and Papa, I wanted to arrange their arms so her right hand could hold his left hand. She would wave with her left arm, and his right arm would be relaxed at his side.
Mama’s left arm is bent with “hand first” and her right arm is “thumb first.” Papa’s left arm is “thumb first” and his right is “hand first.” And here they are!
* * * * * *
One more thing. Rog and Pam have travelled with me several places for photography. They weren’t strong enough to stand on important tourist landmarks, so I stabilized them with felt. You may consider doing this, if you’re thinking of making Mamas and Papas for toys.
Hints for Making the Mamas and Papas of Cute Crochet World, Part 1 of 3
I’m so glad reader and crocheter Janet S. asked for a little help with the Mamas and Papas of Cute Crochet World. She is using them to decorate crocheted bags.
Complete written instructions for the Mamas and Papas are on pages 137-141. The hair, clothing, arms, and legs are joined as you work. I like to weave in ends as I go.
Begin with the head. It is worked in the round, but it is oval because the stitches on the sides are shorter than the stitches at the top of the head and the chin. The tallest stitch is htr; find directions for htr here.
After you join the first round for the head, the neck is simply the first few stitches of a second round.
Mamas and Papas have lots of hairstyles to choose from, with instructions for each on page 140. I’m giving this Mama a Cleopatra hairdo, which starts in the second stitch from the neck. You can see how I skipped the first stitch, and I’ve joined the hair color with a tr.
To join with a tr (instead of a sl st and ch 4), place a slip knot on the hook. Holding the knot in place with the fingers on your hook-holding hand, yo twice, insert the hook, and pull up a loop. Now you have 4 loops on the hook While holding them in place, finish the stitch just like any tr.
Once you get the hang of beginning a row or round with a stitch (instead of sl st and chain), I think you’ll like it a lot. It looks neater than the sl st and chain at the beginning.
Mama has the Cleopatra hair and Papa has a crew cut.
Turn Mama to the wrong side to start the dress. Work the first row into the three stitches of the neck. In the photo above, I have joined the dress color with 4 dc in the first stitch. The next two stitches are marked with arrows.
Mama’s rounded sleeves are made with two clusters of 4 tr. The instructions tell you exactly how to do this. In this photo, I am at the top of page 139. I have 5 loops on the hook and I’m ready to yo and pull through all loops to complete the first 4tr-cluster.
The first row of Papa’s shirt is similar to the first row of Mama’s dress—begin on the wrong side. The green arrow in this photo shows the beginning of the second row, where we make the sleeves. Ch 4 at the beginning of the row, then make a joined-tr. A joined-tr is attached to the chain, and keeps it from gapping.
To make the joined-tr for Papa’s shirt, Yo, draw up a loop in the 3rd ch from hook, draw up a loop in the first st. Now you have 4 loops on the hook, and you can finish this tr just like any other tr.
End off after the first two rows of the dress or shirt. Weave in ends to get them out of the way. To finish the garments, turn to the wrong side and place the first sts into the sts shown by the green arrows.
To keep the turning chains in Mama’s dress and Papa’s shirt from creating gaps, use a joined-dc. Instructions for that are on page 17.
When the dress and shirt are finished, they’ll look like this. We’ll crochet legs and shoes in the next post.
Gingerbread Kids from Cute Crochet World: Hints and Ideas
Why in the world do we need another pattern for crocheted gingerbread people? Because I’m terrible at crocheting into the sides of rows. Read the whole story on this Flashback Friday on my other blog, Suzann’s TextileFusion.
The Gingerbread Kids of Cute Crochet World are worked in the round, so when you finish, you have an easy time adding icing trim. Here are step-by-step photos of the Gingerbread Kids in progress.
Complete written instructions for the Gingerbread Kids are on pages 80-82 of Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Crocheted Critters, Folks, Food & More.
Both Gingerbread Kids are made in two rounds of gingerbread and one round of icing. For clarity, the book’s instructions for each gingerbread round are divided into sections for arms, legs, and head. As you work, observe how the stitches look and where they are.
Here is the first arm, head, and second arm of Rnd 1, to the point after “sc in each of the next 4 ch.” The yellow marks show where to draw up lps for the next stitch: draw up two loops, yo, then draw up the third.
And here are the loops on the hook, ready for the last yo and pull through. This joins the arms and head.
Create the body- and leg-shaping by increasing or decreasing sts. When it’s done, Rnd 1 looks like a curled up stick figure.
Rnd 2 is worked in every single st, foundation ch, and ch-2 lp of Rnd 1. A helpful hint: after stitching the ends of the legs, head, and arms in the ch-2 lp, the instructions say to “skip the first sc” or “hdc.” That st is probably already obscured by the sts in the ch-2 lp.
At the last st of Rnd 2, cut the yarn and pull the final loop up, up, and out of the last st, as in the photo above.
Thread the yarn end into a tapestry needle, and skim the needle under the top two loops of the first st of the rnd, as in this photo. Take the needle back down into the last st of the round, tighten and adjust the new loop, weave in end. This is a needle-join or invisible join, which you can read more about here.
Start the round of icing trim by drawing up a loop with the icing color yarn. Sl st in each st around, making sts looser or tighter to fit the outline of the gingerbread.
When you’ve slip stitched around, cut yarn and draw the last loop completely out of the final st. Thread yarn end into tapestry needle.
Skim the needle under the two “legs” of the loop you drew up at the beginning of the round.
