How to Make an Ornament Hanger with Crochet Thread or Floss
This thread ornament hanger is for felt or crocheted ornaments with front and back pieces, which are to be sewn together.
You will need
- 10-inch length of embroidery floss (all six strands) or No. 10 crochet cotton
- Pin and surface to pin to
- Felt or crocheted ornament with front and back pieces, which you will sew together
Tie an overhand knot at one end of the 10-inch length of thread. Pin knot to ironing board or other suitable surface as in photo a.
Holding thread gently taut, twist thread until it twists back upon itself when you let it go slack (b).
Bring ends of 10-inch length together, and let thread twist smoothly (c).
Pinch cut ends, remove pin from knot, and knot ends together to prevent untwisting. The yellow arrow points to this new knot in photo d.
Tie new ends together, preferably with a square knot (it’s flatter), to form a loop (e).
Sew loop behind front side of ornament, with loop showing over the top of the ornament.
Sew front and back of ornament together, hiding hanger knot inside.
Find help making a felt-backed ornament with the Poinsettia from Crochet Garden here.
Find hints for making a two-sided crochet motif ornament with the Gingerbread Kids from Cute Crochet World here. COMING BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2015!
A Good Day for Mail
The box on the front porch was from Sterling Publishing. Probably copies of Cute Crochet World in German. I was expecting them at some point. But there was more!
The Russian Crochet Bouquet was a total and happy surprise! Long ago, I took a semester of Russian, but the only thing I remember is pronounced “lyoo-blyoo”–“I love you.” I certainly love crocheters, whatever language they speak!
Crochet Poetray
A work of Crochet Poetray by Suzann Thompson, author of Cute Crochet World,
where you can find instructions to make the “turtle of crochet.”
Here are teeny
Turtellini
With a turtle
Of crochet.
Or pray,
Are they two
Tortellini
With a crochet—
*chortle*—tortle?
Crochet Poetray about a Turtle and Pasta
A work of Crochet Poetray by Suzann Thompson, author of Cute Crochet World, where you can find instructions to make the “turtle of crochet.”
The Turtle and the Pasta
Here are teeny
turtellini
with a turtle
of crochet. Or
pray, are they two
tortellini
with a crochet
*chortle* tortle?
Happy National Ice Cream Day
I hope you’re enjoying National Ice Cream Day! Here are some holiday-appropriate treats to crochet from Cute Crochet World. Enjoy!
Thank You, Lion Brand
This is Mama Lion, one of the baker’s dozen of art quilts in my TextileFusion exhibit at the Quilt! Knit! Stitch! show in Portland, Oregon, next month.
Mama Lion was made specifically to honor Lion Brand Yarns, the sponsor of the exhibit.
Since the early days of my design career in the 1990s, Lion Brand has purchased crocheted and knitted designs from me and displayed my Passionate Hear art quilt in their Lion Brand Yarn Studio in New York. I have also had the privilege of signing books and giving talks at the Studio.
I am pleased and honored that Lion Brand Yarns supports my textile art. Thank you again, Lion Brand!
Hope you can attend the Quilt! Knit! Stitch! show in Portland, OR, next month. It is going to be great fun!
It includes a market and exhibits of textile artworks. My own TextileFusion exhibit–knitted, embellished quilts–will make its national debut there.
I’m also teaching:
Full of Bullion (Stitch, That Is). The double bullion picot petal flower above is one of our samples for this class.
Pretty Picot-rama
What to do with Grandmother’s Doilies
Crochet Charm Lace
Please go to quilts.com for more information and to register.
Shop, See Art, Learn at Quilt! Knit! Stitch!
The Quilt! Knit! Stitch! show in Portland OR next month is going to be great fun! I’m looking forward to taking a folk embroidery workshop and shopping at the market.
In addition to lots of three- and six-hour workshops and the retail market, the event includes exhibits of textile artworks. My own TextileFusion exhibit–knitted, embellished quilts–will make its national debut there. Yay!
I’m the crochet teacher, offering these workshops:
- Full of Bullion (Stitch, That Is). The double bullion picot petal flower above is one of our samples for this class.
- Pretty Picot-rama
- What to do with Grandmother’s Doilies
- Crochet Charm Lace
Please go to www.quilts.com for more information and to register.
Hints for Crocheting “Picot Mexico” Flower
The colorful Picot Mexico flower looks happy and joyful to me, with its vibrant colors. It is on pages 102-103 of Crochet Garden: Bunches of Flowers, Leaves, and Other Delights. You can also make Picot Mexico in one color of yarn.
First a correction to the book: Rnd 2 of the Small Flower (center column on page 103) refers twice to a “ch-3 sp.” It should read “ch-2 sp.”
And now, some hints for making Picot Mexico successfully. The sample is the Small Flower. but the hints apply to the Large Flower as well.
To begin rnds 3 and 4, the instructions tell you to “join with *(BPdc around next dc…” This is almost the same as joining with a regular dc. Place a slip knot on your hook. Yarn over hook, holding the slip knot in place so the yo won’t twist away. (Photo 1)
For a Back Post dc, still holding the slip knot in place, insert hook from the back to the front of your work, between two dc-sts of the previous rnd. (Photo 2)
Passing hook in front of the next dc, insert hook to back again around that dc. (Photo 3)
Draw up a loop around the post of the previous rnd’s dc. If you’ve successfully held the slip knot in place, you’ll have 3 loops on the hook. Finish as you would finish any dc. (Photo 4) If the yo has twisted away, you may be able to get it back by twisting the slip knot around the hook.
In Rnds 3 and 4, increase by placing two BPdc-sts around one dc-post. Photo 5 shows the wrong side of the work, where the first two “BPdc around next dc and sl st-picot” are complete. The white arrow points to the next BPdc, which is the first of two around the same post.
The increase is complete in Photo 6. The white arrow shows the first BPdc around the post, and the pink arrow shows the second BPdc around the same post.
A friend on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com) asked for a photo of the back of a flower she was working on. That was such a good idea! So here’s what the small Picot Mexico looks like from the back (Photo 7).
Tips for Making Picot Mexico with One Color
- Don’t fasten off after Rnd 1. Instead, as you begin Rnd 2, ch 3 to replace the first dc of the rnd. At the end of Rnd 2, sl st in the 3rd ch of the ch 3 at the beg of the rnd.
- You’ll still have to fasten off the yarn after Rnds 2 and 3, so you can get a fresh start with the BPdc on the next round.
-
Don’t fasten off after Rnd 5. You have already sl stitched into the first sc of Rnd 5, so that counts as the first sl st of Rnd 6. Ch 3 and tr in the same st as the sl st. Continue Rnd 6 as written.
National Take Your Dox to Work Day
Today is really National Take Your Dog to Work Day, according to the completely fun website Holiday Insights.
But if you don’t have a doggie of your own, or you truly cannot take pets to work, here’s a sweet doxie for you to crochet and tuck into your pocket or handbag. No dogfood necessary. No walking, only blocking (and you only have to block once).
The pattern is on pages 40-41 of Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Crochet Critters, Folks, Food & More.
Our word for a certain kind of sausage, wiener, comes from Austria. In German, the city Vienna is Wien (pronounced “VEEN”). So in Germany, a sausage from Vienna is a Wiener. I’m telling you this, because I know how to spell wiener. Just read the book, and you’ll know.
Millefiori from Crochet Bouquet Explained
“Millefiori” on pages 25-26 of Crochet Bouquet: Easy Designs for Dozens of Flowers offers small flowers in five different petal shapes. Four of the petal styles are joined with a technique that gives an attractive and neat finish to warm the cockles of your crochet heart.
“Rounded Petals” is shown in the photos. In the book, patterns for “Pointy Petals,” “Rounded Petals,” “Baby Stars,” and “Heart-Shape Petals” should refer you to page 15 for finishing instructions.
Here’s how joining the petals works.
Following the instructions in Crochet Bouquet, crochet four or five petals in the shape of your choice (Photo A). When you’re done with the last sl st, cut the yarn, and pull the yarn straight up out of the last sl st.
The petals are numbered to keep track of them more easily.
Thread the final yarn end into a tapestry needle. Arrange the petals face-up. Beginning with petal 1, skim the needle under the visible loops of the first ch st of the petal and the final sl st of the petal as in Photo B.
When I say visible loops, I mean the ones you see as you look at right side of the petal. They are just one loop of the chain plus one loop of the sl st.
In Photo C, I have skimmed the needle under the first and last loops of petals 1, 2, and 3.
I pulled the yarn through the first three petals, and in Photo D, I’m skimming it under the loops of petals 4 and 5.
Tighten the yarn end to draw the petals together. Once again, skim the needle under the first loop of petal 1 as shown in Photo E.
Take the needle through the base of petal 1, from front (right side) to back (wrong side).
Tighten the yarn end once more, tack to secure the yarn, and weave in the end (Photo G).
If you haven’t already done so, weave in the end at the start of the flower. Take a moment to stretch the petals from side to side before blocking.
These are truly quick and easy flowers.