Take the needle back down into the final st of the round, where the yarn end emerges. Pull the yarn end through to the wrong side, adjust it to the size of the sl sts nearby, weave in end. Another needle join complete!
The icing trim on the gingerbread girl is slightly different. Sl st around her right leg first and pull the yarn ends to the wrong side. Following the complete instructions in the book, sl st around the second leg and around the edge until you come to the second corner of the skirt. Hold the yarn in back as you sl st across the tops of the legs/bottom edge of the skirt.
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When you’re to the last possible stitch before the opposite corner of the skirt, cut yarn and draw the end up and out of the final stitch. This photo shows the loop in the process of being drawn out.
Thread the yarn end into a tapestry needle. Skim the needle under the first stitch of the skirt.
Take the needle back down into the final sl st of the trim. Adjust the loop, weave in the end on the wrong side. Another needle join complete!
Make a Gingerbread Kid Ornament
To make ornaments, crochet two each of the gingerbread boy and gingerbread girl. Make a hanging loop for each ornament. from the instructions here. I used a length of No. 10 crochet cotton, but you can use embroidery floss or the yarn you used to make the gingerbread motifs.
For each ornament, sew the hanging loop to the wrong side of one motif, centering it at the top of the head. I used a contrasting color thread here, so you can easily see it. You can use whatever yarn or thread works.
Line up two matching motifs, wrong sides together. Use yarn to sew the motifs together, stitching each loop of the final round of the gingerbread kid to the matching stitch on the other motif. Basically, you will whip-stitch the pieces together. Weave the final end between the motifs.
Sewing the matching motifs together, back to back, tames the tendency of the crochet to curl. Best of all, your ornament will look nice from both sides. And you made it!
Why Another Gingerbread Kids Pattern?
Years ago, my mom crocheted very cute gingerbread man Christmas tree ornaments. They were a lot of work, she told me, because there were lots of starts and stops, leading to lots of ends to weave in.
Do you recognize this pattern? Do you know where it appeared?–if you do, will you please leave a comment to let me know, so I can acknowledge it here?
The front and back pieces were crocheted back and forth. The back piece hides the wrong side of the embroidered buttons and face, and gives the piece more stability as an ornament. The sides are joined with a round of sc.
I always have a difficult time crocheting neatly into the sides of stitches to make borders or, in this case, to make a border and join two pieces. I can never make it look professional or even good.
Also, I’m not the only crocheter who wants to minimize the ends she must weave in at the end of the project.
When I was writing Cute Crochet World, I wanted gingerbread for the “Seasons” chapter, so I pondered the possibilities. The only way to minimize yarn ends AND avoid having to crochet into the sides of rows, was to crochet a gingerbread person in rounds.
And that’s why “Gingerbread Kids.”
Embellishment Troubles or Joys?
This post was originally going to be called “Embellishment Woes.” This project is causing me trouble. I’m not quite satisfied with any arrangement of flowers and buttons so far. After thoughtful consideration, I realize this is my favorite part of the process, so no woes.
Titled 360 Degrees, this piece will be for one of the member challenges at Visions Art Museum next year. I used a piece of a rug I knitted many, many years ago.
Once again, I say, “Thank goodness for digital photography!” It’s so quick and easy to photograph different options and look at them all together. Here are photos of the arrangements I have tried so far.
Seems pretty likely there will be more photos before I make the final decision about embellishment. Really, I’m waiting for the thrill. The thrill will tell me when I’ve got the combination right.
Small and Simple Snowflake: A Free Crochet Pattern
To round out the previous post about how to make the Snow Globe Doily, here are patterns for the small and tiny snowflakes used in the project.
“Small” is a relative term here. Compared to the Frost Flower snowflakes in the Snow Globe Doily, these flakes are small. But if you crochet them in heavy yarn, they’ll be big.
The smallest thread I used in the doily resulted in a 1 1/4″ diameter Small and Simple Snowflake. The flake shown here on the pink Christmas tree is 4 1/4″ in diameter, made with Lion Brand Lion Cotton (now discontinued, but the company now offers a similar heavy cotton yarn).
Small and Simple Snowflake
Pattern Note: Triple picot = ch 4, sl st in 4th ch from hook to form first picot, ch 5, sl st in 5th ch from hook, ch 4, sl st in 4th ch from hook, sl st in base of first picot.
Ch 4, join with sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1 (RS): Sl st into ring, ch 7 (counts as tr and 3 ch), (tr in ring, ch 3) 5 times, join with sl st to 4th st of ch-7 at beg of rnd (6 tr and 6 ch-3 spaces).
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in same st as last sl st of previous rnd, triple picot (see pattern note), sc in same st as first sc of rnd, ch 3, *sc in next tr, triple picot, sc in same tr, ch 3; rep from * 4 times, join with sl st in first sc of rnd (See NOTE below), end off (6 triple picots, 12 sc, and 6 ch-3 spaces).
Weave in ends and block.
Tiny Flake
Ch 4, join with sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1: Sl st into ring, ch 2 (counts as hdc), ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook, *hdc in ring, ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook; rep from * 4 times, join with sl st in 2nd st of ch-2 at beg of rnd (See NOTE below).
The Small and Simple Snowflake and Tiny Flake are part of this Snow Globe Doily. Learn how to make a doily like this in the previous post. The snow people in this photo have Tiny Flakes around their…feet?
NOTE: For better results, do not join with sl st. Instead cut yarn and needle join. Photo-tutorial for needle-join here.